Diabetic Duo from Co Down giving disease a makeover

A pair of university students from Co Down have been overwhelmed by the response to a video they posted online which has helped to remove the stigma about diabetes.
Beth McDaniels and Ellen WatsonBeth McDaniels and Ellen Watson
Beth McDaniels and Ellen Watson

Ellen Watson, 19, and Beth McDaniel, 20, who are both from Banbridge, posted a video on the TikTok social media platform of themselves getting ready for a night out and in the process became a viral online sensation.

In the clip the pair showed off their FreeStyle Libres – a wearable disc which allows people with type 1 diabetes to scan their blood glucose levels – and earned themselves the nickname ‘The Diabetic Duo’.

Beth said: “The success of the video was a complete surprise, it was really just to have a bit of craic between the two of us. We woke up the next morning and it was viral, we couldn’t believe it.”

Beth McDaniels and Ellen Watson proudly display the discs which help them keep tabs on their blood glucose levelsBeth McDaniels and Ellen Watson proudly display the discs which help them keep tabs on their blood glucose levels
Beth McDaniels and Ellen Watson proudly display the discs which help them keep tabs on their blood glucose levels

Ellen continued: “As a type 1 diabetic you have to check your blood glucose levels. Traditionally that’s done by pricking your finger, drawing blood and putting it into a wee machine.

“The FreeStyle Libre is a needle attached into our arms on a disc that you can scan with your phone and it will tell you your blood sugars.

“With the disc we still have to inject insulin up four times or more a day, but it makes testing your glucose levels a lot easier.

People are asking where can they get one. They’re becoming a bit like fashion accessories, though I doubt they’d want to put a needle into their arm.”

Beth added: “We’re trying to show this is normal. You sometimes do need to inject randomly depending on what your blood glucose levels are.

“We want people to feel they shouldn’t have to hide when they’re injecting. It’s something you should be able to do wherever you want.”

To this end the pair have posted videos of themselves injecting in various locations including the Marble Arch Caves and on top of a human pyramid.

The girls attended nursery school together in Banbridge but had not seen each other until they both got part-time jobs in Donaghy’s shoe shop in the town.

They struck up a friendship and are now housemates at Ulster University, Jordanstown where they are in their second year.

Ellen was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was six, but when the pair began working together Beth had no health concerns.

Beth said: “We were working together for two years then onto university, it was about three years into our friendship that I got diagnosed. It was a huge shock because you don’t know many people from your home town with it, never mind your flatmate and your best friend.

“It’s just a freak coincidence. My little sister Grace got diagnosed nine days before me which is even weirder.”

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