A First-Timer's View of the Friends For Life Diabetes Fest
This year marks the 17 th anniversary of Friends For Life, the annual diabetes fest hosted at the Orlando Disney World Resort by the non-profit Children with Diabetes , with the 2016 event wrapping up last week. While the conference started off serving type 1 children, it has grown over the years to encompass everyone in our ecosystem — from siblings to grandparents of children with diabetes, to adults with type 1 — many of whom first came to the event as children themselves years ago. This was my first time attending FFL. I’d heard good things about it, but to be honest, I’ve been struggling with some diabetes overload and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel once I got there. The night before I departed, my mother asked me, “Are you looking forward to your conference?” To which I replied flatly: “I can’t work up the energy to be excited about anything that deals with diabetes.” But as it turns out, I was wrong. It turns out that while we don't have a cure for diabetes yet, w...