Mum shares warning signs after son, 13, died from undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes

Mum shares warning signs after son, 13, died from undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes Beth Reynolds is sharing what happened to her son Peter Baldwin ahead of World Diabetes Day in a bid to raise awareness of they key warning signs of Type 1 diabetes to watch out for A mum who lost her son aged just 13 due to undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes has shared her promise to him to "try to save as many other kids" as she could so "his death would not be in vain." 47-year-old Beth Reynolds said her son, Peter Baldwin, showed "absolutely all" of the major warning signs for Type 1 diabetes looking back. Known as the four Ts, they stand for: toilet, thirsty, tired, thinner. But, she said the teenager's flu-like symptoms at the time "masked" what was really going on. Beth, from Cardiff, is sharing her story ahead of World Diabetes Day tomorrow in a bid to raise awareness and save lives. She took Peter to a GP on New Year's Eve in 2014, where he was accurately diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics. But over the next 24 hours, her son's condition became critical. On January 1, 2015, Beth called 999 and said a first responder "took one look" at her son, put on an oxygen mask and pricked his finger to be able to say with almost certainty that he had Type 1 diabetes and he was in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA is a life-threatening medical emergency which happens when the body breaks down fat as it does not have enough insulin to break down glucose for fuel. It causes harmful chemicals called ketones to build up, making the blood dangerously acidic, causing organs to shut down, and can lead to complications impacting the brain, heart or lungs, and even death. Peter was rushed to hospital that same day where he fell into a diabetic coma before dying just five days later on January 6. Beth, a leadership and management coach, is also mum to Lia, 20, and Finley, five. She said: "I promised Peter that his death would not be in vain and I would like to try to save as many other kids as I could in whatever way that looks like. I have a voice and I choose to use it for Peter." She remembers her son as a "super happy child" and the "most amazing young man" with a "bright future". There was no history of diabetes in the family, and Beth said over the years Peter had "the odd cough or cold" but said there were "no issues and no long-term health conditions". She said: "He hardly missed any school due to sickness, he was healthy and he ate really well." Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which affects morethan 350,000 people in the UK, according to Diabetes UK. It can impact anyone at any age and happens when the body's immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, leaving the body unable to produce any itself. There is no prevention and currently no cure for Type 1 diabetes. Those with the condition treat it for life by giving themselves insulin, either through injections multiple times per day or an insulin pump. At the time, Beth was unaware, but the first symptom Peter displayed was one of the four Ts - thirst. During a school trip to Germany in mid-December 2014, just weeks before his death, Peter texted her saying "I'm really thisty, mummy," and she encouraged him to drink more water. He got back from the trip two days before Christmas with a cough and cold that Beth said progressed to being "very flu-like". "The classic symptoms - toilet, thirsty, tired, thinner - he had absolutely all of them, but you could tick a box to (explain them away)," she said. "He'd lost a bit of weight because he had a growth spurt in puberty, he was drinking more because he was unwell, he was tired because he was unwell and he was going to the toilet more because he was drinking more because he was unwell. Unbeknownst to us at the time, these were all classic signs." On New Year's Eve, after Peter had been sick for nearly two weeks without improving, Beth took him to a GP. He was diagnosed with a chest infection and prescribed antibiotics which he started taking that same evening. But the next day he woke up "still not very well and quite lethargic". Beth said: "By the time it got to 4pm, I knew something was really not right." She called 999 and explained Peter's symptoms, saying he was having breathing difficulties and was lethargic. It was initially suggested Beth should carry on monitoring him and take him to an out-of-hours GP, but she said she "stuck to (her) guns" and insisted a first responder come out to take a look at her son. She said: "I believe he would have died that night at home if we hadn't gone to hospital." A first responder arrived within five minutes, checked Peter's vital signs, did a finger-prick blood test and theorised Peter most likely had Type 1 diabetes and was in DKA. They immediately radioed for an ambulance and Peter was rushed to the high-dependency unit after arriving at the University Hospital of Wales. It was here that Beth was told her son's condition was "very serious" and his body was in "shut down mode". Over the next five days, Beth said Peter suffered a cardiac arrest and was resuscitated while in surgery, he fought "numerous infections" and at one point ended up on dialysis. By January 6, Beth said a doctor revealed a scan of Peter's brain showed "no activity". She said they apologised that there was "nothing more they could do", so Beth and Peter's father, Stuart, should say their final goodbyes. "He was wheeled into a side room in the children's unit... then we climbed into bed with him. We just laid with him while they switched the machine off and we told him how much we loved him, how much he was going to be missed and what an amazing young man he was," said Beth. On January 22, the family held a celebration of life where they did a guard of honour and balloon release in Peter's memory. Instead of flowers, Beth asked family and frinds to donate to Diabetes UK Cymru, raising more than £10,000 in two weeks. "It was a testament to how loved Peter was by the community," Beth said. In the years since, Beth has shared her story to help raise money for the charity and awareness about the dangers of Type 1 diabetes. In 2023, Beth said she organised a national campaign called Rewrite Peter's Story, sending a box of resources to "every single GP practice in Wales" to put the warning signs for Type 1 diabetes on the top of their radar. "We'd have had a 24-hour headstart had the GP just pricked his finger," said Beth. Colette Marshall, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "A Type 1 diabetes diagnosis should never start with a medical emergency. Yet every year, hundreds of UK families face the heartbreaking reality of seeing their children reach crisis point before anyone recognises the condition. This World Diabetes Day (on November 14), we're urging everyone to learn the 4Ts and share the signs with others." For Beth, it is important to keep Peter's memory alive by sharing his story. Since she and her family started sharing Peter's story more than a decade ago, she said they have counted 23 people they have "saved" by sharing the warning signs for Type 1 diabetes. She said: "I've got to cling on to the 13 years and 27 days of memories of Peter. "I talk to Peter's sister and brother about him all the time... and I tell them that if you've got a voice you've got to use it, because Peter can't speak for himself any more. So I'm doing this for him." To find out more about the warning signs of Type 1 diabetes and how you can help, visit the Diabetes UK website.