Birmingham family tells how they live with diabetes

Sep 15 2009 by Diane Parkes, Birmingham Mail

Stepping out to help charity’s vital work

MATHEW and his mum are putting their best foot forward to support a charity which helps children with type one diabetes.

They have put together a team for the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Together with Mathew’s 21-year-old sister Donna and Donna’s son, two-year-old Lewis, they will be aiming to cover the five mile walk to raise money for the charity.

And it is a cause close to Karan’s heart as she does some voluntary administration work for the charity.

“When Mathew was first diagnosed I thought ‘I do not want him to spend his whole life with diabetes’,” she says. “He is brilliant with it but I don’t want him to have it for ever.

“And the only way that a cure is going to be found is through research. There are all kinds of research projects going on but the only way they can make any kind of breakthrough is with funding.

“So when I saw the pictures of people doing the Walk to Cure Diabetes last year and they seemed to be having such a good time I thought it would be good to do it.

“Mathew was the one who actually wanted to do this walk. He really wanted to do something to help the charity so we put the team together.”

JDRF’S Walk to Cure Diabetes takes place on Sunday October 4 at Drayton Manor Park and organisers are hoping to top last year’s total of £114,000 raised by nearly 1,000 walkers.