Well, the half-way mark is here. I'm going to enjoy today's run because:
1) I'm heading out around 11:30, and there was no getting up at silly o'clock today - it is a Saturday, after all...and the sun is shining so to be running on the fells looking out over cattleshaw is going to be great.
2) It's good to have 50% of the challenge under my belt, and I can start counting down until the Great North Run.
3) I'm feeling the benefits of the daily 10K's - Running further distances, motivated to do more, and enjoying work during challenging times. I've lost a few pounds too, which needed to happen.
4) Carolyn has booked me in for a sports massage this afternoon, and everyone I know has been full of support, encouraging me and donating to the charity.
5) That today's run is going to be dedicated to Sarah Brown's son Ryan. Sarah works with me, although she is based in Southend and we have yet to meet up in person she's been a great support ever since Jake was diagnosed with T1. Sarah does a lot of campaigning and has introduced me to other areas of support such as Diabetes Power. Thanks Sarah for all your advice and I'm hoping to be in Southend soon so I can thank you in person. I'm proud to dedicate my 50th run to your son Ryan.
Sarah tell's Ryan's story:
"I will never forget the day those three words ‘Type 1 Diabetes’ entered our lives. It was August 2008, the height of summer, when my son, Ryan, fell ill. He had seemed to be the picture of health albeit drinking more than normal but only to be expected with hot summer days spent on the beach. He liked to sleep during the day, but what teenager doesn’t? Mood swings were common, just teenage traits surely? It wasn’t until he fell extremely sick with vomiting and extreme weakness that we took him to see the doctor who immediately admitted him to hospital as an emergency after doing a simple urine test. The rest was just a blur..... ketoacidosis.... type 1 diabetes.... blood tests...... needles.... insulin..... It was simply the worst and most frightening day of our lives!
Since then Ryan has learned to cope with several daily finger prick tests and injecting himself with insulin and I feel as if I have become an expert of the condition after reading all the literature I possibly can! He has involved his friends, giving them knowledge on his condition so they can support him in his daily life.
Our latest challenge is obtaining an insulin pump for Ryan. This will put an end to the several injections a day he has to endure and will mean he will have a pump attached to him with a constant delivery of insulin to keep his sugar levels at a more stable level. We have to wait until the end of the year to see if he will be granted one but, as with many things, it is all down to funding and, at present, this is not available so we shall have to wait patiently..... or take our fight to the PCT for something that should be readily available to give Ryan a better quality of life.
Since Ryan's diagnosis, I have built a large support network of friends on the internet, all of whom either have Type 1 Diabetes or are parents of a child with diabetes. Without these people, I would have found it even harder to cope with the many ups and downs that looking after and supporting my son brings.
Tom only wanted a couple of paragraphs and I feel I have gone on quite long enough now but, when it comes to our lives with diabetes, I could truly talk for England! I just want to say a huge 'thank you' to Tom for this incredible challenge he has taken on to help raise funds for vital research into, hopefully one day, finding the cure for Type 1 Diabetes and is a great honour that he is dedicating run number 50 to my dear son, Ryan."
Look out for the second blog post later with details of today's milestone run
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