Christmas came early for one schoolboy with type 1 diabetes who got the chance to take part in a toy shop trolley dash.
Taylor Banks (pictured), aged eight, who has a rare condition which means he is allergic to insulin was given a minute to grab as many toys as he could at The Entertainer store in Bolton.
He is the only person in the country to have the insulin allergy and he has spent the past six months in Great Ormond Street Hospital where further treatment is being sought.
He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was two years old. After a period of a lot pain and frequent hospital admissions, doctors discovered insulin causes his body to deteriorate.
The pain Taylor experienced was his body reacting to the insulin injections, which he needs to control his diabetes.
Being allergic to insulin is rare but not unheard of, but what is different about Taylor’s condition is the way his body reacts to the treatment.
When injected the muscles near to the injection site can collapse or swell, but if administered intravenously, to bypass his skin, he can have an internal allergic reaction.
The charity When You Wish Upon a Star, plans events for children living with a life-threatening illness and organised the toy shopping trip.
Taylor was joined by nine-year-old Kaila McCrea, who has cystic fibrosis and together they racked up a total of £725 worth of toys which they got to keep.
Speaking to local newspaper the Leigh Journal, Taylor’s mum Gemma Westwell said: “It was nice to do something normal for a little while.
“He had been really looking forward to it. We even did little trolley dashes at home to get used to it. He was very excited. All he wanted was Nerf guns.”
Picture: Leigh Journal
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