This episode covers grief and relationship strain after my partner's mother's sudden death, growing and expanding a recruitment business, the failed MBO and the 2008 financial crash that forced closures and redundancies. I describe how stress and long hours made my blood sugars yo-yo into severe hypos, led to burnout, and ultimately selling the company — plus a brief look at personal consequences and what comes next.

Throughout, he battles long commutes, low and high blood sugars (including dangerous hypos), long hours, and personal strain as his partner’s mother becomes seriously ill. The episode covers the professional turnaround, the physical toll of the work, and how these frenetic years affected his health.

He also discusses early complications like retina damage and erectile dysfunction, how an intense focus on work affected his health and relationships, and the life changes that followed as he moves toward a new job and chapter in episode 12.

He explains rapid growth, buying better technology, expanding operations in Italy with local staff and an internet café, and the lifestyle changes that followed. However, relationship breakdown and internal conflict led to client losses, increased competition, and mounting financial pressure.

The episode closes with the business struggling despite earlier success and a hint that the story continues in the next episode.

As he rebuilds his health and career in education sales, rapid success leads to conflicts at work, a dramatic resignation, and the decision to start his own competing business.

Ongoing stress and high blood sugars lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a coma and a long recovery that ends this chapter of teaching and pushes me back into education-related work.

The episode covers life as a halls warden, working in student bars and as a Harvester manager, dental and health consequences, and the transition toward a teaching career.

The host recounts real-life incidents—from driving-related hypos and a motorway collision to loss of hypo awareness, neuropathic pain, and the treatments that followed—highlighting how management and care can make a difference.

The episode also covers career highs in financial sales, the 1990s property boom and crash, and how untreated high blood sugars affected judgement and relationships. It ends with the narrator heading to university while still adapting to life with Type 1 diabetes.

Returning home he leaves the service for a new career, is misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetic, and struggles with the early consequences of unmanaged type 1 diabetes — setting up the challenges to be explored in future episodes.

I also recount a distressing encounter with the deputy general manager that led me to resign, and how that pushed me to join the RAF. The episode closes with my tough basic training, an injury, and a hint of what comes next.