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Ben has type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed at 14 years old (now 36). Ben controls his diabetes well and has recently completed a carb counting course to further his knowledge in this area. This has not stopped the complications that can come with diabetes. Unfortunately, Ben appears to have every complication associated with diabetes there is, including; chronic kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy. He walked on the side of his feet as a child and this caused blisters which lead to ulcers. Due to these he has had to have multiple amputations of toes each year from 2010-2014 and then a transmetatarsal amputation of his right foot in 2016 and a below knee amputation on his right leg in 2017. He will be having another below knee amputation on his left leg this year in 2019 which we hope will finally give him the quality of life he deserves and so desperately wants.

Diabetes has played, and will continue to play, a huge part in our lives. I have seen first hand what this disease has done to my husband and the struggles we both have to face everyday, so as his wife I’d like to give something back to support the fundraising and research that goes on. One day I hope people won’t have the complications Ben has as no one should have to go through everything he has.

I have always wanted to set myself annual goals and challenges and running a marathon has been on my list for a long long time. I’ve always put it off because the thought of running so far and for such a long time scares me but going through everything we have these past three years has taught me a lot, scared me a lot but also made me the person I am today. Life is tough, things happen, horrible things at times but I’ve come to realise the things I am going through as a girlfriend, now wife and sometimes carer, is never as scary or tough as learning to live with chronic pain, learning to walk with one leg and a prosthetic and this year learning to walk on two prosthetics. I’ve seen first hand what the complications of diabetes can do to someone and by facing my fear this year I hope to help people realise that we all have fears and we all have to face them to improve, to be the people we want to be and to do the things we want to do and achieve. Whilst Ben will be accomplishing his goal of learning to walk again and getting over his fears that come with that, I will be learning to run long distances and accomplishing my goal of running a marathon and getting over my fears that come with that.

The aim this year is to raise money and awareness of our journey and diabetes UK. That's where you come in. Any small donation will be greatly appreciated and will help vital research to hopefully one day create a world where diabetes can do no harm.

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