Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

Cherise at Diabetes Social Media Advocacy was kind enough to let me guest post for the July DSMA Blog Carnival. This, and a lot of other super posts are out there at the link at the bottom of this post. Cherise, sorry I couldn’t get the timing right. But thanks for the kind words and the opportunity to participate!

July’s DSMA Blog Carnival touches on a question from the June 13th DSMA Twitter Chat, talking about the Diabetes Online Community, and asking us to fill in the blanks:

The diabetes community has taught me how to _______ and _______.

I remember saying then that the Diabetes Community has taught me how to tell my story and that the future counts more than the past.

This photo is a small, but good, example of the kind of impact that the DOC has made on me.

I’m going to tell you a secret: I’m a pretty smart guy, but sometimes, I miss the most obvious things. For years… for decades, in fact, I kept my glucose meter at home. With few exceptions, it stayed in the kitchen all the time. I couldn’t take that thing out in public, could I? Actually, it just didn’t occur to me to check my BGs in the truck, at work, on a day trip somewhere. I never saw anyone else doing it, so I didn’t either. Stupid, right?

I have to admit: I just didn’t think about doing something that comes so naturally to almost all of you reading this.

Enter the DOC. Now I’m reading about glucose checks on the beach, in school, at work, at the mall, in a restaurant, in a restaurant at the mall… you get the idea. I was like: What? You can do that? Get outta here! My eyes were opened.

So in the past year (almost) since I’ve discovered this cozy community along the Information Superhighway, here are some of the places I’ve conducted my own personal blood glucose screenings:

– My truck (pictured)
– On the subway (not the restaurant)
– At the grocery store
– On the bus to New York
– On the bus from New York
– On the beach at Ocean City
– At the gym
– On my 100 mile bike ride (no, I can’t check while riding– yet)
– At the airport
– At the Washington Monument (in Baltimore– look it up)
– At the Washington Monument (actually in Washington, DC)
– In a restaurant (not at the mall)

Hey, I realize this sounds silly. But honestly, there are so many meaningful things I’ve learned from D-Veterans and D-Rookies, D-Wives and D-Husbands, D-Moms and D-Dads. Product reviews, tips and tricks, even relationship advice (don’t tell the Spouse). I often think about people who were like me, living this life alone, lacking information and support, with no sense of how full their lives can be.

Mostly, I’ve learned how to tell my story. Okay, I’m learning to tell my story. Honestly and without pulling punches, without shame. And thanks to the Diabetes Online Community, I feel like there’s a lot more story to tell. The best is yet to come. Rock on, DOC. Keep the information coming.

This post is my July entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/july-dsma-blog-carnival-2/