The Corner Booth

That end of the week time is here again, so here we go with another round of Friday Fun! Here's some random, but good tidbits, from the past week. Here we go: Ok. This isn't "fun," but it is important. So it leads the list. News of a disappointing encounter with a U.S. Senator came from D-Mom Moira McCarthy this week and spread quickly in the Diabetes Online Community and Beyond. But soon afterward, the incredible feedback to the situation prompted a response that includes an upcoming May meeting with Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts. This is an awesome example of the influence advocacy and social media can have. We will listen intently for how this meeting goes, and hope that it's not a one-time example of this lawmaker listening. Oh, and do you STILL wonder what the impact of social media is in today's world? Well, this is a must read about how social media played a part in informing and probably saving lives when tornadoes tore through Alabama recently....

We recently had a Twitter discussion during the weekly #dsma chat involving the Life Stages of Diabetes. Basically, the premise is this: Living with diabetes can be tough and we never get a break. It's ALWAYS on our mind, with everything we do.  It’s quite easy to feel burnt out from everything we have to do to stay healthy.  When that happens, it can help to focus on the things, and the people, who make all our hard work worth it. How did relationships with other people help inspire you to take care of yourself? For me, that answer depends on which particular life stage we're talking about. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age five, I've gone through a few and so each stage represents a different relationship that essentially motivated me in some way to better manage my diabetes. As a Child & Teenager, Young Adult: My friends Maybe it wasn't so much being "inspired" during these years as it was more a sense of my wanting to not be different. Want...

The news story caught my attention immediately. From one of the daily newspapers in the area I grew up in Southeast Michigan and once wanted to work during or after college, the headline to this story said:"Third-grader expelled after playing with blood sugar tester." WTF, I thought. My mind flashed to a child testing his or her blood sugar in class at a desk, and getting in trouble for that from a teacher not knowing what the sharp little device actually was. Not the case, as I learned when reading the story that ran in the April 21 edition of The Oakland Press . Basically, an 8-year old poked up to 13 classmates with a lancet device that a fellow student had found on the classroom floor, picked up, and started passing around for a poke-a-thon. This all happened in mid-March, and the school determined to be a serious health situation. No, it's not clear whether we're talking about a lancet or a lancing device. We also don't know from the newspaper coverage at thi...

A busy and somewhat stressful week comes to a close, but the work is far from finished. So in the interests of brevity to keep plugging away, I offer a five-shot of Friday Goodness (being that it's Good Friday, and all). Yes, it's the Friday before Easter - marking what John 19:42 describes as the crucifixion and death of Jesus. But more than this religious holiday, the calendar is also proclaiming that it's Earth Day! So, go hug a tree or something. Or help inspire awareness and appreciation for this planet's natural environment. Or EVEN BETTER: Go to Starbucks, where for today only you can take your own reusable mug or tumbler and get a free hot or cold drink!!! We plan to go here soon enough, though it may be Sunday prior to our Lasagna dinner that night! Even my blog stats illustrate that Easter is on the mind. Top search terms in the past week include: " Moses and the Burning Bush ," " Burning Bush ," and " Bible Story Moses " - al...

Sometimes, diabetes interferes with life in the worst possible moments. When we're already late to work. Trying to make an appointment. Just as we're going to bed. Intimate moments. Driving your car. Mowing the lawn. Exercise adventures that must be delayed or cancelled. Working diligently on deadline and trying to read complex documents. And so many more. Lost Time is a common dilemma for those of us living lives with a faulty pancreas, and one of these bad timing moments materialized for me recently. My mind just wasn't where it should have been, my temperature gauge was off, and it was quite possible that I was either Way Too High or Way Too Low to focus on what was needed. These things happen, and in this particular moment it wasn't exactly a shocking surprise - my SWAGing for an uncalculated amount of carbs and unusual exercise in the hours before were likely culprits. But the timing sucked. So, I opted for a blood test and my meter laughed at me while...

We went to the JDRF Promise Gala in Indianapolis this past weekend. This was our third time going in as many years, courtesy of my employer that is an event sponsor and offered us the honor of being able to attend such a great event we otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to attend ( tickets to the black tie gala are quite costly ). This year, we also had the chance to fill some other spots at this sponsor table so I was able to invite about six others who are friends and parts of the Diabetes Community. It was a blast, and an incredibly awesome time as always. The featured family at the event was the Koch Family, famous here in Indiana in that they are the owners of the theme park known as Holiday World in Southern Indiana. They have a very personal connection to diabetes, in that several family members are touched by it - and sadly they lost one of their own to it. Forty-eight year old Will Koch, who'd lived with Type 1 since his college days and went on to take over th...

Neal Shine. Four years ago, this world lost a journalism legend. This man embodied what is good and honorable in the City of Detroit, in the journalism profession, and just generally in the world we live. He was a mentor and true role model who's tough love in college shaped my journalism career. From his personal connection to my education and journalistic practice to those others who played a part in who I became. Neal Shine, former Detroit Free Press publisher who had to retire twice to officially get away from his newspaper. But even that didn't keep him away. He died April 3, 2007 at age 76. But just like when he left the newspaper officially, he's not gone. He'll never be forgotten. Every year about this time, I reflect on his role in my journalistic life and appreciate that I knew him. The actual broadsheet newspaper, now yellowed with three years of sunlight, still hangs on the bulletin board behind my desk at the office. A huge photo of Neal watches ...

So. These are the days of our lives. Full. Busy. Sometimes so tough. But the sands keep falling no matter what, and time passes by. It's been busy on this end, with so much happening that I've had to unplug from the Diabetes Online Community a bit just to try and keep my head above water. It feels as if there are a few huge clouds hanging overhead, a couple turning dark with lightening and thunder, but they're all growing and demanding equal time and attention. That's just not possible, so priorities are in flux as what needs to be done can be accomplished. Anyhow, I'm hoping to find some time to re-connect before long. In the meantime, here's a quick list running down some updates and what's on tap before long: We have sent Bacon Gibbs back to Minimed , and so far Gibbs Corleone, The Don of Pumping, has been working out nicely. Even displayed a few times that he is, in fact, The Don of Rage Bolusing, and my body appears to have listened- "offe...

A total of three insulin pumps are currently residing in my world. Yes, that's correct: 3 of them. It's like an episode of Three's Company, where my D-Life is like the show in that it's a comedy of errors, chronicling the escapades and hijinks of Pump and Pump Master's constant misunderstandings, social jives, and struggles to keep up with all of life's adventures. So, this is why three are currently a part of my life. They are all Minimed pumps and have names and stories, too: 1. Larry The Loaner: a 523 Paradigm Revel that I was trial-testing for a few months, thanks to a local rep who gave me the chance to see the ins and outs before making a final decision on buying one of these CGM-pumps for myself. An informative and beneficial experience that I'm grateful for and have written about once or twice or more, but that trial run has come to a close. But in the meantime, Larry is sitting on the sidelines with transmitter nearby while I get back to...

Seriously, I wish this was an April Fool's joke. But sadly, it's not. This is the one where we get to once again explore how stupid and worthless some medical and health studies are, in exploring questions that don't actually need to be explored. I've ranted and raved about this concern of mine before, touching on studies that have found "Sedentary behavior linked to high blood sugar" and "Active Self-care Improves Blood Sugar Control." That March 31, 2007 post  was entitled No Shit, Sherlock and I ended up recycling it last summer, but now it comes to this again as a new mind-boggling study has been spearheaded by inquiring minds in the Diabetes Research Community. Apparently, Sherlock Strikes Again. Oh, and here's a shout-out to DiabetesMine that has a great look today at another stupid waste of a study, this one also over in Europe. Side note: What is it about this time of year? Is this the Season of Senseless Studies, a time whe...