I think it’s fair to say we’ve all had an extremely tough year and a half with the global pandemic and lockdowns. So many people have been affected in different ways, lives have been lost, businesses have shut down. It’s been a tough journey for each individual.

I’ve been asked a lot recently what I did to get through the past year and also what I have learnt as an individual.

Constructive use of downtime

I used the downtime extremely productively: I went and did a make-up course and got a diploma, I took up a lot of cooking and I really appreciated the time I had with my family and my five dogs, as I never normally get that amount of time with them all at once.

I also set up a new Instagram account @type1_team with my dear friend Vanessa Haydock (@diabetic_health_coach_) to document our journeys with our diabetes throughout lockdown and we did live Q&As to help others with the condition.

Alarms and insights give extra flexibility

I was very lucky to be able to try out the brand new FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor last year. All I can say is WOW. The FreeStyle Libre 2 system has completely transformed my life and my mindset and I cannot quite believe the intelligence that is behind this little piece of technology.

It has fantastic new alarms that alert you when your glucose levels are running low or running high^◊. It has given me so much more flexibility! It shows me exactly my time in target^φ  and the great thing about the alarm is that you are able to set it to the numbers of your choice, so you know when to take action , when your levels are either dropping or going up so you know when you need insulin or food. It’s a massive help especially having a fast-paced lifestyle like mine as it alerts me proactively. It literally is incredible.

The significant change of pace affects my glucose levels

Moving forward to this year, it’s crazy for me to think that this time last year my life was the slowest it had ever been due to the whole performing and entertainment industry completely closing down. And now this year, in just a few months, my life has gone back to being 100 miles an hour! I’ve managed to film two TV shows, book a Panto for the end of the year and gig again. I can’t quite believe it. There was a part of me that worried would the entertainment industry ever be back to how it used to be, and I finally feel like we’re at the end of the tunnel now and some normality is back in our lives.

Now I’m back performing, filming and generally just working again, I have found that I have to do my best to keep good control over my glucose levels and be even more on it now than ever, because my body is in a bit of shock after having a year off to being back full pace again.

I don’t know how I would do it without the help of the FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor! It’s made my life so much easier especially when I’m travelling up and down the country all the time.

With all that being said, I hope everyone is starting to feel like there’s a bit of normality back in their lives. We’ve all been on a very tough journey, but as long as we’re healthy and happy moving forward, that’s all that matters. I think it’s safe to say we will never take anything for granted again.

Amelia Lily is a FreeStyle Libre ambassador. You can follow Amelia on Instagram @amelialily11