England’s rugby hero: A schoolboy lark revealed my diabetes
RUGBY star Henry Slade has revealed how he discovered he had type 1 diabetes – as the result of a schoolboy lark.
The 25- year- old has become a key player for England despite living with the disease. But it was only a stroke of luck that led to him receiving vital early treatment to control it.
Slade was a healthy sixth- former at Plymouth College when he tried out a blood glucose test kit with a friend.
The player recalled how his pal Ollie had been in hospital and learned he had type 1 diabetes. ‘A week or so later, Ollie came back into school. I thought I had nothing wrong with me. I felt fine.
‘He had his blood-testing kit so we all had a go. That’s when I first saw that my blood sugar levels were high.’
He was i nitially unconcerned, but realised he needed to take action when another test the next day revealed that his blood sugar levels were even higher.
‘I phoned up my old man and we went to the doctor’s surgery,’ Slade wrote in a post on the England Rugby website. ‘They ran some tests and told me I had diabetes. It wasn’t nice to hear. I had no symptoms, it’s lucky I checked.’
If left untreated, type 1 diabetes can cause serious damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves. It occurs when the body fails to produce the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels.
Unlike type 2 diabetes, it is not linked to age, lifestyle or being overweight. The disease is controlled by shots of insulin and diet.
Slade, who scored two tries in England’s Six Nations victory against Ireland last week and is due to start today’s match against France at Twickenham, tests his blood sugar at half- time. He keeps a supply of jelly babies in his kitbag in case his levels fall during a game.
He won his first England cap when he was 21 and said youngsters with the condition should not be put off sport.
‘Diabetes is not something that will make you run slower or lift less weight,’ he says. ‘It won’t affect you physically if you keep on top of it. Be self-disciplined, rigorous and test yourself all the time.’
About ten per cent of the 3.7 million people with diabetes in Britain have type 1, including Theresa May.
Hundreds of football supporters were yesterday tested for diabetes at the Premier League football match between Southampton and Cardiff. Clinicians offered finger-prick blood tests to fans to identify their risk of type 2 diabetes.