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.
National Eosinophil Awareness Week: We have been very active in raising awareness about eosinophilic diseases for a number of years, but decided to start taking a step back from that last year. Eosinophilic Colitis (EC) was the initial diagnosis that we received for M all those years ago from his consultant at GOSH, but in recent times, the diagnosis criteria for this condition have faltered and existing diagnoses have been actively 
Mental Health Awareness Week: Mental health well-being has been a buzz word in our household for a number of years and never has that been more important than now as we see the impact of 9 weeks in lockdown on us all. I’m a happy introvert, who enjoys spending time in my own company and so, in many ways, lockdown life is suiting me quite well. Regular contact with my work colleagues through Zoom and conference calls, webinars and online catch-ups with other friends is keeping me in touch with the outside world, which is especially important at a time when my T1D is keeping me at home.
The buzzword for MHAW has been Kindness and considering what random acts of kindness you can do for others has been much encouraged. However, I think it’s key to remember that, whilst showing kindness to others in all situations is important, so is showing kindness to ourselves. We truly are living through extraordinary times and we shouldn’t feel guilty if we are not coping as well as we perhaps believe we should. Be that by taking some time to do something we love to do as an individual – bubble bath anyone? – or spending time relaxing with our family or even reaching out to a friend because we just need to talk, being kind to ourselves will improve our own well-being, which is something we all need right now.
First, was last weekend’s 2.6 challenge – a charity initiative to replace the annual London Marathon. Now, I’m not going to pretend we have, or ever have had, any aspirations to take part in the marathon itself, but we are avid fundraisers and this challenge was a great opportunity to get both children flexing their brain cells to think up something new to do. Our charity of choice was, of course, the fantastic 
after all) and eventually M chose to attempt 262 seconds in plank. Neither managed their challenge in one sitting, but they did it and should feel rightly proud that, even during a pandemic, they have found an alternative way to support a charity that has supported, and continues to support, them.
Our second virtual event of the week was yet another annual one, this time the awards ceremony for the Free From Food Awards 
G and M put to good use some of those cooking skills they’ve been 
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (#MHAW19) in the UK and the focus this year is on 
It’s taken me a long time to become comfortable with the way I look. I am not a size 10 having, as I have often said, passed through it on my way to bigger and better things. I struggled as a teen being taller and bigger than some of my friends and again as a new Mum, when some of my antenatal group bounced back to their size 8 jeans within a ridiculously quick space of time, something I was never going to achieve. The depression that has haunted me since my early teen years didn’t help with my sense of self worth and it has taken me 40 years to finally accept that I am the way I am and that that is enough. That doesn’t mean that I don’t occasionally have a crisis of confidence even now, but I have learned to wear clothes that flatter my shape and can truly step out with confidence when everything comes together to help me feel good about the way I’m presenting myself to the outside world.
There is no question that G is the spitting image of Mike and his side of the family, which gives her beautiful tanned skin and dark hair, although her build is very similar to mine. She has struggled at times with not being as slender as some of her friends and these days complains that she appears to have stopped growing whilst her friends are still inching past her. She is a beautiful young lady on the inside as well as out and we encourage her to find her worth in the way she behaves and reacts to the people who are around her and not her physical looks. We have all heard the criticisms of both print and social media and the airbrushed images that all too often create unrealistic expectations in our children and young people. The increasing popularity of taking selfies and then using social media filters to manipulate the image presented to the world can add to our unrealistic perceptions about the way we should look. I still remember a discussion we had with one of the paediatricians when she was little, who told us that the danger these days is that our perceptions and expectations of body shape and size are such that we fail to recognise when people are a healthy weight for their height and instead view them as overweight. G is learning to eat healthily, keep active, believe in herself and, most importantly, to not constantly compare who she is to her friends.
It is easy to believe therefore that if you’re slim you have no reason to have body image issues, but I can tell you that’s not true either. M is the complete opposite to the rest of us and has always been on the slender side. He is chatty, witty and can ooze absolute self-belief at times, and yet he has struggled with feeling too thin, too short and lacking muscles when compared to some of his friends. He refused to wear shorts during his Junior school years, even when the weather was gloriously sunny and we asked for permission for him to wear jogging trousers rather than shorts for PE – all because he hated the way his legs looked. These days he’s a little more prepared to reveal his legs, particularly when it’s too hot to be comfortable in jeans, but he frequently comments on just how much taller than him many of his classmates are.
Since the day her baby brother arrived prematurely in her world, G was determined to help out whenever she could. She put up with his incessant screams from what we now realise was undiagnosed pain and looked to comfort him however she could – making him laugh, giving cuddles, reading stories or just bringing him “Cat” when nothing else would do. Like so many siblings to children diagnosed with chronic illness, G has inevitably been side-lined when that illness has dominated family life and despite our determination to make sure she doesn’t miss out because of it, I know there are times when we haven’t got that balance right and given G the attention she deserves and needs.
That time away at OTW was a week for her to be herself, not defined or viewed in her role as M’s big sister and encouraged and allowed her to take time to focus on herself without worrying about him. G came home a different child to the one who had left us, having realised that her life experiences didn’t isolate her in those circumstances and she had found a sense of self-worth that she had been struggling to develop at home and at school. G’s second camp experience saw her develop a confidence and willingness to take on new challenges, knowing that, with a little bit of self-belief and perseverance, no mountain is too big for her to conquer. OTW brought G out from the shadow of M’s ill health, helped her rediscover who she is as an independent individual and gave her her childhood back – and for that I can’t thank them enough.
With just a smidge over 2 weeks to prepare for this madness, you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought Mike was completely mad – believe me when I say it was something that went through my mind too – but the reason for it is actually a fantastic one.
Borough 22
Another favourite was also a discovery thanks to the FreeFrom family of Awards, though this time the
My final shout-out is for a new business to my blog, but one that we are delighted to have found. Ben is an ex-work colleague of mine and he and his wife Mandy have become firm friends over the last few months. They own a small-holding just outside of Bristol and Ben has ventured into the world of producing home-made meat products, including some great gluten-free options, through his business, 
this year and I didn’t plait pink ribbon into G’s hair or attach awareness ribbons to their school bags. Mike and I have stuck to our commitment to eat like M for the whole week and that has certainly led to a lot of conversations with my new work colleagues about M’s diagnosis…and how to pronounce “Eosinophilic”!
7 years to diagnosis 