My son won't let diabetes stop him so he created a superhero and wants a shout-out from Spider-Man Tom Holland

The parents of a nine-year-old Blackpool boy battling type 1 diabetes are hoping for a morale-boosting message from Spider-Man actor Tom Holland after their son created his very own superhero.

Reggie Carlton-Simons, from Bispham, was diagnosed with his condition in July and requires daily insulin injections as well as having to almost totally avoid sugar and carbohydrates.

Mum Danielle says that, as if the diagnosis itself wasn’t devastating enough for the youngster, it comes after watching his dad Wayne fight severe illness since the day Reggie was born and two years after a major car crash in which the family were involved in Turkey.

Jack’s dad has had type 1 diabetes since he was 11 along with an ultra-rare condition of c1q deficiency and has undergone transplants.

“The combination of his sudden diagnosis, the crash ordeal and ongoing family illnesses has left Reggie with severe medical trauma,” said Danielle.

“This has triggered an intense, heartbreaking phobia of his diabetes injections and it has become so difficult that he currently cannot even bear to have his life-saving insulin pod put on.

“The pod would prevent him from having daily injections and enable him to return to his normal diet as he currently is restricted with carbs and sugar almost entirely.

“Watching him live in constant fear and distress, losing his childhood joy to this trauma, is just breaking our hearts and making Reggie very sad.

“But to help himself cope with his fears, he created his very own superhero called ‘Diabeetle’, whose superpower is helping children face their deepest fears and raise awareness of type 1 diabetes.

“He helps them understand the scary transition from old, painful injection methods to modern medical treatments.

“Even while dealing with his own immense trauma, our little boy still wanted to create something to make other children feel brave and understand the truth about living life with diabetes.

“Normally, Halloween is Reggie's favourite time of year, but because of his current struggles and the fact that he cannot eat sweets, he just wants to skip it entirely.

“To bring a spark back into his eyes and make up for missing Halloween, we are surprising Reggie with a trip to Legoland Windsor this weekend.

“Tom Holland as Spider-Man is Reggie's absolute idol and by coincidence, Tom grew up near Windsor.

“He and his family run The Brothers Trust charity, which raises funds for under-heard, effective charities and children facing severe hardships.

“Our ultimate dream is to get a message to Tom before our day our at Legoland on Sunday.

“We know he is incredibly busy, but if he were to see this, even just a brief video message, a wave, or a tiny peek from afar while we are in the area, would really change everything for Reggie.

“It would prove to him that his own immense bravery with ‘Diabeetle’ has been noticed by Spider-Man himself.

“It would give Reggie the strength he so desperately needs to overcome his phobias and accept his modern medical treatments.”