Diabetes has made me more resilient

conditions are often triggered by a virus or stress, although Cerith doesn’t know what caused his, which was diagnosed as a child.

“People used to ask if I’d been eating too much sugar but I was the healthiest child going,” he said.

“When I was about 10, I started losing weight and I was extremely tired. I was thirsty and I was going to the toilet all the time. I felt very different to other 10-year-olds as I had so little energy.”

Thankfully, his parents quickly realised something was wrong.

“I was lucky my dad worked for a pharmaceutical company, so he recognised my symptoms and rushed me to the GP,” he said.

“I was diagnosed on the spot. My blood sugar range was 29 and you should be reading between four and eight, so it was a clear sign my pancreas wasn’t producing insulin.”

Cerith was a budding footballer playing for Swansea Academy and later Cardiff City Academy. He trained three times a week but having Type 1 made it hard.

He was released at the age of 16 and it was then he started drama school to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

But while his friends were out drinking, Cerith couldn’t let go like them. He said: “Beer makes your blood sugar rise, whereas wine brings it down.”

But despite all this, Cerith hopes he will inspire others with the condition to follow their dreams.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the resilience that I built through having diabetes,” he added. ■■For more, visit diabetes.org.uk