Politician with Type 1 diabetes to run marathon for JDRF
Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed, who has with Type 1 diabetes, will run the Virgin London Marathon on 13 April for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
The MP will run the marathon carrying a finger-prick blood testing kit, and glucose tablets to combat the threat of suffering a hypo.
Jamie, who represents Copeland, was diagnosed with this chronic and complex condition aged 36 and just two weeks before the 2010 General Election.
Recounting the story of his diagnosis, he said: “Fatigued and distracted, I left my campaign headquarters to rest. What I didn’t know was that I had undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes and my life was in immediate danger due to a severe lack of insulin in my body. I just thought I was exhausted.
“Although the NHS ultimately saved my life, I know that the condition needs to be better understood and that people with Type 1 diabetes require a much better service than the one we currently receive.”
The 400,000 people in the UK who live with Type 1 diabetes – including 29,000 children – rely on multiple insulin injections or pump infusions every day just to stay alive. A child diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of five faces up to 19,000 injections and 50,000 finger prick blood tests by the time they are 18. The condition is not linked to lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise.
Jamie, who was awarded best MP on Twitter by totalpolitics.co.uk last year, added: “So many people don’t appreciate that Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition. Training for the marathon is challenging, but helping to raise awareness about this condition is what’s keeping me going.”
Over 35,000 people will be running the 26.2 mile route from Greenwich to The Mall.
Jamie will be running alongside other individuals from across the globe that live with Type 1 diabetes and support JDRF. They will aim to raise over £430,000 in total to fund Type 1 diabetes research.
Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Jamie to prove that living with type 1 diabetes does not have to stop you embracing the most demanding and exciting challenges. I wish him the best of luck and thank him for his support, which will help take us one step closer to finding the cure for this condition.”
JDRF has just launched its major new #CountMeIn campaign calling for increased Government investment into Type 1 diabetes research. Unfortunately, the incidence of Type 1 diabetes is going up and so is the cost – but UK Government spending on type 1 diabetes research is falling.
JDRF is calling on MPs – including Jamie Reed – to contact the Science Minister David Willetts and ask him to find out how Type 1 diabetes research can be better supported.
Jamie Reed’s Just Giving page can be found here: http://bit.ly/1dMDjti