My father was a tough guy.  In the style of his era that meant he wore a hat with the brim slightly angled over one eye.  It meant that he favored movies starring George Raft or Humphrey Bogart, tough guys, who, like my father, smoked Camels and could hold their liquor. That was about all it took to be a tough guy, cruelty had nothing...

Quinoa plants near Cachora, Apurímac, Peru When I was thirteen, I spent a week in Peru.  It was, in some respects, a great trip – Machu Picchu, llamas, rafting on the Urubama River, and purchasing panchos.  I chronicled the adventure in a journal under the pen name Marcia Smith, marked it top secret, and left threatening messages...

Just a few months ago, shortly after I began to introduce solid foods to my baby Adam’s diet, I noticed a fruity smell on his breath. Almost any mother in such a situation would have said to herself, “I’ve just fed my son banana-and-apple mush, therefore, he smells fruity.” My reaction, however, was different. I leaned...

In the years between early childhood and high adolescence, I spent a lot of time on my bicycle. I loved facing into a breeze with my hair blowing back, pushing off, and standing on the pedals to climb a hill and then sitting for the downward coast. At dusk the neighborhood was quiet and I could hear the adhesive zip of my tires on the...

For me, the studying aspect of college was fairly easy. I have always been a good student. I never really struggled with classes except for a few subjects like Calculus.  But I had a much bigger issue looming in the college scene- chronic health conditions. My health matters were, and still are, a constant job in themselves. Even beyond...

Adrian Kiger is a writer who grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia.  She’s had type 1 diabetes since she was eleven. After years of struggling with weight issues and blood sugar levels, she found a diet that works for her – vegan.  Adrian, who has written a children’s book “Veronica, the Vegetarian Diabetic,” talked...

Eight years ago, just before our wedding, my wife was certain I was dying. It seemed every week I was getting skinnier and skinnier — foods that I was once able to eat comfortably, now made me feel sick and fuzzyheaded.  I felt pain stabbing through my belly and sides. Despite the sudden onset of these baffling health issues, my...

The other day, Chris Bishop (Type 1 Tidbits) wrote a very compelling blog post called “Diabetic Superheroes.” He said, rightfully, that anyone who deals with a chronic condition is a superhero and deserves to be recognized as such, especially since it’s such a thankless job. A number of people (including many medical...

You will probably never be more challenged in your diabetes management than when you are a college student (well, maybe parenthood is the most challenging but I haven’t crossed that bridge yet so I am going with what I know). Junior high and high school can be hard with changing hormones, but you still have the balance of a daily consistent...

The digital clock on my bedside table said 2:11 this morning when I woke up.  I had, in the midst of dreaming, tried to put off getting out of bed to correct a slow onset hypoglycemic episode – but deep down I knew there was no avoiding it.   There hadn’t been any good cause for my blood sugar to drop.   I had eaten a low-calorie...