A husband and wife are taking on a 40-mile trek to give back to two charities after their son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Cole Jones from Kearsley was coming up to the age of 13 when he was first diagnosed, and he is now 18.

At the time Cole’s dad Rich said that him and his wife Sara did not know anything about the symptoms Cole was experiencing.

Sara and Rich are now taking on the challenge of walking from Blackpool to Bolton.

Rich said: “Our aim is to give something back to those who have helped us as a family, and mainly our son deal with living with diabetes.

 

The Bolton News: Cole JonesCole Jones (Image: Public)“It means everything to us as a family and one day hopefully there will be a cure for type  1 diabetes.”

Some of the symptoms that Cole was experiencing included losing weight, going to the toilet a lot, and having dizzy spells, as well as his eating habits changing.

When Cole was first diagnosed Rich says that him and his wife had sleepless nights, having to check Cole regularly, checking his bloods, and insulin levels.

It has had such a huge impact on the family, and Rich says that they are all fighting it together.

The walk will be over 14 hours without stopping, however the couple plan to make stops along the way so this will most likely be a full day’s walk.

The Bolton News:

The family aim to raise £500 for Diabetes UK and type 1 diabetes charity JDRF.

Rich said: “All we ask for is your support in any way that you can to help us reach our targets and also give back.”

Sara added: “Your donation will make a real difference in helping people living with diabetes get access to the care and support they need, including people like our son, who has been living with type 1 diabetes for five years.”

One of the major differences with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, Rich says is that you can work to get rid of type 2, but this is not the case with type 1.

Rich and Sara will take on the walk on September 23 and will be sharing updates throughout on the Facebook page ‘Blackpool to Kearsley – walking for a cure T1D’.

Donations can be made here (www.justgiving.com/page/sara-jones-1692374007228) and here (www.justgiving.com/page/sara-jones-1692443016228) to help support the family on their journey.