Yvonne Lloyd from Newcastle Emlyn has had her head shaved and raised almost £6,000 for Diabetes UK Cymru.

She and her son Tristan, a Type 1 diabetic, are keen to spread the word about the realities and risks of living with this condition.

Around 300,000 people in Wales have Type 1 diabetes, a serious, lifelong condition where the blood glucose level is too high because the body cannot make a hormone called insulin. About 10 per cent of diabetics have Type 1. It is not caused by diet or lifestyle factors but it can be hereditary.

Tristan was in his second year at Cardiff University when he was diagnosed.

“In October 2012 Tristan asked us to Skype him because he was ill. He had been losing weight and feeling unwell for about a month and was getting worse,” recalled Yvonne.

“We could see immediately something was seriously wrong. He looked very pale and tired. His speech was slurred. My husband and I set off for Cardiff immediately. When we arrived Tristan was very sleepy and feeling sick. We called an ambulance.

"He was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) - something we had never heard of.”

DKA can be the first sign that someone has developed diabetes. A severe lack of insulin means the body cannot use glucose for energy.

It starts to break down other body tissue and produces poisonous chemicals called ketones. Symptoms, such as vomiting, abdominal pain, increased urination, weakness, confusion and loss of consciousness, can come on quickly.

Left untreated, DKA can be fatal.

See this week’s south papers for the full feature, available in shops and as a digital edition now