Being diagnosed with diabetes as a child twists time, making me feel like I’m not terribly old but that my diabetes is ancient and withered. Looking back at an online journal that chronicles almost half my life with diabetes paints me as a digital dinosaur, one whose story and community has evolved in response to time, technology, and ability. The…
Dino Days
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, RelationshipsThe Diabetic Survivor: Interview with the Artist
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Real Life DiabetesI love when diabetes goes visible. Artistic interpretations of life with diabetes are my favorite, because they have this way of distilling diabetes down to a single image that says so much. I felt that way when I stumbled upon thediabeticsurvivor’s Instagram account, where simple drawings spoke volumes about the emotional baggage of diabetes. I love how his work peels back…
A Look at Body Posi Betes
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesA few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Georgie Peters when I was visiting Australia. This woman is a force – a combination of positivity and raw honesty, writing about her lived experience with type 1 diabetes. She’s written here before and today she’s visiting SixUntilMe to talk about her latest social movement of combining body positivity and diabetes….
Bullet points? Yep. Easter came and went. We colored a few dozen eggs and now everyone in my home will be eating hard boiled eggs until we’re all old and wrinkly. Which I am becoming. My daughter asked me if I was mad, and I said no, and she said, “Oh good. Your forehead looked angry so I wanted to…
Yeah. I’ve fallen down that rabbit hole of Instagram “This or That” stories. I wish this wasn’t the case. But it is. (Also, this isn’t formal polling. Or anything serious. It’s just for kicks.) You might also like: Switcheroo Looking Back: Lows in Public. “Nice pump.” Diabetes Blog Week: The Quiet Parts.
An Interview with Chronically Healthy
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Diet and Food, Exercise & FitnessI met Emily Davis and Sarah Steinmetz of Chronically Healthy at a JDRF TypeOneNation last November, and their mission to help people with diabetes, and also folks living with other chronic illnesses, find peace and good health despite health challenges. They focus on the intersection between holistic modalities and conventional medicine. I really enjoyed talking with them both and wanted…
A Bad Case: Making Diabetes a Laughing Matter
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Online Community, Real Life DiabetesThere’s a new comedy series about diabetes coming to a screen near you, and the project is shepherded by a familiar face: Erin Spineto of Sea Peptide Productions, self-proclaimed “type 1 diabetic, sailor and triathlete.” Erin is tackling diabetes advocacy through a comedic lens, and today she’s answering a few questions about her new project, A Bad Case. Kerri: Last…
Seven Versions of One Low Blood Sugar
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, RelationshipsSCENARIO: A blood sugar of 53 mg/dL caused me to wake up at 2 am, drink a juice box, and stay awake until 2.30 am waiting for my blood sugar to rise. DESCRIBING TO MY FRIEND: “Yeah, sometimes diabetes is a thing at night. I had a low last night that woke me up around 2 am, but that’s why…
Designing for Diabetes: An Interview with Natalie Balmain
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Diabetes Products, Psychosocial Support, Pumping Insulin, Real Life DiabetesNatalie Balmain is a fashion designer from England, and the creative force behind Type 1 Clothing. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 20, and this was ultimately her inspiration behind her debut line, designed to help people manage their multiple daily injections more easily and wear insulin pumps more comfortably. Natalie has raised money for…
So … I went into the CSS on my blog and wanted to change one quick thing, then ended up down some weird redesign rabbit hole, and I’ve come out the other side with a different website layout. (Just in time for net neutrality’s demise. I’m at the point where I don’t know where to look in order to escape…
Starting this blog back in 2005 wasn’t for page views or for advocacy efforts, to be honest. It was because I didn’t know any other people with diabetes, and I felt alone. I was the only twenty-something I knew who shot up before breakfast, the only one with a bottle of juice in the shower. I wanted to find some…