LIKE any six-year-old, Ivan Nixon Bentley is full of energy and cheekiness.

HANDS ON: Little Ivan Nixon Bentley has Type 1 diabetes and needs to test his blood sugar level several times a day. Times photo Wayne Martin.

He loves riding his bike, leaps onto the couch with gay abandon and mucks around in the playground at school.

But the highs and lows of growing up take on a different meaning for the little boy, who was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes at age five.

“Ivan’s life is not a box of birds,” says his mum, Francesca Nixon.

“He used to have big bruises over himself with the needles. You’re a bit like a human pincushion.”

Life is a series of numbers for the Cockle Bay mum. From the time Ivan gets up in the morning, her day is consumed by working out the weight and dietary content of every morsel that goes into his mouth.

“My maths has improved drastically,” she laughs.

“From the minute he gets up, my life involves weighing. It’s a full-time job, basically. My husband and I haven’t been out together in over a year. Until he gets older, I’m pretty much here.”

Ivan uses a $7500 insulin pump to control his diabetes, which his parents secured through their health insurers in a landmark case that astounded his doctors.

“The doctors were all floored at the fact that somebody had done it,” says Ms Nixon. “Basically I went through my policy wording with a fine tooth comb.”

Giving him as normal a life as possible is the family’s top priority.

“He attacks life with the vigour that he should do at his age,” says Ms Nixon.

“You can’t imagine the joy I felt at taking him out and buying him an ice cream. It really was like watching a kid in a candy store.”

“The best thing to eat is cake and ice cream,” agrees Ivan. “I hated it when everyone used to stare when I didn’t have my pumps and I had my injections. The worst thing is when I go low and feel shaky.”

Since Ivan got the pump, his mum has witnessed a major turnaround in his behaviour

 “When he’s high, he’s just naughty. He’s so much calmer now. He’s more balanced and, let’s face it, with a six-year-old, that’s what you want. His school says it’s much easier to control his behaviour too.”

Ivan’s easygoing attitude and his school’s “awesome” assistance have made things a lot easier for the family.

“He got it at an age where he understands it and he’s always been really proactive. I’m so lucky that Shelly Park are as good as they are and as hands-on as they are. I can’t thank them enough.”

Leading up to Diabetes Awareness Week (November 20-26), Ms Nixon wants to change the ideas people have about Type-1 diabetes.

“You feed your kids rubbish – that’s what most people think.  It’s ignorance and it’s understandable, but it’s quite hurtful. Having Type-1 diabetes has got nothing to do with diet. We don’t have a family history of diabetes – there’s no rhyme or reason why he got it.”