This is my daughter just before her second birthday. At nearly two years old, she couldn’t walk.

She has hypermobile joints – although we didn’t know it when this photo was taken. We had yet to go through physio and find out that insoles in her shoes would help her. We had yet to see her run or jump in puddles. We had yet to know that she would face the battle to walk so valiantly and come out the other side grinning.

When faced with a puddle, all she could do was sit in it. She was frustrated, we were frustrated and, generally, life was tough.

For Frog’s second birthday we bought her a scooter. It was one of those snazzy Microscooter ones with the seat attached. We thought it would help strengthen her joints and aid her balance. We thought she would find it fun. We thought wrong.

The thing is, Frog has never been particularly confident when it comes to physical stuff. Because it took her so long to walk, she got used to hanging back, watching other kids her age run and jump and climb. She could never join in and, at approaching three and a half, she still carries that sense of caution.

It’s taken nearly eighteen months of gentle persuasion to get to today.

This afternoon, something amazing happened. My three year old, hypermobile little girl put two fingers up to her wonky feet and over-flexible limbs and got on her scooter. She stood on it for the first time and… well, you can see what happened. (Watch for the bit where she shouts at a nearby dog minding his own business, “LOOK DOGGY! I’M DOING IT!”)

Hypermobility – you’ve lost again….

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