I went for a check-up... next thing I was rushed to hospital

"I was lucky because that night they said if I had slept at home I would have slipped into a coma.

- BY JOE THOMAS

Jake O'Brien's parents had taken him to see a doctor as a precaution. Within hours it was clear their instincts had saved him from a medical emergency.

There had been signs he was unwell - severe thirst, tiredness that led to naps in the daytime, a loss of weight at a time when he was working to gain it. He was 16 though - sport dominated his life and, well, life is rarely straightforward for anyone that age.

That their son was experiencing the telltale signs of diabetes now seems obvious. But, back then, there was no reason for it to have crossed their minds.

One afternoon their concern reached a tipping point and by that night the condition crashed into their consciousness amid fears over Jake's health.

O'Brien said: "Eventually I was just in my sitting room and my parents noticed that I looked a lot weaker and skinnier than usual.

"I went to the doctor's for a little checkup to see if there was anything. I wasn't expecting it to be much. They took my bloods and I was rushed to hospital."