There are moments in life that divide your story into before and after.
For our family, that moment came over Waitangi Weekend.
We were camping with friends at a caravan park right across the road from the beach. It was one of those classic Kiwi camping holidays where the kids disappear on their bikes, make new friends in minutes, and spend all day outside.
The campground had these epic little paddling pools with the tiniest slide you've ever seen. Looking back, they really weren't anything special, but the kids absolutely loved them. Between the pools, the surf beach across the road, and being surrounded by good friends, it was everything a family camping holiday should be.
Except something wasn't quite right.
Our daughter Eleanor was seven years old, and over the weekend we noticed she just wasn't herself.
She was drinking water constantly and always asking for more.
She was going to the toilet all the time.
And she was exhausted.
There was a hill in the campground that led up to the dairy. Every day the kids would walk up there for an ice block. Normally, Ella would have been racing to the front.
But this time was different.
She struggled to make it up the hill. She kept stopping because she was so tired. We encouraged her to keep going, reminding her there was an ice block waiting at the top. Usually that would've been all the motivation she needed.
This time, even the ice block wasn't enough.
When we got back to the campsite, she vomited.
That was the moment Mark knew something wasn't right.
Being a paediatrician, he trusted his instincts. He packed Ella into the car and took her home while I stayed at the campground with our other three children.
I honestly thought she'd picked up a tummy bug and just needed some rest. Between all of us there were fourteen kids camping together, and the last thing anyone wanted was a vomiting bug spreading through the whole campground.
I kissed them goodbye, expecting they'd be back the next day.
I had no idea our lives were about to change forever.
The next morning my phone rang.
It was Mark.
I'll never forget what he said.
"She has diabetes."