A TAVISTOCK woman has been awarded The Lawrence Medal by Diabetes UK, in recognition of her remarkable achievement living with Type 1 Diabetes for over 60 years.

Bev Moody’s parents were told when she was a child that she was unlikely to live beyond 40 due to her condition. However, Bev defied the odds and embraced life with optimism and a fighting spirit. Advances in medical technology, treatment and education have also played a key part along with her loving husband and family. ‘I can’t believe I’m at the age where I am being given the Lawrence Medal,’ she said Bev. ‘Obviously the advances in diabetes care is so vast, it is amazing really. The medical care I’ve had in this country has been amazing.’

Bev grew up in Berkshire before moving to the Isle of Wight with her parents and then to Australia aged 13. Later, having met and married her husband Jeff, the couple moved back to the UK, and settled in Tavistock. Despite thse with Type 1 Diabetes being advised not to have children, a pregnancy can trigger complications, Bev was able to have two children and now has grandchildren too.‘I have been lucky,’ she said. ‘I did have to spend three months in hospital with my son. I was quite ill. I think that is probably why they say it is not a very good idea. I think I have been very very lucky. I do have a fantastic family who have suppoted me throughout my life. My mother was amazing and my husband has been amazing, he has had to put up with all sorts of things and been a fantastic carer.’

She was put forward for the Lawrence Medal by her consultant. ‘He organised it and it came in the post with a lovely letter. Obviously, there are more and more people living with diabetes into old age which is amazing but I am not sure how many people receive the medal. It would be an interesting thing to know. ‘I think one of the reasons I kept healthy was that when I was a child I at a healthy diet, no sugar, no sweets. Nobody in the family was allowed sweets, which made it difficult for them. It was only when I got my (insulin) pump that I went to th pictures and bought myself a bag of Maltesers and I ate the lot. It was wonderful, but not advisable!’

As a Type 1 diabetic, Bev needs daily insulin injections, and has to calculate the amount she needs based on what she eats. You can have treats, but the monitoring never stops. ‘It does take a while, particularly when you are younger, to come to terms with something like this. It does take over your life. Every time you put food in your mouth, you have to thik how much insulin?’ She says it is ‘all about getting a balance’.