Tag Archives: diabetes blogs

August DSMA Blog Carnival. My pancreas bombs the interview.

August 23, 2012 – 7:40 am

This month’s DSMA Blog Carnival topic is funny, but simple to answer:

Your pancreas is in a job interview and totally bombed the question about ______.

This was from the weekly DSMA chat (Wednesdays at 9:00 EDT in the USA) a few weeks back. Back then, I said that my pancreas would bomb the question about working nights and weekends. Or ever.

But really, what question wouldn’t my pancreas bomb if it were asked?

What are your strengths?
– Well, I’m really good at not providing enough insulin for a human to live on. I know how to take up space for no useful purpose. Yeah, I’m very strong in that area.

What are your weaknesses?
– See question number one.

Do you work well with others?
– As long as they don’t need me to do anything, yes! I don’t actually work, really, so if working at not working is what my teammates need, I’m on it.

Tell me about a time when you overcame a challenge.
– Well, it was very challenging those first 28 years of Stephen’s life. I was working all the time! He actually expected me to keep making insulin forever. Geez….

Tell me about a time when you weren’t up to the challenge.
– Well, for me, the challenge has been to keep from having to do too much. So for the last 21 years, I have been up to the challenge. Or not. Depending on how you look at it.

What kind of schedule works best for you?
– Hey, really, don’t try to back me into a corner, man. I’m on my own time. My schedule, and how and when everything works, is a complete mystery. I like it that way.

Okay, Mr. Pancreas… don’t call us, we’ll call you. Better luck on the next interview.

This post is my August 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/august-dsma-blog-carnival-2/
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in DSMA Blog Carnival | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

The Fifties.

August 12, 2012 – 9:04 pm

Not the 1950s. I mean living in my 50s. This weekend has been one of reflection. I haven’t been able to get my mind off of where my life is, and how my blog– how social media fits in the picture. Let me explain:

I’m 50 years old now. That’s not particularly noteworthy. I also write a blog. Ditto. But something rather profound struck me this weekend. For the first time,there are a LOT of PWDs who are reaching their 40s, 50s, and 60s without a lot of major diabetes-related problems, and with a lot of access to social media. There are still people with a lot of D-related issues out there. But despite the fact that there are continuing things to worry about, we are living longer, better, more productive lives.

On top of that, the Internet has now grown beyond just listservs, bulletin boards, and AOL mail to include blogging (of course), Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, Facebook, and more. What does that mean? More than you might think.

For one thing, it means that we get to share our story with the rest of the world. It’s true that the Internet is mostly the playground of those in their teens, twenties, and even thirties. Out of the thousands of diabetes blogs out there, the overwhelming majority are written by PWDs in this group.

But if you’re in your teens, 20s, or 30s… have you thought about the fact that the people in my age group are telling the story you’ll be living in 10, 20, 30, or 40 years? Yeah, it just hit me this weekend.

I hope that we’re telling our story well. And I hope that we’re giving enough information about living at this age, with this condition. Whether we’re doing great or struggling, I hope we’re telling the truth. While I know it doesn’t seem like we’re on the same page when it comes to social media (or is it just me?– it’s possible), I hope you’re still reading about us, and thinking about what it means for your life. And I hope that eventually, we’re motivating you to do what you need to do to make your life better when you reach our age.

I also hope, personally, that if I say something I shouldn’t… if I can improve in some way, if I need to look at something from another point of view… I hope you tell me. I work an IT job Monday through Friday, but I’m still a relative newbie when it comes to social media. I have a lot to learn. Any help you can give me would be appreciated more than you know.

So there’s an interesting dynamic at work here. I don’t really know where things are headed yet. There’s a lot more to be defined in the coming years as we all grow older. I’m guessing I’ll be talking about this again.

Know what? I’m looking forward to it. I may not be the ultimate social media expert, but I know I have something important to say. And I’m looking forward to saying it. Keep reading. Look in on my world from time to time, won’t you?
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Social Media | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Like these links.

August 9, 2012 – 9:13 pm

It’s nearly the weekend again. I’ve been very busy, with work and with family visiting. My parents were here for the first time in 4 years. Anyway, I wanted to direct your attention to some thought-provoking posts from the last few days. Hopefully, I’ll have more to tell next week. Check that. I will have more to tell next week.

Kelly Kunik of Diabetesaliciousness got some good advice from her podiatrist(?). I won’t give it away here, but let me say that I’m feeling really guilty right now:
http://diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com/2012/08/balance.html

AllisonB at Diabetes Mine has more info from the AADE sessions in Indianapolis last week. Like many others there, it’s a very thorough, well thought out post:
http://www.diabetesmine.com/2012/08/diabetes-education-uncovering-distress-and-writing-your-own-story.html

Emily Coles at TuDiabetes announces that Woman’s Day magazine is looking to do a piece on “two women between the ages of 25 and 50 who made a “buddy pact” to beat diabetes together–and who stuck with it and saw their health improve.” Find out more here:
http://www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/women-s-day-magazine-piece-on-diabetes

Speaking of announcements, Scott Benner at Arden’s Day is announcing the title of his new book!
http://www.ardensday.com/main/2012/8/9/book-title-announcement.html

Scott at Rolling in the D is trying to organize a D-meetup in the Northern New Jersey/New York area. Are you interested?
http://rollinginthed.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/oh-lord-im-stuck-in-lodi-again/

That’s all for now… enjoy the weekend!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Like these links | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Like These Links. D Pluribus Unum.

August 3, 2012 – 8:20 am

Let’s look again at the DOC. Or specifically, about bloggers. I’ve seen a few posts about bloggers, and blogging, in the past couple of weeks. I’ve also seen more than a few comments related to blogging and bloggers.

I’ve been trying to resist writing about bloggers and blogging for a while. Mostly because I’ve only been blogging here for about 4 months myself. Not enough experience to really see things clearly. So instead, let me share a few links, and hopefully add a few thoughts of my own.

At My Busted Pancreas, I’m reminded that I too live this T1D life on my own for the most part. The only other type 1 that I know personally lives about 500 miles away, and she’s one of The Great Spousal Unit’s friends anyway. If it weren’t for what I read from the DOC, I’d still feel like I’m alone and no one gets it. And yes, I really mean that.

Kim at KD(and it’s not kraft dinner!) wrote about her advocacy at the grocery store, and how, a year ago, she was the shy one who didn’t want to bring her diabetes out in the open. Likewise, Karen at Bitter-Sweet talks about how she’s evolved from the shy person in high school to an unlikely advocate. I don’t think these things happen without the support and understanding of all of us in this community, do they?

Scott Strange at Strangely Diabetic talks about a lot of things when he describes his blogging and advocacy, including Survivor’s Guilt. Or Proactive Survivorship. Anyway, his story is inspiring, and he lays it out on the line about why he does what he does. It’s a good read.

What if you’re writing all the time, and you start to feel like nobody notices? There are it seems, a few bloggers that everyone reads, everyone sends comments to, everyone tweets. You wonder if you’re really doing something worthwhile. Kate at Kate’s Sweet Success has a great post that gets to the heart of the matter: “…the more voices we hear, the better off we will all be. I don’t have to be a rock star in the DOC in order to make an important contribution. What I have to do is be honest and put my ideas out there in the hopes that someone else will benefit.” Exactly. Let’s remember why we got into this game, okay? I don’t think it was to get the most hits on a particular day. If that is why you’re blogging about your diabetes, well… maybe you should rethink your mission statement. Just saying.

Finally, if you are wondering if you really are making a difference, take this advice from Sara at Moments of Wonderful (and then read all of the great Best of the ‘Betes Blogs posts): “Never doubt whether anyone cares what you have to say. I guarantee that there is someone out there who is waiting for your words. This community cannot exist without each and everyone one of us.”

I can’t put it better than these people have. In a year or two, the DOC might be quite different from what it looks like now, for reasons we may not be aware of yet. For now, I am so happy to share my voice, and I hope to help give someone that one word of encouragement, or note of understanding, or crazy photo on that one day when they need it most. If you know what I mean.

D Pluribus Unum… out of many, one.

Enjoy the weekend!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Like these links | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

July DSMA Blog Carnival. The DOC.

July 23, 2012 – 8:02 pm

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/
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in DSMA Blog Carnival | Also tagged , | Comments (2)