Episode 44: Jess Shaw, England netball international, type 1 at the top of the game

Suggest guests or get in contact Jess Shaw was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on the evening of the worst trial of her life, then spent ten years pretending she did not have it. Jess is an England netball international, living with type 1 diabetes. In this conversation with John she talks about keeping it quiet as a teenager, being sent home from a tour, a first England cap at a few days' notice, and what changed once she started talking about it. If you have ever hidden your diabetes to keep your place in a team, or you coach someone who might be, this one is for you. **Chapters** 00:00 Welcome: how John and Jess met 04:33 Diagnosis at 13: the Leeds trial 08:47 The first rules, and a lot of lows 15:08 Why the first messages stick 18:03 Moving to time in range 19:09 A low HbA1c that hid the lows 20:50 Ten years of hiding it 23:57 Sent home alone at 16 25:10 Why sport needs a diabetes policy 28:43 Super League, England and injuries 34:50 First cap against Australia 38:34 Game day on injections 43:20 Insulin on board and exercise 44:36 A closed loop overnight 46:43 Building a game-day routine 47:44 Commonwealth Games 51:06 Semi-finals and staying consistent 59:23 What John heard 64:21 Jess: you are not alone 69:24 Thanks from John **Guest:** Jess Shaw, England netball international, living with type 1 diabetes. **Host:** John Pemberton, founder of The Glucose Never Lies, a paediatric diabetes dietitian, and a person living with type 1 diabetes. **A note on scope.** Where John describes practice at Birmingham Children's Hospital, he is speaking in his clinical role there, and that sits outside GNL. It is a report of one specialist paediatric service, not GNL guidance, not a protocol, and not a recommendation to any other service or family. The support John gave Jess as an adult was through GNL's consultation service, not his NHS role, and her own diabetes team made the decisions about her treatment, including her pump. What Jess describes is her own experience. It is not a claim about what GNL, or any device, will do for anyone else, and it is not advice to anyone listening. **Links** Show notes: theglucoseneverlies.com/episode-44-jess-shaw-type-1-netball Previous episode: theglucoseneverlies.com/episode-43-tandem-control-iq-plus-mobi Grace, our AI diabetes educational adviser, did not write a word of this. Credited anyway. Ask her anything: theglucoseneverlies.com/gnl-grace **Independent by design.** The Glucose Never Lies® takes no sponsorship and no advertising. We run on education grants and listener donations. If this helped, buy the GNL a coffee (buymeacoffee.com/gnlfree). **Follow:** Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, John on LinkedIn, X **Contact:** collaboration, john@theglucoseneverlies.com; creatives, anj@theglucoseneverlies.com For education only. Not medical advice and not a substitute for individual care; decisions about your care sit with you and your diabetes team. © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd, company number 16733595. All rights reserved.