The Corner Booth

Attending the second Roche Diabetes Social Media Summit in Orlando , I bring you a guest-blog from my loving wife Susanne, who's been a life-changing force in how I've changed my overall life and D-Management for the better during the past decade. Nothing written can do justice to how wonderful she is, and I'll let her say what she wants here without interfering much - only to say that I wouldn't be where I am and have what I consider to be a blessed existence without her special love, support, and partnership. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some might find it’s exciting to have in their lives occasional encounters with apple-cider loving aliens, frosting-laced wrestling matches, and recognition of the local paramedics by name and face. But those are just some of the infrequent happenings in the life of a wife of a Type 1 diabetic, a Type 3, and it’s not part of a daily routine that I don’t consider all that adventurous. Rather, it's what I k...

Jennifer Rowe is what some might call a Vampire, but not quite the kind you'll find in the Twighlight movies. You might, as a person with diabetes, say she's a Blood Sucker. But in professional medical lingo and title-ology, the 28-year-old from Michigan is a certified phlebotomist who draws blood as part of her daily duties in an outpatient lab. She’s been in the medical field since the age of 17, working through the years in various roles that have included a hospital ER and trauma center, oncology floor, and two tours in the outpatient lab before getting her own office site in February 2010. But while she deals with Diabetics regularly on the job, she has her own personal and family history with Type 1. Jenn is also a Type 1 diabetic, marking her 14-year anniversary this month when she was diagnosed at the age of 14 in June 1996. She used Multiple Daily Injections for the first 13+ years, but has loved the past five months that she’s been pumping. Jen...

Heading to Orlando this week for the 2nd Roche Social Media Summit, I thought it was a perfect time to bring in some guest-bloggers. Please welcome first Samantha from Talking Blood Glucose , who I'm also honored to guest-blog for today - we have a little U.S. & U.K. Blogging Swaperoo! Make sure to check that out, as well as the rest of her great posts from across the pond. Anyhow, I'll step aside to get ready for Orlando and let Sam take over as host of the D-Corner Booth today. Enjoy! - - - - - - - - - - - I’ve never been any good at juggling, be it with colourful balls or general life things. And just recently the juggling seems to be getting more and more intense both real life wise and diabetes wise. There comes a time in your life when things get a bit manic. You know; finishing university, moving into your own home, finding a new job, losing said job, finding a new job ( which is really epic! ) and planning to move on to bigger and bett...

Even as a little girl, Cynthia Kahn showed the kind of passionate determination that would be evident in every part of her life and allow her to achieve her dreams. No matter what, she never let anything slow her down in achieving what she thought was possible, according to friends and family and colleagues. She set out to ride a bike by the time she was five, and even after "falling off and getting back on" repeatedly she did just that. The same thing happened in high school, when she overcame inexperience and a lack of knowledge and became a letter-earning tennis player. The same passion and determination played out in every aspect of Cynthia's life, from her professional work in advancing public health information and librarian instruction, her devotion to the history of medicine, to her passion for diabetes advocacy efforts stemming from her years of living with Type 1 diabetes. "That’s just the way Cynthia was," said her dad, Ted Kahn. "She was...

The CDC reports that more than 70,000 people Americans die from diabetes each year, and it's currently listed as the fifth-highest killer in the States following heart disease, cancer, stroke, and respiratory illnesses. But diabetes is under-reported in causing deaths, and one industry leader has pushed to change that in order to more accurately portray the impact of this chronic condition. A recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek story ( thanks for pointing me to this,  @sstrumello ) tells us that world-leading insulin-maker Novo Nordisk pushed the U.S. Congress recently to put a provision into the health reform law that requires coronors and doctors to more-frequently list Diabetes as a person's cause of death. That underestimates and changes the overall number-based impact of diabetes, one of the company's Washington D.C. lobbyists says, and having a higher death toll means more government spending and private funding for treatment, detection, and prevention of diabet...

Our insurance company changed on June 1. The small business that my wife works for switched to United Healthcare, which was only raising rates 14% rather than the 40% hike predicted by Wellpoint Anthem. In many ways the coverage was similiar to what I've seen in the past, but this new policy brought a new element I'd never experienced before: Blood Test Strip Supply Limits. The formulary booklet lists all three tiers of test strips, and magically the One Touch Ultra test strips that I use fall into that first category. Lucky me. Of course, there was a fun little code of "SL" in bold behind the brand name. The key at the bottom revealed this to mean, "Supply Limit." It almost brought a smile to my face, as I'd never lived with this type of limit before but had heard the stories from those who have. There's probably no way to avoid a fight on this one, I thought, so bring it on! In calling UHC on Tuesday to discuss my policy coverage and what thi...

Driving With Diabetes (or Driving While Diabetic) is a topic that I've written about before . You may recall me recounting stories about my own "adventures" while on the road or when prepping to get behind the wheel. These situations teach us that one must always make sure their blood glucose level is at safe levels before getting behind the wheel - testing before putting the vehicle into gear is something every Person With Diabetes must do. But sometimes, no matter how much one tries or prepares, he or she encounters a Low that might have some impact on the driving experience. Now, I carry a BG Meter and always test before driving. A tube of glucose tabs stay in the door handle next to me, and there's also a backup jar that stays in my center console along with a pack of Skittles nearby. An alert card also stays in my wallet, and sure my insulin pump is an external sign that might tell some about my Type 1 diabetes. But really, if someone isn't trained to look ...

A darkened sky, dramatically choreographed with restless storms. Our lives flash before our eyes, as quickly as the lightening strikes the horizon. Thunder rumbles, just as troubles tremble within these daily lives. Rain comes pouring, just as deadlines, finances, relationships, stress... A line of storms rains down on our lives, clouding our minds and drenching our days. Highs and Lows, Lost Time and Restless Hearts all tempt our souls away from the path. Away from the knowledge that, the storms do move on. The sun will shine through in their place. Golden Twilight tickles our hearts, surging into our souls Making us remember why we wait for beauty in this life. Why we hold on to our faith, our love, our hope. That no matter what storms we face, Twilight returns. We welcome it. Cherish it. Gain the strength to weather the storms once more.

Losing someone is always tough. But the Diabetes Community has lost some incredible men and women recently, people who've touched countless lives and brought happiness to this world while being tireless advocates in their own respective corners. These untimely deaths can really get to those of us People With Diabetes, even though these individuals may be strangers to us for all practical purposes. Some others have touched on this beautifully recently, such as Kerri's post "Broken Rules" over at Six Until Me and Kelly's post "Sadness, Regret, Anger" over at Diabetesaliciousness . Their writing hit home and it's true those losses got to me, but honestly the most recent loss earlier this week has pushed me to the edge. It not only saddens me, but enrages me to the point of wanting to question and cry and ponder why we're all faced with this chronic condition in the first place. Most recently on Sunday, June 14, we've lost Will Koch,...

A California appeals court says state law only allows nurses to give diabetic students insulin in schools, because it's a nursing function and requires some skill and scientic knowledge. Parents are outraged. The Children With Diabetes forums lit up once this ruling came down. Though some are criticizing the courts for ruling this way, most realize that it's not the state or appellate court at fault here - most parents along with the American Diabetes Association and JDRF and other D-affiliated groups are vowing to take this fight to the California legislature (already done, but to no avail as of yet). Though this case is specific to California, this is an issue that's being debated nationwide as the country faces a nursing shortage and cash-strapped schools are cutting those positions. Some parents worry that this could lead to "special schools" where D-Kids are herded in order to have that kind of care state law says can only be given by nurses. ...

A key aspect in any person's life is learning how to adapt. Change happens, and we must always be ready for it. The same can be said to those of us in the Diabetes Community. Life is all about adapting to change, especially when your Living With Diabetes. Sure, I love it when a plan comes together (A-Team tv show quotation here) , but rarely is it Plan A that materializes from concept to reality. No, it's hardly ever the first plan that gets carried out. More often than not, we find ourselves having to be all like MacGyver and come up with new plans on the fly. So was the case in my own Indiana D-Life recently. An exciting, Hollywood-style meetup was planned between myself and Cherise over at  Diabetic_Iz_Me , as we both work within a few minutes of each other in the city. As she's new to the area, I offered to head over to her side. With her recent Cupcake Baking Adventures, I'd decided that a gift from The Flying Cupcake was in order. Maybe somethin...

Her words hit his heart like pure joyful music.  Original Source , before adaption. You would have thought she'd just told him the greatest news on earth. His eyes lit up. Like a small child hearing the world-changing news that he'd get to run through a candy store with unlimited purchasing power and no parents to limit the candy intake. This was the scene in my Endo's office during my three-month visit on Tuesday. It was like a Kid With Diabetes being given access to a Sugar Free Candy Store, just like when Charlie found the final Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's candy-land. For me, my Golden Ticket came in the form of an impressive A1C figure, which had dropped from 8.8% in March to 7.7% now. A not-so-impressive number, but an impressive 1.1% drop in just three months. Heck, this was better than any Golden Ticket - this was a pathway to better D-Management paved in gold. Or something along those lines. A smile graced not only my face, but...

One of my fellow D-Bloggers is Chris Stocker, an Adult Type 1 in Florida who shares with us his high and low experiences at " The Life of a Diabetic. " This week, Chris has invited some of us to share pieces of our own D-Lives over at his online home. I'm honored to take part, following in the footsteps of D-Mom Lorraine ( This is Caleb ), Scott Johnson ( Scott's Diabetes Journal ), and Cherise Shockley ( Diabetic_Iz_Me ) who've all done guest-spots this week. My guest post is dubbed "On The Job," and it follows a point that Cherise discussed in relation to her recent move from California to Indiana and how she went on three interviews in a day all while sharing her diabetes history with interviewers and potential employers. That got me thinking, so I shot Chris some quick thoughts on a similiar train of thought. Thanks, Chris, for welcoming all of us! It's a pleasure. I'll look forward to having you guest-post...

There is no reason that obtaining basic living supplies should take 28 Days. Unless, of course you live in a Zombie World. Obviously, we do live in this Diabetic Zombie World. This has been written about before. Some of us have Lows, causing us to behave like rambling incoherent zombies out in search of glucose brains. Sometimes, we have Highs that make us feel like we're stumbling through molasses, or moving as swiftly as a zombie does. Yet, there are other Zombies in this D-Zombie World of ours - the stupid, rambling, unproductive zombie-like fools who have one basic mission in life: to make your brain hurt and give you the desire to just give them a quick shotgun-blast to the head to stop the craziness. Insurance companies. Medical supply companies. Mail order suppliers. Local pharmacists. Billing reps. They invest our lives, and force us to go all zombie-killer Woody Harrelson on them. That's how I've been in recent days. En...

We People With Diabetes often voice our frustrations with Diabetes Police, who are those typically well-meaning and nice people who think they're the resident experts on everything related to diabetes. As with all D-Police Force members, dealing with these individuals one-on-one or in mass can be frustrating and require diplomacy, usually in the form of biting your tongue and instead responding with education or information about whatever the topic might be. Hopefully, it sinks in. But sometimes that isn't the case. That response can be even more tricky when those people are family members or close friends, and it requires a bit more delicacy than strangers or even more casual acquaintances. In my own D-Life during the past decade, the person who I've come to label as my Chief of D-Police is none other than my mother-in-law. A pleasant woman, she is herself a Type 2 diabetic - which means that her view of the D-World is gospel. I do my best to maintain composure, balanci...

You may know them as Insulin Reactions, Hypos, Lows, or by some variation of those terms. In my world as a Type 1 diabetic since the age of 5, they've historically been "Reactions" that have transition into the more generic "Lows" in more recent years. The opposite of Highs, which garner quite the confused and befuddled glares when you say out in public that "I'm High" and follow that with the need to "shoot up." (Fun, seriously. Try it out if you haven't already!) But two new descriptions for Lows came with a recent experience when the in-laws were visiting during the Memorial Day Weekend. It was Sunday, and they'd gone out with Suzi for a day of shopping at a nearby mall while I stayed home with the goal of cleaning up our kitchen and doing some outdoor work while they were gone. A Law & Order: SVU marathon and The Sandlot 2 interfered only briefly, and the plan was to clean the kitchen and do some outdoor work. But, a...