Second Talking About Diabetes conference celebrates inspirational stories and endurance feats

Inspirational stories about people with type 1 diabetes and the role of diabetes specialist nurses were primary discussion topics at the second annual Talking About Diabetes(TAD) conference.
The conference took place on Saturday 22 April, 2017 at Birkbeck College, London, and featured several guest speakers, including host Sky News presenter Stephen Dixo, who has had type 1 diabetes for 25 years.
The event was launched last year to celebrate the achievements of people with type 1 diabetes in a bid to show others that having the condition should not present a barrier.
More than 200 people attended the conference, and there was also a separate event for youngsters with type 1 diabetes called TADPole.
One of the speakers at the event was long-distance runner Gavin Griffiths, who led a session on sport with tips on blood sugar management for children and adults.
Griffiths struggled to come to terms with type 1 diabetes when he was diagnosed with the condition as a youngster, but he has since has gone onto complete more than 70 endurance fitness challenges to raise money for the condition.
Roddy Riddle, who used to cycle professionally, was another speaker at the event. He talked how his type 1 diabetes diagnosis aged 40, and his determination to complete the 6633 Ultra endurance course in March, which is 352 miles long and takes place at the Arctic Circle.
The final speaker was Professor Jane Cummings, who is the chief nurse for England and has type 1 diabetes and told delegates that she has never let the condition define her, telling delegates: “I never wanted to be Jane the diabetic nurse, I wanted to be Jane the nurse.”
She added: “The role of clinical nurse specialists in helping people live with diabetes should never be underestimated.”
A trio of diabetes doctors came together to organise the event comprising of the associate national clinical director for diabetes Dr Partha Kar, from Portsmouth Hospitals along with Professor Peter Hindmarsh, of University College Hospital and Dr Catherine Peters from Great Ormond Street Hospital.