DIABETES NEW ZEALAND

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Golf’s Longest Day: 90 holes, 5 rounds of golf, and $3,000 raised

Nick Forrester (who has Type 1 diabetes) and friend Ali Hoosh spent New Year’s Day 2022 on the golf course.

Starting at 5:40am, they completed 90 holes, 5 rounds of golf and raised close to $3,000 for us.

Nick was diagnosed with Type 1 just over ten years ago. He says:

“I’ve had some serious ups and downs, but feel I have got to a point where I’m comfortable being open about it, and want to bring awareness to the everyday reality of living with T1D.

More importantly, I want to highlight the strength and determination of those living with diabetes. Our extreme golf challenge is just a demonstration that there really are no limits to what people with T1D can do.

It’s important to be careful and prudent with the management and monitoring of your T1D, but also know it’s not a life sentence but rather a working relationship.

Learning to work with, and not fight against, my T1D has been one of the biggest break throughs for me. It’s helped to teach me personal responsibility, careful planning, self- awareness and accountability. But more importantly it’s helped me to learn that being diagnosed with T1D was the start of a new experience, like the start of a new round of golf. There may be ups and downs, birdies and bogeys. Many challenges to face, and hazards to navigate. But it’s never really about “winning”; it’s about challenging yourself to be better than before and to enjoy the beautiful journey