Simon's Story

Simon's Story

Table tennis is a big part of my life now.

Simon is determined to not let his diabetes stand in the way of his great love for table-tennis.

Simon was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was only 13 years old. Unfortunately this eventually resulted in the loss of both his legs, but since then he has learnt to adapt his lifestyle to his condition. He still enjoys going to lunch with his wife, going on family holidays, and getting outside for wheelchair friendly walks.

My name is Simon. I have been living with Type 1 diabetes for 53 years, since I was a youngster. Unfortunately, this resulted in the loss of both my legs.

I'm very much motivated by exercise and table tennis is a big part of my life now. Every day I get up, I look forward to doing activity. It's good for my health. It's good for my mental health. And it gives me something to look forward to every day.

My motivation every day comes from my wife and my daughter, Charlotte. They encourage me to be active, and the encouragement and the motivation from them, and the smiles I see on their faces when we're out walking is what means so much to me.

For someone that's not been active and they've had Type 1 diabetes, it's never too late. There's so many different groups that you can go to now for lots of different sports, whether it's walking groups. Go out there, get active. It will help your lifestyle. Be positive with your health and you will come our the other side.

How Simon Gets Moving

As an avid table-tennis player, Simon feels motivated to get active as much as possible, and looks forward to every game. Simon’s wife and daughter also encourage him to be active, and the smiles on their faces when they see him play really keeps him going. Because table-tennis is such a big part of his life, he’s realised how important it is for his mental health, as well as his long-term physical health, saying that getting moving “doesn’t have to be an energetic sport” as long as you feel a benefit from it.

Related Resources

Here are some resources related to Simon’s story about moving more:

Diabetes UK - Diabetes and exercise

British Red Cross - Hire a Wheelchair

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