I nearly died but now I’m in Miss England finals!
LEAH BOUNCES BACK AFTER FRIGHTENING HEALTH ORDEAL
A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE beauty queen who nearly died after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes has defied the odds to reach the finals of Miss England.
Leah Green, 18, of Warsop, was rushed to hospital in May last year just three days before she was due to sit her GCSE exams.
Her GP warned her she was just hours from slipping into a diabetic coma after her blood sugar levels spiked to almost seven times the normal level.
The budding model had spent a week of feeling thirsty, exhausted and had lost a stone, but put it down to the stress of revising for her exams.
So the fitness fanatic was shocked when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at King’s Mill Hospital.
She spent three days on a ward recovering and learning how to inject herself with insulin.
She sat her first GCSE exam against doctor’s orders the day after being discharged.
She was given a medical note advising against sitting her exams due to the severity of her condition.
And now she has opted out of her A-levels to pursue a modelling career while working part-time as a carer.
Leah, who entered Miss England in the wildcard category, says she would use her title to raise awareness of the disease if she were to win the crown.
She said: “It has been a roller coaster year or so.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this but after dealing with diabetes and passing my exams, I feel more and more confident than ever to speak out.
“When I found out I had Type 1 diabetes it was frightening because you don’t think something like this would happen to you.
“It was a complete shock because I’d always had a healthy lifestyle.
“But crying about it and giving up doesn’t help you, so I carried on.
“I entered the contest spontaneously and never thought I’d be accepted. I was actually really shocked.
“Nothing like that has ever happened to me. It is very different to what I normally do.
“I grew up on a farm in Warsop where it’s very rural. Beauty pageants are not part of life here.
“The current Miss England works for the NHS and as I’m a carer I think the competition is about showing what else you can do.”
Leah was due to sit her GCSES at Meden School, near Mansfield.
She said: “I felt they were really important and I was getting stress from the pressure school was putting on. But I was too tired to move and felt so horrendous.
“I visited my GP on the Friday then was rushed straight to hospital. If I hadn’t gone to the GP who sent me to hospital, I would not be here.
“There is something called diabetic ketoacidosis – I would’ve gone into a coma within a few days.
“My dad took me immediately from the GP to King’s Mill Hospital. I ended up staying from Friday to Monday. The doctors told me this was my immune system attacking my pancreas.
“I took my medical note into school. They asked the exam board who said I would either have to use my mock results or resit Year 11.
“I didn’t want to do either of those options, so I decided to give it a try. I ended up passing all of them. I was still quite disappointed – if I’d been well enough I would’ve done a lot better and I had worked really hard.
“It can be hard remembering to inject. I now have to eat really healthily and check the food labels on everything I eat for fats and sugars and carbohydrates.
“Sometimes I am unable to move and I shake everywhere. I feel really tired and I’m unable to focus. But I’ve now I’ve learnt to manage the signs better and have accepted it’s part of my life now.
“When something like this happens you just have to push on with your ambitions and I feel more determined than ever.”