The Corner Booth

One of the scariest situations Diabetics can face is being behind the wheel with a low blood sugar, particularly one that's dropping even lower. Recent new stories have told some horror stories of this happening across the country: here in Ohio , and a tragic story here in Orange County, California . Regardless of the particular facts of each situation and whether that person involved did or didn't do what they should have as far as Testing Before Driving, some reader comments question why these and all diabetics aren't prevented from driving completely. An Outright Ban. Those stories come on the heels of a study showing tight-control leads to even more crashes and driving incidents of diabetics . Of course, in writing this blog initially, I'd forgotten about an outstanding blog post in November 2009 by Shannon over at LADAdeeda , touching on this very topic that's so very dear to her. She was more harsh and on point, but we relay the same point of...

We all need mentors. People we look up to. Those who inspire us in some small or big way, sometimes even in the little fact that we share something in common that makes all the differences pale in comparison. I've had my share growing up. Journalism teacher in high school. Journalism advisor and mentor in college, and post-graduate life. Fellow journalists turned friends who taught me the real-life ins and outs of doing this profession the way My mom, who taught me how to live with diabetes even if I didn't always listen to those lessons earlier in life. Dad who taught me how to do my best, sign my name to something, and be a good man who can stand on his own two feet. My wife, who teaches me to Calm Down and gives me the ability to Live, Laugh, Love a little each day. There's many, as you can see. But it dawns on me that I've not truly embraced my Inner Advocate. In the newspaper world, I've participated in a few workshops or panels through the years to share t...

That's how it so often seems for those in the Diabetes World. Either, you give Diabetes your ALL which means you never ever get to even think about stopping continuous testing and carb counting and worrying, or you give it NOTHING and watch as your health and life falls apart. It's All or Nothing. But it doesn't have to be. True: It feels as though we NEVER get a break from this management lifestyle. We ALWAYS must keep in mind: our blood sugar numbers, our carb counts, our activity levels, our pump site or injection site uses, amount of supplies on tap, the cost of healthcare, our jobs that provide the all-significant health insurance we just can't afford to live without. It's mentally overwhelming, ALL the time. Sometimes we can hide it or push ahead, but even if we're not hit right away there's some emotional aspect of diabetes building up that will eventually boil over the filled-too-high boiling water on the stove. It's bound to happen eventua...

Life's been crazy nuts lately. Work Deadlines. Back to Back Meetings. Writing. Reporting. Planning. Diabetes Rollercoasters. Everyday Stresses. Sleepless Nights. Mental Exhaustian. You name it... The whirlwind has engulfed everything, leaving little time for life's pleasures. Like Blog Reading or Humor Writing. No time to be Off Cooking Bacon. No comfort from My Ninja, Lance. Obvously, it's time for a break. Right. Now. So, here's to the end of a crazy tornado week and what will hopefully be a great weekend of sleep, catching up, and just relaxing. Without Tax interfering with my becoming a mental jello-bowl with plans to just Veg Out. Seriously, it's needed. About all I can muster up the mental strength for right now are some movie quotes from classic flicks. The classics, in which I'm able to recite half-asleep and even in a state of Low Blood Sugars. This isn't the Master List and only represents a snapshot tainted by my current mood and exhaust...

The wheels of my mind have been spinning recently. A question has been popping up - why. Why diabetes? Why High? Why Low? Why isn't this easier? Why so overwhelming? Why so exhausted? Why this? Why that? Why everything ????? I've wracked up my brain, searched my soul trying to connect the dots between 2010 and the long-ago time these questions began. When the vicious daily D-cycle started. Suddenly, after so much analysis, it clicked recently. Those past and present dots came together and bridged a gap between 2010 and 1984, when it all began and started what is now a continuing, frustrating, and often overwhelming journey that many in the Diabetes World seem to know all too well. Simply put, it goes to this simple fact: Growing up, I wanted to be MacGyver . You know, the globe-trotting Secret Agent Man who could do anything in any situation with the simpliest of household items. Lock-picking with inside of a lightbulb. Bubble gum to patch gas tanks. Ho...

Differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics is an issue that can divide and draw emotional reactions from many of us Living wth the D. For example, this was the focus of a marathon Tweet session with Shannon earlier this week, leading to her awesome and insightful post at LADA-dee-da , and a similar TuDiabetes discussion in the past day or so. I have my own thoughts on this topic that largely stem from the misconceptions spewed by the general public and media about how "diabetes" all appears to be the same disease of lazy, fat people and if you have it then it's somehow your fault. I take great offense to this: maybe it goes back to the situations as a child when people would say to my mom, upon hearing that she and I were diabetic, that "Oh, well you should have fed him better and he wouldn't have gotten it." While the D-Community really needs no reminder that no definate causes have been found for either, even though some can link certain lifestyle...

Seriously, too much is happening and it's all way to mind-engulfing. Deaths of diabetics. Blame. The slacking PR and Press world. Ponderings of what type of diabetes is considered "tougher" to live/learn with. Came up with a handful of blog posts to write, but somehow failed to muster the fortetude to fully write any of them. Just too much going on. I'll probably get to them before long, just not now. My creativity is tapped. To steal and mend a classic movie quote:  "The money's gone, the brain is shot. But the liquor we still got." Well, my sleep is gone and the brain is shot, but the good happy thoughts I still got. So that'sd what I'm going to spend some time with, before getting back on the blogging bandwagon. Tapping some happy images to guide you through this hiatus. Hopefully they brighten your day a little as they do light up my world. I'm off to bury myself in work deadlines, deal with my plastic pancreas, and handle whatever ...

Once, there was great Coffee and Conversation in The Corner Booth. Hence the name of the blog. Endless refills, analytical conversation at any hour of the day or night. Back in those days, we sat for hours on end and pondered what seemed like the great mysteries of our day. Those seemingly ever-present Clouds in Our Coffee Cups. But alas, that was in Michigan, before the move to Indiana. Now, those times are gone. The Corner Booth has been replaced by the Diabetes Online Community, Email Conversations, Facebook, Twitter, and the overall boundless blogosphere. Real Life Coffee & Conversation still happens, just not as often. The big world does seem a little smaller, but those Clouds still find us. For me, I regularly find myself confined to the office breakroom where free coffee flows from seemingly endless coffee cups. Each day during the work week, I bring my Detroit Skyline Coffee Mug into the room and fill it up. Countless times. Probably not the best thing i...

On New Year's Eve, a conversation began at a local brewpup south of Indianapolis. The key players were myself and my wife, Suzi. Others, such as the Oaken Barrel regulars and bartenders, chimed in periodically. Our focus: New Year Resolutions. "I don't believe in them...," I began. "But I do have one for 2010: that is to carry on what began in 2009. That's my resolution." My statement referrenced the ninja-like diabetes care I'd really started pushing at the latter part of this year, keying in on what I should've been doing all along. Regular testing. At least five or six a day, but often more. Results coming in most commonly below 200. Accurate carb-counting. Basal and bolus tweaking to avoid lows. Regular contact with my Endo. Continued contact and support - giving and receiving - from the Diabetic Online Community, via Twitter and Facebook and blogging. Seemed like good enough resolution-making too me. Particularly since my checklist...