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Mum knew something wasn't right when son, 5, kept going the loo

Sammy Curran noticed her son was displaying worrying symptoms while the family were in Florida

[Charlie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of five]

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Charlie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of five(Image: Sammy Curran )

A mum has shared the moment a phone call changed her family's life forever. Sammy Curran was on holiday in Florida with husband Kevin, eldest daughter Liv, and twins Charlie and Bella when she noticed something wasn't quite right.

Charlie, who was then five, was constantly thirsty and losing weight. The mum of three said: "Charlie was drinking loads and loads, he was always needing the toilet, and he lost a lot of weight. I started looking up online, as you do, and it all pointed to diabetes so I got him an appointment with the GP."

Despite the doctor assuring her "children his age don't get diagnosed with diabetes", the GP sent Charlie for blood tests. Not long after, Sammy, 35, received a call to bring him straight to see a doctor.

She said: "We got an emergency phone call to take him in because he was on the edge of going into DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), which is where you go into intensive care because it's, you know, the ketones in his wee."

Charlie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a chronic autoimmune condition where the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

[Charlie was only five when he was first diagnosed]

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Charlie was only five when he was first diagnosed(Image: Sammy Curran )

It was a diagnosis which changed family life forever. Sammy continued: "Since Charlie got diagnosed, I can no longer work because I have to go to his school to either change the pump, change the sensor, or to take Charlie home and he's required quite a few hospital visits since he's been diagnosed.

"We're not at a point where it's smooth every single day. He still has multiple like hypos where he goes really low."

Now the Runcorn mum is working to spread awareness of the condition and the work being done towards better treatments.

Despite having no previous running experience, Sammy has secured a place in next year's London Marathon.

Sammy said: "I don't look like a runner whatsoever. I don't even run to the bus. So, it's going to be a really big challenge for me.

"But I wanted to do something that was going to be hard and something that really tested me, because seeing what Charlie has to do every single day, which he doesn't want to do, but he has no choice but to do it.

"I wanted to do something that was going to be really challenging, really hard, and push me to my absolute limits because he has to do that on a daily basis."

Sammy is running the marathon for the TD1 breakthrough charity, which provides awareness training in schools and is working towards treatments which mean those with Type one diabetes will not need multiple injections every day.

[Sammy and her eldest daughter Liv at a local parkrun]

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Sammy and her eldest daughter Liv at a local parkrun(Image: Sammy Curran)

Sammy continued: "My main goal is to raise as much awareness for diabetes as possible. If I can get it out there so another little child doesn't have to go through what Charlie did in the early stages before being diagnosed, then that, to me, will be worth the pain of training for a marathon."

Sammy has been preparing by attending local Parkrun groups with her eldest daughter, Liv, 11. She's being backed by husband Kevin, who is a HGV driver, Charlie's twin sister Bella, seven and all her friends.

[Sammy, 35, with her husband Kevin, 37, twins Charlie and Bella, seven, and daughter Liv, 11]

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Sammy, 35, with her husband Kevin, 37, twins Charlie and Bella, seven, and daughter Liv, 11(Image: Sammy Curran)

She continued: "Even completing a marathon for me personally, that's an achievement in itself. Me getting out of that front door to go, even if I walk, that's an achievement every day compared to some of the places I've been mentally myself."

"Even if it can reach one person that's little kid is showing those signs that Charlie did. This charity has got so much going on for parents in terms of learning. You can go on their website and you can order a learning pack for the child, you can order the teddy bears and just if it helps one person, then I'll be happy."

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