Channel swimmer Steve looks back at his diagnosis and tells of his achievements since then.
I have been diabetic now for 47 years. I was eight years old when I was diagnosed and went in to hospital to be stabilised and put on insulin. When I came out of hospital a week later England won the World Cup.
I always remember being in hospital and the nurse coming and giving me an injection twice a day which really upset me because it hurt and I could not understand why I had to be injected twice a day.
The next night my mum and dad came to visit me and my mum must of thought that I need some shock advice and told me that if I ever ate any sweets or chocolate again then I would end up going blind or my feet may drop off. She must have already pronounced me clinically dead.
I want to encourage any person who has just been diagnosed with diabetes that you can lead a very normal life.
Steve
Ever since then I have been able to prove that living with diabetes is not the end of the world. As a swimmer I took up Long Distance Swimming in the early 1970s and have over the years swum the full length of Lake Windermere 10.5 miles, Morecambe Bay 11 miles, Ullswater 7 Miles.
In August 1980 I was part of a team of six that swum the English Channel from England to France. So I want to encourage any person who has just been diagnosed with diabetes that you can lead a very normal life and your can make the best of it. I have seen great improvements over the years for people with diabetes care. So don't give up.
