Tom Ball spoke about the struggles of living with type 1 diabetes.
The 26-year-old singer, who rose to fame after wowing audiences with her performances on “Britain's Got Talent” and “America's Got Talent All-Stars,” was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease at the age of eight.
Now he is determined to use his platform as a musician to spread a message of hope to those suffering from diabetes and to spread understanding and awareness of the condition.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he said: “I'd never spoken about my diabetes before I came on BGT but then I realised I had a platform and wanted to use it to do some good.”
“I have type 1 diabetes so it's obviously incurable, there's no cure and we don't know why it happens.
“This is not lifestyle-related, it is an autoimmune disease.
“It affects every moment of my life.
“You have to be conscious when you inject. You have to sleep with two needles attached to your body 24 hours a day. There is a tube sticking out of your stomach at all times. You have to be constantly conscious of your blood sugar level while injecting yourself.”
“It's not just food that affects blood sugar levels. Everything from the temperature outside to stress levels, anxiety, emotions, and exercise can affect blood sugar levels.”
Tom, who has just released his debut album, 'Curtain Call', admits that his illness influences every decision he makes in life, as not looking after his health could have very serious consequences.
He explained: “Everything I do in life there's a thought behind it: 'How is this going to affect my health?' And if I don't take care of myself it can be very serious and ultimately fatal.”
“If you don't take care of yourself, you'll end up in hospital. [if] If they don't do anything, I won't be able to stay with us anymore.
“So there's a lot of pressure on everyone with type 1 diabetes to do the best they can, and it's frustrating when they don't do their best because there's so much more to consider than just the math.”
“Diabetes affects everything I do, and several of the songs on the album are about type 1 diabetes because it's such a big part of my life.”
The singer acknowledged that her parents had been under “a lot of pressure” to care for her, adding that she understood the struggles they were going through after her manager's son was diagnosed with the disease.
He said: “When I was first diagnosed, my mum and dad did everything for me. I was too young and had no control over it. They had to look after me and it was a lot of pressure on them.”
“My manager Jay's son was diagnosed about two months after I met him, and by pure coincidence, it was his third song.
“And now that I'm looking after myself, I know how much my parents worried and worked hard to look after me, but I also see how much Jay and his wife Victoria have done for their son Franklin, so I know it was a huge impact on them.”
Tom admitted his family are “worried” about his health as he tours around the world, adding that his wife Hannah Burtenshaw has demanded he send her his blood sugar readings and will “panic” if he doesn't.
He said: “Right now I'm travelling all over the world, taking care of my health. My wife wants to know my numbers so I tell her. If she doesn't see them, she panics.”
Tom's album “Curtain Call” is now out.