32KIT
Dr Lawrence I presume?
Pete Davies on his relationship with Dr RD Lawrence
as well as his current plans to climb Jebl Toubkal
mountain in Morocco.
"
I just found this treasure
[pictured above], a letter from
my first consultant - Dr RD
Lawrence. If he was not the
'leading diabetes light' in the world
for many years, he was definitlye
among a tiny group of the very best.
Lawrence developed T1D in 1920
and was very close to death when
his life was saved by access to the
very newly discovered drug insulin
in 1923. He was among the first in
the UK to be saved by the incredible
liquid.
How fortunate was I to be
supported by such a wonderful
consultant as RD Lawrence, a man
who understood passionately - and
first-hand - what living with this
complex condition involved. I have
several of his letters, all of which are
so kindly worded. Language clearly
mattered to this wonderful man.
Dated just a day after my mum
and dad's birthday (yes, they were
just 6hrs apart in age). I bet this letter
would have been a rather special
present to know what a great job
they were doing and that they were
considered to be good parents. In
reality, they weren't good parents,
they were fantastic parents!
These three people played the
biggest part in my T1 life. Would they
approve of the efforts and sheer
determination of the Jebl Toubkal
Trek Team? The majority of our team
actually lives with the condition
themselves, but literally every
member has extremely close links to
Type 1 diabetes. It's an unbelievable
team to be climbing with. I am so
lucky. They've told me they are
determined to get me to the summit
for my 70th, despite my now having
Parkinson's in my life. Despite that,
I've made it very clear that there is to
be no transportation help by donkey,
mule, horse, camel and definitely no
carrying by humans!
In August, 12 of this wonderful
team gathered in Snowdonia to
meet and gel together and do some
training together. What fun it was,
and what a challenge Yr Wyddfa
(Snowdon) was! Very mixed weather,
with fog at the summit - and biting
winds too. A cohesive team is such
a powerful thing, and this team is
something very special! The laughter
we shared was fabulous too, even
when things got tough.
Please, do support and encourage
us as much as you can and spread
the word as well. Thank you all so
much for sharing, caring, and taking
our own journeys in life, where living
with T1D is part of the deal."
Pete Davies met and trained with the Toubkal trek team in Snowdonia,
August 2024. He is right at the back in the middle!