I often relive the moment the doctor said to me “you need to take him straight to hospital” and the moment the ER doctor said “he has Type 1 Diabetes”.

On Sunday 12th of December I hope to make my family and friends proud as I set off to run 21.1km and even if my body is aching there is nothing more motivating than my T1D hero Roy.

The first doctor we saw assumed it was gastro and the next a virus and were going to put a feeding tube down her nose to force feed her. It wasnt until the head doctor suggested a glucose check did the symptoms click! Her BSL read HIGH at 37 and ketones 7.4. Our poor baby was in DKA - Diabetic Ketoacidosis!

You will have many Educators, Dieticians and Specialist. You won't like most of them. You will find a doctor eventually, he will be amazing this will make you extremely happy. You will fall in love and be loved, You will get your heart broken, You will be happy, You will be Sad, You will laugh a lot, You will cry, You will get stressed, You will learn to be strong, You will get through it. always remember you are normal. :)

At 16 months old we began to notice a change in our little boy. Our once healthy and thriving baby was coming down with a string of sicknesses- un-explained viruses, hand foot and mouth, roseola. We were frequently visiting our GP………………

It all began in June 2017, halfway through my final year of High School. I started to struggle reading the whiteboard in class and need the teacher to enlarge the screen. I had never struggled with my eyesight before, however it runs in my family to need glasses, so I didn't think much of it at that stage. By September I was feeling constantly tired and fatigued. But I figured I was just run down from school?

………..it was at this stage that I had a nurse getting me a chair and holding my hand and explaining to me that Milly was in DKA and that she had Type 1. I just burst into tears and my first thought was for my mum as she is the one with Type 1 and her greatest fear has been my brother or myself getting diabetes, little did she know it was going to be her baby granddaughter….

Volunteering for T1F is my way of giving back to all that my parents did for me & hopefully inspire a whole generation of T1 families and kids to know that they can lead perfectly amazing lives.

Today my daughter hits the road🎉. Exciting times are ahead; but I know I’m not alone when I admit it does make me slightly nervous to think that my daughter will be driving independently in no time. #eek

So I thought I would share some facts from National Diabetes Services Scheme NDSS and @diabetesaustralia and a little insight into what is involved in getting your licence and also tips on driving with Type1. There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings out there, especially for parents who are interested in being informed...

I’m feeling incredibly thankful for The Type1 Foundation. I recently found out that I am a recipient of a Madison Lyden Scholarship. I feel so honoured and I am so incredibly grateful. I actually can’t quite believe it…

In November 2019 River had pain when doing a wee, I took him to the ER and was diagnosed with Balanitis.

Which is basically an infection in the head of the penis. One of the causes is “Someone that as diabetes because the increased glucose (sugar) on their skin can stimulate bacterial and fungal growth.” - However he was never tested for diabetes….

….Saturday night it got the better of me I Dr Googled Vann's symptoms and diabetes came up, no way I thought we don't have any family history Dr Google is clearly wrong…… (Except Caroline and Google were right , read Vann’s Diagnosis story here)

“. I took her to a paediatrician for support and her blood tests said nothing was out of the ordinary. The GP also didn't mention anything.”

“Every day is a roller coaster, good and bad. We’ve had multiple hospital trips since being diagnosed, my advice to any newly diagnosed parent this is not your fault, nothing you could of done would have prevented this and the support we have received is phenomenal, especially the type 1 foundation.”

“The hospital endos said I was too old and fat to be type 1. I weighed 60kg”

“Hey My name is Tyson Major and I have been T1D for only 3yrs. Diagnosed in 2017 at 30 hrs of age.”

In my research for this article (hoping to have it out by next week) I met Sally in our type 1 foundation group . Sally’s daughter was diagnosed 5 years ago when she was 15

“mum when I go to heaven will I still have Type1 diabetes?” - 6yo Irelyn.

I still remember the phone call. This must be a mistake, right? We both agreed it was a mistake. You are healthy. You never get sick. What even is Type 1 diabetes? It is definitely a mistake.

But there was no mistake.

Reuben was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was 9 yrs old in 2017. He was staying with his grandparents over the school holidays and I remember my mum saying Reuben was drinking a lot and going to the toilet a lot!