Gosport pupils wear onesies to support Shyloe, nine, who has diabetes

FRIENDS of Shyloe Wilson wore their onesies to school to raise money for and awareness of diabetes.

The nine-year-old, who goes to Rowner Juniors in Gosport, has Type 1 diabetes and to show their support for her condition, her friends wore onesies to school and donated £1 to charity JDRF, as part of Type Onesie day.

The charity is looking to cure diabetes and Shyloe has raised money for it in the past. As well as fundraising, the youngsters learned about diabetes with Shyloe’s mum Victoria giving a talk.

Shyloe said: ‘It was great seeing my friends in onesies to help support me and JDRF. It was fun teaching them about my condition so they can help me if I need help.

Shyloe when she had her hair cut to raise money for Diabetes UK and the Little Princess Trust

‘I want to be a teacher when older so that was a little test mummy and I did together.’

Victoria added: ‘It was great to see the school supporting Shyloe through her condition. It was a brilliant day and the children looked amazing. It was so good to see them all taking part.

‘The key part of the day was to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes and have Shyloe involved so they could all understand the challenges she has on a daily basis.

‘The school has been brilliant helping with her care and many of the school team are now trained by the diabetes medical team from Queen Alexandra Hospital to assist Shyloe with her life-long medial care.’

Along with talking in assembly, Victoria held workshops in all the classes through the school.

As previously reported in The News, Shyloe does not let her condition stop her from being an ordinary child.

Earlier this year she ran in the Lee-on-the-Solent 5k parkrun and weeks later she raised money for JDRF by cutting her long hair. She donated the hair to the Little Princess Trust which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair.

Headteacher of the school Kerry Payne said: ‘Learning about the first hand experiences of our pupils is so important.

‘Type Onesie day has supported the fundraising for JDRF and helped us all to find out more the daily challenges Shyloe and her family experience.

‘The whole school community enjoyed the day and all went home talking about what they had found out.’