Beta Cell Bash, in the Year of the Hoverboard
Today is my 31st anniversary since my T1D diagnosis as a kid. And as I've done for the past number of years, I went to a diabetes party this past weekend. It was the Beta Cell Bash.
Yep, that's seriously the name of it.
Actually, it wasn't specifically to mark my diaversary. It just happened to fall at this time of year. Once again, the B-Cell Bash was a... bash.
Meeting up with other fellow pancreatically-challenged peeps is a fun experience, and this past weekend was no exception. This yearly get-together was the 4th one that I'd been to and its the brainchild of Mr. Michael Schwab, a local Indy guy who's now in his fourth decade with T1D.
Sadly. there were no sightings of hoverboards or flying DeLoreans, and Marty McFly wasn't playing his guitar anywhere near the stage. Still, it was a fantastic time.
I have no clue how many fellow people with diabetes were actually there, but I know that I saw at least a half-dozen and conversations with a number of them. Last year, we know there was a total of at least 174 years with type 1, and I'd have to guess there was at least that this year.
No matter the D-presence, we had some good beer and music, and it was a Rollings Stones theme, so each local band had to play at least one Stones tune in their mix of music.
And yes, they were selling some pretty cool "F Diabetes" shirts - so I bought one for $15, and got a free beer out of it! I met a couple who was there because of their friends, who had a young boy diagnosed a year or so ago. The D-family wasn't attending, but when these friends saw the F Diabetes shirt, they were messaging back and forth and we had some good conversation before they bought a shirt, too. Lots of good people that night!
One of the guitarists introduced had a grandfather with type 1... and that just boggled my mind! How awesome it is that we're living in a time when PWDs can live to that age -- it's so great to me, and adds to the great stories of people like my friend Richard Vaughn who's almost to his 7th decade with T1D, and Dr. C. Kenneth Gorman who just received his 80-year medal. So great, and really inspires me to know that it's possible and that, yes, I can do it.
While there was a whole lot going on, one of the best parts of the night for me was the conversation. It was nice talking Dexcom with a fellow longtime T1 who's considering one for herself.
My regular receiver was connected to Nightscout (for the first time in 3 months), and with the belt case I have, the receiver isn't easily taken out of the case so I'm glad to have had a backup one connected to my G4 transmitter. That way, she could hold it and scroll through the screens for herself as we chatted about CGM options.
It was also a lot of fun for me to just sit and enjoy good conversation with another T1 friend locally, with topics ranging from anything and everything -- open-source, regulatory and R&D delay, the art of microbrews, music, diabetes camp, exercising adventures when it comes to living with D, and just general career paths. Not just diabetes, but life in general... that was refreshing, especially when it came to talking local microbreweries we've been to.
Of course, it was also fun to grab a lower-carb dinner before hand, and play with my Nightscout rig for the first time in a while. We even snapped some fun with photos...
And the awesome Melissa Lee decided to have some of her own fun with my photo posted on the CGM in the Cloud group on Facebook, and it had me rolling on the floor... oh, hell: ROFL.
Oh, the fun we can have with diabetes...
(btw, today's #dblogcheck day and so I'm looking forward to reading and commenting on a number of different blogs from peeps in the DOC... and hearing from you! Follow all the hashtag-using posts here!)
Yep, that's seriously the name of it. Actually, it wasn't specifically to mark my diaversary. It just happened to fall at this time of year. Once again, the B-Cell Bash was a... bash.
Meeting up with other fellow pancreatically-challenged peeps is a fun experience, and this past weekend was no exception. This yearly get-together was the 4th one that I'd been to and its the brainchild of Mr. Michael Schwab, a local Indy guy who's now in his fourth decade with T1D.
Sadly. there were no sightings of hoverboards or flying DeLoreans, and Marty McFly wasn't playing his guitar anywhere near the stage. Still, it was a fantastic time.
I have no clue how many fellow people with diabetes were actually there, but I know that I saw at least a half-dozen and conversations with a number of them. Last year, we know there was a total of at least 174 years with type 1, and I'd have to guess there was at least that this year.
No matter the D-presence, we had some good beer and music, and it was a Rollings Stones theme, so each local band had to play at least one Stones tune in their mix of music.
And yes, they were selling some pretty cool "F Diabetes" shirts - so I bought one for $15, and got a free beer out of it! I met a couple who was there because of their friends, who had a young boy diagnosed a year or so ago. The D-family wasn't attending, but when these friends saw the F Diabetes shirt, they were messaging back and forth and we had some good conversation before they bought a shirt, too. Lots of good people that night!
One of the guitarists introduced had a grandfather with type 1... and that just boggled my mind! How awesome it is that we're living in a time when PWDs can live to that age -- it's so great to me, and adds to the great stories of people like my friend Richard Vaughn who's almost to his 7th decade with T1D, and Dr. C. Kenneth Gorman who just received his 80-year medal. So great, and really inspires me to know that it's possible and that, yes, I can do it.
While there was a whole lot going on, one of the best parts of the night for me was the conversation. It was nice talking Dexcom with a fellow longtime T1 who's considering one for herself.
My regular receiver was connected to Nightscout (for the first time in 3 months), and with the belt case I have, the receiver isn't easily taken out of the case so I'm glad to have had a backup one connected to my G4 transmitter. That way, she could hold it and scroll through the screens for herself as we chatted about CGM options.
It was also a lot of fun for me to just sit and enjoy good conversation with another T1 friend locally, with topics ranging from anything and everything -- open-source, regulatory and R&D delay, the art of microbrews, music, diabetes camp, exercising adventures when it comes to living with D, and just general career paths. Not just diabetes, but life in general... that was refreshing, especially when it came to talking local microbreweries we've been to.
Of course, it was also fun to grab a lower-carb dinner before hand, and play with my Nightscout rig for the first time in a while. We even snapped some fun with photos...
And the awesome Melissa Lee decided to have some of her own fun with my photo posted on the CGM in the Cloud group on Facebook, and it had me rolling on the floor... oh, hell: ROFL.
Oh, the fun we can have with diabetes...
(btw, today's #dblogcheck day and so I'm looking forward to reading and commenting on a number of different blogs from peeps in the DOC... and hearing from you! Follow all the hashtag-using posts here!)
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