Girl must spend EVERY night of her life in hospital after developing unique diabetic condition

Alice Halstead is only 18 years old, but will have to sleep in hospital for the rest of her life because a single night out could kill her.

While girls her age are going to university and discovering bars, Alice has never got drunk, gone clubbing, or stayed out late.

She treats each day as if it is her last due to her unique and unpredictable condition that has baffled doctors around the world.

Alice having a Plasma exchange in 2007. The teenager has spent two and a half years in hospital due to her unique diabetic condition. Despite her illness she is determined to raise money for charity

Alice has an extreme form of diabetes, that if treated does not limit her life expectancy, but meand she has to be monitored around the clock.

The one in 6.7billion condition causes the teenager's blood sugar to vary wildly and she needs hourly treatment to stop her slipping into a diabetic coma.



Without a cure Alice has told she faces every night of her life in a hospital bed.



In a unique twist the vital insulin pumped into Alice to control the diabetes and save her life also makes her extremely poorly - reacting and causing potential deadly blood clots.



This Christmas will be her third in hospital and she has spent the last two and a half years there.

Alice has never had a boyfriend, never been to a pub and has only ever had once drink of alcohol - a glass of champagne on her 18th birthday, which had to be when she was supervised and surrounded by doctors.



'I do find myself thinking that in many respects I am very lucky'

At the age of 16, she was a normal, healthy teenager with hardly a care in the world.

When she started feeling weak and lethargic blood tests revealed her unique condition.



Speaking from the hospital bed in Airedale Hospital in Keighley, West Yorks, she said: 'My condition is one of a kind. Nobody knows if I will ever get out of hospital, I could spend the rest of my life here - it's a terrible thought.



'I spent 16 living a healthy, normal life and I never thought I would be in the situation I am in now or spend years in hospital.



'I was diagnosed with Type One diabetes on June 7, in 2006, but very quickly it became apparent this wasn't an ordinary form of the condition.



'It's been an absolute rollercoaster since I first went to my doctors and after taking tests I could see from his face something wasn't right.



'I was told that it was very serious and rushed to the paediatrics ward. I sat there in a daze, with my legs trembling trying to contemplate what the future held for me - I had no idea what it all meant and how it could change my life.



'I had central lines put into my heart - these are tubes that administer the insulin directly. But my weak immune system meant infections kept coming back, and I have also been diagnosed with Endocarditis, a infection of the heart valve.



'I've now had 22 central lines put in, and have three blood clots, which makes it very difficult to insert another one - which I need to give me my insulin intravenously.



'I am completely unique, no medical professionals have found anyone else like me.'



Alice Halstead has baffled doctors with her condition, which means she must spend every night in hospital

On the rare occasions Alice goes shopping, she has to be incredibly careful to avoid crowds of people who could knock over the pump she is constantly attached to.



She has been unable to take her GCSEs or A Levels and at the start of her diagnosis, none of the doctors knew what was wrong.



A series of blood tests were taken in March 2007 and her blood was sent around the world - results showed she was totally unique antibody levels in her body had rocketed.



Her insulin level was mindboggling high at 85,000 milligrams - a normal person's insulin levels should be between 0 and 120.



And the insulin she was being given to keep her alive was actually making the condition worse.



It was being bound to the antibodies, stored and then released later, causing her blood sugar to plummet.



An intravenous dextrose drip was also attached to her in the hope that it would maintain her blood sugar levels.



Various drugs were also pumped into her body in the hope that something would work and keep the dangerous antibodies away.



Eventually they began to slowly disappear but Alice's condition stayed the same and she now has the immune system of a newborn baby.



Doctor Phillip Holland, who treats Alice at Leeds General Infirmary, said he had never seen a similar case.



He said: 'Alice's condition is unique in the way that it binds a large quantity of insulin.



'Alice and her family have coped remarkably well with everything - I hope in part it is because we have always been open and honest with her. She has taken a very pragmatic and sensible approach to it all.



'We are all hoping that the antibodies stay away and that Alice can one day live a normal life.'

Alice has used her time in hospital to raise awareness of others with the same condition.



She was granted a wish by the Rays of Sunshine charity and was taken to London in July 2009 to see the Lion King.



' You never know what's going to happen however poorly or well you are, so I just enjoy each day like it's my last'

She was so inspired by her experience and by meeting other ill children in hospital that she began to tirelessly raise money for the charity and has already collected £11,000.



She said: 'Spending two years in hospital makes you realise that there is always someone worse off than yourself.



'I have met so many ill children and their families and sadly not all those children have survived.



'After my trip I wanted other children to be able to have a similar opportunity to me.



'Despite all the problems I have, I do find myself thinking that in many respects I am very lucky - mainly because of all the support I get.



'I do believe that being ill makes you a better person, you appreciate what you have in life and enjoy the simple things that mean so much to you as a individual.



'We don't always have the opportunity to choose what happens in our lives but we do have the choice to make a difference to what really matters.



'It's hoped that one day I might be able to lead a normal life, but you never know what's going to happen however poorly or well you are, so I just enjoy each day like it's my last.'

Donations can be made to Alice's charity through the JustGiving website



