Father of two branded unfit parent and reported to social services after hypo

A young father of two with type 1 diabetes feared he would lose his children after a paramedic reported him to social services.
March Le Fey, 25, was told by a paramedic that he was putting his children at risk by having poor control of his blood glucose.
“I was just responding to treatment when one of the paramedics laid into men,” said Mr. Le Fey.
“He blasted me for not looking after myself and said I was unfit to be a parent. Because I was still coming out of the hypo I couldn’t get the words out to defend myself or explain. But he just carried on and said he was reporting me to child protection at social services.
“He knew nothing about my medical history and that the problems I have with my diabetes are not something I can control. It’s got nothing to do with me not looking after myself.”
When Mr. Le Fey experienced severe hypoglycemia, his ex-partner called an ambulance. It was there, while being treated, that he was heavily criticised by the paramedic.
Despite having a history of hypoglycemic episodes, Mr. Le Fey insists that his children – Elliot, five, and Isaac, three – are perfectly safe. Not only does Mr. Le Fey have an app on his phone to alert his ex-girlfriend when he is having a hypo, his son Elliot also knows to call his mother in case of a hypo.
“I have a lot of support from ex and her partner and the kids are not in any danger. And the accusation made against me by the paramedic was so wrong.
“I was really worried they might take the kids away from both myself and my ex.
“We are very close and do everything to make sure the kids are safe and well looked after. So they can be closer to both of us, I’m moving into the same block of flats as my ex next week.
“I have a known complication of diabetes and if the paramedics had bothered to give me a chance I would have told them. We all have a right to live. There are plenty of people with diabetes and other medical conditions who look after their kids perfectly safely.”
Social services have decided to take no action against Mr. Le Fey.
It was Mr. Le Fey’s ex-partner, who is training to be a nurse, who contacted Diabetes.co.uk, eager to share his story and improve diabetes awareness.
Mr. Le Fey has struggled with hypo unawareness, a term which refers to type 1 diabetes patients who find it hard to tell when their blood glucose levels are running low. People with a lack of hypo awareness are more likely to experience episodes of severe hypoglycemia, which often require hospitalisation.
The Hypo Awareness Program is an educational course designed to help people with diabetes improve their Hypo Awareness Program. 75 per cent of people who used the program stated that their hypo awareness improved as a result.
Image: copyright Barry Gomer.