A YEAR to the day that Gemma Robinson learned the shocking news that her young daughter had type 1 diabetes she is doing something positive to help all sufferers.
It was in October last year that a doctor broke the news to the West Pinchbeck mum that Faith (now 3) had diabetes, triggered, they believed, by an infection.
It came as a complete shock to Gemma, of Elizabeth Crescent, who says the disease isn’t present in the immediate family and so she had no understanding of what was involved.
Gemma, who also has 11-month-old Casey, has learned a lot in the months since then and is now on a mission to support a charity that does research into juvenile diabetes.
Together with her friend Kirsty Casey, Gemma is organising a ball in aid of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a charity that is raising awareness of diabetes as well as helping to find a cure.
Type 1 diabetes affects 400,000 people in the UK and more than 26,000 of these are children, according to information from JDRF, which says: “The rate of people affected by diabetes is increasing by four per cent annually each year, particularly in the under-five age group.
“Type 1 diabetes is caused by a problem with the immune system. You cannot prevent it by adopting a healthy diet, exercising regularly or living a healthy lifestyle. There is currently no cure.”
The body of a person not suffering from type 1 diabetes has hormones that will keep blood glucose within a healthy range. Someone with type 1 diabetes will not have enough of the insulin hormone or any insulin at all, and so it has to be injected. Faith has injections of insulin five times a day.
The Halloween ball is on Saturday, October 27, in the marquee suite at the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding, starting at 7pm with people sitting down for dinner at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £40 per person, which includes a three-course meal, live band Zebra and music by former Merlin’s and Loaded DJ Shaun Neal, and all proceeds go to JDRF.
Contact Gemma or Kirsty by email on diabetesfundraising@hotmail.co.uk or phone 077434 09314/01775 640722 for tickets.