OLIVIA Allcock and Joshua Daunter were diagnosed with Type One diabetes only after falling gravely ill.

Both required a spell in high dependency hospital care before recovering and embarking on a challenging daily treatment regime.

Now, to mark World Diabetes Day, the Newport youngsters’ mums, Victoria Allcock and Vicky Daunter, are calling for a raising of awareness of the signs and symptoms of the disease that could have killed their children before they even knew what the problem was. Olivia, who will be four in January, fell ill aged two years and eight months.

“We’d been back from a holiday in Cyprus for about two weeks and one day she woke up struggling to breathe, and with a pain in the right side of her stomach,” said Mrs Allcock.

“It’s just not like a child of two to ask to see a doctor, so we knew she was very unwell.”

After a call to the out-of-hours GP service, Olivia’s urine was tested, and her blood sugar checked for ketones, damaging chemicals that build up as a result of the body beginning to break down its own tissue because it is unable to process glucose for energy. The result is a life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis.

With Olivia’s ketones result “off the scale", said Mrs Allcock, she needed 48 hours treatment in high dependency care.

“It was touch and go, and frightening to see her like that. When we were on holiday she drank and slept a lot but we thought that was because it was so hot. "We had to give her injections four or five times a day, and begin carbohydrate counting everything we gave her to eat." t was very hard and came right out of the blue. We didn’t know what it was or how ill she had got, and people generally don’t know the signs and symptoms.”

Five-year-old Joshua’s diabetes was diagnosed when he was 14 months old. “He was getting up in the morning and his nappy, pyjamas, pillow, everything was soaking wet,” said Mrs Daunter.

“It was like that for a week and I knew the signs of drinking and weeing a lot because a relative has diabetes,” she said.

“Also, he would sit for breakfast and be falling asleep, and seem lifeless." She took Joshua I took Joshua to see the doctor. and he had lost lots of weight in only a fortnight.”

A blood test confirmed Joshua was very ill, and he spent two days in high dependency care.

“We had to learn to do his injections straight away. He was having six a day before he went on an insulin pump.”

Both Olivia and Joshua now use an insulin pump, which feeds a regulated dose of insulin into their bodies, removing the need for injections, but their parents must still look out for the signs of blood sugar problems, and keep a close eye on what their children eat, and when. “You get to know the signs, such as changes in their behaviour or complexion, but it’s unpredictable,” said Mrs Allcock.

Another hurdle has been in the children going to nursery and school, and having the confidence that they are in good hands, but both mums say their schools - Olivia is the nursery at Lliswerry primary, and Joshua is at Ringland primary - have been “really good.”

“We just want to raise a bit of awareness because you can go to the doctor’s or a clinic or hospital and there isn’t any information around on Type One diabetes,” said Mrs Allcock.

“Joshua and Olivia got very ill before they were diagnosed and hopefully telling their story will help raise awareness.”

l NOTICEABLE and common symptoms of Type One diabetes include excessive thirst, unusual levels of urinating, persistent tiredness and unexplained weight loss.

If these are accompanied by serious loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, high temperature, and stomach pains – and often a sweet, fruity chemical smell on the breath – the problem could be potentially life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), requiring immediate treatment.

It is estimated that one-in-four people diagnosed with Type One diabetes are already suffering with DKA.

Further information on Type One diabetes is available from Diabetes UK at www.diabetes.co.uk and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at www.jdrf.org.uk

Joshua and Olivia’s parents are organising a fundraising event for the JDRF next March.