By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE need for a cure to type one diabetes never stops for Deb Bayley.
It began when her son Ryan was diagnosed with T1D at two-and-a-half years of age and more than 11 years later the campaigning continues.
The hope of finally finding a cure for Ryan, now 13, and the 122,300 other Australians living with T1D, saw Deb and her husband Neville organise a Jelly Babies fundraising breakfast last Saturday with all proceeds going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
The JDRF Jelly Babies initiative runs throughout May and gives families a chance to host their own breakfast to raise money for type one research.
Deb said her breakfast, which was held at the Ambrosia Cafe in Berwick, was a great success and had raised $580 and counting for the JDRF.
“The support has been overwhelming. We have had several businesses say they would love to support other fundraising events,” Deb said.
“I’m just doing as much as I can to help the type one community and I have a lot of support.”
Saturday’s breakfast was an important milestone for Deb in what has been more than a decade of campaigning to raise greater awareness of her son’s illness.
“Ryan’s going extremely well. He’s been on an insulin pump for some time and he finds it life changing,” Deb said.
“It gives him better control. The pump gives you more choices with going out and celebrating birthdays and other events.
“When he was two and a half he had daily injections but with the pump he only has one injection every three days.
“With being on a pump you have a bit more time up your sleeve, and you even get to sleep in.
“Ryan still has to check his blood glucose level at least eight times a day, every day, which involves pricking his fingers to get a result until there is a cure for this disease.”
But while Ryan continues to learn about and accept his illness, Deb said nine out of 10 people still haven’t heard of type one diabetes.
“There’s still a long way to go.
“In the last two weeks just talking to people in the community it’s clear that so many people don’t know what it’s about,” she said.
“There is always the confusion between type one and type two – you can’t prevent type one, there is no cure yet.
“If people don’t know the signs and symptoms of type one diabetes, there could be a lot more children presenting to the emergency room gravely ill.”
To donate to the cause and for more information visit www.jdrf.org.au.
