It won’t be long until these students far surpass me in their knowledge of the human body and medicine in general. However, it is always fun for me to get a chance to coach our future doctors when I can still give them new insight. I had the recent privilege to speak to students attending A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona. I hope that some of my knowledge of diabetes rubs off on them. I more importantly hope that the emotional side of the doctor-patient relationship is tweaked and strengthened with more real life scenario understanding.

I was asked to come into this class and tell them about my personal story of life with diabetes and show them as many new gadgets that the world of diabetes can offer at the current time. This was also a time for these students to come to a lunch without eating anything (fasting) and check their blood glucose values. I am thankful to the students for taking the time to see this side of life with diabetes.

This is also a time that I am thankful to all of the pharm/area reps and products that I am given to share with my clients. I am also thankful to all of my clients and diabetic friends that share their stories of doctor-patient relationships that they have had over the years.

This is a great opportunity for a physician to see an entire table spread out with all of the necessary supplies that we must live with. I spread out on a table all of it: testing strips, various meters, various lancets, glucose tablets, Glucose powders and gels, as many insulin pumps as I can find and all of the accessories that go with it. As many of you can imagine, the amount of tubing, reservoirs, adhesive tape, alcohol swabs,  insertion devices and Sharps containers can be intimidating. I then put out the carbohydrate counting books, BG (Blood Glucose) record keeping books and logs, I spread out the CGM devices and the pump belt clips, bags and sports cases. I then try to show them how frustrating it can be to wear with various clothing, depending on the outfit that I am wearing.This is all in the background as I speak.

I get to tell them about my childhood with diabetes, the shock, the devastation, the bad and then the wonderful physicians that I have had over the years. I get to tell them how I feel about the scare tactics that I have heard, the compassion that means a great deal to me and a doctor that treats me like a person rather than a 15-20 minute time to stand and look through pages in my chart. The faces of these students are amazing to watch. They realize that many of us care deeply about our health. It is more involved than just diet and medication. Life with diabetes touches all aspects of our life. For those of you that do not like to be defined by diabetes, I understand. However over the years, I have wished that my doctor would discuss more than just my A1C with me.

This disease affects my emotions and hormone levels in all parts of my life. This disease affects my health, my longevity, my self confidence, my bank account, my relationships and my work. This disease can make me worry. More importantly, I also want to make this disease as small a part of me as possible! I do not want to be “A Diabetic”. I want to be a mother, a coach, a teacher, a wife, a daughter, a good steward and so many other definitions in this world!

My doctor needs to realize all of these facts. These future doctors need to realize how this disease really impacts a person. We are not a summation of our A1C lab reports. I love getting to make this disease real. They get to see a healthy, vibrant and energetic  person with diabetes being passionate about my health and the future of my life with this disease. I am respectful of their education and their responsibilities as a physician. They in turn, learn to respect me as a person, a person with diabetes and a patient that is striving for more than a typical quarterly appointment. I want a relationship with these doctors. As physicians, they have worked hard for their knowledge and respect. As I diabetic, so have I.

I thank you students and faculty at A.T. Still University for a rare opportunity! Best of luck with your future careers.

The past few weeks and months have been so busy that I have barely had time to post any updates! I am truly amazed at the support and encouragement for PWDs (Person With Diabetes) in my community. I am sure things like this are happening all across the country, but it is still nice to see. It is also a privilege to be able to participate in so many.

In the next week or so I will try to address each individual event. Let me just begin with a heartfelt THANK YOU to the Phoenix American Diabetes Association and Midwestern University in Glendale for hosting such a fabulous Health Fair. Also I am sending out a huge THANK YOU to the Disability Empowerment Center in Phoenix and Arizona Bridge to Independent Living. This is truly a miraculous site. This event was inspiring and the positive energy was in every part of this facility. I would also like to thank the students, faculty and staff at A.T. Still University. Speaking to their first year medical students about diabetes each year inspires me, as I hope it inspires our future physicians about the care and concerns of living with diabetes.

In the upcoming weeks I have many client meetings and more speaking events. Although I do not want anyone to have to live with this disease, it makes me glad to know that so many organizations are reaching out in the name of health and diabetes!

  How much progress can be made in a year? Do you measure  progress in terms of happiness, finances or health?  For those of us living with T1, health usually comes at the top of the list, although we would sometimes prefer it to be further down in our priorities.

Exactly a year ago today, I was hosting a speaking engagement with my endocrinologist. I addressed some of the emotional challenges of living with diabetes. My endocrinologist graciously spoke about the medical impact of living with diabetes.  It was a larger turnout than expected and a wonderful event overall.

One year later, I am sitting in my same endocrinologist’s office awaiting my quarterly appointment. I have worked with this doctor for almost a decade. I like her personality and I have never had a reason to complain. Today I sit frantic with anticipation. My BG (Blood Glucose) numbers have been high. Recently they have been too high. I have over corrected trying to get them lower and have gone too low too fast.

Is this horrible? No, it is life. Am I worried about it? Yes, because it is my life and I can’t seem to fine tune it like I have in the past. That is one of the tricky things about this disease. We get it right where we want it and then life happens. I have been on an emotional roller coaster this past year. My BG records are a good reflection of such. I have been busier than I can remember in the longest time. I have been traveling for
work, shuttling kids to soccer practice, writing, speaking and teaching. It doesn’t stop. Then the rest of my life needs attention. The laundry, the pets, the grocery shopping and being a mom are all things that need constant attention just to name a few.

What is the hang up with living with diabetes and the stress of these appointments? I keep wondering how bad my records will be as the nurse downloads my information from my pump. Why do I continually get nervous about what my doctor will say about how I am managing my own body? I think only a fool would try to manually mimic an internal body function and see it as a complete label of their self-worth.

It happens though, even to the best of us that know we are in tight control. I see nervous people all around me in this waiting room. There are nervous patients, parents and spouses.  As casual conversation overtakes the silence, I am reminded again of how we all need a diabetic coach. We need a coach to remind us that we are just human and we are trying to fight the good fight. We are not “bad” diabetics or “good” diabetics. We simply are people living with diabetes.

I smile after my appointment. I had a great visit with my endo and my A1C results were much lower than I expected. As I start to congratulate myself, I am reminded that I am not classified in the “good” diabetic column either. I just am me. Sometimes I need my own coach to remind me to will the anticipation away and remind me to live for this moment, good or bad.

There is an amazing organization that is combatting the growing incidence of childhood obesity. Wil Power Challenge is completely free for participants age 10-14. These participants must have a referral from a physician and have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 85th percentile or above.

This is a challenge and a competition. There are fun incentives and program incentives. This challenge includes weekend workouts, cooking classes and grocery store tours.

This challenge consists of three 1 hr workouts per week. Parents must attend at least one of these each week. There are dieticians, fitness trainers and nutrition classes and motivational seminars for 4 weeks.

I was honored to participate in a Childhood Obesity Intervention and Prevention Town Hall. I heard amazing stories of kids and families transitioning their lives. I met school nurses, coaches and prinicpals that had made dramatic changes in their schools, attendance, grades/test scores and overall health.

The even more interesting thing was that these changes are helping more than just the individual child. These healthy habits are changing families and enitre schools, not just the obese.

I was energized by this charged and passionate group that is not only talking about this growing problem, but actually taking steps to change it.  Consider devoting resources to this group. If you can volunteer, fund or find a sponsorship opportunity it may benefit many. Please visit www.wilpowerchallenge.com

I have worn glasses since the third grade. I started to wear contacts in the fourth grade. My glasses were interfering with my basketball and soccer practice. My dad said that I should just get the kind that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wore. Sure. That would have been really cool for a girl in elementary school.

I didn’t have diabetes then. I used to worry about the way I looked in glasses. Now I just worry about all of the intricate vessels behind my eyes and what my ophthamologist will see before I do. Living with diabetes can be hard. Eye appointments always make me nervous. Poor vision runs on both sides of my family. I’m used to it. Diabetes does not.

I love it that my eye doctor asks me how I am, starts to look in my eyes during dilation and immediately gives me a report. The weight is lifted. He realizes that most people living with diabetes are in a state of anticipation to either receive the pass or fail report at each exam.

After all of these years it has taken me a long time to find a doctor that realizes the anticipation behind his words. Simply ask your own doctor to give you the report immediately. I have found that most doctors will do so when asked. They didn’t even realize there was the need.

This past month I have attended many events benefitting diabetes.  The latest benefit that I attended was a first for me. I went to the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix to see Bret Michaels perform for his charity concert. Bret Michaels, as you probably know, lives with type 1 diabetes. He was in the band Poison. Curently he leads the Bret Michaels Band, stars on televsion and promotes diabetes awareness.

I had spent the earlier part of the day at the American Diabetes Association’s Health Fair. I attended the concert with a group of other Type 1 diabetics and their families or friends. Many of the kids that worked so diligently at the health fair also attended the concert. Some of the kids were given backstage passes and meet and greet tickets. They were ecstatic and I was excited for them.

I must admit, I am now officially old. This concert was very loud and I was surprised to see many of the scantily clad “older” women rockin’ out! I was sitting amongst little kids, teenagers, parents and friends. It was an enjoyable venue and I enjoyed the company. I even had a little guy (probably 5 years old) sound asleep with a good set of earplugs a few seats over. They performed great songs and the crowd was singing along.

Despite the good company and the excitement of a fun Saturday night out on the town, I was not particularly happy about going to this event. It surprised many people. All of my friends were anxious to attend. Many of them are a bit star struck by Mr. Michaels. When I was a teen and living with type 1, I was a bit angry with Bret Michaels. The diabetic celebrities seemed to be Mary Tyler More, Wilford Brimley and that was about it. I knew Bret Michaels had diabetes. I had read an article about it. I enjoyed his music, but I was perturbed that he didn’t do more to support diabetes or bring awareness to the cause during that time. I know it sounds juvenile, but because I was a juvenile, I wished he would do more for our cause!

I now know that as a person living with diabetes, Bret was probably trying to cope with just being a man, living with diabetes and dealing with stardom. I realize that as humans, we all grow and mature. Hopefully as people living with type 1 diabetes, we also all grow and mature. We take better care of ourselves. We realize what is truly important. We don’t let anyone or anything stop us from having the best health and life possible, even if that is not what we had planned on or pictured.

Helping others as The Diabetes Coach, I know that we all struggle at times with our disease, our admission to it, our acceptance of it and the struggles we have to not let it define us. As a kid, I couldn’t see this. I realize Bret Michaels is still here and going forward (with amazing momentum I might add). I am sure his life was not easy coping with diabetes as a younger man. I guess I can finally cut him some slack!

I am now glad that Bret Michaels can do so much for diabetes. I now realize it didn’t matter when he started to raise awareness for diabetes. What matters is that he did. He performed a good concert, auctioned off some nice items and is helping the world to conquer diabetes.

It was a remarkable day! I witnessed kids in action to help fight diabetes. I realized that a star is a person. He happens to have diabetes. He, just like all of us, probably took some time to find his true center. Now, I’m proud to say he is fighting for all of us living with diabetes. Even, if it was loud and my ears are still ringing. . .

Today was a good day! We all have our good ones and our bad ones. Today The Diabetes Coach sponsored the Youth Zone for the American Diabetes Association’s Pheonix Health Fair. I also happen to be a co-chair for the ADA Youth Ambassadors, so it was a great fit. It was a good day.

I met with numerous people living with diabetes. T1 kids that I work with in the ADA got to help out in the Youth Zone. They were there to support others with diabetes, answer questions, and handle face-painting. I better include that they were in  charge of the “technology of the Wii” system that was used. I am now officially old and couldn’t begin to help them with the system!

I had a great group of kids helping other kids and hopefully relieving parents of some of their fears of leaving their kids alone while they gathered new information from either the sessions being offered or the various vendors present.

I was surrounded by positive people and groups. You could see the newly diagnosed families entering a mile away. We have all been there. They were in shock and trying to support their loved one. Some older people were still fighting the good fight and continuing to gather as much new information as possible. Some were looking for new technology, some were searching for hope and some were hoping for a miracle, as they struggled with finances, insurance problems and health concerns. I can say is that it was a beneficial, educational and supportive event. I was proud to be a part of it.

I had a great group of ADA youth Ambassadors helping run the event. I met many new people and was glad to be a source of hope for some families. I got the opportunity to talk to people living with diabetes. The kids, played BINGO, did arts and crafts, the Wii, got some face painting and went through the obstacle course provided by Wil Power Challenge!

I have to extend a big thank you to both the ADA for running such a successful event and to Wil Power Challenge. Wil Power Challenge is a non-profit developed to help combat the incidence of children with obesity. It is a FREE program. The ADA also provides these free health fairs, childrens summer camps and countless other educational and support opportunities. Please visit www.ada.org as well as www.wilpowerchallenge.com for more information.

To be honest, between my recently injured rib cage, the relatively recent loss of one of my dear friends and the unpredicatble blood glucose readings I have been having, I haven’t been much in the mood for any kind of celebrating.  However, this week I attended a wonderful dinner honoring the great volunteers of the American Diabetes Association. What an amazing and inspiring night! This organization made me forget about my issues (other than diabetes) and appreciate so many people for all they do for me!

The heroes of the night were the many long term volunteers as well as the children that are taking action. I listened to countless stories of those that have either given their time, money, business skills or support to the diabetes cause. There were wonderful stories of advocacy, inspiration and perserverance. The feeling of being together and not alone in this fight was overwhelming.

I also was inspired by the many elementary and junior high school staff that were present. The PE coaches, school nurses and teachers are making great strides in bringing awareness about diabetes to their campuses. If only we could get this information to every school out there!

It was a great night. I am proud of my American Diabetes Association Youth Advocates, that were awarded this honor. They raised funds, awareness and seemed to have a great time doing it!

The holidays are supposed to be a time of celebrating and rejoicing. Why does there have to be added guilt during this time of year? Most of us know there is the possibility of a few added pounds during this season of indulgence. Did I mention the guilt that comes with it? As a diabetic, the guilt of uncontrolled blood glucose (BG) levels seems to always be lurking in the shadows. It seems guilt follows most diabetics through the routine days and especially during the holidays.

So what is the big deal with overeating and the holidays? Diabetics must be conscious of the total carbohydrate count that is consumed daily, especially as the holidays approach. The carbohydrates have to be counted. It doesn’t matter if it is in planning a meal or grabbing a handful of chocolates as you walk by the basket on the counter (hey, does it really count? Yes, it does.) If I don’t calculate correctly or if I over indulge, my BG tells all. It’s hard when something can prove how you have been, regardless of how you present yourself. That at times, can induce some serious guilt. It might not be serious guilt, but regular guilt. I sometimes think the regular recurring guilt is more wearing than the big guilt.

Not only am I talking about eating a few more cookies during this time of year, but how that compounds on the daily guilt we as diabetics sometimes feel. I feel this guilt at times. My clients feel this guilt at times. Simply living with diabetes at any time of the year seems to induce some guilt. I can be taking the best care of myself possible and I still feel the need to justify unbalanced BG levels.

It is not completely my fault. I have been conditioned to feel this way. I have been instructed to respect the medical professionals on my team. For decades I have had to report what my fasting BG was and then scrutinize the results of my quarterly A1c blood work. Anyone giving me this information or writing this information down in my chart gives a judgment. They don’t always mean to do so. Nurses, physicians, physician assistants and interns all give a reaction. Most of the time I receive a good reaction from my team. However, there have been the critical looks and the pursing of lips. You know that look, the one that a non-diabetic might give someone upon discovery of poorly controlled BG. They can’t possibly understand how delicate this balance is and how hard it is to regulate.

These reactions influence us. I spend most of my time helping my clients get past this feeling of judgment. Why at times do I still fall victim also? It is one of the reasons my services are needed. It is ever present and hard to handle. The judgment and the guilt. How do we take it serious enough to keep ourselves healthy, but light enough to let us feel like regular people?

Recently, one of my clients was struggling with utilizing their continuous glucose meter (CGM) to its fullest potential. I was helping by wearing their same CGM and seeing if I could help regulate my diabetes control under similar circumstances. I scheduled a meeting with the CGM rep. that happens to be my friend. She was going to download my information and show me results in one of the numerous charts available. Hopefully, I could then relay some tips to my client and understand from where some of their frustration was coming.

I suddenly started to panic. The guilt came rushing in! My numbers had not been very good recently. I started to desperately try to explain before she saw the downloaded information. I stopped myself mid-sentence and just shook my head at my behavior! There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. I am recovering from a slight accident. I have some badly injured ribs. This has made it painful to breathe deeply. Therefore I have been unable to move any congestion around in my lungs and it has developed into bronchitis. To be honest, with several injured ribs, I barely noticed the bronchitis. I only knew that even simple actions seemed to hurt.

I had an infection and some cracked ribs for goodness sake! High BG levels are to be expected. Why did I immediately begin to try and justify why I hadn’t been in perfect control? Was it so she would think I knew what I was doing? I didn’t want to have her judge me. Afterwards, I felt silly about it. Of course I know what I am doing! I couldn’t believe that I could let another person’s opinion affect me so greatly.

The reality is that living with diabetes is a day in and day out chore. It is hard to share with those closest to you how you are handling a continually changing body. Somehow, we have to let the guilt go. We have to know that diabetes is not perfect. We aren’t either. We have to actually begin to allow ourselves to believe this. Of course, we should all be trying our best each and every day to maintain tight control over our malfunctioning pancreases. I am certainly not giving the green light to over indulge every day of the holiday season. I just know that many of us live with an unhealthy sense of guilt on a daily basis due to our BG results.

Most of the world is dealing with a bit of guilt after the holidays. New Year’s resolutions are being created daily. If you live with diabetes, try to let go of the regular recurring guilt of BG control. Enjoy your holidays. Take charge of your health, but somehow find a way to let some of the guilt slip away. There are times to justify your numbers, but usually you just need to be alright with what they happen to be and keep working on
them.

It is November.  In Arizona this time of year brings a brief period we all relish.   As the extreme heat turns into the moderate cool, we are thankful for these few days between Halloween and Christmas. I personally am thankful for November.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in November many years ago. November also happens to be Diabetes Awareness Month. Over the past few weeks I have participated in both the ADA Step Out Walk to Cure Diabetes and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Walk to Cure Diabetes. I have attended meeting after meeting to promote diabetes awareness and have been proud of the many activities that are taking place around the country to support diabetes.

During this month of November, I am thankful. I am thankful that I can laugh with my daughter as I put a “Diabetes Awareness” sign in our front yard. She groaned and said, “Oh no, are we going to be those sign people now?” I can laugh because she knows it is serious, but we are both thankful that she does not have diabetes. One of my old friends from camp is not so lucky. Her son was diagnosed this week. I can only try to imagine what she and her family are going through this November. Despite the sadness, I am thankful that she has the knowledge and experience to guide her son through the rough times.

I left a client’s home yesterday and felt so proud of the work that my client had accomplished with my support. His effort was inspiring and uplifting.  Not only was I proud, I was thankful to see him regain some control over his life with diabetes. I was thankful for the hope that had come back into his family’s life, and I was thankful for the new friendships I had made.

I am thankful for the efforts of so many volunteers, families,and diabetics. I have seen tired volunteers and physically and emotionally drained parents put nearly everything they could into fundraising for their child’s cause. They are warriors, and yet after the hype of the walks and the fundraising they are still getting up to do night time BG checks and control BG highs and lows. I am grateful for their dedication.

In 1986 I was not thankful for November. I can see it differently now. I am thankful for the advancements in diabetes research, growth in awareness, and expansion of knowledge about type 1 diabetes. I am thankful for my clients and those that want to strive for a healthier life. I am thankful for the support I have in my life and thankful for the support that I bring to others. Please participate in Diabetes Awareness Month in any way that you can, and remember to be thankful, even during the more challenging times.