A PIECE of weaving inspired by a Taunton woman’s experience of living with diabetes has been exhibited at the House of Commons.

It forms part of a Diabetes UK campaign to highlight the need for a plan to tackle the backlog in diabetes care caused by the pandemic.

Retired Castle School maths teacher Sue Briggs, 67, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008.

She created the artwork, Just Managing (The Best That I Can), to show the fluctuations in her blood glucose levels over a month.

She used fine cotton dyed on the loom for the warp and insulin pump tubing and sewing thread for the weft.

Somerset County Gazette:

Labels made from recycled card from diabetes products describe events that caused her blood glucose levels to go too high or too low.

Sue said: “I started with tubing, which I replace on my insulin pump every two days.

"This, along with packaging from cannulas, sensors and patient information books, is a major contribution to our recycling. It was time to put it to good use.

“Life with type 1 diabetes can be relentless, calculating carbohydrates, adjusting insulin doses and making corrections to achieve blood glucose levels in the correct range.

"I wanted my weaving to convey the complexity and the non-stop nature of diabetes management.”

Her weaving was displayed in the Commons on April 20 to coincide with a report from Diabetes UK showing the scale of the problem.

A survey of more than 10,000 people living with and affected by diabetes revealed:

  • 47 per cent had difficulties managing their condition in 2021;
  • 63 per cent attributed this partly to insufficient access to healthcare teams;
  • one in six reported no contact about their diabetes with their healthcare team since before the pandemic.

Phaedra Perry, Diabetes UK South West regional head, said: “Sue Briggs has produced a wonderful woven representation of just how challenging it can be to live with diabetes day in day out, and why it is so important for the estimated 4.9 million people who have the condition in the UK to be supported by healthcare professionals.

“Diabetes UK’s report shows that in too many cases, people with diabetes have not been able to access that support during the Covid pandemic.

"Urgent action is now required, which is why we’re calling on the UK Government to implement a recovery plan for diabetes care. We need to get this essential, life-saving care back on track, or lives will be needlessly lost.”

People can add their voice to the Diabetes Is Serious campaign at: www.diabetes.org.uk/get_involved/campaigning/diabetes-is-serious.