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Mechelle McAlley

One Walk Aberdeen

Help Mechelle raise £200!

We're stronger together

I’m taking part in One Walk Aberdeen to help raise money to fund life-changing research and make a difference to the lives of people affected by type 1!

400,000+ people are currently living with type 1 diabetes in the UK, and with your support and your generous donations, we can fund JDRF UK’s important work towards finding a cure. Here are just a few examples of what your money can do...

Every £10 could help run a research laboratory for 10 minutes - bringing us 10 minutes closer to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Every £25 could pay for an hour of research nurse support for someone involved in a clinical trial, which could ultimately lead to the next big breakthrough. Without this support, there would be no trial.

Every £50 could enable a scientist to use lasers for two hours, allowing them to study the immune cells at the heart of type 1, monitoring the success of clinical trials and further improving knowledge into type 1.

Thank you for your support, whatever you donate is really appreciated. Together, we can help JDRF to eradicate type 1 diabetes!

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£400 + £68.60 GiftAid

My Goal

£200

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My Achievements

Shared page

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Self donated

Reached 50% of fundraising goal

Reached fundraising goal

My Updates

Ty,s Story

Thursday 12th Sep
We are taking part in the JDRF OneWalk on Sat 5th October 2024 to help JDRF make a difference for Ty and thousands like him living with the daily burden of Type 1 Diabetes. We would very much  appreciate any donations.  Here's a reminder of why...

27th September 2011, the day our lives changed forever

Diagnosis

Our son Ty was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes age 3. At the time he appeared to have a bad cold, was tired, thirsty, drinking lots peeing lots and losing weight, hardly life threatening...... or so we thought.  

We couldn't have been more wrong.  Thankfully a simple urine test at the doctor meant that Ty was diagnosed in time, before Type 1 Diabetes became life threatening.  Sadly this is not the case for everyone. 

Ty was extremely ill the day he was diagnosed and was immediately admitted to the High Dependency Unit at Aberdeen Children's Hospital. Those days and nights in hospital were terrifying for both him and us. He had I.V's sticking out of his hands and feet, which were changed frequently, causing him great pain and distress. 

Hearing him crying, confused by what was happening, & begging us to help him, even though we could do nothing, was heart breaking.  It was the beginning of our lives with Type 1 Diabetes.

Our stay in hospital was a whirlwind of information overload. We learned that to keep Ty from becoming ill, he would need multiple injections and finger pricks daily to test his blood glucose, and everything he ate would need to be carbohydrate counted, in order to match the insulin dose accordingly, not always an easy task and particularly tricky when eating out in restaurants.

What it means

We learned the scary stuff about diabetes. The dangers of - hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and Hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), and the long term health complications that diabetes can cause, if not carefully controlled, such as decreased life expectancy, blindness, limb amputation, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, also diabetic coma and even death.

Ty's blood sugar can drop dangerously low at any time, which can be especially dangerous through the night, potentially sending him into a diabetic coma with the ultimate unthinkable risk of death.

Almost everything affects Ty's blood sugar.  Excitement, stress, illness, growth hormones, exercise.  Even the weather can send his blood sugars too high or too low.  This can make him feel a whole range of emotions and symptoms...... from shaky, drowsy, hungry, pale, dizzy confused and upset with low blood sugar, to thirsty, nauseous, tired, dizzy, tummy pain, angry, agitated and unable to concentrate with high blood sugar.

What Causes Type 1?

Type 1 Diabetes is an auto immune condition and despite misconceptions, is not caused by diet or lifestyle choices.  It is no-ones fault and nothing can be done to prevent it.
 
Alarmingly cases of Type 1 Diabetes in children are on the increase, currently with no known cause or cure. JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) are working hard to change this by using donations to fund research into new ways to try to treat, prevent and possibly even cure this life threatening, life long, chronic health condition.

Latest Developments 

Technology has vastly improved since Ty's diagnosis almost 13 years ago. He now has an insulin pump instead of injections, and a CGM (continuous glucose monitor), which almost eradicates the need for finger pricks.  He has also been very fortunate to have access to closed loop technology, otherwise known as the artificial pancreas, which would not have been possible without the work of JDRF.

Why We Are Still Fundraising

However, the technology is not perfect. Ty still experiences high and low blood sugars, sometimes through the night, and although his system is designed to  trigger an alarm to alert him, he doesn't always hear it, or wake up in order to deal with it.

Ty no longer endures injections, but the cannula which delivers the insulin through his pump is inserted by one.  His pump must be removed and replaced every 2 to 3 days.   

Even though he no longer injects at every meal, he must carry injection pens as a back- up and contine to carbohydrate count every piece of food that passes his lips, administering insulin accordingly.

Blood glucose checks are much fewer thanks to closed loop technology, but they are not eradicated entirely.

Multiple items of diabetes equipment must be checked and carried with Ty every time he leaves the house.  There's also the responsibility of making sure his diabetes tech is charged, insulin, glucose and other supplies are replenished and that he's keeping on top of pump and sensor changes.

Diabetes continues to require a lot of management and consideration.  So the bottom line is that technology has improved things, but it's certainly by no means a cure. This is why we continue to fundraise and support JDRF (soon to be known as - Breakthrough T1D).

Thank you to my Sponsors

£53

Korina Avramidou

You’re real Life Heroes and a huge Inspiration for everyone. Hope this little contribution will help to move science a bit further to Keep going strong and stronger. 💕with Love -Korina

£50

Mcfadyen

Good luck

£50

Mike Tracy Megan Bruce

Well done to you both for this. Your family has been through a lot and come a long way. Ty is an inspiration to you both.

£21.20

Mackay Family

Good luck guys, such an amazing and inspiring family.

£21.20

Lisa Thomson

£21.20

Michelle Milne

A very small contribution from us for vital research, Enjoy the walk.

£21.20

Tracey Spence

So very proud of you all. Love you so much x

£20

Meg

All the best for the fundraising walk. Always amazed by how hard Ty and all of you worked to make things easier not just for Ty but also everyone who is affected by the same condition. What a family. Much much love to you all x

£20

Hannah Culling

Can’t believe how grown up Ty is now! Good luck Hannah, Raymond, Mack and Gray x

£20

Anonymous

A great cause.

£15.90

Ðonna Craig

Xx

£15.90

Ginty

Enjoy the walk, as always you’re a solid unit of a family always fighting hard and raising awareness ❤️

£15

Maureen & Gordon Berry

Great cause!

£14

Maria Macaskill

£10.60

Simon Mckenzie

£10.60

Edith

💙

£10.60

Agnieszka Kujawa

£10

Elaine Robertson

Your family are a true inspiration and example of how we should all support each other when times are tough