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Help is available

In December of 2017 after a visit to my blood pressure clinic at North Swindon I was told by the team there I was at risk of type 2 diabetes. My blood sugar levels, my cholesterol level, my weight were all on the wrong side of the NHS guidelines and I was told the next step was pre diabetes.

I have been reading everything in the SA with reference to diabetes and it’s all true. I was told all about the link between the condition and amputations, sight loss, having a stroke, things that are life changing.

I am 64 and yes I will admit to you all it scared me, but it gave the courage to not only admit to myself I had a problem but to ask for help. I got the help I needed in bucket loads from the doctors to the diabetes clinic, the blood pressure clinic, everyone at North Swindon Practice, but most of all put me onto a nine month programme with Reed Mommeta in conjunction with the NHS. It’s a programme that will take you through the best ways of weight loss by eating the right food, a sensible exercise regime, mainly walking but it’s worked. After six months of attending the programme my blood sugar level is under the guidelines, as is my cholesterol and my weight is not prefect, but nearly there and I have been told I am not at risk anymore. But I will be completing the programme.

My only advice to anyone who hears those words from the doctor or the nurse that you are at risk: take on board all they say, they are the experts in this field and they are trying to help you.

John L Crook, Haydon Wick, Swindon

A super store

I want to thank every colleague and customer at Morrisons stores across the region for their support for young lives facing cancer. In less than 18 months, they have helped raise an astonishing £5 million for CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people.

In Wiltshire, stores in Swindon, Chippenham, Devizes, Westbury and Warminster, have raised a total of £53,854 as part of their partnership with CLIC Sargent. The partnership is proving so successful, that Morrisons have pledged to extend their fundraising target to £10 million by 2020 – that is £2 million more than forecast at the start of the partnership in 2017.

Donating change in a tin at a checkout or contributing to store fundraising activities may not seem like a grand gesture, but it all adds up to make a massive difference to children, young people and their families facing cancer. The money raised by Morrisons is already having a huge impact on families all over the country, and right here in Wiltshire.

Since 2017, Morrisons has provided 3168 families with a grant to help pay for hospital parking, travel costs and basic provisions. The money has also funded a team of Nurse Educators who will work with community hospitals so confident cancer care can be delivered locally. That means less travel and disruption to family life. The 4015 children and young people diagnosed with cancer each year will also be able to access support and information anywhere and at any time, thanks to a Morrisons-funded transformation of CLIC Sargent’s digital services. Every day, 12 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK. Thanks to Morrisons, we can be there for more of them than ever before.

Caroline Marshall, CLIC Sargent Fundraising & Engagement Manager in Wiltshire