A young man diagnosed with diabetes in childhood tragically died three weeks short of his 20th birthday from the illness.
David Aitken never appeared to be ill from the condition and only really showed symptoms of thirst, his heartbroken family said.
However, tragedy struck when complications of the condition took his life at the tender age of 19, reports Wales Online.
His heartbroken parents, Zoe and Gary, were travelling home from a holiday in March last year when they learned of David's death. Hours before, David had said on the phone he thought he may have a stomach bug, but told his worried parents that his blood sugar levels had been "fine" all day.
However, David's levels had not been fine for some time. David had recorded an extremely high blood sugar level in early January but didn't tell his parents.
The University of South Wales student was enjoying his life in Cardiff, away from where he grew up in Whitland, near the south west of Wales.
The couple said they don't blame the NHS for their son's death but think he could perhaps have been saved. They fear stretched healthcare staff may have missed opportunities to save him. A "thorough clinical review" of their concerns will now be held by Hywel Dda health board.
Zoe, 59, said: "David was kind and funny, and he would have been just such a lovely man if he got that far. We feel it's such a waste. It needn't have happened."
Twin sister Zoe is raising funds for Diabetes UK in David's memory. The siblings spent their early years in Coventry before moving to Wales when they were eight.
The family said David relished life in Wales, going to Dr Who conventions in Cardiff, having dressed up as David Tennant's version of the doctor in his younger days, later getting the autographs of several of the me who have played the famous time-traveller.
Sian, a 21-year-old student at Cambridge University, said her brother always let her have the front seat of the car from around age 11.
"I used to like to think it was because he knew his place," she said. "My brother always used to let me be player one on the Wii; I used to think it was because he knew I was faster on Mario Kart. My brother always used to let me do the talking; I used to think it was because he was shy. I realise now, ten years since he stopped racing me to the front of the car, that my brother was just an amazingly nice, caring twin brother.
"I have always respected my brother’s attitude towards life, the way he always did what he wanted to do despite what others, or society, would tell him. He had a passion for things that most teenage boys wouldn’t — watching every single episode of Glee and memorising every single Strictly dance and song ever, to name just a few.
"He remained passionate about it despite my usually quite obvious eye-rolls, and I will always admire and cherish this about him, remembering that life really is too short to give a damn, that we should stress less and stay in bed more."
When David was 12, his parents noticed he was drinking "incredible" amounts of orange squash. The extreme thirst led to the Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, the only symptom he had for the condition.
The disorder is caused by the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin. Unlike with Type 2, diet and lifestyle are not triggers. Zoe said: "David had never felt ill from it, which was quite unusual. All he ever had was a feeling of thirst."
The couple said David soon adjusted to life with diabetes, getting used to checking his glucose levels and monitoring his diet and how much insulin he needed to take.
On March 14 last year, the couple received a text from David saying he was feeling unwell. Zoe said: "We phoned him and it sounded like he had some sort of stomach bug. Crucially he told us that his blood had been 'fine all day'.
"We advised him to keep his fluid intake up and to keep an eye on his blood and arranged that he would phone us in the morning. That was the last time we spoke to him.
"In the morning we couldn't get hold of David. We didn't worry too much at first as he was classically bad at answering his phone or even at having notifications turned on. We became increasingly worried and contacted his letting agency who phoned one of his flatmates."
David's flatmates knew he was feeling unwell the night before and assumed he was still sleeping when he didn't emerge from his room the next morning. Hours later, David was found dead in his room.
Zoe said: "We started driving back because we realised the letting agency was not telling us something. It was beyond your worst nightmares. We were on the M25 at rush hour and we knew police were involved. One of Sian's friends had gone to where he lived and found police there. Through that friend, we were eventually able to contact police.
"The sergeant said, 'You need to get to Cardiff now.' I said, 'He's dead, isn't he?' And she said, 'If you've worked that out, I'm not going to contradict you.'
"I still have that vision of being at South Mimms service station when we found out. I will never forget it."
The cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis, which happens when the body is running out of insulin. After David's death, the family learned his glucose meter had no readings on it from after January.
"This suggests that at best he was attempting to short-cut the system by making assumptions about his insulin needs and injecting himself accordingly," said Zoe. "We have no way of knowing how much insulin he was giving himself, but it can't have been enough… Our only guess is that he was thinking he'd got the system cracked."
Until that January, David's test results had always been posted to the family home. His parents say there were permissions on his file for them to be contacted. They believe a "red flag" should have been raised after the high reading.
David had phone appointments about his diabetes but had not seen a consultant face-to-face since February 2020, his parents said. The Covid pandemic had caused appointments to be cancelled, and one was postponed the month before he died, with David due to attend the rescheduled appointment within a few weeks
The parents say the loss of their son is "there all the time". But Zoe added: "We have got our daughter and Gary has got an older son, Tom. We are such a close family. We talk about David, and the funny things he did and said. It's amazing how many of his friends have said how kind and funny he was."
Sian said: "I can’t say that I think it was David’s time to go, because it wasn’t, but I said to my parents not long after losing Dave, that he probably wouldn’t have enjoyed adulthood anyway, like a little Peter Pan that was destined to a chilled-out life of childhood.
"I perhaps don’t necessarily still think this, because of course he would have thrived in the David way that he always did. Dave was becoming an intelligent, charismatic, funny young adult."
Mandy Rayani, director of nursing and patient experience at Hywel Dda health board, which runs Glangwili Hospital, said: “Firstly, I would like to express our sympathies to Mr Aitken’s family for their loss. While we are unable to comment on individual cases, I can confirm the health board is in contact with the family regarding their concerns and is committed to a thorough clinical review of the issues they have asked us to consider.”
David's family have started a fundraiser to help Diabetes UK push for better support for young adults with Type 1 diabetes. You can donate here.
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