SUPPORTING his youngest daughter is her fight against a life-threatening condition, a Kidderminster man will walk to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes in the Welsh 3000.

Adam Wright and his two friends, Richard Painter and John Pochribniak, will have to make it to the top of 15 mountains in 24 hours in Snowdonia to complete the challenge for Adam's two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Niamh, who was diagnosed with the chronic illness in March last year.

"This was a life-changing event for Niamh and a massive shock for our family - something as a parent you don’t wish any child let alone your own to have to go through," he said.

"Emma, Niamh’s mummy, Grace, Niamh’s sister, Niamh and myself have, over the past 12 months, adapted and learned how to manage type 1 diabetes through at first giving multiple insulin pen injections daily and numerous finger prick blood tests and dealing with her having hypos and hypers."

A 'hypo' occurs when the blood glucose level of people with diabetes drops too low. If left untreated, a hypo can eventually lead to unconsciousness and, in extreme cases, may even prove fatal.

A 'hyper' is when the blood glucose rises above the normal blood glucose range and has to be corrected through either more insulin being administered.

To help Niamh and the Kidderminster family manage the quite severe symptoms of the condition, she was put on the latest diabetes technology - a glucose monitor and an insulin pump on a belt through a cannula attachment supplying insulin 24/7.

Mr Wright said: "Niamh has been very inspiring through her first year of diagnosis. She has started to do her own finger prick blood tests for any child of her age this is very impressive.

"So having seen how Niamh has adapted to this and meeting other families of children living with type 1 over the past 12 months, I felt it was right to do a fundraiser and hopefully our fundraising support can go towards finding the cure for our children and future generations of young people being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes."

The three fundraisers will be setting off at 4am on Saturday, July 4, from the Pen Y Pass Car Park at the foot of Mount Snowdon aiming to be complete the Welsh 3000 in under 24 hours, in the hopes of raising £1,500 for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation UK (JDRF) - a charity committed to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes in young people and who supports many families who have children with condition.

To donate to the cause, visit the fundraising page at justgiving.com/a-wright or text ARJW99 to 70070 plus the amount you wish to donate.

 

DIABETES FACT FILE:

What's the difference between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes:

In type 1 diabetes, an event or series of events (which researchers are yet to fully identify) causes the body’s immune system to incorrectly target and kill the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin.

These insulin-producing cells are called beta cells.

The immune system will keep destroying any new beta cells the body produces and so people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin injections to compensate for the reduced ability of the pancreas.

• Is often diagnosed in younger people but also in adults.

• Often associated with higher than normal ketone levels at diagnosis

• Treated with insulin injections or insulin pump

• Cannot be controlled without taking insulin

 

Type 2 diabetes:

In type 2 diabetes, the body becomes less able to respond to insulin, this feature of type 2 diabetes is called insulin resistance. The body will try to compensate by producing more insulin but if the body cannot produce enough, high blood sugar levels will result. If the pancreas needs to keep producing an increased quantity of insulin, then the insulin

Producing beta cells may begin to fail and someone with type 2 diabetes can gradually start to lose their ability to produce insulin.

• Often associated with excess body weight

• Often associated with high blood pressure and/or cholesterol levels at diagnosis

• Is usually treated initially without medication or with tablets

• Sometimes possible to come off diabetes medication

• Often diagnosed in over 30’s