“Don’t let a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes stop you from living your life to the fullest,” was the message given by 13-year-old Sharnford girl, Millie Hainge, when she took to the stage at the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund) sponsored Discovery Day being held at the National Space Centre in Leicestershire in early March. Millie, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was nine, is taking to the stage to share her story with nearly 200 other Type 1 diabetics and their families from across the Midlands region.
Millie said, “Yes Type 1 diabetes is a life threatening condition with no cure and yes those of us living with disease have to inject insulin for every carbohydrate we put in our mouths but that must not stop us from living our lives how we wish to live. I hear terrible stories all the time from other Type 1young people who have been told that they can’t join the cross country running team at school or that they can’t go on sleep overs or school trip. It makes me really cross, sure living with Type 1 means we need to be more organised and prepared, we need to carry equipment, insulin pens, needles, juice boxes for if we have a low, but we can and should be able to join in everything that someone without Type 1 does if we want to.”
An ardent Type 1 campaigner, Millie has lobbied both the UK Parliament visiting the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street and last year travelled to Washington to lobby the US Senate and Congress to demand a fairer future for people with Type 1 diabetes.
www.jdrf.org.uk
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