“Nobody knows better than me that diabetes
can be a killer. But I also know we will beat it”
“When my wife Doris was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 20, she never imagined it would have such devastating consequences.
For most of her life she appeared to be in good health, and it is only in the last few years that she started to show symptoms of complications including kidney disease, neuropathy (nerve damage) and heart disease from damage to blood vessels (vascular).
The vascular disease in her lower limbs became so severe that in 2005 she had
to have both her legs amputated and in September 2007 my dear wife lost her battle aged only 67.
A silent killer
I am telling this story, not to frighten you, but to make an important point about diabetes. Some people tend to underestimate how serious it can be. They see it as a lifestyle problem, rather than the silent killer that it can be. If other lives are going to be saved, this has to change.
A 20 year old who is diagnosed with diabetes today should receive much better care and treatment than Doris did back in the 1950s and 1960s. Yet even today, people with diabetes run a much higher risk than other people of suffering dangerous long-term health problems. This is why, when Diabetes UK asked me to support their summer appeal, I was happy to say yes.
Your support
With our support there is so much that Diabetes UK can do to protect and improve the lives of people with diabetes. By sending a donation now, you will be helping Diabetes UK to:
- provide services like the Diabetes UK Careline that help people with diabetes to manage their condition and reduce the long-term health risks.
- reach the large number of people - over half a million in the UK - who have diabetes but don’t know it.
- fund potentially life-saving research. Read about the exciting work of Professor Paul Thornalley, who uncovered a role for vitamin B1 deficiency in causing some diabetes complications.
Unless we press forward with diabetes research as quickly as we can, there is a real danger that diabetes will be the fastest growing health threat of the 21st century.
Please make a donation today and help stop the silent killer of diabetes affecting more and more lives. Thank you for your support.
Alan Lorrimer-Riley (In memory of my wife, Doris)
Please use the form below to donate a one off gift today; alternatively the easiest way to support Diabetes UK is with a direct debit. Please set up a monthly gift to support this vital work.