JAMES Griffiths has never seen his wife or toddler son, but he thinks that's a small price to pay for their love.
Without the illness that stole his sight and independence, and even critical organs, mr Griffiths would never have met "the most beautiful person" in his life.
Mr Griffiths’s decade-long battle with diabetes took a dramatic turn three years ago when he had a double-kidney and pancreatic transplant.
The rare surgery, performed at Monash Medical Centre, was his only chance of survival.
But within days, the toughest time of mr Griffith’s life became the best.
He fell in love with Taryn Lea, the ward assistant helping him recover from the operation.
"At the start I just liked Taryn’s voice, but then we got talking and we got to know each other. and from there I fell in love with her," mr Griffiths said.
The now Ms Griffiths said she was instantly attracted to his positive attitude.
"A lot of patients feel sad and sorry for themselves, but James was always very nice," she said.
"He made me laugh. It didn’t take long to see he was a very special person."
The couple wed a year later and, despite medical warnings they may never be able to conceive because of James’ illness, had a son. Steven is now 14 months old.
But the highs did not come before some significant lows.
Mr Griffiths, now 30, was just 19 when he was diagnosed with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
"they said I’d probably had it for three to six years previously," he said. "I had all the symptoms – I was thirsty a lot, I drank a lot, I sweat a lot – but I was a labourer working outside, so I thought that was normal."
Mr Griffiths has since gone blind, lost feeling in the tips of his feet, and suffered renal failure and bowel problems.
Had he known more about the consequences of diabetes, he believes he could have been able to avoid his run of ill health.
Now he is on a mission to warn people about the dangers of ignoring the warning signs of diabetes, and is teaming up with Southern Health to talk to patients and families about managing the condition.