A man with type 2 diabetes and arthritis vows to remain active and upbeat despite his health conditions and being forced to shield from COVID-19.
Engineer Darren Armistead from Gosport has signed up to a new Sport England campaign called We are Undefeatable to help keep him moving more.
The initiative has been launched to encourage people with chronic health conditions to become more active, even if they are still in quarantine.
Darren, who is a father of five, has agreed to take part in a bid to continue his positive outlook on life.
Speaking to the Portsmouth publication, The News, the 53-year-old said: “You always have to look on the bright side of things. We know someone who died from COVID so we don’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
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It is because of his chronic health conditions that Darren has been shielding over the course of the UK lockdown. But, despite that, he has never allowed his diabetes diagnosis to get him down.
He said: “I have to watch my diet and take some pills. Once a year I have to have an eye test but I’m old so I have to wear glasses anyway. It’s very easy to say ‘I’ve got diabetes, I’ve had it now, life’s over’.
“But we’re a very positive family and we don’t think that way. We laugh at each other all the time and take the mickey and don’t take life too seriously. We just get on with things, adjust and carry on. There are a lot of people in a much worse position than us.”
The We Are Undefeatable campaign is led by 15 leading health and social care charities, to support the 43 per cent of people in England who live with a health condition to get active in a way that works for them.
Organisers this week announced the launch of a series of virtual teams, including a walking football team for people living with health conditions.
Other measures include a new library of customisable mini workouts that are perfect for starting a new activity, and a virtual assistant tool on social media to help with activity planning and motivation.
