Mum's award for raising awareness of condition which killed her baby son

A devoted mum has scooped a national award for her determination to raise awareness of the condition that took the life of her baby son.
Traceyanne Healer with the Diabetes UK award, clutching a photo of Nathan.Traceyanne Healer with the Diabetes UK award, clutching a photo of Nathan.
Traceyanne Healer with the Diabetes UK award, clutching a photo of Nathan.

Traceyanne Healer was dealt the cruelest of blows when her son Nathan James died at Sunderland Royal Hospital in February 2014, aged just two days old, after fatally low glucose levels caused him to suffer a brain haemorrhage.

One of the hardest things for Traceyanne to bear was knowing that had the low glucose level been detected in time, a simple infusion would have saved her otherwise perfectly healthy son.

Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.
Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.
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The 31-year-old, who lives in Murton, didn’t want Nathan’s short life to be in vain and along with family and friends set up the Nathan James Diabetes Awareness Fund to raise money for Diabetes UK to carry out vital work in raising the awareness of the condition and educating people on detecting the early signs of hypoglycaemia in newborns.

During the last two years Traceyanne and her supporters have raised more than £2,600 for the charity, as well as widely promoting the work of the charity.

Now, Traceyanne is overwhelmed at winning the national Inspiration Award by Diabetes UK.

She said: “I felt like somewhat of a fraudster accepting the award. Although it has my name on, I feel that if it wasn’t for Nathan, my team of fundraisers and everyone who has donated funds and time to our cause, none of what the Nathan James Diabetes Awareness Fund has achieved would have been possible.

Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.
Traceyanne Healer cradles her precious son, Nathan, just after his birth.

“This is his legacy.”

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Traceyanne, who said being presented with the award was hugely emotional, added: “I just want to say a big thank you to all of our fund-raising team and everyone who has donated in memory of my son Nathan James. Together we really are making that difference.”

Stephen Ryan of Diabetes UK, said: “Traceyanne and her group are keen to raise awareness of diabetes in babies so no-one else has to lose their life as needlessly as Nathan did leaving behind a loving family that will spend the rest of their lives going through what they are going through.”

IT worker, Traceyanne, who is expecting a baby girl in June, said she will never get over the grief of losing her firstborn child, but knowing his life was not in vain is a great help.

Anyone who would like to make a donation can visit www.justgiving.com/NathanJamesDiabetesAwarenessFund.