TIA JOINS THE T1F

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 15 years ago when I was 14. I work full time for council in public libraries and previously have studied nutrition for 3 years - until I realised I didn't want to be a practitioner. Volunteering for T1F is my way of giving back to all that my parents did for me & hopefully inspire a whole generation of T1 families and kids to know that they can lead perfectly amazing lives. 

MORE ABOUT TIA’S T1 JOURNEY

Having type 1 is something I would never wish on anyone else, but it has made me who I am and given me more strength and courage than I could ever realise. I work full time in public libraries and spend the rest of my time doing way too many things including cooking, being passionate about quality food and exercising like going for really long runs. I was diagnosed at 14 years old (I am 29 years old now) and at the time remember being incredibly irritable and tired. I have a distinct memory of competing at a music eisteddfod and having just drank a whole litre of water and getting onto the stage and just wanting to drink more water. That week I lost about 4 or so kilos. The doctors had said I had a virus but my mum made them do more tests. I've had some good and bad times with type 1 but it has taught me some incredible skills and compassion for others. I have recently just started on the Omnipod after being on MDI basically all of my T1 life. I hope to advocate for this to be subsidised as well as continuous glucose monitoring for everyone. I always remember someone wise saying to me: "You might not be naturally ordered Tia, but you have a condition that requires it." For whatever reason it changed my life and it worked. If I look after the Type 1 everything seems to fall into place. So it is about learning how to make it work for you and what makes it easy to manage. And if I can be sure of anything, that changes! I am forever grateful for all that my parents did for me growing up - It was only as an adult in the last few years that I realised just how many things that would have worried about!