Category Archives: Personal

When 37 is the new 46

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There’s something special about being able to celebrate* two milestones in my life on the same day. February 24 not only marks 46 years since I came into this world, but also 37 years of conquering an illness that could easily have seen it end if not for an awe-inspiring medical discovery in 1922.

The last year has seen a lot of changes for me in all aspects of my life. I was appointed as the Finance Director for the charity I’ve worked for over the last 3 and a half years or so, which has stretched me in ways I couldn’t have imagined, but has also been more fulfilling than I could have hoped. Working within the social care sector during a time of financial crisis following 2+ years of pandemic has been challenging, but the things I’ve learned and the friendships I’ve built at work have bolstered me during what could easily have been some mentally exhausting moments.

Both children  – well, I say children, but really now one adult and one in their late teens – have started to explore and venture out onto the next steps in their lives and I’ve had to learn to balance wanting to solve all of their problems myself with allowing them to make their own mistakes and find their way through those challenges as best they can with our support as needed.

And my 37th year with T1D has seen another new technological development for me. Seven years ago I spoke about my introduction to the Freestyle Libre, the flash glucose monitoring system which turned me into the bionic woman and transformed the way I tested my blood glucose levels. Seven years on, my whole T1D life has been revolutionised once again as I’m now the proud owner of a “hybrid closed-loop system” or artificial pancreas, to use the vernacular, which allows my insulin pump to speak to the CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) I wear and adjust the steady administration of insulin to adapt to my changing blood sugars, activities and food intakes.

When that diagnosis happened on my 9th birthday, I’m not sure any of my family could have imagined the changes and developments that would happen to mean that I could spend a little less time focused on getting through each day with T1D in one piece and a little more on enjoying all that life has to offer.

Today will be a quiet day with family, enjoying time with my most favourite people in the world and loving the life I’m able to live with a new constant companion, my insulin pump, to help manage the one that’s been there for almost as long as I can remember. It is time to celebrate both of today’s occasions and I will certainly be raising a glass and a cupcake to do so.

*I thought long and hard about whether celebrate was the right word here or not. Should I have said that I “mark” these landmark points in my life rather than “celebrate” them, but I decided not. I do celebrate 37 years of living with T1D, of surviving all that it has thrown at me over the years and that is something to be proud of and that’s worth celebrating in style.

RIP HM Queen Elizabeth II

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Yesterday’s news seemed to come from out of nowhere and even though many of us knew this time would pass, none expected it to happen so quickly and with so little warning. We are a nation in sorrow. 10 days of national mourning have started with all the pomp and circumstance that this wonderful monarch deserves.

70 years of dedicated service to her country and I feel so fortunate that we were able to mark that occasion and celebrate with her earlier this year. I’m sure I won’t be alone in grieving this one individual who has been a constant not just in my life, but in the life of this country and many other countries around the world.

“Well done, good and faithful servant” – may you rest now in peace.

 

January 2022: 100 years of insulin

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11th January 1922 – 11th January 2022

100 years to the day that the very first dose of insulin was administered at Toronto General Hospital to a 14 year old boy called Leonard Thompson, who was on the brink of what would have been a fatal diabetic coma.

That moment was revolutionary and from then on, life was never the same again for millions of people across the world.

Having discovered an effective treatment for diabetes, Frederick Banting, Charles Best and Dr James Collip were awarded the American patents for insulin in 1923, which they then sold to the University of Toronto for just $1 each. This life-saving treatment they gave away with no desire to sell it on for a profit, understanding how important their discovery was to all who live with diabetes and that it would no longer be the death sentence it always had been. Unbelievably today thousands worldwide, in both developed and developing countries, are unable to afford even a fraction of the insulin they need to not only keep them healthy, but keep them alive. 

I’m forever grateful for this discovery and the generosity of those who developed it as without it I wouldn’t be here today, nearly 36 years since my T1D diagnosis.

Welcome to Adulthood

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18 years ago, as we waited for you to finally arrive, I wondered what I would want to share with you when this day came: what stories we’d have to tell, memories to reminisce on or words of wisdom for you to take with you as you stepped out into the adult world.

I’m still considering even now what knowledge I can usefully share, what words will express the depth of love we have for you…will always have for you and how we will support you as best we can as you find and take the next step of your journey. 

I know to share that we loved you from the first moment we knew we were expecting you.

Felt awe when I first felt your kick, reminding me of your presence even though I was yet to meet you.

Fell more in love with you the first time I held you in my arms with a fierce protective love that only grew stronger as I fed and comforted you in the middle of the night; and every day since.

Worried about you, fought battles you never knew were there and made the best decisions we could to keep protecting you and allowing you to grow to be who you were meant to be.

I’ve watched you grow and change from a contented baby to a awesome big sister and now, on the cusp of adulthood, a young woman I’m proud to call my daughter.

Is that enough? I still don’t know, but as we celebrate your 18th birthday today, know that we love you, always have and always will.

Love you always sweetheart xxx

October 2021: Racing towards winter

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Somehow October has raced by and we’re already in November and starting the countdown to G’s 18th birthday and Christmas. However, I couldn’t let the opportunity pass by to mention just a few of the things we did manage to fit in to the end of September and October.

I was invited to be a part of the judging team for the first ever FreeFrom Christmas Awards and was delighted to accept the honour. It felt extremely strange to head back to London for the judging session after last year’s online involvement for the main FFFA21. I had a fab afternoon tasting and judging entrants in the After Dinner category and, as ever, there were some cracking entries. The full list of winners can be found here for you to peruse at your leisure, but in the meantime I’ll tempt you with a couple of photos of the delicious Tesco Finest HoneyComb Dome and Morrisons’ The Best Gingerbread and Butterscotch Sponge pudding, both of which were well-deserved winners of a gold award.

Mike celebrated a not-particularly-significant birthday and we kicked off a very early start to G’s 18th birthday celebrations with a long-awaited trip back to the theatre for the first time in 20 months to see the fantastic “Everyone’s Talking About Jamie“, which we all loved. It was simply amazing to be back to doing something we love and have missed hugely since the first lockdown happened. We have more trips planned over the next couple of months as a number of shows that G has been desperate to see are passing through our local theatres on their UK tours.

Finally, the month was seen out with a plethora of half-term activities, some more interesting than others. We finally redecorated our hall, stairs and landing – something that Mike had promised my Mum would be done before G turned 18 and something he’s managed to squeeze in just under the wire! I enjoyed my 2020 Christmas present, the hire of a Morgan sportscar for a day and now have a 15 year old who is very keen for us to have one. We managed a day trip to the Pensford viaduct so that M could take photos for his GCSE photography project and naturally had to stop for a fish and chips lunch at Salt and Malt in nearby Chew Stoke. Mike and the children also completed their annual pumpkin carving session, whilst I simply sat back and savoured the odd Pumpkin Spice Latte or two.

Today

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Today some of my memories of this day 17 years ago are starting to fade, the details less sharp, less present than they have been in the past.

And yet, at other times, my memories of you feel as clear as if they had just happened yesterday

Today I can hear your voice and sense your presence even though 17 years have passed.

Today is simply for quiet reflection and time shared with G and M, the grandchildren I know you’d have loved.

September 2021: New Opportunities

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September: the month where everything seems to reset and start anew. As I have previously mentioned, G has made the move to a local college to study a BTEC in psychology instead of continuing with her A-levels. She catches the train to college 3 times a week at the moment and following an apprehensive start, has embraced that challenge as well as discovering the joys of travelling by public transport -delays anyone? – instead of simply being able to walk to school.

M has settled well into Year 11 and our delayed Year 10 parents’ evening revealed that he is doing extremely well and his teachers are expecting good things from him with his final GCSE results. He was unsurprisingly identified as being clinically vulnerable and was offered his first COVID vaccination as part of that first cohort, which he was keen to take up as soon as he could. Our GP has been very switched on this year and he has already has his ‘flu vaccination too as has G.  Unfortunately, September also saw M testing positive for COVID and having to self-isolate for 10 days, which was not ideal at the start of his new school year. He has been unwell with it and spent a lot of time either sleeping or coughing without much let up. We’re hoping that the vaccine, which fortunately he did have more than 2 weeks before he got ill, will do its thing and that recovery doesn’t take too long.

There has also been some great opportunities that have manifested thanks to G and M’s involvement with the young people’s forum at our local hospital. M was invited to join the judging panel for this year’s staff awards a few months ago and was later asked to be part of the presentations of some of the awards to the winners. Never one to miss the opportunity to dress up, M chose a brand new suit and wore it proudly into the hospital for both of the presentations he was able to attend. The first recognised the value and compassion shown by one of the receptionists, especially when speaking to bereaved families, and the second was to recognise the hard work and efforts of the vaccination team over the last 18 months. He particularly enjoyed meeting the vaccination team, even if his first question was about when he could have the COVID vaccine – little were we to know that his invitation for it would be waiting on our doormat when we got back home!

And finally, I was invited to become a member of the interview panel for a new clinical nurse specialist role within the gastro department at the hospital. I was super excited to receive this invitation and had a great afternoon turning my interview technique in a different direction to the usual finance-based questions I find myself having to ask. I even got to flex my acting skills as I helped run the role play element of the interview. It was a real privilege to be involved and fascinating to learn more first-hand about the process undertaken to select the right candidate for the job.

Summer Photo Round-up 2021

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As well as our travels to the Lake District this summer, we also enjoyed theatre trips, filming, beach visits, hair-cuts, boules and a journey to the moon:

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Enjoying the best of the Lakes – Part Two

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When I said that the second half of our week’s holiday was just as busy as the first in last week’s blog, I wasn’t joking. Everyday saw us exploring a new corner of the Lake District in a myriad of different ways:

Borrowdale Valley: Our walk here was inspired by an article I had read about the so-called “Borrowdale Banksy” and a desire to see if we could find one of these stunning pieces of art whilst we walked the hills. Sadly we didn’t manage to uncover the location, which is a something of a secret, but we did find some stunning views and had the chance to climb the most spectacular hill of slate to look out over Derwentwater. It was a challenging walk, but we had a glorious day for our trek around the loop.

West Lake Adventures: During our visit to Lake Windermere, G and M spotted several people paddle-boarding and kayaking on the lake and asked if we could squeeze a similar excursion into our week for them. We hadn’t previously booked it, so were a little sceptical about what we might find, but were lucky to come across West Lake Adventures who offered a 2-3 hour kayaking session on the much quieter Wastwater. Wastwater can be found at the foot of Scafell Pike, which meant some absolutely amazing photos of both children and Mike kayaking with a simply jaw-dropping backdrop.

Whinlatter Forest: When G said she’d love to horse-ride whilst we were away, M made it equally clear that that wasn’t something he wanted to do and so we looked for an alternative adventure for him for a different day. The answer was a forest segway trail with Go Ape at Whinlatter Forest. Whilst the boys tackled the trail, G and I headed off on a search for the Gruffalo, which led us to a most perfectly positioned picnic area looking out over Derwentwater, somewhere we returned to with Mike and M to enjoy our lunch. We were very impressed by the cafe here too as it served the most amazing allergy-friendly sandwiches and ice-creams, something that came in very handy when we realised that Mike had left the children’s packed lunch in the fridge back at Brockwood Hall.

Morecambe Bay: Our final stop as we began our homeward journey, and one I insisted on, was at the delightful seaside town of Morecambe Bay. Of course best known for it’s iconic statue of classic British comedian Eric Morecambe, Morecambe Bay is more than just this depiction of its most famous son. We had perhaps the best weather of our whole trip as we strolled along the prom and walked out along the stone jetty to gaze back at the peaks that had been our home for the last week. Charming in every regard and the perfect ending to a truly stupendous holiday.