Emma Bailey from Havant travelled to Westminster on 11 March to speak about life with type 1 diabetes at a major Houses of Parliament event.
10 year old Emma, was chosen to attend Type 1 Parliament by JDRF – the global type 1 diabetes charity. She was one of sixty adults and children who live with the condition that was selected from across the country to represent their constituencies. The event was sponsored by Lilly.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic and challenging condition. The exact cause is unclear, but it is not linked to lifestyle or diet. A child diagnosed with it at the age of five faces up to 19,000 insulin injections and 50,000 finger prick tests by the time they are 18. The condition affects 400,000 people in the UK – equivalent to more than 600 people in every constituency – and incidence is growing rapidly, particularly in those under five years old.
Emma met with David Willetts MP to explain the impact the condition has on people’s lives. She said ‘I loved talking to him about how living with diabetes affects my life and I asked him to put more money into finding a cure’
She added ‘We had a lot of fun learning how to use twitter and meeting other people with type 1 diabetes but I loved being able to tell people what it is like living with type 1 diabetes and why I want a cure.’
Emma was first diagnosed with the condition in 2006. She said ‘I was drinking lots and feeling very tired and ill, mummy took me to the doctors and they diagnosed type 1 diabetes’
Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF, said: “Thank you to everyone who attended the event and made it such a resounding success. 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. Thankfully, more people are now uniting on this issue and we can be hopeful of achieving significant change."