Diabetes week always heralds the countdown to Pumplette’s birthday. This week, as we dash headlong toward her 11th birthday, Diabetes UK’s #iCan campaign has been very much at the forefront of my mind.

Reflecting on all her achievements since diagnosis I am most proud of Pumplette’s #iCan attitude toward life.

In the decade and a bit since diagnosis, I cannot name a single challenge from which she has shied away from. Every opportunity afforded her she has grabbed with both hands & run with. Spectacularly!

Be it skiing in America, age 4, hurtling down the slopes & discovering that straight, parallel skis will travel MUCH faster, to cycling down volcanoes in Bali age 6 & discovering just how much speed one can harness from a mixture of propulsion & gravity! Graceful ballerina who is successfully making every exam grade as she grows, and qualified rookie lifeguard, my little girl who could out swim most adults now! Ferocious indoor rock climber who can scamper up the toughest of routes without so much as a downward glance! And of course, indoor skydiver extraordinaire!

At diagnosis, when she was so very poorly, I never allowed myself to imagine the active, no holes barred life she now commands.

To see the confident, articulate advocate & champion she has become is utterly humbling. Together with her sisters she has demonstrated an #iCan attitude that inspires all those lucky enough to encounter her.

I now must adopt a similar #iCan attitude as the young lady in question has requested a Minion riding a unicorn fashioned from cake for her 11th birthday celebration….