A YOUNGSTER who knows, first-hand, what it is like to live with diabetes is 13-year-old David Cody.

His mum, Sue, described diabetes as "a hindrance, a pain" for a teenager.

David, a pupil at St Joseph's High School in Horwich is insulin dependant and was diagnosed at the age of one.

Mrs Cody, aged 41, who lives with her three children in Westhoughton, explained: "He has to have two injections and between three and five blood tests a day."

She said Coronation Street character Katy Nelson's warning signs were typical of the onset of diabetes and added it was "good to highlight diabetes on the television".

Mrs Cody said: "The thirst, tiredness and lethargy are all typical signs. The more people who understand it, the better."

It was often difficult, she said, for people to appreciate what diabetes' sufferers go through because it is "an invisible disease".

She explained: "People with diabetes can seem just like everyone else, until they have an attack."

Her worries for the future are the same as any other mother of a teenage son, but added to because of David's diabetes.

She said: "I will just want to follow him round all the time to make sure he is doing everything he should."

David has to stick to a "healthy diet" and knows he has to avoid sweets and chocolate when his blood sugar level is high -- to prevent going in to a diabetic coma."

David said he did not mind giving himself the injections. "The injections have been updated now and they don't hurt.

"I have to test my blood by pricking my finger but I don't mind doing that."

Mrs Cody admitted that she felt "sad" when David has to be more careful about what he eats than his younger sister, 12-year-old Beth. "She can got to the shops and buy 20 pence of sweets and not even think about it. I just tell her they will damage her teeth.

"David can have sweets but only in moderation."

Mrs Cody, who also has a six-year-old, Danny, said David had learned, over the years, what he can and cannot eat.

She said: "There is a lot to think about. David has to watch his diet but because it has been a part of his life since he was a baby it is routine to him.

"It would probably be harder for someone who has got into bad habits to shake those habits when they suddenly discover they have diabetes."

He has regular eye tests and his feet have to be examined. Both are potential problem areas for diabetics.

Mrs Cody said she had received a great deal of support and help from staff at the children's diabetic clinic at the Royal Bolton Hospital.