Isle Of Wight Teenager Raises Nearly £3,000 To Spread Awareness Of Type 1 Diabetes

A 13-year-old Islander with type 1 diabetes has fundraised nearly £3,000 with a bike ride across the Isle of Wight.

Money will be donated to the Isle of Wight paediatric diabetes team and children’s ward at St Mary’s Hospital.

Fred Hall, who lives between Brook and Shorwell, cycled from Borthwood to Brighstone on Saturday (December 6) to show other type 1 diabetics that “it should not stop you from doing anything, ever”.

Type 1 diabetes is where your body cannot make insulin, a hormone that helps use glucose (sugar) for energy, according to the NHS.

It usually begins in children and young adults but can occur at all ages, as a result of a problem with the immune system.

Diagnosed in December last year, Fred told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) of his experiences with the paediatric diabetes team at the hospital.

“I felt pretty safe while I was there,” he said.

But “after a while it did start to feel like I’d been there for ages,” Fred admitted.

Asked how support could be improved at the hospital, he said more people could be on the team, with more digital activities available to children.

Outlining his motivations for the bike ride and fundraiser, Fred said he hoped it would raise awareness of the four symptoms of diabetes, known as the ‘four Ts’.

He listed them as:

“Going to the toilet a lot more than usual, or wetting the bed, being really thirsty and not being able to quench the thirst, losing weight or looking thinner than usual and feeling more tired than usual.

“I believe that raising awareness of the four Ts could help people catch it early, I am extremely lucky as I caught it very early.

"If not diagnosed in time it can be life threatening.

“I will give all of the money to the Isle of Wight paediatric diabetes team and children’s ward.

"I remember when I was in the children’s ward and they gave me a Lego advent calendar with some money that another person had raised for them.”

Fred’s Just Giving page can be accessed here: Fred Hall is fundraising for Isle of Wight NHS Trust Charitable Funds