After seeing one of our son’s shot charts, he came up with his own version for us, inspired by my son’s choice of a cowboy Halloween costume that fall.
Category: Living
Although I was diagnosed three years ago, and Jack three months ago, neither of us has taken a speck of insulin. Having Type 1 diabetes but not needing to take insulin is weird. It is nothing to complain about, but it doesn’t make sense in most doctors’ offices, or spark joy among other people with diabetes.
Team Joslin is a group of generous and dedicated individuals from all over the world who participate in athletic events to raise funds for Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, MA. The funds raised through these events contribute to Joslin’s mission to prevent, treat and cure diabetes.
I called my friend Anne from the ER. “Lauren’s in the hospital,” I said. “She was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. And I’m wicked scared.”
Anne is my friend and neighbor. We met pushing baby carriages down the street. While I’m a loud (sometimes overbearing) extrovert, Anne is calm and reserved. I was thrilled she wanted to be friends with me.
In its May bulletin to healthcare providers, UnitedHealthcare (@myUHC) announced that, starting July 1st 2016, Medtronic would be its “preferred” in-network provider of insulin pumps for its adult customers with Type 1 diabetes. This means that, with a few exceptions, if you’ve got Type 1 diabetes and health insurance from United, your next pump is going to be Medtronic. And since United is the nation’s largest insurance company, it’s conceivable that other insurance companies will follow suit.
T1International works alongside people with diabetes around the world to advocate for access to diabetes supplies. The charity is currently running their Insulin for Syrians campaign, encouraging people to donate money that will be used to provide insulin and diabetes supplies to families in Aleppo and other locations in Syria where aid has been cut off.
Nearly 20 years ago, a teenage girl with type 1 diabetes read an article in a well-established diabetes publication about “diabulimia.” More specifically, she read the sidebar of the article that essentially taught her how to skip her insulin injections for the sake of weight loss. Despite reading the sentence explaining just how severely dangerous this behavior was, the girl absorbed only the part about losing weight.
I have a child with type 1 diabetes. That means on many occasions I’ve helped my kid use insulin at a table in a restaurant. Taking him to a bathroom to give him an injection would send a message to him and the rest of the world that he should be ashamed of having type 1 diabetes, that he’s doing something dirty or illicit.
When my eleven month old niece, Ella, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I was equal parts stunned, angry, and sad. My sister (Ella’s mother) and I both have Type 1 diabetes, but Ella’s diagnosis still came as a shocking blow.
My dear friend, Kitty Castellini passed away this week. She lived with type 1 diabetes for over 50 years. Kitty was a longtime diabetes advocate and president and founder of Diabetes Living Today.