NIKITA Kuzmin dazzles on the Strictly dance floor. But behind the scenes, the confident 26-year-old is fighting an "invisible" health battle. It has completely taken over his life - and the "scary" condition even triggered the potential end of his career as a performer.
Nikita was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Ukraine at the age of 13. "It was quite traumatic because I was diagnosed in the middle of the night," he said. "It was literally like 2am when we arrived at the children’s hospital because my blood sugar levels were extremely high.
"They were spiking, and I had been feeling very ill for about a week. "I’m grateful to my father and mother for taking me to hospital, as they figured out that it might be diabetes." Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose, or sugar, in the blood to become too high.
Unlike type 2 diabetes , it is not linked with age or being overweight , but neither has a cure. "At the time, I felt like my life was over, like my dance career might be finished," Nikita, who moved to Italy as a child, said. "Obviously, at 13, that’s quite a big change in your life and daily routine, and I was afraid of needles.
"Seeing a needle straight away to jab me with insulin was quite scary, but I had to get over that. "I was really scared and didn’t know what to do." He began treatment, which involves injecting insulin, counting the carbohydrates he eats and drinks, and getting regular health checks.
Now, he wears a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) se.