Sturt Cricket Club women’s captain Eliza Bartlett has begun an epic, six-month solo 4000km trek from Italy to Scotland with the aim of raising $100,000 to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. This ambitious trekking cum fund-raising campaign is pretty close to the player’s heart as the 27-year old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of nine and since then, the brave heart is fighting with her determination to win over the disease.
“This is a disease that I have to treat 24 hours a day,” Ms Bartlett said. “In my 18 years of living with diabetes, I have had more than 40,000 injections or pricks to my body and I’ve worn a device and sometimes two (insulin pump and Continuous glucose monitor) attached to my body every second of every day for the last 15 years.”
“I have spent thousands of dollars and lost thousands of hours of sleep … I have very nearly lost my life to dangerously low blood sugar levels.” But, “I’ve always said diabetes was the best thing to happen to me because it’s pushed me to do so much.”
The trek started in Brindisi, Italy and she is walking north where she’ll cross the Swiss Alps, then on to France and England and aims to be home by September 26.
‘Gully’ cricket player and close observer of Indian Cricket team and it’s matches. Straight forward and still socially admirable personality. Strong belief in teamwork and possess high leadership skills.