Living With Diabetes 43 - Impact of Tech for Type 1

DRWF’s Claire Levy talks with children’s author Mia Donovan who is launching her latest illustrated book this November (2026): Dybo Boy – The Tale of a Hero with Type 1 Diabetes. Throughout this Diabetes Awareness Month all profits from online sales of the book will be donated to DRWF. The book has been inspired by Mia’s younger brother who lives with type 1.

We talk to Professor Neil Reeves about pioneering new technology to help monitor foot health. The ‘Smart Sock' is among several innovations currently being developed to improve the lives of patients with diabetes. It measures shear stress and is aimed at reducing the risk of foot ulcers. It’s being developed by researchers at Lancaster University. Prof Reeves early work on nerve damage and its affect on how people walk was funded by DRWF. This helped initiate a wide range of work which has culminated in this latest EPSRC-funded project. 

An update on Lyla’s Law – a campaign launched by John Story a year ago following the tragic death of his two-year old daughter Lyla from DKA with undiagnosed type 1. John spoke publicly in detail about this experience for the first time on our podcast Living with Diabetes. Claire caught up with John on the first anniversary of Lyla’s tragic death to discover what progress his campaign has made.