I’ll run 10k a day all year to help my son’s diabetes
A determined dad has hit the ground running as he pledges to tackle a 10km course for 365 days straight.
Lee Wenham began the yearlong challenge on Monday, January 8, to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes following his son Cellan’s diagnosis in 2014.
The 37-year-old British Gas engineer went under the knife in November for knee surgery and set off on his first run less than three months later.
Mr Wenham, from Loose, said: “Cellan has to be checked every two hours and any food eaten has to be weighed and carbohydrates counted, so as you can gather we live on very little sleep. Some days are better than others.
“Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, which means your immune system attacks healthy body tissue by mistake. In this case, it attacks the cells in your pancreas.
“Your damaged pancreas is then unable to produce insulin so glucose cannot be moved out of your bloodstream and into your cells. Type 1 diabetes can’t be cured. Treatment aims to keep your blood glucose levels as normal as possible and control your symptoms, to pre- vent health problems developing later in life.” Loose Primary School pupil Cellan, 10, was taken to the doctors where Mr Wenham was told his son’s pancreas was being attacked and releasing poisons into his system.
An old school friend’s daughter was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and the two dads paired up to carry out various challenges to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Both Mr Wenham and Scott Mitchell, the Determined Daddies, have raised money by taking on an Iron Man challenge, the Three Peaks challenge and by rowing the length of the River Thames.
Mr Wenham, a father-of-two, said: “Doctors think if you get a virus then it might trigger the type 1 diabetes.
“Six months before my son was diagnosed he had a similar virus to glandular fever.
“My son never gets a day off and that is my motivation.
“He has to check his blood sugar levels every day otherwise he will die. His pancreas doesn’t create insulin for him.”
Mr Wenham is being sponsored by Space Invaders, a loft conversion company in West Malling. Donations can be made at tinyurl. com/ leerun2018.