Author Archives: StephenS

Hello… I’m Stephen. I live in Baltimore, Maryland, USA with The Great Spousal Unit, Maureen. I’ve been living with Type 1 Diabetes since January 1991. I’ve been a pump user since April 2010, and I’m currently wearing the Animas Vibe pump. Also wearing the Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor.

I found the Diabetes Online Community in the summer/fall of 2011, and that discovery has changed my life. I started this blog in April 2012, and since then, my diabetes advocacy has continued to grow. Among other achievements, I’ve attended and spoken up at FDA workshops and participated in clinical trials.

I’ve been thrilled to serve as a facilitator for the Diabetes UnConference. And I’ve been honored to volunteer for Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition. You should Google both of those.

I’m currently serving as a member of the State of Maryland’s Advisory Council on Health and Wellness, where I am co-chair of the Diabetes committee. In addition, I’m part of the 2018 Reader Panel at Diabetes Forecast magazine.

I’m always searching for the perfect balance between the highs and lows of my blood glucose level and my life… always searching for the Happy Medium.

Anything you’d like to share? Please let me know… I’d love to hear from you.

Another year has come and gone.

April 9, 2014 – 8:14 am

DSC01470

So here we are. Or here I am, staring at another birthday (52) and another blog anniversary. By the way, my great niece, also born at this time two years ago, is doing great and laughs a lot and looooves Elmo.

I really like writing in this space. I don’t see myself giving this up for a while yet, though the thought enters my mind briefly now and then. If I didn’t write about my diabetes, I’d definitely probably find something else to write about anyway. Baseball, perhaps. Of course, my Cincinnati Reds are off to another lousy start (the games do count in April, fellas), with two wins against six losses. My other favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles, have a record of 3-5. Honestly, I’m worried less about the O’s at this point than I am about the Reds, who didn’t improve their roster one iota in the offseason, yet expect better results than last year. Good luck with that, Cincinnati. But I digress…

Two years ago today I published my first post at Happy-Medium.net. Since then, there have been 360 additional offerings. Holey Moley, that’s nearly one every other day! If you asked me if I could write like that two years ago, I’d say yes… I can write about anything. But I wouldn’t have guessed that the subjects here would be so varied.

At the two year mark, there’s one thing that worries me more than anything else. I must get two or three e-mails per week nowadays from individuals or organizations that are looking to spread their message. Whether they’re promoting upcoming events, pitching a product, or have a cause near and dear to their heart, they ask me to say something about it. I almost always say yes to the individuals, and sometimes say yes to the organizations.

But here’s the thing: I worry that telling someone else’s story so much leaves little time for telling my own. I want to remain a strong supporter. I’m good at that. But part of my mission for this blog is to leave a written record of what it’s really like to live in my shoes on an ongoing basis. Selfish? You bet. It’s my blog. There are times when two or more competing interests come together in this space, and that’s wonderful, but there are times when they don’t. When I go back and read three weeks of posts and realize I barely touched on how diabetes affects me personally, I realize I’m losing Stephen in the process. Stephen doesn’t need all of the attention, but he deserves a mention now and then (how’s that for third person?).

Returning to telling my story a little more often is a goal I’ll carry forward.

Looking back at the last twelve months, I can see lots of themes… some recurring, others standing on their own. Among them, just in the past year:

– Clinical trial participation

– A book review

– D-Blog Check-in Day

– Here’s to You, Grandpa

– Wounded, but tougher

– The people we look up to

– Athlete with diabetes? You deserve an award (we’ve awarded nine medals since November!)

– Diabetes University

– Show me how big your brave is, and why I have four glucose meters now

– What I learned at a conference on interoperability, and at the Manning Diabetes Symposium

– Prescription burnout

– Five recipes

This is definitely more varied and more detailed than I thought I could handle when I started this thing. What’s really weird is that I have the feeling I’m capable of handling a lot more. So if I have any detractors, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Actually, I’m not. I’m going to keep writing for a while.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to… You. Without your feedback, I could still write… but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun, and I certainly wouldn’t have learned as much as I have. I still want to jump out of my seat when I see a comment for the first time, and I thank you for helping to keep my head straight, while at the same time feeding my ego. I hope the next year brings you peace and happiness, and a cure for diabetes. In the meantime, I’ll have a slice of birthday pie (it’s a thing for me) in your honor.

Thank you so much for a great year. Here’s to an interesting, inspirational, and fun year three!
 
 
 

Posted in Milestones | Tagged , | Comments (10)

Meeting Mike Hoskins.

April 7, 2014 – 9:38 am

I made my yearly trek to Cincinnati recently. I grew up in Cincinnati, and for the last four or five years, thanks to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, I’ve been making the trip at this time of year to celebrate that most Queen City of holidays, Opening Day.

One of the great benefits of the journey the last two years has been the opportunity to make a side trip to Indianapolis to meet diabetes friends. Last year, I got to meet Cherise Shockley in person for the first time. This year, I got to sit down for lunch with Mike Hoskins.

MHoskins

For those who don’t know yet, Mike is a writer for Diabetes Mine, and he also has a blog of his own, called The Diabetic’s Corner Booth. On top of that, he’s also one of our brave Champion Athletes with Diabetes medal winners.

For someone like me, who grew up in the midwest, having lunch with a guy like Mike Hoskins is like having lunch with one of my brothers. I’ve changed a lot in the last twenty years since I’ve moved to the east coast, but there’s still a lot of me in Mike’s mannerisms, and in the way he speaks.

I enjoyed hearing his stories, though in retrospect, I did pepper him with too many questions. We talked about his recent pump decision, telling our stories online, our spouses and parents, work and diabetes, and phones (I’m considering an upgrade and I need all the advice I can get). All in all, it was too short. Especially since I had trouble with a detour in the Indiana countryside and wound up getting there late.

In case you’re wondering, in person meetings with others who are living with or affected by diabetes are worth their weight in gold. I came away from a simple lunch chat with a great feeling that I can’t really explain. But it made the trip more than worthwhile. So if you know of someone near you or where you’re going, and you think it might be nice to meet that person, don’t wait to reach out. Make that connection. I promise you it’s worth it. That’s my Monday advice.

Mike, thanks for lunch! Hope all the days in Indiana this year are as sunny and warm as last Tuesday.
 
 
 

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)

Like these links – Back from vacation.

April 4, 2014 – 10:28 am

Vacation was nice… but now I’m back!

I didn’t see as much baseball as I would have liked, but the weather is often unpredictable, or so I’ve heard. Since I’m still getting back into the swing of things, I’ll take this time to share a few diabetes-related things that are coming your way soon.

——————————————————–

You may have noticed the Tour de Cure icon on the left side of this page. Rather than hounding people for donations to my ride on May 17 this year, I put up the image so you can donate if you’re able. The American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure rides that take place all over the country are marvelous events that raise a lot of money for education and research, but also provide a place for all of us Red Riders (and Type Awesomes) to get together and enjoy a day on top of our two-wheelers. I won’t kid you… the money is tight this year. If you’re able, I could really use your help in making this ride happen.

——————————————————–

Locally to Baltimore, a digital marketing and technology agency is hosting a happy hour on April 16 at Sotto Sopra, which is one of the city’s great Italian restaurants. The goal of R2integrated is to raise $5,000 for the company’s team at the ADA’s Tour de Cure ride in Carroll County on May 3.

Twenty dollars gets you in the door, and gets you a drink and a chance at some awesome raffle prizes. There will be additional food and drink specials and live music too, plus some guest bartending.

Once again, the event is April 16 from 5:00 to 8:00 at Sotto Sopra on Charles Street. You can get your ticket in advance here.

——————————————————–

I may have mentioned this before, but… it’s always nice to say it twice. Diabetes Sisters is hosting a conference in Washington, D.C. in late April. Actually, it will be in Alexandria Virginia, just across the Potomac river from our nation’s capital.

Did you know that there will be a DSMA Live meetup on Friday night? It will happen on Friday, April 25 from 8:00 to 9:00. This event is open to the public (including guys like myself). If you’re somewhere nearby and you’ve never seen a DSMA Live meetup in person, here’s your chance. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

——————————————————–

One day later, JDRF and Children’s National Medical Center is inviting high school students living with Type 1 and/or their parents to a two hour session at Children’s to talk about the teen transition years, including handing off care of a student’s diabetes from parent to child, moving from pediatric to adult medical care, and of course, taking your diabetes to college. Speakers and panelists will include professionals from Children’s National Medical Center, and peers who are in college, or recently graduated from college.

The event happens on Saturday, April 26 from 10:00 to noon. Click here to register for the event.

I also hear that a similar event will be making its way to Baltimore soon.

——————————————————–

Hope your weekend is off to a flying start… get lots of rest and lots of play.
 
 
 

Posted in Like these links | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

A Champion Athlete With Diabetes, and a Pied Piper.

March 31, 2014 – 8:32 am

I was so excited to send out our 8th Champion Athlete With Diabetes medal a few weeks back (I know, I’m writing about our 8th medal winner after I wrote about our 9th medal winner… sue me). Where do I begin?

Merle

Merle Gleeson is a 50 year Joslin Medalist. How ’bout we start there? I think that trumps my little medal, by a longshot. But that’s not all… Merle is also founder of the non-profit Type 1 Diabetes Lounge, known as Chicagoland’s adult education and support network. Founded in 1997, this is an amazing organization. They do lots of talks, parties, fundraisers, and more, all designed to help bring PWDs together in an atmosphere of encouragement and understanding. Be sure to check out their website and Facebook page for more.

So… What does all that have to do with athletics? Well, not much. But I thought you’d like to know about it, because I think it’s kinda cool. Now, when it comes to athletic prowess, Merle is hard to beat. Check out her current weekly routine:

Monday: Workout Challenge
Tuesday: Spin and Weights
Wednesday: Muscle Definition
Thursday: Spin and CXWORX
Friday: Sports Conditioning and Zumba
Saturday: TRX and Power Step

I got tired just reading that. That’s six days a week of tough conditioning. In addition to that, Merle still gets out on her bike when the weather permits, and can do up to 50 miles at a time with her local bike club.

In Merle’s words, “I just want to STAY HEALTHY and be a role model!”. Check and check.

Merle Gleeson… For being an amazing athlete, a gatherer of like-pancreased souls, an advocate, and for persevering for fifty-plus years with diabetes, we are proud to recognize you as a Champion Athlete With Diabetes. I stand in awe and grateful appreciation of your outstanding achievements.
 
 
Are you out there persevering, working hard to achieve athletic goals? If you’re living with diabetes, and you’re active; or if someone close to you is living with D and is active, we’ve got an honest-to-goodness medal we’d like to award you (or the athlete close to you). If it’s a big deal to you, it’s a big deal to me too. I want to support you, or support the Athlete With Diabetes in your life. Click here, or on the photo of the medal in the upper left corner of this page to find out more.
 
 
 

Posted in Athletes With Diabetes | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

#StripSafely Is Opening Doors Again.

March 28, 2014 – 9:06 am

I just have a minute to get this down before running to catch a flight out of town… Monday is a big day for all of us who have been pounding the Strip Safely drum for nearly a year.

The best part is that you get to be part of it.

Bennet Dunlap and FDA expert Courtney Lias will head up a conversation with us. Yes, us too—we’re invited! You can register for this important call and listen to, and engage in, direct conversation between the Diabetes Community and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Click here to register for this one-of-a-kind event.

Find out more about how the FDA regulates medical devices. Find out more about what the FDA is doing to ensure accuracy of blood glucose meters. This is your chance to hear the answers to any number of diabetes-related questions directly from the FDA.

I know many of you have expressed frustration, feeling like the FDA doesn’t listen to us. Well, in fact… lately, they are listening.

Monday’s conversation is a golden opportunity for the Diabetes Community to grab the ear of the government agency here in the USA that regulates our meters, our pumps, our CGMs, and more.

It promises to be a very important hour. Don’t miss it. Don’t miss sharing this with everyone you know. As Christel said yesterday, this is where all the cool kids will be on Monday.

The chat happens Monday, March 31st from 1:30p.m. to 2:30p.m. Eastern Time.

Click here to register for this meaningful event.

In case you didn’t know… This is a big deal. This kind of access is miles beyond what we could have imagined just a couple of years ago. Please take advantage of this unique opportunity, and don’t forget to share it with your DOC friends. Your voice is needed and appreciated. Be part of the conversation, or just listen in.
 
 
 

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)