#054 Living With Diabetes (with Jon Peach and Chris Bright)

Stevie talks with Jon Peach and Chris Bright who are both involved in The Diabetes Football Community.

Chris Bright was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as an 8 year old in 1999 and despite the setback at that age he still wanted to become a footballer. In following this passion and love for the game, he has faced the stigma that society has created around diabetes in every changing room he was a part of. Following this and the part time career he has had in Football whilst becoming a Wales Futsal international, Chris decided in 2017 to face that stigma and try to create something which could help others tackle it through a mechanism of peer support. The Diabetes Football Community was born and both Chris’ and Jon’s work to grow the community and go beyond stigma has continued ever since. 

Jon was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged just 5, and in a similar vein, it hasn't stopped him living the life that he has, playing football and having an active career as a PE teacher. 

With these achievements, come the challenges that we don’t even come to think of when someone has diabetes, the physical and the mental. We open up the dialogue around the day to day challenges but also those which impact upon them in a social environment. 

These guys have created a community and movement to help people with diabetes connect and get through their struggles and also educate us about what life is like when living with diabetes.