Sort of Wordless Wednesday

When you see your favorite low glucose treatment on the "last chance" rack, you buy them all. 

Meet Penelope

So we all know that those of us in the D-OC like to name our medical devices. I've had the MiniMed Revel for a while now and this pump didn't actually have a name. I'd named my old pump Lola, but this one hadn't gotten a name yet. She'd been stubborn, and until I got her an outfit to wear, she hadn't given me her name.

A few weeks ago I custom ordered a pump skin for my pump. I did this with my last pump as well. My love of theatre seems to be pretty well known throughout the D-OC, but in case you didn't know I have another blog where I focus almost completely on theatre and other related things.

This pump skin is basically the American Idiot (musical!!) poster. I wanted to bring my love of theatre (and my current favorite show) to my diabetes life. I feel they mix more often than not, and I figured if I'm gonna wear a device twenty-four hours a day to keep me alive, I might as well make it look like something I love.

When she got her skin, she gave me her name. It's kind of silly, but on the first national tour of American Idiot, there was a piece of the scenery that the cast named Penelope. I don't know why they picked that name. I don't know where it came from. But Penelope was an awesome set piece AND she made things fun... and occasionally cause some physical pain. Sound like an insulin pump? It did to me.

So....meet Penelope, my insulin pump.

JDRF South Region T1D Symposium - 2013

Over the weekend I attended the JDRF South Region Symposium in Nashville. I was so blessed to get to go and I have so many things to share. This was the first Symposium of it's kind that I've been to. And the first that Nashville and the South Region of JDRF has done. I'd personally like to see it become a regular thing. Let me tell you why....

When they announced this Symposium back in September, I knew right away that I had to go. Why? Well, one of the guest speakers was the D-OC's own Kerri Sparling. I wasn't about to let Kerri come to Tennessee and NOT go see her. Plus, I kind of wanted to see her around a bunch of people with Southern accents. ;)

I signed up to go with a dear friend of mine. She's not a blogger...or a tweeter, but she's on facebook and TuDiabetes and she occasionally guest blogs for me. Sherry is one of the kindest souls I know and I knew we would have so much fun.

When the weekend arrived, I was buzzing with excitement. I knew some other people I'd met before were coming. I also knew there were a few people that I'd never met IRL before that were going to be there. AND I knew there were new people to meet.

There were vendors set up when we were registering and getting settled in on Saturday morning. One of the good things about that was that I got to hold and play with the new t:slim insulin pump. I thought it was pretty awesome looking, and fun to play with. It also appeared to be more sturdy than I first imagined...though I guess the true trial would be how long it lasted (I'm tough on pumps).

Before we could even sit down to have lunch, I ran into some old Nashville area diabetes friends that I hadn't seen in a while. And I got to meet some bloggers and tweeters that I hadn't had the chance to meet yet, including Julie, Andrea, Holly of Arnold and Me & Aaron Jaffe (who I didn't know had a blog called Rep the Betes, until this weekend; shame on me!).

Seeing Victoria again was SO much fun. And I got to meet some awesome new friends like Stephanie, Madison, and Jordan (who had two blogs like I do! You can find her d blog HERE).

Honestly, the friend connections are always my favorite part of things like this, but there was also a host of fantastic information. Listening to Tom Brobson, National Director, Research Investment Opportunities for JDRF, shared his experience with the artificial pancrease trial, and shared some of the focus of JDRF.

One of my favorite quotes of the weekend (that Tom Brobson shared) was "Less Until None" in reference to JDRF working toward diabetes having less burden, being less invasive, having less complexity, and having less danger in our lives until there is no diabetes left. I like the sound of that. While I don't know that I expect a cure any time soon, the "less" stuff has a nice ring to it.

I attended both of Kerri's breakout sessions, and was thoroughly glad I did. The first was on Pregnancy & Parenting. While I'm not a parent, not pregnant, and not planning to be, I do think that pregnancy and parenthood are in my future somewhere. I wanted to know what she did and is doing to have a healthy pregnancy, and being healthy for her daughter. Kerri had an endo there also answering questions (turns out it was MY endo!!!), so there was medical advice, as well as Kerri's personal experience.

Kerri's other session was on T1 Diabetes in the "real" world. There was a whole room full of young people, older people, parents of children with d, people who'd been recently diagnosed. It was great to see everyone coming together and sharing stories. And just for reference, Kerri's talks sound exactly how she writes her blog posts. :)

Another session that I attended was on diabetes complications. It was a little depressing, but I liked some of the information I gained. I had mixed feelings about it, honestly. It wasn't what I was expecting, so I was a little disappointed. But at the same time, I found it very informing and I learned a lot, so I can't be TOO disappointed.

 

Overall, I thought the weekend was a rousing success and I really hope that JDRF continues to do things like this. While I understand that they like as much money as possible to go into funding research, there is a huge mental aspect to diabetes and this is one way to help. It goes right along with that "Less burden" part of the JDRF "Less Until More." Because things like this make diabetes less of a burden in my life.

Diabetes and the Christmas Season

The Christmas season is upon us. There are so many things that come into play this time of year. Gift giving, card sending, baking, decorating, Christmas programs, family, travel, and a host of other things that, while not regulated to one time a year, rarely fall all at the same time of year.

It’s easy to let some things fall by the wayside when you’re dealing with all of these other things that seem to take precedence. One thing that seems to be an issue for many of us is caring for diabetes. I’ll be honest, after Diabetes Awareness month in November, being thrust directly into the Christmas season, I’m often burnt out this time of year. It’s understandable.

 

My work has a “December Days of Eating.” Really. That’s what we call it. Every work day of December that falls before Christmas, someone signs up to bring something to eat for the whole office. Most of the time it’s something terribly horrible for us all, but oh, so good. I have one co-worker that makes this amazing cheesy buttery French bread that I swear I look forward to all year long. Another loves to bring a cheese dip that includes sausage and salsa. Another is queen of desserts. I, myself, usually take something like cupcakes or cake.

I have Community Choir concerts, shopping for presents, addressing and mailing Christmas cards, dealing with family things (two Christmas dinners anyone?), and all the emotional baggage that comes with the holidays in general.

Add all of this together and I guess my question is, how do I keep things under some semblance of control? Anyone else have feelings like this? What do you do to keep yourself from going over the diabetes edge?

It seems like when Santa comes into camera view during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, my life goes insane until about the 3rd week of January. Help me (and whatever reader’s I may have) out. Give me some tips, or just share your own frustrations about this crazy time of year. I’ll thank you. I might even bake you a cupcake.

World Diabetes Day 2012

November 14th, 2012

World Diabetes Day

 

Diabetes unites us. It's made us friends, family, soul mates. 

But as much as we are about the people that diabetes has brought into our lives,

we'd all love to have a cure.

 

Take a minute today to tell someone why you're wearing blue. Speak up if you hear someone say something that's untrue about diabetes. Share a piece of yourself with someone who might not know much about diabetes. Being an advocate doesn't take much. You don't have to have a blog or write a book or be a public speaker.

 

 

On a different note, It's funny that our official symbol is the blue circle, but we have so many other little symbols and inside jokes. Glitter, bacon, sprinkles, cupcakes, unicorns. 

 

Honestly, I'm a little unsure where the love of all of these things came from and how they came to be such a part of our Diabetes Online Community. But they are there.

 

I felt the need to incorporate as many of them as possible into my postcards that I made for the World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange. I am sticking them in the mail today (if my glue dries in time). One is headed to the southern part of the country (further south than me) and the other is going around the world to Australia.

 

I'm looking forward to getting some postcards myself! I hope you joined in this year.

 

Oh yeah, and

HAPPY WORLD DIABETES DAY!

 

Roche Social Media Summit 2012

For the first time, I was invited to a blogger/advocate summit. July 29-31, I was in Indianapolis, Indiana, courtesy of Roche, maker of Accu-Chek products, as well as many other diabetes related supplies and devices. I put my disclaimer here: Roche paid for all of my travel expenses, including flight, lodging and meals. That being said, all opinions are my own and anything I say in this post, good or bad, is my own opinion.

For the past four years, Roche has been gathering bloggers, online advocates, and medical professionals with an online presence to have the Roche Social Media Summit. This year, I was one of the lucky ones invited to attend. I feel blessed to have been invited and even more thankful after having experienced the actual event.

There were so many things that happened, that my mind has been nearly overloaded since I got back late Tuesday night. I thought about writing more than one post in order to get all the information in. But I instead chose to do only one post instead. There were so many of us at the event, that I'm sure whatever aspect you are looking for, someone else has probably covered it.

Our trip started out with check-ins and an evening meet and greet. One of my favorite things from the few hours between my arrival and the evening event was the chance I got to go have lunch with Lee Ann Thill, Kelly Kunik and Scott Johnson. I'd met Lee Ann and Kelly previously, but I'd been wanting a face to face meeting with Scott Johnson for a LONG time, as he was the FIRST person to ever comment on this blog. Also, he has a really great Minnesotan accent. :) (Just a note, everyone loved my thick country accent this trip, but I loved listening to Scott talk! I have an accent crush.)

There was also an almost constant group of people in the lobby of the hotel greeting people as they got in from their travels. Meeting many of them for the first time, and seeing some old friends again was great. And I loved that most of it happened in the lobby of the hotel. At the meet and greet there was a great amount of time to talk with each other, as well as with some Roche employees. I loved that time and loved getting to chat with and get to know so many people that I've known online for years.

The first full day of the summit started with a welcome and then a great presentation about the DOC: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. I loved that Roche was acknowledging that the DOC exists, has a voice, and is continually growing.

Roche also brought in guest speaker, Josh Bleill from the Indianapolis Colts. I could write and write about all the amazing that was Josh Bleill, but instead I'll say this: Josh Bleill is a double amputee, hurt in Iraq as a Marine, and an extraordinary human being who gives me motivation to continue on with the things that I love and is a great representation of what it means to overcome.To read a much more eloquent version of Josh Bleill's visit with us, check out Chris Stocker's post. He says it all.

We also were able take a trip to the Roche campus to have lunch, a discussion with several Roche "big-wigs" about technology and where Roche is headed, as well as a tour of the Research & Development facility and the Manufacturing Facility. Did you know that Roche is the only diabetes company that makes test strips and meters in the U.S.? I was unaware of this. Also, in only ONE of their plants (the one in Indy), a three-shift day can turn out 15 million test strips. 15 MILLION. That's a lot of test strips.

That being said, while we were having the Q & A with the Roche people and the tour of the campus, I was even more appreciative to have people present who were more technologically inclined than I am. Scott Strumello, Kitty Castellini, Bennette Dunlap, and several others. These people were asking the questions that I wouldn't have thought to ask about technology.

We finished out Monday with a trip to see a minor league baseball game (the Indianapolis Indians) and to be honest, I'm not much of a baseball fan, but there was still fun to be had and I spent the entire game chatting with people and realizing how many amazingly SMART people we have in the DOC. It makes me proud to know that our community is so diverse that we each have our own goals and talents.

And there there was this thing:

Apparently this is Rowdie. I didn't know what he was, other than the team mascot for the Indianapolis Indians. Apparently he's a bear. Who knew? Read about him here. Also, he's kind of creepy. At one point he put my head in his mouth. I haven't managed to chase down the picture yet. If you are reading this & you know who had it, let me know! I want that picture!

Even after the game, as late as it was and as tired as we were, there were several of us who weren't quite ready to call it a day. Several of us got together to chat, have a drink or two, and laugh together. Eventually, though, it had to be done. Sleep had to be on the agenda.

Tuesday morning began a session on the Roche portfolio. It was a detailed look at what Roche is doing now and what they're working toward. Some of the stuff was more about the direction they were hoping to head and we were asked not to discuss it, as they haven't had a chance to finalize things and submit things to the FDA, and that could cause problems later. That being said, there is some exciting stuff that is a possibility for Roche. I look forward to seeing great things from them in the future.

They shared with us their new insulin pumping system, the Accu-Chek Combo system, and actually gave us their newest meter, the Accu-Chek Nano. While I don't see myself changing to the Nano right now (my OneTouch reads to my insulin pump), it is a pretty cool device. The also shared the new Accu-Chek FastClix lancet device, which is a newer version of my beloved Accu-Chek MultiClix.

Some things I found interesting:

-After acquiring the FDA cleared Solo Insulin Pump, Roche has decided not to release it to the public.

-After entering a research & development contract with Dexcom, Roche is going to be distributing the version of Dexcom that will be used by medical professionals in office, NOT the ones that we as patients would have.

-The MultiClix is going to eventually be a thing of the past, as all the Accu-Chek Nanos, as well as all future Accu-Chek Avias will be packaged with a FastClix.

 

A final speaker closed out our time at the Roche Social Media Summit 2012. Steve Richert, from Living Vertical came to speak with us. Steve is a Type 1 diabetic who is in the middle of a project that involves him climbing, in some capacity every day for a year. This project, called Project365 is a pretty amazing thing. If you'd like to help Steve out, go HERE and watch the video, and then "like" it. For every "like" Roche will donate $1 toward Project365.

I loved my time at the Roche Social Media Summit. I was honored to have been asked, and I hope I did everything I could to represent everyone with diabetes to the best of my ability. Thanks to Rob Muller and Todd Siesky, along with all the other amazing Roche employees we met this year, for putting forth the effort to find out what we as consumers want and what we think. It means a lot to know you are listening. Had I not been in the group picked for the Summit this year, I still have faith, like I have every other year, that I am being well represented by members of the DOC. The best thing that I learned at the Roche Social Media Summit was that we are a truly diverse and intelligent group  of people in the DOC.

And thank you to Roche for taking the time to get to know us, the consumers. May you continue to step "out of the box" and make positive strides in diabetes care for those of us that live with diabetes 24/7.

Any Time Is a Good Time

Anytime is a good time for a d meet-up. I LOVE getting to meet my D-OC friends in real life. It's so great because there is a person you already know you love and have a lot in common with and there's none of the awkward stuff that usually comes with meeting a person for the first time.



Pumping at the Full House park...apparently
also known as Alamo Square. Who knew??

Sarah and I "met" through twitter and facebook and her blog (though I found her twitter and fb first). Something that I discovered quite quickly was that we both share a love of theatre, along with a busted pancreas.

Sarah & I at Lombard street. Let's just say there were juice
boxes consumed after walking up and down that hill.

When my love of theatre led me across the country to San Francisco, I knew Sarah and I had to meet up. :) Sarah was, of course, completely wonderful. She took me and my best friend around to sight see for a while, we went out to a great place for lunch, and then she joined us in our personal brand of crazy, which consisted of sitting on the sidewalk for 5 hours waiting on cheap front row tickets to see my favorite show in the world.

Sarah's great suggestion for sea food! So yummy.

The best part? She didn't complain about the waiting. And I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the show. :) And the whole while, we both had low treatments, we both beeped randomly, tested, calculated carbs, and my best friend had lots of fun checking to be sure we were okay. :D

The show that led me to San Francisco and gave
me the chance to meet Sarah!

All of you who were blessed to be at Friends for Life this year, I'm still a little jealous. But I wouldn't have traded getting to meet Sarah for anything.

Instant Friends...just add water (or coffee)

I've never been exactly good at meeting new people. I tend to be slightly awkward and uncomfortable when it comes to people I've never met before. I've gotten better in recent years and I owe a lot of thanks to the D-OC for that.

The thing about meeting new people online is that the instant awkward meeting is almost nullified by the safety of the internet. We get to know each other before every meeting each other. Each time I've been blessed to meet someone from online in an offline setting, there's no awkwardness. Just instant friends.

A little over a week ago I was blessed to get to meet another person from the D-OC. Victoria Cumbow is a fellow blogger and tweeter that I've gotten to know over the last year or so.

Through our online interactions I discovered that she grew up not too far from where I did (a little over an hour away) and that we both travel to Nashville on a fairly frequent basis.

We tried to meet up a few months ago, but it fell through, but when Victoria knew quite a bit ahead of time about an appointment in Nashville, I immediately requested the day off from work so that we could get together. We met up for coffee and breakfast and then, after Victoria's appointment, met up again for lunch and shopping.

I never seem to run out of things to talk about with d people, but with some, there's a more instant connection. Perhaps it's because we're close to the same age. Perhaps it's because we were raised in the same area of the country and state. Perhaps it's because we share similar religious beliefs. Or that we have a similar sense of humor. Victoria and I fell into an easy and almost instantaneous friendship that was planted in diabetes, but rooted in so many other things.

I love when diabetes isn't the center of a conversation, but can still happen naturally. That always seems to be the case with my friends from the D-OC. And a day with Victoria was no different. It wasn't unusually for diabetes to creep into the conversation, but it didn't happen often. We shared other things and talked about other things. But when diabetes did come up, it didn't have to be explained. It just was.

Side note: If you get the chance to meet Victoria, do it. She's a blessing and a light in the D-OC and in life.

Diabetes Camp Letter

In the summer of 1990, when I was 9  years old, I attended the now defunct Camp Liwidia. I remember a lot of things about camp. Very few of them pertaining to diabetes. I remember on camper in my cabin having a low in the middle of the night. I remember that all of the camp counselors had fanny packs full of test kits and glucose tabs. I remember group testing and injecting before meals.

The envelope the letter was mailed home in.

Other than that I remember normal things about camp. I remember making beaded bracelets and giving mine to my counselor because I liked her so much. I remember learning to kayak on the lake. I remember the campfire songs and the talent contest in which my group lip-synced to New Kids on the Block. 

Sealed with a Mario sticker!

I do remember thinking that I had never met another kid with diabetes and how wonderful it was to be surrounded by other kids with diabetes. It was special. And even in my little kid mind, I knew that.  

Written in pink hi-liter

The best part about camp was running across this letter I wrote home to my parents. This is what it reads:
"8-12-90 Dear Mom and Dad,

Its gerat at camp. wear going canoeing tomrow. I can't wait. I love you both.
Love,
Cara"

Roughly translated: Dear Mom and Dad, It's great at camp. We're going canoeing tomorrow. I can't wait. I love you both. Love, Cara.

I still kind of stink at spelling. :)

As a child, my parents were only able to send me to camp twice. It's expensive, as most of us know, and after my parents divorced it was too much for them to budget, I'm sure. As this year is slipping into summer quickly, I suggest finding a child to help send to camp. You can find a camp near you and donate to their scholarship fund. Help a child with diabetes not only fit in, but feel completely normal, for at least a week.



Hey Pancreas!

Well, I've been majorly slacking in the past week or so on blogging. It's sad that it is Diabetes Awareness Month and I'm slacking, but my only excuse is that I've been sick for about a week. I was out of work on World Diabetes Day and had to make a lovely visit to the doctor to get some meds. I even lost my voice that day! Crazy.

I'm only now getting back to myself. As a peace offering to my lovely readers, I offer you this amazingly hilarious video. My best friend shared it with me and I laughed so much! I posted it on my Facebook page last night and I know it's already making the rounds in the D-OC, but for those of you who've missed it so far, I wanted to give you another chance to see it.

Don't laugh to hard. And try not to get the song stuck in your head. :)

No D Day

It's that time again. Since I've been horribly behind in posting about the thing that we aren't supposed to post about today, I figured now was as good a time as any to get back to blogging. :)

There are so many things that I love and so many things that I love to do that don't have anything in the world to do with that thing we won't mention. I couldn't decide if I wanted to talk about music, or theatre (check out my other blog HERE), or something else.

I finally decided that cakes were going to be the way to go. Many of you know that I am a hobby cake decorator. It's something I find fun (most of the time), and it's about the only thing that I am talented at that deals with art. Want me to draw you a picture? Ha. But if you want me to put a picture on a cake... I can do that. :D

Here are some of my recent "adventures." I hope you enjoy!

Search Term Fun

Okay... everyone kind of wants to know what brings people to their blog. What are people searching for when they stuble across my own personal journal of my diabetes life?

Here are my top 5 for the month:

1.)  winner every minute

Winner every minute, huh? I'd kind of like it if there were a winner every minute on my blog. Sadly, it's not so. 

2.) sick

Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about someone finding my blog by searching "sick."

3.) country girl diabetic

Yay! Someone actually searched for ME!! :)

4.) - every day, every hour, every minute ... is new

This is exactly how it was typed. Strange. Very strange. 

5.) being sick sucks

Yes. Being sick does suck. I actually wrote a blog post titled "Being Sick Sucks," so that's probably why this search is picking up.

So, now that I know how people are finding me... it makes me wonder if they're actually reading! :D



M-I-C-K-E-Y

It's been a while since I've done a cake post for you guys. I'm not really in the mood to write a d-related post today, so I thought I'd bring you some of my "sweeter" and happier posts by posting pictures from my godson's 3rd birthday party, including the cake I made him.

This cake was one of my favorites that I've ever gotten to do!

I love Mickey! No matter how much I complain about MM Clubhouse. :)

As for the theme... let's just say I've seen enough episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that I can hotdog dance with the best of 'em. :)

I didn't make these, but aren't they cute?? 

He was a little freaked out with everyone singing to him. :)

How Diabetes Care is Like Bacon

If that title didn't catch the attention of the D-OC, I give up. :) Most of you probably realize how crazy we are about bacon in the D-OC. Bacon and cupcakes. And sprinkles. And Sprinkles. Anyway, bacon is kind of a fantastical food. Add it to almost anything and it gets better.

Sunday morning I was cooking breakfast. I typically don't cook bacon because it's messy and makes my house smell like bacon for days, but I had family in town and I wanted to be a good host and decided to cook up some bacon. While I was standing there, I realized that I didn't know how my cousin liked his bacon. Bacon is a curious food. Some people like it crisp. Some like it burned. Some like it floppy. Some like it chewy. Some like it somewhere in between. Everyone likes their bacon differently. It's still bacon. It still serves the same purpose no matter how it's cooked. But everyone likes it cooked differently.

There I stood when the phrase "your diabetes may vary" popped into my head. :) And I immediately changed it to "your bacon may vary." And just like bacon, everyone's diabetes care is a little different. Every has food effect them differently. Everyone likes a different A1c. Each person has a different medicine or regimen that they take to care for their diabetes. Some people are comfortable when their blood sugar is 170. Others want it lower. Basically, it varies. You have to do what's comfortable for you and your health care provider.

Your diabetes care is different than mine. Just like I'm guessing your like your bacon cooked differently from mine. So, remember that "your diabetes may vary" just like "your bacon may vary." I think it's important to remember in a large community like ours. We have to cheer on and encourage, while remembering not to hold everyone to the same standards that we hold ourselves.

Meeting Crystal

About two weeks ago, Crystal Bowersox (last season’s runner up on American Idol, and fellow T1 diabetic) tweeted that she would be performing at the Bluebird Café in Nashville on February 26th. Knowing that the Bluebird is a very small venue, I immediately went to their website and saw that tickets were only $10 (plus a food/drink minimum). With that price & that size of venue, I knew I’d do whatever I could to be there.

The reservations became available last Monday and I stalked the internet site (continually clicking refresh) until I could reserve a table for two. I wasn’t sure who would be going with me, but I wasn’t going to go alone, and I was sure I’d find someone to go with me. Strangely enough, I only had 1 person (locally) respond to my request for someone to attend with me. Everyone seemed to be busy or too far away.

I’d never been to the Bluebird Café before last Saturday night. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Bluebird, it is basically a singer/songwriter showcase. It’s very small and has a “listening room” type policy. Basically, it’s the person, and their guitar (or other instrument of choice) performing their music. It’s very well known in the music industry. It has a ton of history and some amazing performances have happened there.

From the first time I heard Crystal perform on American Idol, I loved her voice. Finding out that she was a Type 1 diabetic made me love her even more. There’s just something about the d-connection that makes you root for a person. During her Idol run, I posted two open letters to her. I’m sure she never read them, but it was a way to get my thoughts out.

Amy T from Diabetes Mine ended up getting an incredible interview with her. Even then, I knew I’d love to meet Crystal. If for nothing more than to tell her that I think she’s amazing. And Saturday night I ended up standing in the same room, less than 6 feet from her.

First off, diabetes aside, Crystal (and her husband, Brian Walker, who also performed) is amazingly talented. She’s also amazingly funny and good natured. She came right out and said she didn’t have a set list, so part way through the performance, she basically started taking suggestions from the audience. She did a great mix of songs from her album (which you should GO BUY!), songs that are her’s but weren’t on the album, and covers of songs (some of which she performed on American Idol).

She talked about her first time performing at the Grand Ole Opry, which was totally impromptu the night before. She talked about being star struck by Vince Gill. It was kind of like listening to one of your friends telling you a cool story about something that happened to them. Crystal Bowersox gives down-to-earth a whole new meaning.



But, the diabetes was there too. I could see her diabetes tattoo on her wrist while she played her guitar. And before she came up on stage, she and her husband were sitting in the corner, not far from me. I couldn’t see them because of the way the wall was, but I heard the familiar “shunk” of a lancet device. I wasn’t listening for it. But I heard it. It’s a sound you can’t mistake when you’ve been hearing that sound for so many years.

Afterwards, Crystal stayed to sign autographs and take pictures. I tried not to go completely “12 year old stalker” on her. I tried to be normal. But I did tell her that the D-OC loves her. And I asked to see her tattoo (it’s beautiful by the way). I just wish I’d had enough sense about me to ask to get a picture of it.

I also managed to get her into trouble with her husband. :) I asked if she had a CGM. She told me she did, but didn't have on a sensor at the moment. I told her I didn't either (apparently we were both taking a break). But Brian was standing behind her and heard her say that and he said, "You don't have a sensor in? Why not?" :) She did ask me if I liked mine. I told her I loved it and told her about putting them on my thighs instead of my stomach (less brusing for me). Maybe I actually shared something with her that could help? That would be pretty awesome.

Meeting Crystal was pretty amazing. She’s an extremely talented songwriter, an amazing muscian and singer, and a very strong woman living with diabetes. I’m glad to say that I was able to meet her. Thanks, Crystal, for being so kind to all of your fans. I know it meant a lot to me, as I’m sure it did the others who were there.

Diabetes in Strange Places

Me and my theatre craziness. You’d think with a blog dedicated to theatre, I’d STOP writing about theatre related stuff here. Really, I don’t mean to. But in the past month or so diabetes and theatre have been intersecting in my life like crazy.

On Friday night I went to a production of Camp Rock: The Musical at Cumberland County Playhouse (if you’re interested in my review click here). I took my sister and her boyfriend, mostly cause I didn’t want to go alone and I thought that my sister would enjoy the show (turns out both of them did).

We sat third row, center, so our seats were very close to the stage and very well placed. When I’m watching shows I have a tendency to pick out ensemble members and watch them. They aren’t always a huge part of the show, but seeing their actions and facial expressions can be so fun and give you a slight bit of insight into a character that often has no name or story.

During this particular production I was watching a couple of the kids. And then I saw it. Right before the intermission, I saw the clear tubing at her waist. And in my head I know that a sound pack doesn’t have clear wiring. I followed that clear tubing with my eyes, right to the pink MiniMed insulin pump hanging from her waist.

Being a totally cool person with diabetes, I freaked out! Oh my! I couldn’t believe it (not like I don’t meet diabetics on a fairly regular basis or anything… LOL). After that I couldn’t help but watch that little girl. I also knew I was going to have to introduce myself after the show.

I found Lindsey and her dad standing out in the lobby of the Playhouse. All I did was take my pump out of my pocket and show it to her. Insta-connection, right D-OC? :) I introduced myself to her dad and found out her brother was also in the show (and I’d seen him in other productions at the Playhouse).

We talked diabetes for a few minutes and I got a totally cool D-pictures of us with our pumps. And I made some theater/diabetes friends. It’s fun to know that we can have an instant connection with another person, just by sharing the common bond of diabetes.

Diabetes: The Musical?

Those who know me, know my obsession with all things theater. In fact, I felt so bad about my theater posts on my diabetes blogs, I broke down and started a blog that is solely dedicated to theater. When I started that blog, I kind of promised myself that I wouldn’t “bore” my diabetes readers with my theater posts on this blog.

And here I am, just a few months later, breaking that promise already. But since this theater post involves diabetes all the way, I figured my readers would forgive me. About two weeks ago I saw a Twitter post that came from TuDiabetes. In that post there was a link to an article that totally blew my mind. Someone had written a musical about Type 1 diabetes. A musical called Andy & the Beats. Wow. Not only had it been written, they were putting on a production. And the most amazing part? It was in Knoxville, Tennessee.

As with any diabetic, my first, knee-jerk, reaction was to be wary of a musical written about diabetes. How “wrong” would it be? Was it a joke? A comedy of errors? A random person’s attempt at making a joke of this disease we live with every day? I think most of us can understand a reaction like that. We deal with media misconceptions on a daily basis. Those of us in the diabetes online community spend out time trying to education and inform, often running into brick walls of ignorance over and over again.

The initial article put me completely at ease because the writer of this musical, Andy Rogers, is living with Type 1 diabetes. So is his sister. Knowing that, my excitement took over and I started researching when and where this musical was going to be performed, and how I was going to make the time to be there.

There were only four performance times, admission was free with all donations going to benefit JDRF. While I was researching this show, I found Andy’s research paper online. Those of you who have ever written a research paper, or read one, know how boring they can be. This one was not. I read all 52 pages. And I cried. This was a story. It was the story of Andy and his sister. It was the story of their family and diabetes. Sure, there were the scientific parts, and the “technical” parts. But this research paper was a story that made me even more sure that Andy Rogers had written a special show that would education, inform, and entertain.

Sunday evening I arrived over an hour early. I’m not terribly familiar with the Knoxville area, and even less familiar with the University of Tennessee campus, so I wanted to be sure I got there in plenty of time. From posts on the Andy & the Beats facebook page, I knew that they had to turn away people from one of the performances, and that they had had a full house at the others. I was going to have a seat. And hour early was a good bet. I was the first person in line.

Being the first in line didn’t last long. Within 20 minutes there was a line all the way down the sidewalk. When they opened the house, Andy was at the door and you could see the amazement all over his face. Even though (from what I understood) they’d had full crowds every time. I knew with that kind of reaction from him, and the crowd size, that this show was going to be great.

And great it was. Andy Rogers played a 12 year old Andy who developed Type 1 diabetes after a virus attacked him. The Beats were 3 singing, dancing… well, I’m not exactly sure what they were other than maybe Andy’s guides to having diabetes. Regardless, they were fantastic. Played by Lauren Fitzgerald, Brooks Morelock, and Jessica Hunter, they made Andy’s transition into diabetes… well, kind of entertaining.

Andy was a healthy, happy 12 year old boy and then is attacked by Virus, played by James McGuire. The Beats show up to help Andy by explaining Type 1 diabetes and its symtoms to him and the audience in “The Symptoms Song.”

Andy’s mother takes him to a Dr. Arfaee, played with great comedy by Tina Arfaee. At one point she stabs an orange in Andy’s hand with a syringe. And when I say stabs, I mean STABS. :) How many of us remember learning to give a shot on an orange? *silently raises hand* The title of the song she sings while she stabs that orange: “Your New Friend, Insulin.” I laughed my head off during the entire song.

Andy’s mother, played by Martha Reddick, is very disturbed by the fact that her son can’t be “fixed” by a pill or a shot. Andy ends up in a conversation with his Pancreas, also played by James McGuire. Andy’s Pancreas is angry. So is Andy. They both want to know why this happened to them (sound familiar anyone?).

When they can’t figure out why, Andy starts searching for a cure. Stem-cell transplants, pancreas transplants, etc. It touches on all the reasons why they are still in research stages, or not good for a “healthy” person with diabetes. Andy then searches to make his own cure. After all, he’s a smart boy. When his “cure” fails, he becomes frustrated and sad.

In comes Campbell, another young person living with diabetes. Campbell is played by Campbell Garver, a child actually living with diabetes. Campbell lets Andy know he’s not alone and introduces him to other children with diabetes. Andy Rogers wisely, and beautifully used all children living with diabetes (a full list of names will be listed below).

The final song “Walk for the Cure” left me in tears. Obviously written for the JDRF Walk(s) to Cure Diabetes, the beauty wasn’t in the words (though they were beautiful in their own right), it was in the children singing those words. All I could think as I sat there was that I have just celebrated 25 years living with diabetes. And all I could do is cry and pray that these children don’t have to live for 25 years with diabetes. That there will be a cure before they reach that “milestone”.
Andy Rogers did a wonderful job writing this musical. It’s informative, funny, a little snarky at times, touching, and it pulls at your heart strings. Even though the show has closed, I can’t help but hope that Andy has a way of keeping this show alive. Maybe local communities could do their own productions of the show? I believe that it should be done at Children’s Congress as well. Families affected by diabetes would LOVE this show.

Type 1 Diabetic Children:

-Campbell Garver

-Amanda Minutolo

-Autumn Barnett

-Natalie Olson

-Gwendolyn Dolenee

-Gavin Bentley

-Rachel Bentley

-Quinntin Bentley

-Catrina Estes

-Russell England

-Addysun Seaton-Camfield

-Dylan Green

-Riley Shover

-Ryan Hopkins

-Kelli Rogers

Fun Trips & Great Friends

This past weekend I had the pleasure of making yet another trip to the city that never sleeps. Those of you that know me at all know of my obsession with Broadway, theatre and the city that hosts such great dramatic arts (and as Allison like to remind me, they host so, so much more than just theatre).

But the other thing that New York City offers me is a sort of central meeting spot for many of my D-OC friends. That makes my trips extra special. This trip I knew would be hard for people to meet with me since my only free time was Monday morning. But, I took a chance and issued an invite to everyone I could remember that might possibly be able to get into the city.

In keeping with tradition, Allison and I saw a show on Saturday night, after she took me to dinner at quite possibly the only place in NYC that plays country music! :P Allison, my roommate Amanda, and I saw La Cage Aux Folles. Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge were the leads in the show and it was quite hilarious. Douglas Hodge certainly deserved the Tony award he received for the role. His ability to project his expressions all the way to the back of the theatre.... wow. Kelsey Grammer was hilarious as well. I plan on posting my review on my other blog in a day or two.

Monday morning I decided to have my little D get-together at Dylan's Candy Bar. :) How ironic, right? But there's nothing like ice cream and cupcakes for brunch. I don't care how much you want to pretend you don't like the idea. Allison, Karen, and Caroline (also known as carobanano) came to hang out with me. I'd met Allison and Karen before, but only knew Caroline from Twitter. I LOVED getting to meet her. She is super sweet (no pun intended... or maybe there is!).

As we were leaving Dylan's Candy Bar, my lovely roommate took some fantastic pictures of us looking like an awesome girl band! :)

I just realized how short I am.... :)

Diabetes Sisters Conference

Just a few days ago I got a friend request on facebook from a lady I had the pleasure of meeting an Insulin Addicts Anonymous meeting (yes, this is the name of Nashville's Adult T1 support group!). I don't get to make it to very many IAA meetings because Nashville is quite a drive for me, but when I get to go, I love spending time with other T1s. Jackie and I only met once at the last meeting I was at (back in the summer). At the time I don't believe she had a facebook page. When she friended me the other day she asked if I had heard about the Diabetes Sisters Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. I hadn't heard about it, but I asked her for a link to the information anyway.

Turns out it is going to be the weekend of April 29-May 1, which is not a good weekend for me. But after exploring the information, I thought I might forward the information onto you all in case you were interested. It sounds kind of like grown-up diabetes camp for girls! :) Yay!

The agenda can be found HERE and seems to have some very interesting break-out sessions. There is one about pregnancy, and several about exercising (including maintaining blood sugar levels during) that sounded interesting to me.

Riva Greenberg is also going to be a keynote speaker on Saturday.

I hope that some of you can go and let me know how it is. If you go, let me know what you think!

Meet-Up?

Hey everyone. I'll be in the NYC area this coming weekend thru Martin Luther King Day. I have already contacted some people to let them know. If you live in the NYC area and would like to get together around 11 a.m. on Monday the 17th, you can leave me a message here, e-mail me, send me a tweet, or send me a message on facebook and I'll send you the info I have.

I look forward to seeing some of you!