Target Phenomenon
Before & After
Share the Love
As another Diabetes Blog Week draws to a close, let’s reflect on some of the great bloggers we’ve found this week. Give some love to three blog posts you’ve read and loved during Diabetes Blog Week, and tell us why they’re worth reading. Or share three blogs you’ve found this week that are new to you.
One of my very favorite aspects of DBlog Week is finding new blogs to read. I am going to do this in order that I found them, so here are my favorite new blogs!
I found Sara during Share or Don’t Share and I loved how she addressed individuality within the disease of Type 1 Diabetes.
I found Brea during Share or Don’t Share and I enjoyed listening to her talk about there are other things happening in her life, not just diabetes.
I found Jen during We, the Undersigned and I love her love of pizza.
I found Jessica during Accomplishments Big & Small and I remember the hesitancy to open up.
I found Georgie during Memories and her realization that diabetes was here to stay.
There are so many wonderful blogs out there, and this is just a handful of some fabulous posts that have been written this week. If you’d like to see what others have enjoyed this week, then go here!
Life is Art
This year Diabetes Art moves up from the Wildcard choices as we all channel our creativity with art in the broadest sense. Do some “traditional” art like drawing, painting, collage or any other craft you enjoy. Or look to the literary arts and perhaps write a d-poem or share and discuss a favorite quote. Groove to some musical arts by sharing a song that inspires you diabetes-wise, reworking some song lyrics with a d-twist, or even writing your own song. Don’t forget dramatic arts too, perhaps you can create a diabetes reality show or play. These are just a starting point today – there are no right or wrong ways to get creative!
So I might be cheating, and I might have loved the Saturday Snapshots of years past, so, enjoy!
A beautiful night for a Red Sox game
Stand-Up Paddle boarding
Kayaking in Maine
Spending the weekend in RI with the Genius family
Country-Fest
Fall in Maine
Reuniting with old friends at a hometown wedding
Exploring my new hometown
JDRF Masquerade Ball
I loved XC skiing after Nemo
I had a great ski vacation with family
More Skiing
I enjoyed a wonderful fundraiser for the children of Newtown at Fenway Park
I enjoyed the Dumont Cup at Sunday River
I hiked with Abby
I’ve reconnected with old friends
I’ve started running more
It’s been a good year. If you want to see some real diabetes art, go here!
Waterproof
Back by popular demand, let’s revisit this prompt from last year! Tell us what your fantasy diabetes device would be? Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other meds, magic carb counter, etc etc etc. The sky is the limit – what would you love to see?
Last year I wrote about a low locator, and while I still think that would be really handy, this year I’m going to write about an adjustment to a device I already have. When I switched from Minimed to Animas it was for two reasons: remote bolus & waterproof. I like to swim, and I especially like to float. I like pools, lakes, oceans & rivers. Last summer when we went kayaking in Maine, I desperately wanted to keep my Dexcom with me, but I was also pretty nervous about it. There were a lot of “what ifs” running through my mind. I want a waterproof Dexcom receiver. If my insulin pump, which is keeping me alive, can do it, then why can’t the sensor! I don’t want any more plastic baggies and boating bags & extra paraphernalia to keep wearing my Dexcom near the water. I’ve got enough crap to keep with me as it is.
Thank you to Karen for hosting and if you’d like to see what other people are dreaming up, go here!
Shots Shots Shots
We don’t always realize it, but each one of us had come a long way since diabetes first came into our life. It doesn’t matter if it’s been 5 weeks, 5 years or 50 years, you’ve done something outstanding diabetes-wise. So today let’s share the greatest accomplishment you’ve made in terms of dealing with your (or your loved one’s) diabetes. No accomplishment is too big or too small – think about self-acceptance, something you’ve mastered (pump / exercise / diet / etc.), making a tough care decision (finding a new endo or support group / choosing to use or not use a technology / etc.).
When I interned with a child life specialist in college, we brought oranges and fake needles filled with water to an elementary school for a health career fair. The kids were able to give the oranges a shot in order to become more comfortable around needles. At the end of the day I called my mother to find out why she never had me do that. Once she stopped laughing she explained that they tried, but I wanted nothing to do with it.
I remember giving myself shots long before I would measure my insulin. Holding the insulin bottle and the needle and making sure it all stayed straight was tough work with little hands. I remember there was some magnetic contraption at one point so I could do it on the fridge, but I remember that being more frustrating than not being able to do it at all. When I went to camp before fourth grade, dinner was our first meal with the medical staff. We were given our insulin, needles, and how much to take, told to find a counselor and off we went to draw up our insulin. I sat and did it as though I had been doing it for years. Of course I hadn’t, but no one knew that. When camp was over, I kept drawing up my shots, unless I was extra low, or tired, or sometimes I just didn’t want to, but for the most part, I did it. I realize that this accomplishment is almost 20 years old, but it is still the one that sticks out most in my mind.
Thank you to Karen for hosting and to Hilary for the topic suggestion. If you’d like to see the rest of the DBlog Week Accomplishments, here they are!
Pump Day
Today we’re going to share our most memorable diabetes day. You can take this anywhere…. your or your loved one’s diagnosis, a bad low, a bad high, a big success, any day that you’d like to share.
I remember the day I got my pump. I was still on a Lente & Regular insulin regiment at the time, so no one knew how my body would transition. I was excited. Beyond excited. My doctors and nurses had been telling me that I was a good candidate for a pump for a couple of years, but I wanted nothing to do with it. When I did decide I wanted to switch, it was a fast paced process. We went to the appointment in the morning, and I filled my pump with insulin and my basal rates were all the same (I think they stayed that way for 48 hours max). My first D friend and I were getting our pumps together, so she was there too, and it was great to have someone just as excited and nervous as I was. I remember the nurse having a pager that we were allowed to call that first week and I think I called all the time the first couple days, but less and less as the day went on.
The thing I was most excited about was the need to not eat on a specific schedule. My mom and I planned to go out to lunch with my grandmother that day. So after we finished getting set up, we drove to see her. If I normally ate lunch at 12, it was 1:30 before we got to lunch. I WAS SO HUNGRY. My mother was just as excited as I was, but I didn’t know if I was ready to wait that long yet! Lunch was fried seafood and it was so good, but I needed to go back to my schedule a little bit. My diabetes may not have needed it, but I had been living on a schedule for so long that throwing it out the window in an instant was too difficult. I no longer have to live on a schedule, but I still try to because that is when I feel best.
Thank you to Karen for organizing this and thank you to Jasmine for the wonderful topic! If you want to see other Memories, go here!
I Demand Knowledge
Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so today let’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) – get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change?
I, a person with diabetes, petition to the founding fathers for the right to free speech.
In most aspects of my life, I whole-heartedly believe in this right. However, as a person with diabetes, I wish that people needed to think and/or censor themselves before they spoke about what diabetes is, how it is diagnosed, how a person gets it, the different types, and how to take care of it. We are all different, and therefore our care is different, but it seems like the people with the loudest voices and the greatest reach don’t understand this. If there was no such thing as free speech, then maybe I wouldn’t have to deal with the misconceptions so frequently.
I demand you make people talk to each other, research diabetes, and become knowledgeable before speaking their mind when talking about my disease!
Briley
I cannot believe that my suggestion for a topic actually got chosen, and I hope that you have enjoyed it! If you want to see what everyone else wants change for, go here!
