Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.netUPDATE: From findmariruddy.com:
Mari’s family have just given us the following update, as of 6 PM Thursday 6/13:
“Mari is currently in stable condition and in the ICU. We thank you again for all your efforts, support, and continued prayers. We will continue to share updates as we can.”
Mari was found unconscious but alive this afternoon. Her family requests privacy until more information can be shared, and thanks everyone for their efforts.
A lot of prayers were answered today. Thanks #DOC
Can’t believe I just wrote that. Mari Ruddy, athlete and T1D, one of the driving forces behind Red Riders at the ADA’s Tour de Cure events, is missing.
From the website FindMariRuddy.com:
Mari was last seen at her apartment in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of Saint Paul, MN around 1 p.m. on 6/11/13. Mari has type-1 diabetes and wears an insulin pump. Her phone and other belongings were found in her home. She left in her car, a dark green late 90′s early 00′s modle Honda Civic with a bike rack on top and a red Namaste bumper sticker.
Mari’s family fear that she may try to harm herself and appreciate any help locals can provide in search efforts. She may have gone to a place with spiritual significance, beauty or seclusion. Please contact Mollee at 952-406-0081 to volunteer. You can also join the search effort by connecting with this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/172257126284014/?notif_t=group_r2j
If you have any information please contact local police first, then email us at info@findmariruddy.com.
Sending good thoughts and prayers to the upper Midwest tonight…
It’s the final day of Diabetes Blog Week! Myself and many others have been posting for 7 (seven!) straight days. This is the final day’s post. Don’t forget that you can find links to all of the D-Blog Week posts right here. Now, on to today’s subject:
As another Diabetes Blog Week draws to a close, let’s reflect on some of the great bloggers we’ve found this week. Give some love to three blog posts you’ve read and loved during Diabetes Blog Week, and tell us why they’re worth reading. Or share three blogs you’ve found this week that are new to you. (Thanks to Pearlsa of A Girl’s Reflections for inspiring this topic.)
In general, this is very difficult for me. I love reading other blogs, and I always think everyone writes better than I do. So how do I choose just a few? Well, it’s a little easier this time because I’ve been traveling this weekend. I published Friday’s post from the road, and Saturday’s post after I got back home again (because I couldn’t remember to post it at 6:00 in the morning before I left for my event). As a result, I haven’t been able to catch up on everyone’s posts as much as I usually do by now. But I will… trust me. For the time being, if I may, I’d like to give shout-outs and encouragement to the following three posts I discovered this week. If you haven’t read these already, please do so.
– From Day One (Share or Don’t Share), I really felt for Kelley at Below Seven. Because I’ve been in her shoes before, and it’s tough. I really dig her writing anyway, and this was a good, heartfelt post. Find out why she doesn’t want to visit her previous endocrinologist anymore:
http://www.below-seven.com/2013/05/13/diabetes-blog-week-share-and-dont-share/
– I really enjoy reading Ilana’s writing at Diaturgy too. I always enjoy reading someone who can turn a good phrase. She does a great job of it in her Freaky Friday post from Day 5, and there’s a really funny graphic in there too:
http://diaturgy.blogspot.ca/2013/05/the-chronic-d-blog-week-day-5.html
– Finally, two posts from Day 2 (see what I did there? I didn’t limit myself to three!). First, Sarah at La Osita’s Blog writes a petition emploring carbohydrates to all behave in the same way when interacting with our systems. And, even though I don’t read a lot of D-parenting blogs, I found the petition at Girl Glycosylated to be quite compelling indeed. Why not check out both of them?
http://laosita.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/we-the-undersigned-dblog-post-day-2/
http://girlglycosylated.blogspot.com/2013/05/ive-got-your-back.html
So that’s Diabetes Blog Week for 2013. Thanks so much to Karen Graffeo at Bittersweet Diabetes for hosting another super week of blog posts. And I look forward to catching up with them all, and finding new places to visit via the interwebs very soon!
While I was away last week, I made a special side trip to meet a very special person:
Cherise Shockley is Founder and CEO of Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation, keepers of things like the Diabetes Social Media Advocacy website, the DSMA Blog Carnival, DSMA Live, DSMA en vivo, DSMA Live ‘Rents and the ever-popular Wednesday night DSMA Twitter chat. Our lunch wasn’t the ask-questions-get-answers-write-a-blog-post-about-it kind of thing. I just wanted to meet her, and give her the chance to put a face with a name, so to speak. Let me tell you about our meeting.
The first question you might ask is, “What is she really like?”. In person, Cherise is pretty much like her online self. Polite, funny, passionate about her cause, and always one step ahead of me.
And smart. Cherise is very, very smart. Growing up in a family where service to the community is part of her DNA, she’s inspired by the possibilities and challenges of bringing together people who are affected by diabetes. Best of all, she’s doing something about it. It seems like her mind is constantly thinking about ways to enhance and expand what DCAF can do for everyone touched by this disease.
During our conversation, I likened her to a military general. She may not have everything figured out yet. But as the social media landscape changes, she’s good at maximizing opportunities and figuring out the best way to make the most of her resources when they’re needed. That’s a quality that many people wish for, but so few possess. After just a few minutes, I was ready to go charging up the hill for DCAF too!
I’m not big on first impressions. Often we come across people who are rushed, are having a bad day, fighting with their significant others, or experiencing hypoglycemia. And that can affect how we are with people we meet for the first time, and how they perceive us. But in this case, my first impression was only positive. I have a really good feeling about DCAF and where Cherise will lead the foundation into the future.
I’m really glad I was able to make this connection. Our lunch together really gave me the feeling of being in the presence of greatness. I’m hoping you’ll make the connection with DCAF too.
The weekly DSMA Twitter chat happens every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time here in the USA. To join the conversation, go to
http://diabetessocmed.com/tweetchat/
To listen to DSMA Live, DSMA en Vivo and DSMA Live ‘Rents, and to download previous podcasts, go to the Diabetes Social Media Advocacy station on Blog Talk Radio at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/diabetessocmed
To support DCAF and all of the great happenings that are, um, happening, consider making a tax-deductible donation today. Just go to this page and click on the Donate button:
http://diabetessocmed.com/supporting-dsma-through-dcaf/
I’ve read a lot of posts and comments on blogs, Facebook, etc. in the last week or so (you know, since the Diabetes Dad/DRI/BioHub dustup) from people who don’t believe there will ever be a cure for diabetes. Trust me… I totally get where you are all coming from. At times, it seems like the cure is so far out on the horizon that there really is no horizon at all, if you know what I mean.
But I can’t go that far.
This is my affirmation.
I’m not looking for it to happen any time soon. I have no idea what form a cure would take. I don’t know if any of the research currently under way will yield any results at all.
But I know that if we never try… we’ll never know for sure. I know that if we never stand up and say, “Hey, nearly 26 million people in this country have diabetes, and over 360 million people globally, and we deserve our chance to find a cure”, we’ll never know for sure.
I dig the new technology. I’m excited about new devices that will make us safer and healthier over the long haul. I love the extra education I’m getting every day. The helpful tips from the Diabetes Online Community, the unique perspective of my endocrinologist, the amazing drug therapies that have hit the marketplace in the past twenty plus years, the improvement in meter technology and CGMs and diet and nutrition.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
And you know what? I’m so grateful for the fact that I’m living today with diabetes, in this era, because I have a lot more in my arsenal to fight this chronic condition than anyone who’s ever lived with it before.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
In the past year and a half, I’ve learned, shared experiences, met people, asked questions, made mistakes, had successes, and expanded my horizons beyond even my own comprehension and despite my own fears. I’m not sure I can convey in this medium exactly what that feels like, but it feels really good.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
I have a healthy skepticism of government, and medical technology firms, and big pharma, and yet I believe that the absolute power of a cure for diabetes would not, could not allow it to be kept a secret for long.
Ever hear the phrase “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”?
I am prepared to live with my disease for the rest of my natural-born life. I’m not counting on a cure. I don’t see it in this or any other 5 to 10 year time frame I’ve ever lived in. I too look at new presentations of so-called “solutions” with a wary eye. Even disdain.
But I refuse to give up on the idea altogether. Hoping for the best means hoping for a cure. I will keep hoping for a cure, if for no other reason than to keep hope alive for the next generation.
Because the next generation deserves hope too.
Because this generation deserves hope too.
Because… while I’m bombarded on all sides by glucose issues and possible complications and the next fundraising pitch disguised as The Greatest Thing Ever, I refuse to let any of it take my hope away.
This is my affirmation.
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