Finding the courage to be yourself with type 1 diabetes with Gavin Griffiths

Adapting to a type 1 diabetes diagnosis is no small thing, and many of you will resonate with the discomfort Gavin Griffiths experienced as he tried to move through life as a teenager in the early 2000s alongside the diagnosis he received at the age of 8. 

In this episode Gavin details how after some tough years, a conversation with a younger, newly-diagnosed classmate flipped a switch that would send Gavin on a path of global diabetes leadership. Forming the charity Diathlete soon after it’s still going strong, hosting the renowned League of Diabetes support and education network.

This World Diabetes Day on November 14th it will host a T1D festival and fashion show in London, and you’re invited!

Throughout the years Gavin has led with heart in order to push for change, connection and visiblity for people living with type 1 diabetes across the world. It even helped him to find love with his wife Paula, who also lives with type 1 diabetes.

Dedicated to their mission while juggling full-time careers, the pair’s combined passion and power has rippled, one conversation at a time, to help people’s understanding and experience of living with type 1 diabetes for the better.

The Chronicles of Glycaemia is Gavin’s first book, also due to be released on World Diabetes Day 2025. 

Find out more about the T1D Festival.
Get tickets to the T1D Festival on Friday 14th November.
League of Diabetes website.
League of Diabetes Instagram.
Gavin Griffiths Instagram.
Gavin Griffiths Facebook.

DISCLAIMER
Nothing you hear on Type 1 on 1 should be taken as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare team before making any changes to your diabetes or health management.

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SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Dexcom. Using Dexcom CGM has given me so much confidence to make informed diabetes treatment decisions in the moment.

You can choose to wear it on your arm or your abdomen, and all Dexcom CGMs have the share and follow feature even when connected to an insulin pump, so family and friends can see your glucose levels and get alerts, giving that extra bit of support when needed.

Head to Dexcom.com to request a free Dexcom ONE+ sample.

Always read the user manual for important product aspects and limitations. Talk to your doctor for diabetes management terms and conditions and terms of use. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode of Type one on one is sponsored by
dex coom more on that later. Thank you so much
for pressing play today. If you like what you hear,
please do hit follow so that you're in the know
about future episodes. And as with every episode of Type
one on one, nothing you hear within this podcast is
intended to be nor should be taken as medical advice,

(00:20):
and you should seek the advice of a medical professional
before making any changes to your health management. Now are
you signed up to the Type one on one newsletter? Yes,
I send a regular dose of type one real talk
straight to your inbox, and it's nice and concise. It's
a mix of personal musings, things that have happened in

(00:41):
my week in the ongoing adventure that is type one diabetes,
and often a nice little bit of hype as well,
because we all need that support sometimes. So head to
Type one on one dot com forward slash newsletter if
you want to sign up, or you can click the
link in the episode description. Hi everyone, and welcome to

(01:02):
Type one on one, a podcast that delves into the obscure,
complex and challenging world of life with Type one diabetes.
I'm Jen Greeves, and each week with the help of
some brilliant guests, I'll be showing that there is no
normal when it comes to handlink this whopper of a
chronic condition, because we're all pretty much figuring out the

(01:23):
messiness of day to day life with diabetes as we go.
And most of all, even though it doesn't always feel
like it, we are absolutely not alone. Knowing your own
Type one diabetes is one thing, but Gavin Griffiths is
a man who has come to know the breadth of
the type one diabetes experience across the world. Diagnosed at
the age of eight, like many kids growing up with

(01:45):
a condition, Gavin was reluctant to view it as part
of his life. But the universe had other plans. Not
only did Gavin go on to found the charity Diathlete,
which hosts the renowned education and support network League of Diabetes,
he became an International Diabetes Federation Young Leader, where he
met his wife, Paula, who also lives with Type one.
This World Diabetes Day, the League of Diabetes is hosting

(02:07):
an in person festival giving people impacted by type one
the chance to connect, chat, get inspired, and of course
have some fun. And if that's not enough, Gavin is
also launching his first book, The Chronicles of Glycemia. Oh
my goodness, Gavin, Welcome to Type one.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
On one, Jen, thank you, thanks for having me here.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Thanks for being here today. What a ride. How does
it feel hearing all of that kind of read back
to you?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, I probably should have got some other hobbies, really
shouldn't I And I kept myself busy since I guess
being diagnosed, And yeah, I guess it's quite it's quite
cool to think that's something that was very difficult to
accept in my life at one point has become something
sure goes on, I've got to manage, but something that's
connected me to so many people.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I mean you say you should have
got some hobbies, but you you've not stopped running. It
sounds like diabetes is keeping you more than busy enough.
So oh hello, it's like pooch.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
I love it. Yeah, he may make some noises. So
I am originally from south east London and I probably
betrayed my roots by heading west, and so I am
I'm just outside London now actually on the Surrey borders.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
So nice.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah. I tried to make my accent a little bit
more more clear something.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yes, I understand I was borned. Sorry but oh great, Well,
thank you so much for making the tie to you
chat to me today. I mean, it's been a while.
I think we've been in the same room, but maybe
not for like I want to say, a decade at least,
would you say.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah, I think so. I think was it under Alex
Silverstein's kind of diabetes UK thing. I don't know when,
only twenty twelve or so, so yeah, I think I
think it was something like that long time. That's scary,
isn't it.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yes, yes, it is. And I mean I've sort of
always kept a view of what you're up to from
AFAR because how could you not because you're just impacting
so many people with the work that you do and
it's absolutely phenomenal. So I want to get straight in
with the festival because it's an amazing event for anyone
in or around London, on the Surrey border, on the

(04:27):
east side, on the website, anyone that wants to travel.
So talk to me about what's happening with the festival.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, it's an event really where everybody's welcome, as you say,
and you don't have to have type one diabetes to
come along, as a well, that's also partly the aim
is to kind of shad awareness about the condition. So yeah,
family's friends, anybody who wants to come and has an interest,
but also of course those in the type one community

(04:54):
that we want to connect. And really I think peer
support is fix something that's so powerful. And having an
event where you can meet others and that being the
aim of the event, I think that just goes such
a such a long way. So that's really the aim
of the game is to is to host something that's
not a conference. It's not so formal, it's not you know,
you have to as good as they are, don't get

(05:16):
me wrong, but you know, you can listen to speeches,
but you have to kind of be in a note
to them, register and come along. It's actually just something
that's that's entirely social, but kind of them bringing the
diabetes talk into that environment as well. So yeah, well,
Diabetes Days on a Friday this year. Past years we've
done it on a Saturday, So this time it's kind
of more of an evening thing. It's it's at six

(05:37):
six point thirty pm will start and we'll probably get
kicked out about eleven and we have a schedule going
on from there, so we have a panelist's session going on,
so there'll be there'll be an empower panel, so people
kind of sharing their stories and their journeys together. Still
trying to finalize the line up on that a little bit,

(05:57):
so yeah, we've had a few few conversations and hopefully
there can be a few guests that you might know
coming along to that. Of course, I'm launching my book,
which you'll probably talk about later, but that's going to
be part of that festival as well. So yeah, book
launch panel to start us get mingling. There's an expo
going on, so any projects of the interests people are

(06:18):
welcome to come and exhibit that as well as then
some of the companies that will be there as well.
And yeah, and then after that, we've got a fashion
show after a break, which they've got a good friend
called Fabiana. She's from Brazil, met her as well maybe
twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen kind of time, and she's moved
over here now and so when she said that, I

(06:40):
was like, let's jump on that. I know that she's
had this fashion show in sal Paolo for a long time,
and so we've added that to the festival her hosting that,
and you know, you think you might think of a
fashion show, you know, what's that all about? But it's
really just you walk in, you know, you being you,
kind of walking and showing off your devices, whatever you use,
and kind of showing that kind of we don't have

(07:00):
to hide away from from our diabetes. So that's what
the fashion show side's about. And Faby's got a lot
of energy. Last year it ended up with with a
bit of a dance going on and the end, I
don't know where this came from, but we ended up
doing a conger down there, down there, down the catwalks,
so you don't know what can happen there, So yeah,
that that happens, and then and then the final part,
hopefully we're trying to confirm some some live entertainment as well,

(07:22):
whether that's DJ in, whether that's even some some live music.
So yeah, all to come. Really love that.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
I love how kind of natural this is. Obviously a
lot of work goes into organizing these events, but as
you say, like the energy around conferences and things, as
amazing as they are, I think, you know, some people
sort of look at them and think, oh, maybe that's
not for me. But you've got this this energy, this
spirit in what you're doing. Is that kind of the
formula that you've found over the years that works with

(07:51):
with League of Diabetes and what you're trying to achieve
with it.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
Yeah, absolutely, it's it's very yeah, very casual, you could say,
very very low key, but it's about sharing, it's about
kind of getting those conversations going. So yeah, we do
Obviously this festival, we've done it. This will be the
third time we've done it. But actually some years back
we did do a conference ourselves and we called it
T one D Global and it's kind of that, but

(08:17):
now it's become more sociable in this way where we've
we've actually got live entertainment and things like a fashion
show going on with it. So yeah, I think that's
the formula. Really, it's kind of getting people together in
that same room, and we also do that with a camp,
and just just that change of setting can go such
a long way. I think makes people comfortable, makes people. Yeah,

(08:40):
really we all have nothing in common, and yet we
all have something in common and it's just fascinating to
see that and that something like diabetes can bring that out.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, and the opportunity to kind of bring that out
in a safe space, as you say, to be authentically
you be there with your devices, or even to speak
about this condition that impacts us so much that so
many people just don't often express their feelings around. Right,
How has how have you witnessed that kind of evolution

(09:12):
through the years that you've been doing this and working
in this world.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Yeah, First of all, I think that starts with myself.
You know, how was I when I was younger and
I didn't express how I was feeling at all? I
just kind of bottled everything up on the inside and
tried to then fit in by not really being myself
and trying to be something that I'm not in some ways,

(09:38):
And that was a lot of my early life with diabetes.
I was diagnosed young, I was eight years old. But yeah,
then transitioning into secondary school, I think that's particularly where
well I sort of didn't really settle for a number
of years. And so yeah, I'm looking at that own experience.
I have seen that repeated. Whilst if we're looking from
a UK perspective, certainly treatments of change technologies have come

(10:00):
along since I was diagnosed, but that same emotional journey
I think is very similar, and people don't want to
talk about it, don't want to feel different. Sometimes with
with phones and stuff, the alerts and the alarms or
the follows that you're a young person, your parents following
you can actually bring a lot of frustration in new
ways as well. So I've seen that be repeated in

(10:22):
sometimes in some ways grow through the years. But yeah,
trying to then build a space where actually you can
you can meet others. Whether that's with the work we've done,
it has been with cyber children, it still is today.
Sometimes we part with NHS teams. We just get them,
get them around in a circle and whether it's the
boxing gloves come out and I say, I'm your diabetes
and they're sharing what they hate and like about diabetes.

(10:43):
You see like that that the power of that session,
as simple as it is, is they're acknowledging people share
something in common there that they also feel that they
also on the positives, they also like jelly babies or
whatever it is. If we start spin in that that
seed as well, that it's not all doing and doing
all the time. There are things that you share in
common in the negatives, but also we can encourage each
other's in the positives, and then that kind of spiraled

(11:05):
into them, well, let's do something for adults. I guess
when I became an adult, I started then realize, well,
the care sort of changes a bit. There's a lot
more people that the diabetes scenes have to see in
adult care and perhaps a lot less time, so there's
probably a lot less focus on that empower side or
on that psychological side. So yeah, then the effort then

(11:26):
started to shift to, well, let's do this as well,
let's get a camp going, which you've done since I
think twenty nineteen, and yeah, they've always again adults coming together,
releasing our in our child in some ways with some activities.
But yeah, in that environment where you kind of worry
as an organizer at the start, you kind of look
at people coming along you think are they thinking what

(11:47):
on earth have I got myself into, which is often
the case. But then within like five seconds, you know
you've got the first icebreaker going on, and everybody's just talking,
and you're behind time and you're schedule because they're talking.
You're just happy to let that roll. So that's kind
of the heart of the work. But it does take
a little you have to come out of your comfort
zone to begin with, I think, to then open up,
and events like these encourage that a little bit.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah, there's so much in that. I think what you
said there about often it just being that introduction or
creating that space where those conversations can even begin. And
once they begin, you know, there's there's no stuff in
them because a lot you know, we're carrying this inside
a lot of us we don't feel let people want
to hear about our daily struggles. And also like, I

(12:33):
don't know how you feel, but sometimes I'm like, if
I it's on and on and on. There is no endpoint,
is there? Like there's always going to be new challenges,
new frustrations. So to try and articulate it one day
and then the next day it's kind of okay, And
I don't know, I find it it quite hard. It's
incredible what you're doing and creating that space. And so

(12:53):
you mentioned there that school wasn't a brilliant experience for
you when it came to your relationship with type one diabetes,
what was going on around that time. I mean, it's
a story that I know so many people can relate to,
but for you personally, What was your experience going through
school with Type one.

Speaker 2 (13:11):
In being diagnosed. I think going back to school even
just after that week I had in hospital and I
was just eight years old. Yeah, I just felt that
there was you feel like uncomfortable and suddenly I don't
know what it is, but like emotionally, I felt quite
uncomfortable around others. Whereas before being diagnosed, even at a

(13:32):
young age, I was always quite a confident in class.
I'd always put my hand up and give whatever random
opinion entered my head that probably had nothing to do
with a lesson at all. But then after that it
was a sudden shift of Actually I was quite shy
to actually put my hand up and ask for things,
and so I did struggle just straight away really going

(13:53):
back in and feeling a bit of an outsider or
a bit different. I was really encouraged though by my
parents with all things. You know, they got me back
into sports pretty quick gleam and you know, if any
friends said that, you know, come around for a sleepover
or stuff like that, I did, And so they gave
trust other parents even just like months after being diagnosed,

(14:14):
which is which is incredible. But ye, at the same time,
I think a lot of the the voices were in
the back of my head, and I wasn't openly expressing
how I felt about it or talking to anyone, whether
that was friends, whether that was even my family or teachers,
certainly not at school. So I just kind of for
such a long time just kept how I was feeling
on the inside. And I think in my behavior, I

(14:36):
started to try and be someone I was not and
try to so I could fit in. I think a
lot of kids, even without diabetes, do that, right, They
try and be popular or whatever they think that is
without actually being themselves. And that can, I think be
a big struggle. And so that was me, but really
because of diabetes in the background. And yeah, when I

(14:57):
transitioned into two second school, I mean there was one
occasion I was on what mixed incidents I was, I
was taking to two injections a day, So I hated it,
even though it's you know, it could be a good
thing of decards to get to the lunch hall. First
I hated that, I remember quite clearly, just everybody want
to be that one friend that suddenly never spoke to.

(15:20):
But they were like my turn to go out of
you lunch early, and that really much.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
I had exactly the same experience. I went from like
we had to wait too long one day to get
to the dinner queue because they rotated the classes and
who went to dinner first, and we were obviously last,
and there was a delay, and I'd had my insulin,
so I crashed into hypo. And then after that I
got this like path just like you one friend and

(15:45):
suddenly everyone wants to be your friend. Yeah it's tough,
isn't it. These experiences, like you say, they make you uncomfortable,
they make you feel different.

Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yeah, yeah, I feel like I've heard that a few
times as all, like a few schools, quite a lot
of people said, yeah, I used to do that's all,
Like I had to to lunch before everybody else. And
that's the one thing you think, Yeah, get out there
if you've got that that friend that goes with you.
But yeah, it can also go that other way. But
it seems like schools have this sort of system of
even when I was low, I don't you had this,
but every single high perbviously, I then played the decag

(16:18):
in a bad way and never came back to my lesson.
But you think about it now and I used to get.
I had to leave the room. You know, I had
a high post, so I had to leave the room
to pick my finger and check my levels. And you think, well,
you've got classroom assistance in the room, you've got teacher
in the room, so your adult staffer in the room.
You've got a child that that's having a low. And
you then turn around and say, you and your mate,

(16:40):
this very qualified health professional of a child can go
out and deal with a loglo see me outside in
the playground. So yeah, so that's what used to happen.
And then afterwards I started to clap onto that and
started to think they didn't ask, you know, anything, So
I just used to then, okay, I'm low, or maybe
I might be loath, so I'll have to go out

(17:02):
and check that. And then maybe I'll just sit around
on the benches until the lesson's done and then conveniently
come back one minute before the pips go to say
it's the end of the lesson. So that was pretty
much how school went. I complained that on my lack
of Jesius ease.

Speaker 1 (17:16):
Perhaps, I mean, you've done all right out of it,
I think, and you know you'd be forgiven as you say,
like being thrust into this position at eight, and especially
in a certain era, like you say, where the thinking
was different around type one and what was necessary, what
was needed and the data that we didn't have. And yeah,

(17:37):
talk to me a bit about what change. Was there
a particular incident or did you come into awareness of
maybe how you were feeling what happened there.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
The main transition for me, after getting off to a
really slow starting secondary school and actually probably missing the
vast majority of year seven, was around maybe year nine
or so, you know, a couple of years in so
you know, it took a long time after being diagnosed
to actually start to to settle in to being more myself. Obviously,

(18:07):
he is always learning as you go. But I think
the first thing that really helped me was was I
was a good football player and I had you know,
I loved football as a child, and I think being
able to get out on that field and express it
and to play my game, I think that that that
gave me confidence and I think that then rubbed off

(18:30):
into my diabetes confidence as well. And I had a
coach when I was young, and he did that. He's
a very he was a very unique character. And this
is like low level football as well, Like you know,
we were Sunday d League, you know when I first started,
and he was proper old school kind of get stuck

(18:50):
in His quote was always the bigger a R the
RDA fall And but he kind of was brilliant in
terms of the diabetes side of it as well, because
he didn't make me feel different. He was like, look,
you get on with it. You know, I've got your
stuff on the sideline. If you need it, come and
come and get it. If not, get on with it,
You've got no excuse. And that kind of made me
feel a part of a team as opposed to special
attention is needed. And I think that that also helped

(19:13):
me a lot to then start to build that confidence.
And then when I started to do well playing football,
you know, I then started to a few years later
started to go into like a semi pro level, and
I think that confidence just sort of shut up. And
I also then was in school playing football as well,
and I think that that really helped me to settle
for a start, and by doing something that I love

(19:35):
to do and not seeing diabetes as a boundary, I
think that was that was probably mentally a big start
of progress. And then later on in school, just before
I left, having been the only child with type one
diabetes seemingly ever in this school's history, two boys in
my same class, the German class that I never turned

(19:56):
up to because I was always conveniently low. As soon
as I came through the doors, it seemed that those
doors seemed to suck all the blue cosees out of
my blood. And then I would be like, oh, sir,
I've got to go funny that. Yeah, yeah, I don't
know how that happened, but yeah, two boys in that
class are actually then diagnosed within about, I don't know,
a few months of each other, and so yeah, they
sort of whilst the first person that we're going to ask,

(20:19):
you know about this this condition. And so for me
it then became a bit more of a Okay, I've
got a responsibility. I do know things about this, and
I can be maybe a small help to these guys.
And then shortly after that there was another boy who
was young, and he reminded me of myself because the
teacher came and got me and said, he's crying his
eyes out, he's having a hypo and we don't know

(20:40):
what to do, and so I just came and spoke
to him. I think that's probably the first person ever
sort of gave it more of an encouraging message too,
and I think that just changed my direction. Then I
think I went away had to cry myself because I
saw myself in how that boy was. And then I
think a few months later, I was running my first
fundraising marathon for trying to help my local hospital out,

(21:01):
and so yeah, from there, I think I got involved
making a support group in my local area. There was
a few things like Diabetes UK. Then started having a
group of young people. I think that's where we met
or conferences and stuff were going on, and I was
still quite I'll still kid myself really at that time,
you know, from late teenagers to early twenties. And then

(21:25):
that's when I got the opportunity to apply to go
to the International Diabetes Federation's Young leaders program, which was Yeah,
I think I was about twenty one or twenty two
when I actually went to that, and that took me
over to Melbourne to be for one to go to
the World Diabetes Congress that they host every two years.
But whilst hosting it, they had a leadership training program

(21:47):
for young adults that was involved in projects and stuff
in their countries. So that's where I first then met
people overseas.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
Wow, that's amazing that that sort of program available at
all and you accessing it, you know, and traveling to
the other side of the world while you do it
from this thing that just a few years prior had
been such a heavy load for you and such a
lot to carry. And did it help that you You
strike me as someone who's always had this sense of

(22:17):
wanting to help others pass it on beyond yourself. Did
that help you kind of step into that a bit,
do you think or am I completely projecting there?

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Yeah? I'd had no plan, you know, I was even
at fifteen or sixteen, I was still like, I'm going
to be a footballer, and yeah, not really thinking too
far ahead about what I actually had an interest to do.
And I had too interested in school, and that was
I was a good writer and storyteller, and I wanted
to do that but didn't really know how to pursue it.

(22:47):
And yeah, I loved playing sports and I was good
at sports and football, so that was kind of the
only things that were on my mind. And then this
sort of I'd know, these boys got diagnosed, and then
I started to get involved in in fundraisers and getting
invited two events or to do talks, and then yeah,
ye're that platform opening. I think that that kind of

(23:09):
just pushed me into a new space that I felt
like was quite natural in some ways that I wanted
to help out without any clue of how to do
that as such, but kind of yeah, I guess one
thing led to another and it was it was a
bit of a journey where first, I think in the UK,
I just learned so much from others, people like yourself,
people that were also sharing that passion in common. I

(23:32):
think that that really started to help me grow as
a person. And yeah, and then obviously doing that overseas
and starting to see diabetes in a different light, I
guess in terms of knowing what is accessible and what
isn't accessible. I think just before I went to the
Young Leaders program, I campaigned a little bit in the
in the London borough of Bexley because I've noticed that

(23:52):
we only got four test strips a day in our
prescription versus you know other boroughs that might have got
ten test strips. Sounds a bit ancient, isn't it. If
you know, we're talking in a UK sense right now
about test strips, and we were able to get that changed.
So that was kind of the first, maybe one of
the first things I've got involved with in terms of
like health care access and getting a little bit of

(24:13):
knowledge about that. But then when I met these people
from from around the world, Well, in Romania you get
provided with one test strip a day. That's it. You know,
everything else is out of pocket in terms of monitoring
your levels, And in other countries, many countries, particularly across Africa,
you don't even get that. You know, you have to
buy your own test strips or rely on charitable donations

(24:36):
to actually get that stuff to you. So yeah, it
made me feel like, Okay, I've learned a little bit
about the UK. But at the same time, there's there's
huge problems out there that even today, you know, there's
there's huge differences that we have a shared emotional journey.
But but it is amazing that for one, the work
I've seen going on from people and what difference we
can make, but also that that that those those differences

(24:59):
do exist and not really being addressed.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
This episode of Type one on one is sponsored by
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(25:26):
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Always read the user manual for important product aspects and limitations.
Talk to your doctor for diabetes management terms and conditions
and terms of use. I want to speak a little

(25:48):
bit about your parents because you mentioned their support and
how they were very encouraging of you to continue with
your life and your hobbies and things so big and
as she's known in your book and the Old Man,
how did your diagnosis impact them? Have you kind of

(26:08):
spoken about this? And I can imagine it must have
been quite something to witness you going from that difficult
time to then having this kind of global awareness of
using your voice to help others to create change and
to make things better. So yeah, do you have any
idea of what that was like for them.

Speaker 2 (26:30):
I do in writing the book. In fact, I've worked
on this book for such a long time. I had
like when I was in college, like in twenty twelve
or so, I actually had started to journal some of
my diagnosis stories. So it goes all the way back
back there, and then over the years of what go here?
Can I release it here? What are we going to

(26:52):
do with this stuff? And it's just never happened for
one reason or another. But yeah, the last year or
year and a half, I think in twenty twenty four,
I was really working on it and what I came across,
So I visited my parents. They've moved that they now
live in wows and so I was just like looking
at a load of boxes in the house and they

(27:12):
came across this brown, brown folder and wiped off the
cob webs and all that, and it was amazing. What
I opened. It was like a time capsule and it's
the Angi's log And I called it that anyway, but
she she, she's you know, clinic appointments, and this was
my first This must have been my first ever clinic appointment,
because it didn't really have a date on it, but

(27:33):
it was definitely the year two thousand. I was diagnosed
and I come down with a flu virus at Christmas,
which I missed school just before the Christmas holidays in
ninety nine, and then was diagnosed eventually in the mid January.
There was a letter from the clinic dated like I know,
the fifth of May or something like that. So that
was all my results with that. So in the folder

(27:55):
was this letter from the clinic and it said, yeah,
my first ever HbA one C and telling you about
what's good and what's poor and what you know. It
was poorly worded, and so I read that and this
is my best ever hbe C. I would assume I was.
I was five point four, but of course in my honeymoon,
and so I would come under what they worded as

(28:15):
non diabetic if you looked at the the numbers that
they had on their list, and what there wasn't really
showing was of course how many high posts I was
actually had. But then with that came of magazine I
guess pre balanced magazine of Diabetes UK it was they
were called. There wasn't called Diabetes K It's called the

(28:35):
British Diabetics Association.

Speaker 1 (28:39):
Or like that association b d A.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, BA.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
Has the same stash of magazines.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
It was. It was and there was like you know,
people with like you know, nineties haircuts and stuff and
and and yes. So I was going through this and
having a look at this magazine and it was basically
a magazine for parents, you know. So it was my pair.
It's probably reading that studying everything they could because it
was called from Tots to Teens and Parents' Perspective of Diabetes.

(29:08):
And so I had that magazine, I had the letter,
and then there was these blue sheets of paper and
I was going through them and I just filled with ink.
And that's the Andes log. And so she was basically
preparing for a clinic appointment. And you can see every
five minutes of every day for about two weeks, she's

(29:28):
just written everything that's happened. Most of it. I'm like, mum,
why would you You're not going to talk to the
doctor about what the nurses about about my sister's hair
being dried and taking for ages? Why is that logged
in my diabetes journey? But it was some random details.
She loved details, but it was emotional to read. But

(29:49):
what I got from. That was their encouragement from such
an early time in my life with this condition, because
you do see the evidence of me going to sleepovers
and then trusting another parent to say, you know, this
is what you got to do. You've got to know
he might not want a pricky's fingers, so you might
have to help him to do that. I was at
that point doing my only instant injections from from from

(30:10):
day one because the Anginelli took my my leg off
when she got you know, he had to practice on
an orange, and so I went first because I was like,
I know what she's like, and then she thought she
was playing darts, so it was like I just and
that gave me a bit of a trauma, which meant
nobody's touching my insulin apart from me. So yeah, those

(30:31):
old saberrenties that they were at the time, so so yeah,
I used to be okay with that, but yeah, you know,
it was it was kind of evidence that that shed
they were getting me out and about I was going.
And I had a nan that lived in Bravannan that
lives in there in mar Gate, so there was again
evidence that they took me down there told her about
the diabetes and that I could stay overnight, but this

(30:52):
is what to do. So she's journaled that in five
minute bullet points everything that happened basically, and and so yeah,
I captured some of that and put it in my
book as well. But it really shows you the emotional journey.
And what really struck me was she's not sleeping. You know,
there's there's you know, there's two ams where she's gone
in to check on me to prick my finger whilst sleeping.

(31:13):
And I'm up and I'm asking her questions and and
I'm asking questions that I probably hadn't asked before. I
was asking about death and things like that, and and
being a bit disturbed and probably obviously the impact of
being in the hospital was bringing that forward. And and
so yeah, she's having those conversations with me. She writes,
you know, two am, he's gone to bed, and then

(31:33):
at six o'clock she's up again and she's you know,
she started her day and going to work and again
telling us in this blog that she's had a bath.
And I'm like, well, thank you for that information. But yeah,
that for me, that that that was really you know,
that that gives you the parents perspective, doesn't it the
lack of sleep, the the the anxiety that she's got.
I would say to to know what my levels are,

(31:55):
the fact that she's taking everything so to that detail,
but I say time she was able to have trust enough,
I would say, to let me do the things that
I wanted to do.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
Yeah, what a woman. And even in the detail, I
think this processing of having to extract your thoughts as
a caregiver, a bystander, you know, your son, trying to
understand this condition for yourself but also for the child.
I think it's just such a lot to take on.
I think I would probably have the same approach in
terms of trying to get it all out of me,

(32:30):
you know, and write it all down. What was it
like for you reading that?

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Yeah? I did feel yeah kind of he spurred those
memories a little bit. And I already have had started
a guest to appreciate it only because of the things
I've done in diabetes, in you as an adult and
the sessions where I do meet parents, And I think
in that that also has also then said, you know what,

(32:54):
your mum and dad were fantastic, and it's likely you
take for granted when you're young in how they dealt
with it, and I think they gave me a lot
of lessons to to actually then help these parents that
come to the charity and stuff like that. So I
guess I'd already started to have that appreciation, but ye're
just seeing her own words and stuff. But at that
time on paper, I think is something that Yeah, for one,

(33:16):
I've added to the book because I do think they're
very powerful, and Yeah, for me, I felt also quite
quite emotional, I guess in reading through it and reliving
that a little bit.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, tell us about the premise of the book, then
this probably is a natural next question. Yeah, talk to
me about that process and and sort of the narrative
of the book, what it covers and where it takes
the reader if you like.

Speaker 2 (33:42):
So Book one is this is what I'm calling it
because it could be fifteen years from now, given that's
probably taken me about that time to put it together
for book two. But yeah, book one, I'm calling it
the Chronicles of Glacemia, and I'm going to put it
this part one as the Chronicles of Glacemia Diagnosis to
Die a fleet, and then in the future I intend

(34:04):
to make that glycemia goes global. So so yeah, and
I do have a lot of things written from the
international experiences. But where this book goes is there take
you back to the end of the year nineteen ninety nine,
when all kind of crazy things are happening, I guess politically,
and particularly at the end of that year, there's this

(34:26):
talk about the world ending, the millennium bug, and yeah,
this Y two K bug that's going to basically end
this all because the Internet's going to get jammed and
whatever else. So that was kind of where the news
headlines are at, and I kind of looked that to them, well,
the end of the world, and then I get this diagnosis,
and so it might seem that way, particularly for the
anger for the old man my parents, because that's how

(34:49):
they're feeling. For me, though what I've come to realize
it was the start of my journey in life, I guess.
So the idea of the book is to kind of
share as personal memoirs those feelings, those faults that were happening,
to go yet back into the shoes of the child
that I was, but also then hopefully give something particularly

(35:12):
those I'd say the audience for this would be a
mix between parents, particularly in an early stage about dealing
with the diagnosis, but also anyone with type one diabetes
or who wants to learn about diabetes, but particularly that
emotional rollercoaster that that it is the psychological side of
what we learn. So yeah, I do begin by trying
to show what diabetes is by breaking down clinical barriers,

(35:35):
by being the human that is being diagnosed. So so
sharing some of those stories, whether that's my first hearing
sample that I learned some harsh lessons as a male.
I mean, I imagine it's even harder for women, but
my experience is ensure is lifted up first and trying to.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
Equally undignify experiences that come with this thing.

Speaker 2 (36:03):
Right, Yeah, yeah, I think you wouldn't think of but yeah,
I think that when I thought about the first clinic,
the first time I did that and you had to
have a yeurine test, I thought that was actually I mean,
they've never gone right, to be honest. So what I'd
put that in there, a little bit about some some
tips on I'm trying to, you know, not make a
mess when you when you have those tests.

Speaker 1 (36:24):
It's real, it's real.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
I love that it was a struggle so yeah, basically, yeah,
he's kind of saying about the process of what happens
and also trying to break down what type one diabetes
actually is, but through a live journey. So that's kind
of where we start in the in the first part
of the story, and then we're looking at that psychological
journey of acceptance, which includes going to school, and there

(36:48):
are I I am very you know, I'm sharing everything
that happened in there, and there are some really dark
moments in that. Now I do balance that because I
would see myself with somebody that that tries to make
a joke and has a bit of humor, so so
things don't always go to plan, and I think that
makes it quite interesting. So that's kind of mixed in
there with with the content. But also, yeah, I'm not

(37:10):
shying away from from the challenge that I faced, but
trying to give them advice on how maybe somebody like
me who was diagnosed or in that stage, particularly in school,
can can maybe steer away from from from where I
did get to and that was a real low point.
So I do I do kind of highlight that those
struggles in the story, But then it progresses and then

(37:34):
there's there's there's the football side of it that I
mentioned earlier, and you know, the the roots of that
game and how that really helped me grow confidence from
being the kid that had a touch of a serial
killer as as my coach worded it when I first started,
and to then be and that the main player on
the team that gets a Player of the Year and
had my tooth kicked out and everything else, but but
sort of had that I guess resilience. I played with heart.

(37:57):
I think that's that's how I That's how I played.
I didn't wasn't Chrisianna Ronaldo anything close to that, but
I was somebody that would be there defending and then
then attacking at the other end within seconds and you
would know no player was going to get away from me.
And I think that's where I got started to get
respect from from my teammates and started to then grow
as a person as well as a player. So that

(38:18):
journey of really grass roots English football is kind of
in there, and then of course the later part of
school and then becoming the dire Fleet, where I started
then fundraise and run marathons and why that happened and
those experiences as well, I think of learning the hard
way when treatments are changing. My real challenge then started

(38:41):
to come from I went from mixed incident very late.
I think I was about sixteen or so when I
actually switched fully onto a basil bolus and didn't know
how to carb count and I'm running marathons. So again
severe high pos happened, and I had to really learn
of what's going on, how to carb count to manage

(39:02):
my diabetes as I'm in aerobic exercise compared to the
football where I was actually going high and then crashing.
So yeah, it's kind of penning some tips and advice
from what I've learned from probably doing it wrong along
the way, and so and then it ends with well
I go and a challenge to run from John Groats
to Land's End in twenty thirteen, and so yeah, that's

(39:25):
kind of like the real key part, I guess at
the end of the book is that journey of actually
going from somebody that had severe high post whilst running
to then being somebody that can run thirty marathons in
thirty days whilst pricking my finger along the way and
calculating what to do and working out as I go

(39:45):
and being confident enough to do that and then meeting
the community as well as I go through these marathons,
and I think that kind of then opens the door
for the next bit, and I leave it in a
cliffhanger that the cliffhanger is what I mentioned to go
into Australia and and meeting these people around the world,
And there is a sad story on that. I've not
ended it on that note yet. But the first person

(40:07):
I meet from another country, his name's Lanin, and he
becomes a good friend of mine and he's from the
Gambia and he's not with us today, yeah, and he
should be. And so he was relying on instant to
be supplied to his country, which there was a program
to do that because I don't have a health system.
But then once that ran out, he had this passion

(40:30):
in his head to head to Canada or head to
America to try and track his dad who left him
as a child and show him who he was. And
that's where he passes. But yeah, it's a really sad story,
but it's also an inspiring one. He got the first
HbA one C machine into the Gambia. We teamed up
on a project to do that in twenty fourteen. But yeah,
basically what happens at the end of that book is

(40:52):
this insight of diabetes around the world is opening, and
that's what I plan to do in and follow up
is then, have you know these stories that I've learned
people the people I've met, including my wife of course,
you know, and and that those experiences have had around
the world would be the next stage of that.

Speaker 1 (41:10):
Thank you for sharing that. I mean, yeah, incredibly powerful,
infuriating in so many ways that we're here and people
are having such a vast differences and experiences due to
a roll of the dice of a geography geographical dice.
How has that impacted you in terms of your motivation

(41:31):
moving forward with the legal diabetes and where you sit
today doing all these things around a full time job
which we haven't mentioned. Yeah, yeah, what kind of impact
has that had on you?

Speaker 2 (41:44):
Challenging, isn't it. It's immediate empowers been in many ways.
But I'm very limited in some respects because I'm not
you know, I'm not somebody with a pocket full of
cash that can actually go out and say, here's an
organization that can make a difference. So so it's really
all I can do is get into people's heads and
speak up a little bit. And that's you know, that's

(42:05):
essentially what I do. And whether that's over here in
the UK and using movements and activities to make the
talk about diabetes a little bit more fun than positive
and connected to people, or whether that's training people overseas
to also take on that approach with a good reason,
because you don't have the resources to to say, hey,
pharmaceutical company or med tech company, come and sponsor us.

(42:27):
If they don't have a market, they're not interested, they're
not available to give their money to projects like camps
or or yeah, any kind of of peer to peer activity.
So you know that these groups do exist with great struggle,
and they do rely on grants and foreign aid to
exist and to make an impact. And what we can

(42:49):
do is actually share. Okay, these are strategies that work
that don't have a cost attached to them. They just
need you and and and you know your your personality
and way of doing it. And what I've seen is
these groups particularly enough, but all around the world in fact.
But there's one that really want to mention is Sonya
in a Better Foundation, who that they have camps they
started out with just maybe two camps a year in Uganda.

(43:11):
They're now in multiple countries across across Africa. They do
help with finances to to get people the supplies they
need in addition to the educational opportunities. They even have
things going on where people living in rural parts of
the country, who of course have even less money, they
get their supplies on a on a bod of boder

(43:32):
taxi bike actually driven to their house from from the
main cities. So so things initiatives like that are going on.
But what what what really strikes me is, yeah, son
in a Better Foundation, Diabetes youth Care and Ghana. These
guys just to name a few, that they they have
people that are like us, that that are people that
are living with diabetes and are not the qualified health

(43:53):
professionals who connect with the health professionals and become the
leaders of the group and they're the ones that lead
the sessions as well, and they're the ones that relate
and and I think that's just so powerful that it
makes such a difference to people's lives and it's led
by that passion. So so yeah, I've seen that just
grow and that's how an organization grows really is. It's
that connection of minds and hearts that that that want

(44:16):
to be involved. So yeah, for me, that's that's been
maybe one of the bit that makes your heart pump
a little bit and in a good way of of
of seeing that those those outcomes happen. And yeah, with
the League of Diabetes, i mean say we're tiny, we're tidy.
There's probably an annual turnover about one thousand pounds or so,

(44:37):
maybe less, but you know, everything that comes in goes out,
So that's that's that's the able of the game there,
whether that's in the UK where we obviously do have
a big focus with with adults with the camp, with
the youth, with the games and this festival, but we
have this network as well of like minded organizations and
individuals and it's it's really beautiful to see them connect

(44:58):
around the world to share a slow of what I
had all all those years ago in Melbourne in that
in that group as well. And yeah, everyone just connects
because of diabetes, no matter where they're from. And and
that's really why I had from from that International Diabetes
Federation experience, you know, way back when, and uh and
I know that still exists today as well, so that

(45:19):
still gets a lot of that roote of empowerment and
and and change going on, which is incredible. Yeah, but
for me just to just to have learned from from
meach of these individuals and seeing activities happen has been
has been amazing. And I find it really hard if
it's you know, the Landing story. You know, it's you know,

(45:39):
it's you know, there's nothing I can do, and that's yeah,
sometimes you feel a bit guilty even that that that
you didn't I wasn't able to help a little bit more,
and and not that that is something you can help,
but it's you feel that way, but you know, on
the other side of that, you know that it's been
the real it's a privilege to know the people that

(46:01):
I've been able to know, and coming from this kind
of suburb of Southeast London when I was a kid
trying to figure out what diagnosis was for myself and
in my own bubble to that extent, because I wouldn't
have gone out to these countries and wouldn't have known anybody.
I'd have been you know, in a I don't know
how to explain that, but you know, in a kind

(46:23):
of space where I would have been quite self centered
in some regards and not too aware about the world
outside of me. I think diabetes has obviously led to
me growing as a person because I haven't always got
it right at all. But yeah, I feel like that
that's the good side of it at least.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
Yeah, and there's so much power well, first of all,
just being able to live your life authentically as you
but then to be this connector of these bubbles. We're
all in our bubbles, we're all in our lives, you know,
trying to make the best of it and do what
we can and look after our own And for you
to have as you did from that time you had

(47:02):
that conversation with that teenager, that the kind of switch
that was like, Oh, I can do something with this.
I can help people. I mean, it's incredibly inspiring. And
credit to you've for everything that you've worked on and
the people that you've brought together and the impact you've made.
Speaking of people coming together, let's talk about Paula. I

(47:24):
love a love story. So yeah, let's talk about this.
So power. Yeah, yeah, three. I mean we've definitely got
a chronicle.

Speaker 2 (47:34):
Here, yeah, definitely. Yeah. So I met power in twenty fifteen.
So how the young leaders worked at that time is
you go to your first one. You're the young apprentice.
You go, you do your training, and if you do
a project, you can then get invited back to kind
of complete your time as as a young leader, And

(47:55):
so that's what happened to me. I came back in
twenty fifteen and the next World Diabetes Congress was in Vancouver,
where I played a blinder to begin with, because it
was a nine hour flight, and I played d card
to I had a load just before boarding, but maybe
when I say just before boarding, about an hour before boarding.

(48:16):
And then when I was getting on the plane, I
noticed that I was in row like one hundred and fifty,
probably next to the toilet in the economy area. So
I thought, you know what, I can see all of
those first classes and I was the last person to
board the plane. I'm always the last person, and I
could see all the first class seats just vacant. So
I just kind of asked the air host if I could, maybe,

(48:38):
you know, sit here, because I needed to have a
test of my levels and maybe some orange juice. And
she was like, but you're in row one hundred and fifty,
what are you doing? And I'm like, yeah, but I'm
a bit low. I've got diabetes. And so she's like, well,
we're rather to take off. If you sit here, I'll
get your orange juice. You can sort yourself out and
then go back to your seat after. So I was like, yeah,
that's fine. And so I had a nine hour issue

(49:00):
with my diabetes until we landed in Vancouver. I was
watching the movies. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so that was yeah,
that was my way to power. And then yeah again,

(49:20):
it was the second experience of the young Leaders, and
at that point I had already started to go to
some of the other countries. I think i'd been to
Ghana maybe shortly beforehand, and and yeah, actually a few places,
and so I knew everybody for a start or the
once returning, and I knew, yeah, I knew how it
would be. And I think that's what really I'd incarted

(49:42):
to become more of a leader in that group, and
in fact got elected to be one. So yeah, I
guess from there, I met Powell and it wasn't love
at first sight. Well at least I always felt something
when I first met her, but not like it's hard
to explain like it was like, yeah, there's there's somebody
I want to know. But he never imagined, of course,

(50:05):
not imagine that would be my wife, and not even
imagine having a date or anything like that. It was
just sort of like when I did see her, like
the heart sort of skipped a little bit, but I
thought nothing of it. And actually it was a number
of years actually passed before we actually went into a relationship.
And she says a similar thing that she saw me
once and she couldn't understand the word I say, because

(50:26):
she says, you know, in England you talk like you've
got a potato in your mouth and not helping my
accident either, so so you could understand anything I was saying,
apart from once when I offered her a whiskey at
the bar and.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
You know that's the language whiskey.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
But she said she saw me once that I was like,
you know, just just kind of sat by myself, away
from everything and just just in this chain of fault
and then and and yeah, she's just like, yeah, she
just thought that it's like about him, And yeah, I
guess at that point I had come with a bit
of more of a purpose. I guess from more experience,
and I don't know what I was doing or what

(51:06):
she saw me doing, but I think I was just
in my own zone. And yeah, we didn't really And
then a year later I went to the Children with
Diabetes Congress in Orlando, and I had actually intended to go,
because what I tended to do was say, Okay, there's
an event on I'm invited to go, my flights are covered,

(51:27):
I'll do something with the diabetes community. In the days before,
and I had a plan in a Lando, but it
never worked out. So I was basically stuck in this
situation where I couldn't fought the hotels for myself and
I was going to be early, and I couldn't want
to change the flights because it was their money that
had done it. So I looked at like young leaders
who maybe live nearby, and the best I could find

(51:47):
was there was a flight to Costa Rica that was
only like one hundred dollars or something. So I got
on that. I said, how was it right if we
do a project in Costa Rica? And she said yeah,
So I guess from there I started. Our friendship started
to grow, and maybe even then there was nothing between us,
but we got to know each other a little bit better.
And then I think, you know, twenty seventeen, another year,

(52:08):
I then did a global project. I'd been to their
camp in Costa Rica as well at that time, and
I think from there it was like, Okay, I like it,
and every opportunity that I can get to go to
a camp for something in Costa Rica, I want to
go and help, but I also want to see cow
and and yeah, I guess we had an event in
London that I did, and I did like this global tour,

(52:29):
and I invited all the all the people that were
involved in this this tour who did five k's in
their countries, you know, to conclude this this project, they
came to London and we did our t one d
GLO Global Conference, and so she was part of that,
and I think from there, I think love was then
somewhere in the air. And yeah, it wasntual until twenty

(52:51):
eighteen we actually started a relationship because obviously we're two
continents apart, let alone two countries. But things just worked out.
There was conferences, there was a events going on where
actually we ended up seeing each other probably at least
once every two months, if not less, for about a year,
and then she decided, as a dietitian that she is,

(53:11):
that she'd like to come over here. And so obviously
that took our relationship to to another level. And so
she did. She ended up joining the NHS, and you
know she now works in U C l H. At
the time she started an eliing And yeah, I think
that that's kind of what what what brought us together.
A little bit more is you know she works in
pediatric diabetes as well as a dietitian, so it'll be

(53:33):
able to team up and and and do these things. Yes,
in diabetes. Bill, So I think this our relationship is
the part where diabetes hasn't really included apart from you've
left your pump out while you've got out of shower
or whatever else and got change. So you're going to
you're gonna leave that there. I so, so, yeah, fig
our break from diabetes with each other.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
Yeah, that must be nice. Actually, I mean, well, press
of all, here's to being different, and you know, also
playing the D card when when you can. I think
it's important. You know, this this condition is hard enough.
You've got to take take what you can at times. Yeah,
And I really like what you say there about Actually,
I guess because you both understand it so much and

(54:16):
you both live through it, you actually then I don't
need to talk about it for each other, right you?
This is the space where you're away from diabetes because
you work in it as well, and you do so much,
both of you in the type one diabetes world. That
between you.

Speaker 2 (54:32):
Both telling me more about the carbs when I eat.
To be honest, that's why I married her. She's dietitian.
Come on, it's yeah, she doesn't really want it unless
unless I really ask she. She won't.

Speaker 1 (54:49):
Do you ask her for dietary advice or nutritional advice.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
I should put it that way, I definitely should. But no,
I'm not the best.

Speaker 1 (54:58):
And as a dietician, what what does she a British cuisine?
Shall we say?

Speaker 2 (55:05):
No, I think I've I've encouraged with the scones and
stuff like that. Yeah, I'm a passionate advocate for our food.
To be honest, I actually think it's underrated although we're
a diabetes perspective. Yeah, we're talking about extreme carbs with
pretty much everything. We do pastries as well, So yeah,

(55:30):
I am. Yeah, I think I've won her over. I
think she loves the Cornish pasty, not quite as much
as me. She will hesitate a little bit, but she's
suggusted to the Cornish pasty traditions. Scones are a favorite.
So yeah, I think she likes English food better than
French food, and for me, I'll take that. That's that's
a win. But the one thing that's missing is Costa

(55:54):
Rican food is underrated. It's the best food ever, like
the things they do with corn. It's just done real
and it's also really good because you know a lot
of people type on diabetes tend to power. Sister is
gluten free, so it's a lot of the food over
there is gluten free. It tends to be pretty low

(56:14):
on carbs as well, so you're not always finding this
crazy spike. Depends what you have. You come across a
drink called horchata, say no, it's going to rock at you.

Speaker 1 (56:23):
I spent some time out there and I got completely
carried away with plantain at breakfast, and that's a tricky one,
but yeah, absolutely right as well the fruit. I mean,
I've never tasted fruit like I have out there, So yeah,
this is a wonderful colliding of worlds here. Yeah, with
the carb counter match, no doubt. No, is there anything

(56:48):
that you would like to kind of leave with the
listeners as partying wisdom or advice or anything from your
journey that having met so many people with type one
diabetes has been an encouragement to you or a source
of comfort for you.

Speaker 2 (57:04):
I would say to anyone, I guess whether that's looking
at my journey or you know the road ahead of you, yeah,
I just think I think, just come out of your
comfort zone. I think that's that's you know, from my
own journey, that's what And certainly reflecting when I've when
I've come up with this book, I didn't do that

(57:27):
for such a long time. I didn't come out of
my comfort zone. And actually, by doing that, I got
myself into a place where I wasn't comfortable. If you
don't mean I wasn't comfortable with myself because I was
hiding away from who I am. And I think the
moment that I actually started to come out of my
comfort zone and talk about diabetes, whether that was to
friends or to those that were reaching out to me,

(57:51):
that's where I actually started to find the better side
of me, and the better side of me with with
diabetes management. In that you could say as well, of
course I didn't know everything at all, and I still don't,
but I felt like, yeah, the situation I was in
when I was bottling everything cup was the worst situation
and that got me into a very low place. But

(58:11):
there are people out there that you can talk to.
And I think sometimes social media can be a little
bit much. I get that, but we're also in a
world where there's just a click of a button and
there's there's somebody out there that you will relate to
and that is sharing about it. So I just feel like,
reach out if you need to. I think that's really important,
and come out your comfort zone. Two events. Whether you're
an adult, you know you've had diabetes for forty years,

(58:34):
I've seen this at camp and you're thinking, well, should
I go there or not? Go go along? Don't hesitate
because I think, yeah, the longer we hesitate that the
longer our problems go on. But I think if you
can come out your comfort zone to an event like
the T one D Festival or the camps that we do,
or anything else that anyone else is putting on, I
think that goes such a long way that you wouldn't

(58:54):
even imagine. So yeah, I think that's kind of what
I've had to do as well, is to try and
find that extra bit of courage at times to go
where I didn't think I could go.

Speaker 1 (59:05):
Yeah, and you mentioned that resilience. We are more resilient
than we realize, so I would absolutely agree with you there,
like having the courage to take a step forward into
the unknown or getting a bit more comfortable with being uncomfortable,
has led me to some of the best experiences of
my life, to become more friends with myself, you know,

(59:26):
as someone who hasn't hasn't always been the case, and
a lot of that is down to the situations that
type one diabetes has forced me into as well. So
taking some of that where I know I can adapt
and I know I can resolve a situation that is scary,
and taking that through into kind of life experience and
adventure and things like that, I think has rewarded me

(59:47):
a lot. So yeah, great, great message there to end on.
Where can people find out about the festival, the book,
all of the great work that League of Diabetes is doing.

Speaker 2 (59:58):
Yeah, absolutely go to League of Diabetes dot org and
you'll probably find out. Certainly the pop up will come
up about the festival there and and the camp will
do that into next year as and when we can
confirm that that that will happen. And yeah, and go
to our at League of Diabetes for anything to the
festival you'll see as event write tickets to to get

(01:00:20):
to get there. And yeah the book if you go
to Gavin, I've got it. As Gavin Child's Stories are
trying to be like like a writer named Charles is
my middle name, so sanded more more writer ish than
than Gryffith.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
I don't know, but he lives in Surrey.

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
Now yeah I'm in Surry, so I've changed. So yeah,
Gavin Charles Stories or even just yeah again you find
me on my social media with with with Gavin Griffiths
or Die Athlete or even on the League of Diabetes.
You'll come across when that book's coming out, which is
aimed for World Diabetes Day.

Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
Amazing, So you've got a few weeks ahead of the
festival to get involved. And yeah, just thank you so
much Gavin for this incredible chat. I mean it's phenomenal
how much you've done, you've experienced, you've been through and
the work that you're doing to help other people. Yeah,
I've really enjoyed it and it's been so nice to
catch up after all these years as well. So yeah,
thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Absolutely thank you Jem for all you do, and yeah
for all the stories you share and even coming out
your comfort zone and getting into high rocks and stuff
like that. I think that's that's bea sleep but it's
really cool and still recovering.

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
And you know, I was sort of thinking that we
were talking about high roxy just before we started recording,
and I sort of sometimes think, oh God, should I
talk about it, because it is like a mad physical
feat that I never would have thought I could do.
But it is is stepping into that discomfort, like you say,
but equally on the other side of that. This morning,

(01:01:49):
I was deep into prepping for this interview and I've
got a buzz on my phone, having not had breakfast yet,
and I realized that I'd been out of the shower
for a whole hour and had not reconnected my pump.
So I'm paying for it now. The alarms have been
going off, But it just goes to show that, you know,
we're all on a level here, and yeah, there we go.

(01:02:10):
That's real life of Type one. Always belie. Thank you
so much, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this episode
of Type one on one. Please remember that nothing you
hear on this podcast should be taken as medical advice.
I'm definitely not a healthcare professional. If you like what
you hear, hit subscribe and do leave a little review

(01:02:33):
on iTunes if you have time. It really helps to
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so much for listening.