A BRAVE Glencraig youngster given a shock diabetes diagnosis earlier this year, has become a fundraiser for a leading charity.

Little Bradley McAleese was diagnosed with the type one of the condition, where the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas, in May.

The eight-year-old Benarty Primary School pupil is now one of 400,000 people in the UK – 29,000 of whom are children – to be diagnosed with the condition but he has put that aside to raise £247 for the JDRF organisation. They fund research aimed at eliminating type one diabetes and, determined to do his bit to help, Bradley organised a ‘onesie day’ with class mates to raise money. In June, we reported that the Benarty community had rallied around Bradley and his family, with a huge number turning out for a sponsored walk over the Forth Road Bridge to help them fund a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) machine.

The device, which isn’t funded by the NHS, monitors glucose levels throughout the day and at night by using a glucose sensor that is inserted under the skin. It can then detect and notify if the body’s glucose is reaching a high or low limit, which decreases the risk of him having a hypo, caused by a dramatic drop in the sugar level in his blood. The machine also links up to an insulin pump, meaning that Bradley’s levels are kept appropriate without him needing to take four blood tests a day or five injections.

Proud mum Marion said that Bradley was keen to do something for the charity, who received a cheque at a school assembly on Friday, and commented: “When he was diagnosed, he nearly went into a diabetic coma and it was a bit of a shock for us.

“We had to adjust but, after we did the fundraiser, Bradley was keen on doing his bit. He’s registered as a fundraiser for JDRF and will continue to do things for them; he’s really keen. It’s a completely life-changing situation but he just gets on with it. There are times where, if he can’t have something that others are having because of his sugar levels, he’ll cry and ask ‘why do I have diabetes?’ “But he never hides it and I think it’s affected us more as adults more than it has Bradley.” She added: “It is scary; our kid’s life is in our hands, if we count his carbohydrates wrong, give him too much insulin or not enough, so it has been hard.

“But there’s a great support system in Fife. There’s another mum in this area who has two type one diabetic children, and there’s a diabetic nurse at the other end of the phone, which is a big help.”