22
LIVING
Steve Morgan Foundation
In April this year the news broke that the Steve
Morgan Foundation was to join forces with JDRF
and Diabetes UK to invest £50m into Type 1 diabetes
research. This donation, the largest ever philanthropic
gift to Type 1 research, is going to accelerate research
into future treatments and cures.
We caught up with
Steve and Sally
Morgan of the Steve
Morgan Foundation to
find out more about their motivation
for giving and their hopes for
the future.
"We want to help bring about
change for the whole Type 1
community," explains Steve. "The
community is a tight family made
up of those who have type 1 and
those who care for them. The Type
1 Diabetes Grand Challenge aims to
find better solutions for everyone."
Steve and Sally were introduced
to the Type 1 community and the
relentless daily management of the
condition when their son Hugo was
diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the
age of seven.
"Hugo was diagnosed whilst we
were on holiday in Antigua," says
Sally. "Despite having all the tell-tale
signs: sudden weight loss, lethargy,
excessive drinking etc. we had not
comprehended how seriously poorly
he was. As with any recent diagnosis
understanding how to manage Hugo's
diabetes was a huge learning curve,
both practically and mentally."
Steve adds: "The diagnosis was a
shock, but we quickly got on the case
- we weren't going to take it lying
down! Following his diagnosis in July,
he went onto a pump in September.
Karen Addington, Sally and Steve Morgan, Rufus the bear.