A mother of two, Mrs Farra admitted she had been getting concerned because Ethan had been drinking abnormally large amounts of water.

"My friend said it may be diabetes and I should get Ethan checked out for it," she said.

"When I took him to the doctor to be tested it was worse than I could have known.

"Ethan was rushed straight into hospital where he was diagnosed with being on the last legs of slipping into a Type-1 diabetic coma.

"His blood sugar count was literally off the clock of their hospital monitors. It was a terrible shock and very scary because the idea of diabetes just never entered my head.

"We had no family history of it and I'd never even knowlingly had any contact with anybody who suffered from it."

From that moment life changed dramatically for both Sally Farra and Ethan.

The three-year old was also found to be a chronic coeliac, and that plus Type-1 diabetes meant Ethan had to have a very specialised diet in addition to having eight insulin injections a day.

"Morisset Lions heard about Ethan and they were just wonderful," Mrs Farra said.

"They spent thousands of dollars funding an electronic measuring and dispensing insulin machine which Ethan, now six, wears like a belt.

"That has reduced his injections from eight a day to one every three days, which is fantastic for him, though he is incredibly brave and amazingly cheerful."

Like his mum, Ethan knows that research is the only real hope of finding a cure for Type-1 diabetes.

Mrs Farra said the Hunter had the highest incidence of the disease in Australia, which itself has one of the highest rates in the world.

"So far nobody knows why but Type-1 isn't a result of diet or obesity. The Central Coast isn't anywhere near as bad," she said.

On November 8, Ethan and his mum will lead a team of 30 family and friends on a sponsored walk along Newcastle Foreshore to raise money for the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation.

"The day will be great fun with entertainment, games, barbecue, music and displays," Mrs Farra said.

Her target is to raise $2500 . You can help her achieve it by contacting her on 0423 066 976.