I ALMOST DIED OF DISEASE I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD - UK NEEDS URGENT ACTION NOW

I'm a 45-year old man and in March this year I almost died at home of something I didn't know I had. Something which has totally changed my life. So, a little backstory. As I related in my last piece for the Daily Express, I lost my dear mum in July 2022 in very harrowing circumstances.

The death of the person I loved more than anyone in the whole world had a profound impact on me. I experienced grief like I'd nothing I'd ever known before and I'd already lost my dad and all my grandparents. I felt very alone and spent a lot of time in tears (guys, it's OK to cry when bad things happen...it's natural and healthy).

We all have our own coping mechanisms at such times in our lives. One of mine was to emotionally eat. I know this isn't necessarily good, but I also thank goodness that I didn't do a number of things which could have had even worse results. I put on a lot of weight over the next almost two years, as I tried to hold my life together and navigate life without my mum in it.

Whilst obviously recognising that gaining weight wasn't particularly healthy for me, I was so consumed by grief that I didn't consider the potentially devastating and deadly consequences of eating very unhealthy food a lot of the time. Some of you may already be thinking "take some responsibility for your actions, man" and of course I do. No one forced me to eat as I did.

But I equally hope that at least some of you will understand that I was in deep, profound, immovable, dark grief and just wanted something to take away the pain of my loss. So fast forward to the bit of the story I've been told by others as I have no recollection of it whatsoever. In March 2025, I didn't turn up for work one day, which is unheard of. A colleague called me to see where I was.

Apparently I did answer the phone, but was making no sense whatsoever. The colleague, obviously concerned, said they were going to put the phone down and come to my flat in Hinckley, where I live alone, to see what was going on. Thank God they did. I'm told I was out of it. An ambulance was called and I was taken to hospital where I came round on what I think was the following day, hooked up to various machines.

I'd spend the next fortnight in hospital and then have a further two weeks at home convalescing before returning to work. So, what was wrong with me? I'm sure many of you have already guessed. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and told I'd had a major 'hypo.' The doctors told me that if it had happened on a weekend when I wasn't set to go anywhere or see anyone or have no one check in on me the results could have proven fatal.

So thank God it happened on a weekday and thank God for the fast thinking of my colleague. There's little more sobering than facing your own mortality, especially at the youngish age of 45. Since coming out of hospital my life has now changed utterly. I'm on two insulin injections a day. I'm eating healthier than ever before. I'm walking lots...and actually enjoying it! I've lost more than four stone in weight. I'm finally coping with my grief and turning to life again. Putting enjoyable things to do in my diary.

Spending more time with my wonderful nieces and nephews, who are the greatest blessing in my life. And though, yes, sometimes, I of course miss being able to have a piece of cake or a bag of sweets or a can of full-fat coke, that's becoming less and less. It is truly shocking, when you start really looking, just how much sugar is in almost everything.

The Government really does need to act on that and start restricting how much sugar can go in certain products. It would be a major step in helping to ensure a healthier nation. It is certainly something I'm going to use whatever platform I have, in the political sphere and the media, to highlight.

My life could have ended on that fateful day in March. That it didn't is thanks to my work colleagues, to the paramedics that came in the ambulance, to the doctors and nurses at the hospital, to family members and friends who continue to monitor me and my welfare.

Overwhelmingly people, whatever their politics or worldview, are good and decent and are there for others at a time of crisis. This Diabetes Week, please do what I didn't and seek the help of a medical professional if you think you might have diabetes-related symptoms. As for me, well, I'm just very relieved to be alive. Here's to life!

2025-06-13T09:12:41Z