The people who train their own guide dogs

 

06th January 2023

bbc.co.uk/accessall

Access All – episode 34

Presented by Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey

 

 

EMMA-         It’s World Braille Day, or it was on 4th January, so can I talk about Braille because I’m a geek and I really love it.

NIKKI-           Go on Emma, it’s not like we haven’t spoken enough about blind stuff today.

EMMA-         I know. I am a one-trick pony, a one-trick pony.

NIKKI-           No, you are not. Go on, talk about braille. Because you know audio description, I’m well on board with that now. So, get me excited about braille.

EMMA-         I love braille because I can read in the dark. Also when I was a kid and I had chicken pox I used to see what braille letters and words I could find on my skin. So, if you’ve got a load of hives or something you can pick out the braille stuff. That’s not really a fact; that’s just something.

NIKKI-           That’s like pot luck. That’s like when you’re in the shower and everything kind of de-steams and you see like Freddie Mercury in there. That’s just pot luck that.

EMMA-         But braille is so huge, right. So, it’s six dots and a cell. Each letter is a combination of those dots. It’s really, really big. The Harry Potter books are at least six volumes of braille.

NIKKI-           I was going to ask you actually, Emma, so say one sort of square is that a whole sentence or is that just one word, or is it just one letter?

EMMA-         So, one rectangular cell of six dots, so it’s two lines of three, is one symbol. So, that can be a letter, or it can be something called a contraction, which is like a shortener for a word, so the has one symbol. But then the letter k on its own with a space each side, do you know what that means?

NIKKI-           No.

EMMA-         Knowledge.

NIKKI-           Oh.

EMMA-         So, it’s like random words represented by one symbol.

NIKKI-           Interesting that, Em.

EMMA-         See, I told you I was a bit of a geek.

NIKKI-           No, I like it. I like this side of you, Emma, come on. I used to date boys like you.

MUSIC-         Theme.

NIKKI-           Welcome to Access All. 2023, can you believe it? The BBC’s disability and mental health podcast. I’m Nikki Fox and I’m in London. And in Edinburgh it’s only Emma Tracey.

EMMA-         Happy New Year.

NIKKI-           Happy New Year.

EMMA-         We post a new podcast every Friday, sometimes funny, sometimes awkward, sometimes serious, a bit like disability itself. So, if you haven’t done already, go on, go on, subscribe to us on BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts from.

NIKKI-           Go on. Em, do you remember Mallet’s Mallet, Timmy Mallet?

EMMA-         Yes, I do.

CLIP-             Mallet’s Mallet, the word association game, you mustn’t pause, repeat a word or say a word or you get a bash in the head like this, or like this. Blah, blah.

EMMA-         Blah, blah.

NIKKI-           Yeah. So, if I was to play that kind of word association game with you what’s the first thing that would come to mind if I said to you January?

EMMA-         I would say sales, January sales; blues, January blues, singing the January blues; and resolutions, New Year’s resolutions.

NIKKI-           Yeah, resolutions is a big one, isn’t it?

EMMA-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           Have you made any this year, Emma?

EMMA-         I think just to get out with the kids more and to be in the moment a bit more, because I’m always fretting and planning and fretting and planning. And just to try and enjoy things as they happen I think.

NIKKI-           Yes. I’m not a massive resolution person. I think it’s just added pressure that no one needs in this life. But I think, thinking ahead, I think I would probably say I would like to be a little bit more present, just like you Ems; not be on the phone so much, not work till 10 o’clock at night so much; be with the ones we love and all of that. I would like all that kind of nice stuff. But it’s very hard in this modern world we live in; we’re not great on resolutions. But I think this is the best way to be, to be honest Emma, no pressure.

EMMA-         I don’t think anyone’s great at hard resolutions. Sometimes it’s better to start the year with good intentions or a goal, rather than trying to cut things out of your life like meat or alcohol.

NIKKI-           Why anyone does Dry January I do not know. I’m a very optimistic, happy person, but I do not like January. I’m not a big drinker either, but why would you cut out alcohol?

EMMA-         Why would you take anything out for January when it’s a long, dark month?

NIKKI-           You need added joy.

EMMA-         Why deny yourself something that brings you joy? Exactly. But we are a pretty nosy bunch, aren’t we?

NIKKI-           Speak for yourself.

EMMA-         Oh, you are nosy.

NIKKI-           Yeah, I am. I’m really nosy.

EMMA-         Really nosy. I’m really nosy. We’re nosy together, that’s why it works I think. But we’ve asked some friends of the podcast and some famous disabled people what they’re going to be attempting this year in terms of resolutions.

NIKKI-           Oh, this is exciting.

FRANK-        Hi, I’m Frank Gardner, BBC Security correspondent and wheelchair user since 2004. My new New Year’s resolution is to get to Antarctica. We were supposed to go last year but it got cancelled; somebody on the boat had COVID. Hopefully not this year. And my resolution is to do ice kayaking in amongst the icebergs in the Antarctic and not fall in. I hope I survive.

NIKKI-           Oh Frank, I knew it would be something amazing like that, something glorious. And he will do it as well.

EMMA-         Absolutely.

NIKKI-           What even is it ice canoeing, kayaking?

EMMA-         Well, how do you kayak? Is it like ice skating in a boat?

NIKKI-           Well, go Frank. I’ll be lucky to get a couple of lengths in at the old swimming pool, but go Frank.

EMMA-         I’ll be lucky to get my clothes out the night before so I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to wear the next day. That’s my version of being more organised. But Frank, that’s amazing, and I can’t wait to find out about how you got on.

NIKKI-           Hear all about that definitely.

KATE-           Hi, Nikki and Emma, it’s Kate Monaghan here from Isolation Diaries. And also here with me is my old Isolation partner.

HOLLY-         And wife.

KATE-           Yes, and wife. Still married amazingly. What’s your name? Because I don’t think I said that.

HOLLY-         Holly.

KATE-           Yes, Holly.

HOLLY-         That sounded really awkward. Holly!

NIKKI-           They sound like us, Em.

KATE-           Every year we, it’s not quite a resolution, but we kind of label the year with a word.

HOLLY-         So, we look ahead to the year and we think right, what’s this year going to be.

KATE-           What’s our theme. Obviously when Scout was born it was like the year of the baby.

HOLLY-         Year of the baby.

KATE-           We did, pre-children, have the year of the holidays.

HOLLY-         We had the year of health.

KATE-           When was that?

HOLLY-         Well, probably didn’t work.

KATE-           But this year we’ve labelled it the year of better.

HOLLY-         Better at work.

KATE-           Better at keeping the house good. Being better for the children in terms of…

HOLLY-         Better mums.

KATE-           …yeah, being better parents to them. So, yeah, no resolutions really for me. We’re more trying to sort of have an overarching theme for the year, and the theme is just better.

REECE-         Hey, Nikki and Emma, it’s Reece Parkinson. My New Year’s resolution is to live way, way more outside my comfort zone. Looking back at 2022 I most definitely did things that I wasn’t necessarily scared of. So, that’s what I want to do this year. For example, swimming with sharks would be incredible. I genuinely would be so scared, but I know it’s an awesome experience that I would be thankful for for doing, because how many people get to do that. So, yeah, live outside my comfort zone in all areas of life. Much love and happy new year to you both.

NIKKI-           Oh, I love Reece. I love Holly and Kate as well. There’s so much going on there. First of all Reece, like all this kind of like pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, I immediately think goodness me, I am boring.

EMMA-         Reece from 1Xtra though, 1Xtra is cool, happening, young.

NIKKI-           I know, he’s young as well.

EMMA-         Reece is going to swim with sharks?

NIKKI-           Yeah.

EMMA-         So, if I was swimming with sharks I wouldn’t even know whether there were sharks there or not. I’d just be in my little tank.

NIKKI-           It’s like, we’re just dipping you in the water, Emma.

EMMA-         There’s definitely sharks, definitely sharks.

NIKKI-           [Hums theme tune to Jaws].

EMMA-         You’re not just in your local reservoir or something.

NIKKI-           Oh no, Emma, that would be a nasty prank.

EMMA-         You know what, I could relate to Reece and getting out of his comfort zone because…

NIKKI-           Well, you’re doing your wild swimming, aren’t you?

EMMA-         …getting out with the kids more, like leaving my house with my kids or going somewhere new, that is actually going out of my comfort zone, or taking them to a busy place with my visually impaired husband because it’s an activity they want to do, that is out of my comfort zone. So, it might not be swimming with sharks, which frankly would just be me in a tank going, ‘Where are the sharks?’ It’s actually like going tubing at the local ski slope about an hour away where you sit in like a tyre and you go down a ski slope with the kids. That would be enough for me. Taking both of them on the bus into town for pancakes that is enough for me, because I don’t do it enough because it scares me, and I want to do it more. So, that is my comfort zone.

NIKKI-           Trying to go clubbing in a scooter.

EMMA-         Well, exactly, it is things that are hard.

NIKKI-           Yeah.

EMMA-         And maybe they just feel hard. Maybe they’re not actually that hard. So, I want to just push myself and see how much we can do together that’s safe and enjoyable and that we all get something out of, so that I don’t sit there and go oh no, that’s too hard, or oh no, that would just be too stressful, or maybe being with us the kids wouldn’t have as good a time because we’d be constantly trying to figure out where they are and annoying them. That is my comfort zone, going out of my comfort zone.

NIKKI-           Ah. I want to just spend more time in the house to be honest, family home, bungalow whatever, I just want to spend more time indoors with a duvet watching a film with the people I love. That’s fine by me. Happy days.

EMMA-         Equally brilliant.

NIKKI-           Thank you, Em. We’ve got one more resolution, haven’t we?

REECE-         Hello.

EMMA-         Oh, here she is.

NIKKI-           Rosie.

ROSIE-          Rosie Jones here, feeling a little bit croaky because I drunk a lot, I mean a lot last night, which leads to my New Year’s resolution which is to be even more a [beep] legend. People say New Year, New Me. What I say, why would I want a new me when the old me is perfect? Absolutely perfect!

NIKKI-           She’s not wrong.

EMMA-         She is not wrong.

NIKKI-           She is not wrong, that Jones. She’s perfect.

EMMA-         I love that. She’s not doing Dry January.

NIKKI-           No way!

EMMA-         She’s got her biggest tour yet this year.

NIKKI-           I know.

EMMA-         All around the country. I am excited. I would go and see Rosie Jones very happily.

NIKKI-           We need to see her. Why have we not booked tickets actually?

EMMA-         Let’s go together.

NIKKI-           Yes. Now, Emma, you’ve previously had a guide dog, haven’t you?

EMMA-         Oh Verona, the best dog in the world. Yes, I have.

NIKKI-           [Singing to theme of My Ramona] My Verona.

EMMA-         Ah, absolutely my favourite dog ever, yes.

NIKKI-           But have you ever, very thought about training another dog up yourself?

EMMA-         As a guide dog?

NIKKI-           As a guide dog.

EMMA-         Absolutely not. I mean, I do not have the patience that I suspect you would need. I don’t have the time. I don’t have the knowledge. I don’t have the inclination. I don’t have the motivation. I mean, I do really miss the quick walk, the blindy quick walk with your head in the air, your hand on the harness, thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, just avoiding everything. It’s amazing. I do miss that so much. But I could never train another dog up to do that for me, no.

NIKKI-           The wind in your hair, Emma, hand on the harness.

EMMA-         Honestly, the wind in my hair, the smile on my face.

NIKKI-           Chin up, yeah.

EMMA-         For me with a cane it’s more of an intense thing where all my energy is on it and it’s not as quick. But I still prefer the cane at the moment for my circumstances actually. But there are certain stuff with a dog, like finding a new place and that kind of thing that I found brilliant. But again, still not enough for me to train my own dog.

NIKKI-           We’ve covered this before on the pod, haven’t we Emma, we know that the biggest assistance dog provider in the UK, which is Guide Dogs, have far fewer dogs than normal because they had to stop their usual work during COVID. Now, that means people are waiting on average for 18 months before a dog is available to them. But there is another way if you want a dog sooner, as we’re kind of alluding to now: basically, train your own. We’re joined today by Isabelle and Abigail. Now, Isabelle is blind and has previously trained her own guide dog. And Abigail runs, I love this, Pawtected.

EMMA-         Pawtected?

NIKKI-           Like protected, Pawtected, I love it, which is an organisation which helps disabled people to train their own assistance dogs. Welcome, Isabelle and Abigail, thank you so much for joining us.

ISABELLE-   Hi.

ABIGAIL-      Hi.

NIKKI-           Now, Isabelle, let’s start with you. Why did you decide to go it alone and do it yourself?

ISABELLE-   So, I had had five dogs from guide dogs in the past. They were sort of good to excellent. And my dog died suddenly at six, and I had to go to work and college next day, and work was right across London and college was the other side of London. So, I was very stressed how was I going to get there, two tubes, a 40-minute walk, all the rest of it, with no dog.

NIKKI-           How did you do that?

ISABELLE-   I did it with a cane. But the guide dog people said they had, I don’t know, like a rehab person, and he said I shouldn’t go out without a lot of help to learn to use a cane. And I was like, well how am I going to go to work if I can’t go out, this is not feasible. So, I spent three months going across London with a cane, and then one day I was on Liverpool Street station and I almost fell in front of a tube. I thought I can’t do this anymore, so I started looking round the rescue centres to see if they had a lab or anything, something that would look like a guide dog and I could get into shops and things with. I found one after about a month. It had been in Battersea Dogs Home and another rescue centre, and it had been out with four different families and brought back, so you can imagine what its social issues were like.

NIKKI-           Oh yeah.

ISABELLE-   And she was just the best thing for me and I was the best thing for her.

NIKKI-           That must be quite difficult because I can’t imagine how you would train a dog sighted, let alone how you would train a rescue dog with social issues if you can’t see. How did you even begin to do it, Isabelle?

ISABELLE-   So, I took a week off work, and I took her round some shops and cafés and restaurants that I knew were dog friendly. I took her on the tube, on the buses, did a lot of stuff with her. And she was kind of bomb proof in that way; she wasn’t really threatened or anything. She was just wild. She didn’t know how to walk on a lead. She did a lot of screeching and yelling, not out of fear, just out of absolute excitement and joy. Everywhere she went she just wanted to be there, like ten times faster, and she just loved life. So, as soon as I got her able to not jump all over people in the tube and sit down for more than 10 seconds I stuck a harness on her, because I had to get back to work.

NIKKI-           Where were you working at the time?

ISABELLE-   I was working in Kings Cross and living in Dagenham, which is quite a trip, it’s just over an hour.

EMMA-         And how did they feel about you taking a rescue dog to work?

ISABELLE-   They were just amazing. I do not know why they let me in with that dog, I don’t, but they were amazing. The first day she went into the office, you know those soft walls between the offices, she pulled one of those down. She chewed through the boss’s phone cable and network cable. And then, this is not very easy to believe but it’s true, about two weeks later she peed in her own ear in a meeting.

NIKKI-           How do you pee in your ear?

ISABELLE-   It’s when she was really small. Because I was stroking her and I was like, why is your ear wet. And my boss was like, don’t touch that, she peed in it.

NIKKI-           Logistically how does a dog pee in its own ear? Oh, I love that. So, give me some examples, Isabelle, of what you did training wise?

ISABELLE-   So, the first day she had her harness on, I knew my street very well, I’d been going up and down it with a cane for three months, I knew where all the obstacles were, so I knew we were coming up to a lamppost and I got ready. And I smacked right into the lamppost face first. And I screamed and I jumped back. So, I went back with the dog, like you’re taught to do anyway by Guide Dogs, and re-approached this lamppost, and she did a great big wide circle round it.

NIKKI-           So, she knew that that caused you pain and then she swerved it?

ISABELLE-   She did, yeah.

EMMA-         What’s that phrase, intelligent disobedience? Nikki, I like that phrase.

NIKKI-           I like that. What does that mean? That’s me, that, isn’t it?

EMMA-         Yeah, me too.

NIKKI-           Oh actually no, not the intelligent part; just the disobedience.

ISABELLE-   Right, so it’s teaching the dog that if you ask it to do something that’s dangerous it has to disobey you. So, for example if I’m standing by a road and there’s a car coming down and I say, forward or walk on or whatever, I happen to say walk on, the dog had to learn that it was okay to disobey me at that point.

NIKKI-           Oh okay.

ISABELLE-   And I thought this was going to be really difficult to train, but actually it wasn’t.

EMMA-         It just can’t be that easy. You’re making it sound really blinking easy.

NIKKI-           She really is.

EMMA-         It’s not easy, is it?

ISABELLE-   Her social behaviour was a nightmare, it was horrible. And it took about two years, maybe a bit more. That was terrible; but the guiding thing I didn’t find it that difficult at all.

NIKKI-           You mentioned there the social issues. What were the difficulties for you with Lucy’s issues when it came to the social side of things?

ISABELLE-   I’m not sure she had walked on a lead really.

NIKKI-           Okay.

ISABELLE-   Because I know the first nine months of her life she was in a flat. She was peeing on the balcony, so she wasn’t going out anywhere. And they were complaining that she was destructive. She wasn’t destructive for me at all. That was a dog just looking for a job.

NIKKI-           Ah.

ISABELLE-   So, she wasn’t socialised with other dogs. She didn’t know how to play appropriately; she’d dive on them. She was like a big bully. That took a couple of years to sort out.

EMMA-         Then was she genuinely a full-blown brilliant guide dog for a number of years?

ISABELLE-   She’s the best guide dog I’ve ever had.

NIKKI-           Really?

ISABELLE-   Yeah. Because we knew each other that well, because I had trained her and, I don’t know, we knew each other’s body language. And she knew like if I clicked my tongue a certain way or moved my head a certain way she knew what that meant. That was the closest bond ever.

NIKKI-           Oh. This really is just me and you cooing, isn’t it, Em?

EMMA-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           I wanted to bring in Abigail now. Abigail you help people train their own assistance dogs, don’t you?

ABIGAIL-      I do.

NIKKI-           What kinds of dogs maketh good assistance dogs? And what do they do?

ABIGAIL-      They can help in so many different ways, depending on the needs of the person. So, some dogs will help with things like medical conditions by telling them that there’s a problem so they can take action in advance. As we’ve touched on, there’s the guide dogs, which are the general well-known type of dog. But you’ve also got lesser known dogs, like allergen detection dogs, so that you don’t come into contact with something you’re severely allergic to. There are dogs that can help with PTSD and other traumatic circumstances like that. They really can do such a wide breadth of jobs, depending on what you need.

NIKKI-           And what do they do? What kinds of jobs do they do, Abigail?

ABIGAIL-      So, a lot of the work that assistance dogs for people with physical disabilities involved is things like opening doors, fetching things off the floor, passing things between people, helping with navigating the world and getting around places, such as fetching a crutch for you if it’s fallen over. Lots and lots of tasks like that, which might be able to be done by another person, but actually sometimes the tenth time you’ve asked them to pick your keys up in a row it gets a little bit awkward, a bit frustrating. Whereas the more you do it with a dog the more excited they get because for them it’s just a game.

NIKKI-           I didn’t know this until I was doing all the reading about this story that assistance dogs don’t come pre-trained.

ABIGAIL-      Not all of them, no. There’s generally three kinds of options that you can follow with regards to getting an assistance dog: you can get a dog that’s been pre-trained or you can send a dog off to be trained for you by someone else. You can train a dog with the support of an organisation or a trainer; that could be online, it could be meeting them on a daily basis, weekly basis, whatever your circumstances are. And, as we’ve touched on with Isabelle, we can also train them completely on our own with no further involvement from anyone else. And each option has pros and cons. If you’ve trained your own dog, as we’ve touched on, it gives you such a better connection with your dog because you’ve worked with them for so long, they know your cues, you know their cues.

NIKKI-           Anyone who needs an assistance dog, are they instantly recognised by others as assistance dogs, and recognised and protected under the law as well, the Equality Act?

ABIGAIL-      Under the law it’s the person that’s protected, not the dog. So, the person with an auxiliary aid, which an assistance dog is, has an entitlement to reasonable adjustments under the law. So, as long as your dog fulfils the requirements of being an auxiliary aid, and the requirements of being a reasonable adjustment in that they know how to mitigate your disability, and they know how to behave appropriately, they become an auxiliary aid, and the person is able to get those reasonable adjustments.

NIKKI-           Oh thank you both. This has been so fascinating. And I keep saying it, but it’s if you want a job done do it yourself. It really is that. I just think this is brilliant. And it enabled you to keep on working and keep on living a life that you wanted to carry on living.

EMMA-         Now on the bus people, they’re not going to say, why do you not have a dog, they’re going to say, ‘Why are you not training up your own guide dog, Emma?’

NIKKI-           Brilliant. Well, listen, thank you so both so, so much. And we’ve got a statement here, Guide Dog says, ‘The waiting list is one and a half years on average, and have recently been joining up with sister organisations in America, Finland and Japan to source more dogs. Previously the waiting time was typically under a year’. On training your own dog, Guide Dog says it, ‘Recognises the incredible benefits a dog can bring to a person’s life. We welcome initiatives which enable the legitimate use of an appropriately trained dog to support  a person with a disability or medical condition to access public services and lead an independent life’. They go on to suggest that, ‘In theory pet dogs or poorly trained dogs could erode the reputation that many assistance dogs have worked hard to build over the years’. But certainly not in Lucy’s case.

                       Now, this week’s guest is Radio One, 1Xtra presenter, deejay and TV personality, Reece Parkinson. Now, the reason why we’re chatting to Reece today is because Reece was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That was in 2021, wasn’t it, while training for an ultra-marathon that was 55 miles long.

REECE-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           Holy smoke. Now, cameras were following Reece at the time for a running documentary and caught the moment you actually became ill. He was sent straight to hospital and diagnosed that day. So, it’s been pretty public right from the start actually for you, hasn’t it?

REECE-         It has. And I kind of like look on it and it was like, hmm, I think if you have a platform, I think at that time I felt I was obliged to be like, right I’m in hospital, I’ve got this thing called type 1 diabetes. And then I kind of got inundated with so many messages of support and people being like, join this WhatsApp group, join this space as well. So, I believe this is the actual moment that it happened.

NIKKI-           Yeah, we’ve got a clip.

CLIP-             I just got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which flipping sucks all round.

REECE-         That’s my deep Barry White voice there, I just got diagnosed.

EMMA-         That’s your hospital not very well voice I would say.

NIKKI-           I thought it was quite sexy actually!

EMMA-         And massively like, oh my gosh, I’ve got this massive new thing to deal with.

NIKKI-           That was the moment you got diagnosed, wasn’t it?

REECE-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           So, tell us what is type 1 diabetes, for people that don’t know? Because there are type 1 and type 2, aren’t there?

REECE-         Yeah, there are both. I don’t think many people do understand the difference, because I didn’t before I got diagnosed. I would make the same jokes like, oh I’ve eaten two chocolate bars, I’m going to get diabetes; where that’s nothing to do with type 1. Type 1 is actually to do with your pancreas where it stops producing insulin. And we need insulin to manage our glucose levels, because if they go too high then long term you can get a leg amputated or you can have issues with your retina as well, the blood vessels around your eyes. There are a lot of long-term issues that can happen. And if it goes too low then you get dizzy and you feel like you’re going to faint because your brain hasn’t got any sugar to reach for to actually function. It’s essentially your pancreas stops producing insulin. Whereas type 2 diabetes is your glucose levels are rising, but that’s usually set on from maybe dietary problems or over-use of alcohol.

NIKKI-           You presented a travel show film, didn’t you, and you were deejaying in Ibiza, and it was about having type 1. And I found that really fascinating how you have to manage it. Because I knew that there would be some management involved of course, there is with most things like either diabetes or disabilities or whatever, but you really have to balance everything and think about everything, like what you eat before your set, when you inject, all of that.

REECE-         Yeah, all the time. That was amazing. We literally had a meeting with the travel team here at the BBC and we were just talking about ideas. I love travel, and I had never even thought about how does type 1, how does a disability affect your actual travel. Because you just think of oh, take me to a beach, and I want to see a new city. So, yeah, they were like, ‘Well, have you got anything coming up?’ And I was like, ‘I’ve got this deejay set with Craig David for his event in Ibiza’.

NIKKI-           Rewind.

REECE-         What a classic it was.

NIKKI-           [Sings] Sorry, I’m mildly obsessed with Craig David. I saw him at Pinkfest. Carry on.

REECE-         We all are I think. So, yeah I had that. And they were like, ‘Well why don’t we send you over there to do the set, but do like a diary of what it’s like having type 1 and getting thrown into that kind of crazy experience?’. It made me think more, because I hadn’t been as prepared as I should have been. I went to Ibiza twice this summer, I was lucky enough to do that, both on his events. And the first time the insulin pen that I had out there I left it in the cab after a night out. And like an idiot I didn’t bring more than one. I was like, oh I’ve got my one, I’ll be all right, I’ll only be there for three days.

NIKKI-           So, what did you do?

REECE-         I’m part of a WhatsApp group and I asked those guys. I was like, ‘I don’t suppose, nobody’s in Ibiza by chance?’ One person was in Ibiza, I get a pen. I go to the event the next day, I see someone with a glucose sensor in their arm, and I go, ‘Have you got type 1?’ ‘They’re like, yeah’. ‘I don’t suppose you have a spare insulin pen, just so I can get two, just in case I lose another one in a cab?’ So, yeah, that’s the good thing, type 1 is strange because you can’t see it, it’s not a visible disability, but because we now we have monitoring systems the monitoring system becomes the visible thing for the disability. Do you know what I mean?

EMMA-         Yeah. So, the monitor checks your glucose levels, and then to manage those levels one of the things you do is inject yourself with an insulin pen. What else did you show on the documentary that you do to manage it, and you did to manage it in that unusual situation?

REECE-         It’s like a life of needles basically. You have background insulin. I’ll just talk you through a day, because I feel like I won’t forget anything then.

EMMA-         Yes, please. 

REECE-         Background insulin, I inject 15 units. That background insulin is kind of like your underlining insulin back-up reserve for the whole day. It lasts like 24 hours. Then I have my rapid insulin pen which is a more fast-acting insulin. So, I have that 15, 20 minutes before I eat something if it’s a big meal that has carbs, or anything that has carbs. So, say I have salmon pasta, and it’s like that’s going to be 70 carbs or something – I’m making that up – I’ll inject seven units of insulin so it balances. The insulin hits 15 to 20 minutes in. I then eat the food, perfect in line balance. So, you’re tricking your body basically. And then I’ll scan my sensor, it’s called a Libra the one I use, but there’s Dexcom and other brands and whatnot, so I scan that sensor all the time throughout the day to see where I’m at. If I know I need to eat something just to boost me up, if I know I’m going to walk from somewhere to the train station home, because that’s going to burn off energy and sugar. 

NIKKI-           How did your diagnosis, did it impact your mental health, your relationships, all of that? You seem quite – I’ve only just met you – but you do seem quite a strong fella. But did you struggle at all in any areas?

REECE-         Yeah, definitely. I think the first thing was it felt emasculating is the one I always think of.

NIKKI-           Really?

REECE-         Yeah, because I had to rely on something else to get me through life. I have to rely on injecting myself, and if I don’t I die eventually. Which I felt I got stripped away from something. And the nurse would come over and be like, ‘Here’s all your equipment and that’s what you have to use now for the rest of your life’ and I was like, oh.

NIKKI-           Bummer.

REECE-         Yeah, really weird. That lasted for about a month really. I felt like my manliness got took down a few per cent.

NIKKI-           And like your independence to a degree?

REECE-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           Which I guess a lot of physically disabled people can relate to in a degree. I need someone to help me do things, and I didn’t always, and it’s kind of a bit of an adjustment period.

REECE-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           But I kind of get what you’re saying there, that you have to rely on something. And that must be a change for you having not really had anything in the past.

REECE-         And I don’t like that. I don’t know about you two, but I don’t actually like relying on somebody for anything.

NIKKI-           No.

EMMA-         Oh, we’re so used to it now.

NIKKI-           Honestly, it’s so fascinating this because I’ve got a lovely PA called Libby, she’s not here at the moment, but I adore her and I wouldn’t be without her now. But would I, if I could take away that part of being disabled, I’m quite happy being in the scooter, I’m quite happy with my lot, I have to work really hard to get where I am and all that kind of stuff, I’ve got a lovely family, so I don’t feel sorry for myself one bit. Could I do away with having to have somebody to give me a hand to get up in the morning to go to work and do all of this and that? Absolutely 100 per cent within a heartbeat. Not Libby, let’s make that clear.

EMMA-         I think you’re okay. I think we know Libby’s a huge important part.

NIKKI-           But people have sick days, and you’re ready to go into a meeting, and you can’t go. It’s like, especially when you have to work and you have to earn money and there are lots of pressures on you and stuff. But it’s all of those things. I just think it’s so fascinating, and I think actually hearing it from your perspective as well.

EMMA-         What does it feel like when your glucose levels are high? And what does it feel like when they’re low?

REECE-         For me when it’s high, which again it’s different for different people, for me I could become a bit more kind of agitated around things, a bit grumpy, tired definitely, headachy. I know something doesn’t feel right, the most basic thing, but something is off, I don’t feel how I should be. And that’s usually when it goes high at like 10mmol to like 13. 13 and above I can really feel it. I just kind of wait on the app, it goes danger zone where yeah, I’m getting a real headache now and I’m feeling a bit sluggish and I’m like whoa, something is up here, I need to shake it.

                       When I’m low it’s light-headed, dizzy, confused, I feel like I’m going to faint, not as responsive, mumble words sometimes if it goes really low, really, really low sweating profusely.

EMMA-         That’s interesting. Because on your documentary you were at 11, weren’t you?

CLIP-             So, we’re about to go out on stage. We’ve literally got five minutes until the start of the set. I’m just checking my levels, 11.7, which is pretty high. But the risk is if you inject yourself now there’s a high chance that it could go too low during the set, and then I’ll have to down all of that juice. It isn’t the end of the world. I’m not going to die. But just from a perspective of always being in control of it this is one of those moments that it’s kind of got control of me.

EMMA-         It sounds like it’s such a balancing act.

NIKKI-           There is method to it.

REECE-         Yeah, it was. And you’re in an adrenaline mode where you’re like, I just don’t need to feel, high is bad, but if I can stay in that for an hour and get myself down, cool. And hour low and getting yourself back up I wouldn’t even be able to mix two songs into each other or say anything; it would go viral on TikTok, the idiot that…

EMMA-         So, it was a bit naughty, but it got you through.

REECE-         Yeah.

NIKKI-           You know what you’re doing.

REECE-         Yeah, exactly. It was like I looked and I went, okay cool, it’s not a 6 or a 5 or 4.9 or 7 maybe. But for an hour I can do this.

NIKKI-           Reece, I could talk to you all day.

REECE-         Same, that was a lot of fun.

EMMA-         Oh, I forgot to ask, does it affect your sex life, like your schlong?

NIKKI-           Oh my goodness, Emma Tracey.

REECE-         You managed to sneak in the schlong!

EMMA-         I snuck in the schlong.

NIKKI-           I can’t…that…

REECE-         Twice it has.

EMMA-         Schlong.

REECE-         Since we’re going there.

NIKKI-           Twice?

REECE-         Twice.

NIKKI-           What affects it, the schlong?

REECE-         Oh no, the schlong, that works. The thing that affects it is if I go low during, you know, because you want to put in a shift sometimes, and it’s burning a lot of energy. So, my poor body is going low in sugar and…

NIKKI-           [Singing] Ride it my pony.

EMMA-         Have you perfected the inject with one arm sort of mid…?

NIKKI-           This is Emma talking!

REECE-         My poor girlfriend would be scared if I got a needle out during intercourse I think so…

EMMA-         So, no.

REECE-         Yeah, no to that. I’ll try. I’ll let you know how it goes when we do it, yeah.

EMMA-         Please report back, that would be great. Thank you very much indeed.

NIKKI-           This Emma told me, I don’t like talking about rudey-dudy things, and then she goes. That was brilliant.

EMMA-         He said, ‘See if you can get it in’ so…the, get the word in. Okay, let’s finish now.

REECE-         Great that.

NIKKI-           Thank you. You are brilliant.

EMMA-         It’s been a joy.

REECE-         Thanks so much, girls. I appreciate that.

NIKKI-           Now, you can catch Reece’s episode on the Travel Show on BBC iPlayer. And I’d definitely, definitely go and check that out.

                       Well, it’s the end of the show. Now, why not drop us a message on WhatsApp. Our number is 0330 123 9480. And please could you start your message with the word Access. Or you could leave us a voice note if you like, we’d really love that.

EMMA-         You can follow us on Twitter @bbcAccessAll. Or you can old style email us, accessall@bbc.co.uk.

NIKKI-           Old school.

EMMA-         Old school, old style.

NIKKI-           Old birds on the radio. Right, we should go. Goodbye.

EMMA-         Bye.

[Trailer]

PRESENTER- You know when you’re worried about something, but then you talk to your friend who knows more about the subject than you do, and straightaway you start to feel better? That’s what we try and do every day on Newscast.

CLIP-             Now, they’re saying that that would be simple to do, it would give everyone certainty.

PRESENTER- We talk to people who are in the news:

CLIP-             You were chasing me round with a plate of cheese.

PRESENTER- We talk to people who know what’s going on in the news:

CLIP-             At least I didn’t get up and slap anybody.

PRESENTER- We talk to people who understand what the news means:

CLIP-             I think that he’s decided he’s going to listen, and then he might just intervene.

PRESENTER- And we talk to the best BBC journalists, asking the most important questions:

CHRIS-          What’s wrong with chinos? You don’t want them, people to start wearing chinos?

CLIP-             Don’t start me, Chris.

PRESENTER- That’s Newscast from BBC News, the podcast that knows a lot of people who know a lot about the news.

CLIP-             And I was like, go on Kate, put some more welly into it!

CLIP-             Listen to Newscast every day on BBC Sounds.

CLIP-             I’m glad I asked that.

CLIP-             I’m very glad that you asked that!