Danni Elle Knowles

Sorry guys, it's a long post but meeting this milestone has been an enormous personal achievement. Grab a hot mug of coffee, snuggle up beside the fire and get comfy!

As many of you know the trip up to Darwin to see my gorgeous sister marry her amazing guy was a mixture of anticipation, apprehension and trepidation.

While I was champing at the bit to see my sister and family ... as well as sharing my childhood memories of the territory with my own children, I wasn't looking forward to dealing with 30 degrees plus days in jeans and long shirts or struggling/skipping out on walks to see this gorgeous country of ours.

As Kimberley will attest to (she's heard it many times), I was also cringing at the thought of squeezing into the airplane seats and embarrassment of asking for a seat belt extension. I used to travel extensively for work and it's a struggle I had to deal with several times a week.

This naturally leads to the question of why I didn't try to do something about my weight earlier. The quick answer is, I tried and succeeded to a limited extent ... many, many, many times, but without the knowledge, education and training that Kimberley and the Blackburn Vision team provided, the weight loss was a constant struggle. Any weight I lost simply crept back with that 'little' bit extra as a 'bonus'. I'd given up and simply accepted the fact that I was ALWAYS going to be a big curvy girl... and I was cool with that.

Leading up to the trip I was getting increasingly stressed over the issue of the stupid seat. I'd built it into this gigantic mountain. It had become an ever-increasing obstacle the closer we came to our departure date.

When I finally boarded the flight, I think the smile says it all.

* Sat with comfort (no squeezing required) ~YES

* Could move around in the seat easily (an extra bonus on the flight up as I could cuddle Jaxon while he slept) ~ YES

* No seatbelt extension required ~ CHECK AND YES!!!

* The tray sat flat with room between it and my legs (no balancing meals on an awkward angle) ~ OMG, I can't remember the last time I've been able to do this. It's another YES YES YES

Kimberley, over the past 11 months you've given me energy, confidence, the freedom to enjoy the little things that everyone takes for granted ... like walking without pain in every single step. I've been able to do things on this holidays that I haven't been able to do in over 30 years.

THANK YOU for giving me back time with my family and for the memories we've been able to give them over these holidays. THANK YOU from the very bottom of my heart.