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When my eldest daughter Lilly was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in Feb 2020, my own mental health took a nose dive. The constant monitoring on glucose levels, insulin injections, learning medical devices, sleepless nights, carb counting and managing hyper and hypo levels and their symptoms was so overwhelming. Her diagnosis was a massive shock and had a huge impact on our family life, no more so than Lilly’s. Watching her daily struggles proved very difficult which is when my own mental health took a battering. I struggled for years. I stopped seeing friends and family, as putting on my brave face got harder and harder. I started to get health anxiety and would stress and worry over little things which would spiral out of control. The constant feeling that I was failing my little girl was horrible. Lilly was only 8 at the time of her diagnosis. It was a massive adjustment for the whole family. Although she amazed everyone with the mature way she handled her condition, she still found it challenging. She was incredibly self conscious of her medical devices and would often hide them under her clothes so that nobody could see them. During particularly difficult times it was hard to not feel like I was letting her down. I first heard about the charity Brave when I was nominated to receive a ‘for you box’ through the post. This little package included items which allowed me to concentrate on myself for a short while, for example a face mask, coffee sachet and nice chocolate bar. I received it at a time when I was really struggling. The little package really gave me a much needed boost. After following Brave on Instagram I saw they organised mindful evenings each month and went along. Their Instagram posts helped me understand that it was important that I concentrated on giving myself some time out. Running quickly became something that I enjoyed. I set myself small targets to work towards, like running 5km then 10km or trying to run a distance in a set time. I found that my mental health was so much better when I allowed myself some time out. This enabled me to be a better parent carer for my daughter too! It was when I was at a yoga session organised by brave that I thought I would love to give something back to them. I love everything that this charity stands for and have been so grateful to attend lots of their events. I decided to put my love of running into good use and last April I ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon for Brave. I was so proud of myself for raising such an fantastic amount of money for this wonderful little charity that Ive decided to push myself even further… Brentwood Half Marathon in March 2025… before I finish the last of the 3 runs by completing the Brighton Marathon in April 2025! This is massively out of my comfort zone! I’m not sure how I will run 26.2 miles right now but I know I will. Brave is a small charity which creates opportunities for parent carers to have some time for themselves to support their mental health and well-being. Brave was created in 2020 by Claire. She was struggling with her own mental health having received a third diagnosis for her already medical complex child. She realised the toll being a parent carer had (and still has!) on her mental health and how important self care was during the tough times. I’ll make sure I push through and raise as much money as possible for this fantastic charity 🩷 I am so grateful for your donations. It will help enable Brave Parents to continue to provide self care opportunities for parents who have children with complex medical needs. It will enable to them continue to provide hospital boxes which include both essentials and treats for parent carers who are currently staying in hospital for longer periods of time.