Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

Can you believe we’ve almost made it through 18 years of this century already?

The latest trip of our planet around the sun has been one where I was actively involved in something (and often, more than one something) throughout the year. At times I felt tired, accomplished, tired again, and honored.

One thing is for sure: I’m not finished yet. There is more to do, and while I’m looking forward to working on many of the same projects, I’m also looking forward to changing things up now and then.

For now though, it’s time to reminisce, and consider the year as a whole:

That included previewing the Freestyle Libre, which I found to be reliable and easy to use. I’ll stick with my Dexcom for the alerts, but the Libre gives all of us more choice, and that’s good.

The news wasn’t all good this year. I was among the many who grieved over the loss of our friend Judy Reich. It’s still so hard to believe she’s gone, and I’m proud of the Diabetes UnConference alumni who made the trip back to Las Vegas for her memorial service.

Speaking of Las Vegas, I found the HIMSS (Health Information and Management Systems Society) annual conference to be huge, crowded at times, primarily focused (as you might expect) on business rather than patient outcomes, and exhilarating all at the same time. The information gathering was like drinking from a fire hose sometimes, but I loved it.

Less than two months later I was traveling to Chicago for the first time in 30 years, to attend HealtheVoices18. Seeing old and new friends living with diabetes and 40 other chronic conditions did a lot to recharge my batteries and help me to be inspired all over again. Also, I was honored to be asked to take part in something later in the year. I’ll get to that in a minute.

In June, I took a day off from work to go to Bethesda, Maryland to do a little video shoot. The backstory is, I didn’t think it went too well, I didn’t look my best that day, and I was sure everything I recorded was going to be left out of the compilation that was being put together. But I was wrong… at AADE in Baltimore in August, the #LanguageMatters video debuted before about 3,000 diabetes educators. I couldn’t have been prouder of my diabetes friends who were a part of this video, and I’m so grateful to Deborah DeMore Greenwood and Mytonomy for giving me the chance to participate too.

Also that weekend, I shared an incredibly poignant moment with someone who helped me many years ago. In fact, my best moment at AADE didn’t happen at AADE at all.

I can’t believe it’s already been almost three months since the DPAC Policy Training Meeting in Washington, D.C. I learned a lot over that weekend, and I was so happy to be allowed to use my voice to bring important diabetes issues before congressional staffers. Keep your eyes open folks… there should be more of this kind of activity in 2019.

Now, back to that Chicago trip in April. I was pulled aside by one of the attendees, who is one of my best diabetes friends, and asked to help with trying to pull off a Diabetes UnConference alumni weekend gathering in the fall. Without an UnConference in 2018, many of us were missing our tribe.

I don’t know if I personally pulled anything off, but I helped with what I could, and there was a Diabetes UnConference alumni gathering, coordinated by UnConference alumni, in New Orleans in early October. To everyone there, I must have looked like a tired mess (because I was), but it was incredibly satisfying to spend time with 20 other friends who are quite different except for the failed pancreases we all own.

One of the things I enjoy very much is speaking to people about diabetes, and why patient communities online and off are accomplishing great things. I got a chance to do that a few weeks ago in front of a Jewish women’s group locally. As usual, I started off worried I wouldn’t have enough content to fill my time, but wound up going over time anyway. Time well spent, for sure.

Through the year as all this was going on, I managed to write about 95 blog posts, put together fewer podcast episodes than I would have liked, moderated many #DSMA Twitter chats, attended another Friends for Life Falls Church event, and continued working for the citizens of my state on Maryland’s Advisory Council on Health and Wellness. Oh, and I continue to serve on the Reader Panel at Diabetes Forecast magazine (published by the American Diabetes Association).

Next year… well, let’s worry about next year next year, shall we? For now, I’m happy to look back on a year when I was very busy, but very happy to be exhausted at the end of it all.

I hope your 2018 has gone as well as possible, and I wish you all the best in 2019. Thank you for being a part of my life. I support you… no conditions.