Sports with Type 1

On the day I was diagnosed, my first and main question was how soon can I play sport? For me doing sport (especially football) felt like a necessity. Two days after diagnosis I had a football game so not playing was not an option.

Before I was diagnosed my school team and I got through to the final of a tournament. The final wasn't being played where the rest of the tournament was. It was being played at Morecambe FC's Globe arena.

I was relieved when I heard Paul (the dietician) say the most amazing words. "Of course you can play." That was the best thing anyone had said to me all day.

So after getting more used to type 1, the day arrived. The day I had been waiting for. The day I was playing in the final of the first stage of the Utilita girls cup. We were playing at half time of the Morecambe vs Carlisle game. After watching the first half of the game, the time arrived. The time to play against Ripley in the final. We warmed up ready to get the game started. Eventually the whistle blew for the first kick of the game.

After a couple minutes of passing and tackling, we took the lead with my friend scoring a goal to put us 1-0 up. All we had to do now was stop them from scoring. Sadly, after good pressure from Ripley, they were back in the game with a score of 1-1. With adrenaline running through my blood I was determined to win that game. Pushing forward to win the ball, we attacked more and more. Winning the ball higher up the pitch each time. After incredible efforts from the whole team, we won the ball back and I managed to score the winning goal of the game. The feeling was incredible as the ball hit the back of net. Then, not so long later, the whistle for the end of the match blew. The game was over and we had won the final. This meant we got to go to Regionals!!

Since that game I have achieved a lot more. I have played football games for Morecambe Girls, Carnforth Rangers, Fleetwood Town, Westmorland and school. For school I was able to play the Regional Finals in Leigh. Sadly we didn't win that tournament but everyone played incredibly.

Recently I played a game for Fleetwood Town Girls where I scored my first goal for them.

Before games I test myself with my blood testing kit. If I'm below 7 I'll have some Haribo or Lucozade. At half-time if the weather is nice I'll use my blood testing kit. If it's cold or wet I'll just scan using my Freestyle Libre. If I need to I'll have something to eat. After a game I'll always have a couple of chocolate digestives to prevent me going low later on.

Not only have I played football but I also represented my school at cross country. Being the only girl in my year to do it, I was really nervous. But I did the race and managed to come 6th which I was over the moon with.

Having Type 1 and doing sport is difficult but me and my family are managing with it. Sometimes it isn't as easy as just going and playing a football match but it is getting easier. If anything having diabetes is making me work harder.