TAD - Talking About Diabetes Conference 2017

It was a pleasure to be invited to speak at the TAD talking about diabetes conference held at Birkbeck College in central London on Saturday. Flying in from the Netherlands, I arrived to hear the inspiring Roddy Riddle tell his incredible story of conquering the Arctic in his recent Ultra-marathon.

The atmosphere in the room was one of awe, from the attendees who were a great mixture, of people with diabetes and diabetes healthcare professionals. The event was compered by the lovely Stephen Dixon from Sky News, who led us through the day introducing the presenters and revealing a little about his own fascinating journey, living with type 1 diabetes.

Birkbeck College, London

My talk came after lunch, where I told my story about the ups and downs of managing type 1 and doing international level sport. The theme of my talk was to show that having the condition does not hold you back. Over the years I've used it as my motivation to succeed, which is something that I'd like others to feel empowered about doing too. Of course, it hasn't been an easy journey, but the benefits of doing athletics, have far outweighed the negatives. The other theme that I spoke about, was the fact that diabetes is a physical and a psychological condition.

My Presentation - 'Overcoming Diabetes Hurdles, to Achieve Sporting Success'

Which was apt, because exactly this concept, was one of the many reasons that the TAD conference was such a success. It brought together people with diabetes from all over the country, many of which had been peer supporting each other online already. So to be able to get together, to share experiences and learn from each other, was brilliant. Next up to talk was Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, who gave a truly inspiring talk about reaching the peak of her career and not letting having diabetes stop her from getting there.

Adrain and I Enjoying Jane's Presentation

But this wasn't the only inspirational talk of the day, unfortunately I didn't get to hear them first hand.
However, following the #TADtalk2017, I was able to witness the fantastic feedback from attendees for Adrian Long, who spoke about diabetes as something or nothing within our lives. Ultra-runner Gavin Griffiths spoke about his marathon journey, running around the world raising awareness of type 1. Whilst Jen Grieves spread her message of positivity and humour in her presentation, which followed Dr Bruce Keogh the National Medical Director of NHS England. All of whom were brought together by the passionate leaders in diabetes Partha Kar and Catherine Peters, to whom I am grateful to for the opportunity to share my story with my diabetes peers and friends.

Adrian and I Enjoying Diabetes Technology and Innovation