MHoskins2179

Bret Michaels & JDRF Getting Their Cure On Together

2012-05-23T00:00:00Z

Rock legend and longtime Type 1 Bret Michaels has appeared a couple JDRF galas in recent years, but now he's kicking that up a notch by exploring how he can work together more with the JDRF. On May 19, Bret came to the JDRF Indiana Promise Gala and I got some personal time with him! Take a look at what is on the singer's agenda in supporting the diabetes community! We wrote about this today on DiabetesMine.

D-Disclosure On The Job, Circa 2000

2012-03-19T04:26:33Z

Do you disclose your diabetes at the workplace? That's the question for the DSMA Blog Carnival in March, and I've recently penned a post at my blog The Diabetic's Corner Booth on that topic There's a specific reason why I handle my diabetes disclosure the way I do these days. I'd love the hear your thoughts on this, and how you handle the question. Thanks!

Defined By Diabetes?

2011-12-08T03:47:33Z

In our Diabetes Community, we have a mantra that we often embrace: "Diabetes doesn't define me," is how it goes. But I'm not so sure about that, and actually I am not sure if it's a good or bad thing if I'm defined by diabetes. At least in part. Here's my thoughts on the topic... I'd love to hear yours, too! Do you think diabetes defines you, and how do you feel about that perception that does or doesn't exist? Thanks for continuing the conversation!

Already Running Late

2011-09-17T16:01:57Z

Sometimes, even when you see a fellow Person With Diabetes, there isn't time to stop and say hello. That's something that happened to me recently when on my way into work, and a random encounter with a fellow pumper wasn't allowed to materialize. Here's my account of that.. over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth. What experiences have YOU had in bumping into fellow PWDs, and have you had the courage & time to stop and make introductions?

He Does The Beta Cell Bash

2011-08-17T12:32:00Z

As part of the Your Voices Project, today's guest-post at The Diabetic's Corner Booth comes from Michael K. Schwab, a 51-year old Type 1 diagnosed almost four decades ago. We had the pleasure of meeting at an Adult D-Meetup in Indianapolis earlier this year, and got to talking about pretty much everything d-related and not. He agreed to guest-blog for me about his own adventures ranging from career choices, exercise fun, and musical talent. Let's just say: You've all heard The Monster Mash... well, here's a guy who's going to make The Beta Cell Bash the newest thing for the D-World (something that very well may make him eligible for a future Blunt Lancet Tour!). So, please stop on by and say hello and make him feel welcome in the diabetes online community. Thanks!

A D-Camp Director's Insight

2011-08-15T10:44:19Z

This guest-blog comes from someone outside the usual blogging world, but as part of the "Your Voice Project" where non-bloggers are able to share some thoughts about their D-Life. We have Jenna Holt, a 24-year old Type 1 diagnosed about seven years ago and the newest leader of the Diabetes Youth Foundation of Indiana that runs the Camp Until A Cure. She takes a chance to talk about her experiences since being noticed at 17 and finding an place where she can now work to help kids and families learn to live with diabetes. Come say hello over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth and drop a comment Jenna's way!

Media Missing The Point

2011-07-28T10:44:51Z

Newspapers and "the media" make mistakes all the time, particularly when it comes to covering diabetes, and so often our community must be on guard against these errors that fuel myths and misconceptions. But WE have a voice, and it's important that we use it. Stop on by my latest post at The Diabetic's Corner Booth and let's discuss how we can work together - individually and as a community - in addressing this ever-lacking media awareness on diabetes. Share your thoughts and let's make a difference. Thanks!

Assault with a deadly... Lancet

2011-04-27T05:53:00Z

The news story caught my attention immediately.

From one of the daily newspapers in the area I grew up in, the headline to this story was:"Third-grader expelled after playing with blood sugar tester."

WTFructose?!?! My mind flashed to a child testing his or her blood sugar in class at a desk, and getting in trouble for that from a teacher not knowing what the sharp little device actually was.

But that wasn't it. Apparently, an 8-year old student came to have a BG lancet or lancet-device in class and poked some other students. School officials consider this the use of a "dangerous weapon," and the boy is now expelled from ALL state schools for 180 days.

Feel free to take a look at my full blog post on this over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth, and please let me know what you think about this topic - a lancet being a "dangerous weapon," the punishment dealt to this boy, and that fuzzy line between Zero Tolerance and Common Sense. Let me know!

A D-Wife Says: "I Love Math!"

2011-04-24T00:42:00Z

Easter is always full of fun with family, and sometimes you may find some Easter-basket fun along with it!

But with all those Peeps, jelly beans, and chocolate eggs, there's some math that we People With Diabetes must endure.

Unless, of course, we have a wonderful and loving spouse who LOVES MATH and does that calculation for us!

Here's a tale from my wife, over at her blog Laughter & Tears. Enjoy, and share some of your D-Math stories over there (Easter related or not)!

Inspirational Tears

2011-03-25T22:32:00Z

He stood up in the back of the room, one face among many in a crowd of passionate parents and grandparents and spouses and even adults Living With Diabetes.

As a Diabetic Dad, this man had experience under his belt. Two children diagnosed decades ago, now living as Adults with Type 1 Diabetes. They weren't in the room, but their stories became pivotal tales that brought tears to many eyes in that room - mine included - and showed why it was important for every one of us to be there.

This father spoke, telling how he'd been involved since the mid-70s when his son was first diagnosed and how he and his wife worked to found the first then-JDF chapter in that part of New York. He talked about how they ride Death Valley to raise money for diabetes. But the diagnosis story he told hit hearts the most.

His son was diagnosed as a child, and life went on. You know, because it does.

Years later, a second diagnosis came into their world when their adult daughter joined the Diabetes Club.

Coming home from hospital with her, the parents found their son curled in ball on the darkened stairs, crying.

"She must be so scared!" he said between the stairs. "At least I was a baby. I didn't know. But she KNOWS what diabetes is like. She must be SO terrified."

I couldn't hold the tears back. That wasn't the first time, and it wasn't the last time during the four-day event.

This was one of dozens of stories that stood out that day, tugging at the heart strings and shaking tears from our souls as we felt those stories come to life in our bones. We heard from those who've lost children, grandchildren, siblings, and parents to diabetes through the years. We heard from those who Living With Diabetes themselves, who have led healthy lives and those who've faced complications. Those who have owned their D-Management, and those who haven't. Many talked about genetic predispositions, and how Type 1 has passed down through the generations.

In all of these stories, hope shined through: that someday, these stories won't have to retold by any one there or elsewhere.

"I'm here to make sure my kids outlive me," one father said.

Another offered a word to those fellow Diabetes Community members in the audience: "I am here for all of you because I know all of you are here for me."

The support among the kindred spirits in that room was, simply, breath-taking.

Among all those stories, even the most heart-wrenching, there was hope. For a cure. For ourselves. For those we love. For those who help us get through it all. For those we don't know and haven't met, but whose struggles we can relate to while wishing this all wasn't a reality.

So many stories, all painting the picture of what brought us together in Washington D.C. That was only the first morning, the introductions, of JDRF Government Day 2011. But it so epitomized why we were all there, together, as a Community. We had a reason that brought us all together. Even among happy stories of successful living and treatment that's evolved incredibly during the past 40 years, the tragedy of those we've lost remained in our hearts and those images of the pain and fear helped motivate us to do something.

Motivate us to do something that really makes a difference, telling stories so that others understand what this is all about and why research money is so incredibly important - that it's not just about a Walk, a Ride, a glossy Gala invitation. It's about something more, and we're a part of it. We're changing the world already, as those before us have done in their advocacy. And that is so important. It's what makes hope more than just some vague pie in the sky, but a tangible concept materializing from what we're doing.

"Hope is the most important thing you can have when you're living with type 1 diabetes," someone said during their introduction

I couldn't agree more, and am not only inspired by all the hope that's out there but encouraged that it transforms into advocacy and change for a better world tomorrow.

This blog post wasn't posted over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth, but feel free to stop by and visit and send some comments my way! Thanks!

Doing Our Part

2011-03-21T15:22:00Z

Our Diabetes Online Community is a powerful voice, and we're at a time when we all need to do our part in raising our voice to help keep diabetes research moving forward.

This is our chance to make sure that what we've achieved in recent years doesn't get sucked into a black hole of bureaucratic inactivty - a.k.a. the FDA.

Here's my second post about JDRF Government Day 2011, over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth. You are a part of all of this, so come on over and see how you can help out.

Not Forgotten Anymore

2011-03-20T07:41:00Z

As an adult living with Type 1 diabetic, I am not forgotten.

Not anymore.

Without a doubt, that's the clearest message and feeling I’ve taken away from the incredible experience that was JDRF Government Day 2011. During those four days in Washington D.C., I laughed and cried and was both silent and vocal. Absorbing so much information and so many emotions that it hurts. But I'm encouraged by what this organization is doing and how it's now engaging the Adult Type 1 community in ways that many of us have not seen before. Things have changed and they are continuing to change as far as what the JDRF is and does. Even if the message may still center on kids and the name includes the word “Juvenile” at its beginning, I know that adults are a part of the focus and this organization is being inclusive in the mission for all of us.

You can read the rest of my initial JDRF Goverment Day blog post over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth... Let me know what you think.

Keep The Faith in the Cure

2011-02-17T17:09:00Z

Lately, I've been asking myself a key question: "What has the JDRF done for me?"

Like really, truly through all the years as I heard that a cure is "right around the corner," while continuosly raising money for that cure, yet not seeing it around every corner I turned in my life? What have I gotten from the organization so devoted to researching that so-called cure and what do I think of that mission?

Reflecting on this question seriously in recent weeks, some irony has come to mind because of the answer:

In a weird Twighlight Zone sort of way, the JDRF has given me hope.

Maybe not the kind of hope that comes from knowing each dollar I raise for a walk will specifically fund a cure at some specific point in the future. Rather, the hope that a lot of people are looking for a cure with all the passion in their hearts.

The rest of my latest blog post can be viewed over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth. What do you think?

State of the Diabetes Union

2011-01-26T15:20:00Z

While the president gave his annual speech on the state of affairs and the political world responded, it seemed only timely and appropriate the State of the Dibetes Union and the political divides we faced each day in our D-Lives. A fellow D-Blogger and I bantered back and forth, highlighting the political climate of the day. So check it out, over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth.

To My Local Newspaper

2011-01-24T15:52:00Z

This post is in response to a pair of diabetes-focused stories in the weekend edition of my local newspaper, the Johnson County Daily Journal. The main story had the headline, "A New Day: Pancreas transplant eliminates Greenwood woman's diabetes," and it's centered on a longtime Type 1 diabetic who underwent a pancreas transplant and was effectively cured of the daily D-routine as she'd known it. Since I'm a Type 1 diabetic for almost 27 years, these stories hit home for me. But I had a couple concerns about how they were written, and wanted to share those not only with the paper but with the Diabetes Online Community. Here's my response, over at The Diabetic's Corner Booth.