“What do you want to do today, Mom?” Birdy asked. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?” Long pause. “Mom, I want to do a ton of many things!” A ton of many things. That makes more sense to me than I’d care to admit. That’s what’s going on in my head – a ton of so many…
Guest Post: No Child Should Die of Diabetes.
Diabetes Advocacy, Exercise & Fitness, Guest Diabetes BloggerVeerle Vanhuyse is off and running … literally. Verlee lives with type 1 diabetes and is running the NYC Marathon in a few weeks, aiming to raise awareness and funds for the IDF’s Life for a Child program. Today, I’m proud to be hosting a post from Veerle about her marathon goals! * * * A quarter of a century…
Chris always sums up Spare a Rose in the same way: “It’s so simple. So sticky. And so important.” Because it is. February is fast-approaching (Don’t act like you don’t know – it’s October today! Time refuses to stand still.) and now is the time to start thinking about how you and your company can participate in the Spare a…
In the last ten years, the DOC has evolved from a small pocket of voices to an entire choir that can’t be housed in one town, or state, or even country. I love seeing more hands raised and more people saying, “Me, too!” and providing support and understanding for one another. Patient stories matter. Our stories matter. The DOC is…
D-Blog Week: Change One Life, Change the World.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesMy reasons for sharing my story of a life with type 1 diabetes were few, but definitive: I felt alone. I wanted to feel less alone, because the whole “feeling alone” thing was wrecking some havoc on my emotional health. I didn’t have many peers, in my life, who were living with diabetes, and the Internet offered very little in…
What’s Your Itch?
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial SupportMy “diabetes advocacy itch” has always been emotional health. I’m not a doctor and I don’t know everything about type 1 diabetes, but I do know that I pay more attention to my diabetes when my head is in a healthy space, and being tuned in to diabetes improves outcomes, for me. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, upset … any kind of…
Official totals for the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign came in at $27,265.17, from 832 donations. Below is a second letter from Dr. Graham Ogle, thanking our community for our participation: [Link to full-size PDF file] I love how community efforts gave rise to a beautiful message from the DOC to our friends, globally. And I also…
Spare a Rose.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Online Community, Real Life DiabetesThey’re so often a symbol of love and romantic relationships, but lovely as they are, roses wilt within a week or two, and eventually end up discarded. Five dollars per rose, sixty dollars for a dozen. But the cost of those roses can provide life-sustaining insulin for a child with diabetes for an entire year. Through the Spare a Rose,…
Medtronic Diabetes Advocate Forum: Meaning Trumped Marketing.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial SupportA few weeks ago, I was invited to join some of my advocacy colleagues for a meeting in Los Angeles, CA at the Medtronic Diabetes headquarters. This event was put on by the teams at Medtronic and Bayer, and they covered travel, lodging, and expenses for attendees. (Disclosure out of the way.) The agenda included “interactive sessions on the latest…