Tag Archives: jdrf

Not quite as busy this week.

September 18, 2012 – 11:06 pm

Last Saturday started a very busy week for me. A bike ride that benefited JDRF that day was just the start.

Tuesday, I was supposed to attend a monthly meeting for pump users locally. This would have been my first meeting with this group. But because of dicey weather and bad traffic, they canceled. I’ve been trying to get into one of these meetings for a long time (they don’t meet during the summer).

This goes back to a post from the first month of this blog, where I laid out what I think an ideal support group would be. But I also had to admit that I had never met with a support group before, and I was going to start looking for one. Well, it’s five months later, and I’m still looking. To be honest, I’m not sure that I really care about it anymore. I mean, I’m sure that support groups, and support in general, is great for people. But I’ve pretty much had to live this D-life on my own all these years, so it might be better if I just get comfortable with that and go back to depending on myself only.

Thursday, it’s time for another neighborhood board meeting. I’ve been a part of the board for three years, and I do it because I was asked to serve. When they stop asking me to serve, I’ll stop serving. Now, our president has stepped down in the middle of his term, and his next in line isn’t interested in stepping into the role. That may leave it up to me. Again, if I’m asked to serve, I will. But only if I’m asked. More to come on Thursday.

And on Saturday, I finally get to take part in JDRF Mentor training! I’m very excited about this, and I’ve been waiting for almost a year for it. After the training, I hope they actually have someone for me to mentor. No, wait a minute… actually, I hope there’s no one left to mentor. That would be great, wouldn’t it?

So I got a little found time on Tuesday (enough to write a little something). In a way, I’m glad that my life has gotten busy with worthwhile tasks. And I hope I’m able to do something positive, and make people feel good about themselves and their lives.

It makes me feel good too.
 
 
 

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

Family Day.

August 31, 2012 – 7:53 am

It’s Friday… and today, it’s a special Family Day edition of Happy-Medium.net.

– First, a little about my own family. Before The Live-In Niece there was The Live-In Nephew. One of my godsons. He grew up mostly in Indiana. In January 2003, he moved in with us at age 20. All his possessions in the world were in a duffel bag. No prospects. Three years later, he had a great job and moved in with his girlfriend. Two years after that, four years ago today, they were married. I was shocked and honored when he asked me to be his best man. I thought that was as good as it was going to get. Until they had the baby this spring… on my birthday.
Happy Anniversary Brian and Erin!

– Second, a more somber note. Meri of Our Diabetic Life is asking everyone to set aside Sunday as a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of her husband Ryan, who’s battling cancer. While my own relationship with God has had its ups and downs over the years, I still believe in the power of prayer. And I still believe in miracles. They really need everyone’s help on this one, so that includes me… and hopefully, you too. For more information, go to the Schuhmacher Family Miracle Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ShuhmacherFamily

– Finally, a couple of JDRF items for any of you who are reading or living in Maryland. One is about the application process starting for the JDRF Children’s Congress. And the other is about the JDRF Kids Walk program (this is a great idea).

Have a great weekend! I’ve gotta get out and shop for an anniversary gift (mine is next week)!


 
 
 

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

A Hall of Fame Worthy Speech.

July 22, 2012 – 8:36 pm

Disclosure: Even though I’ve lived in Baltimore for almost 18 years, and in Columbus, Georgia for a couple of years back in the 80’s, I was born in, grew up in, and lived many years in Cincinnati, where I became, and remain, a HUGE fan of my hometown Reds. So I tuned in to MLB Network Sunday afternoon in anticipation of watching the Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech of Barry Larkin, who will likely be the last Reds player inducted in my lifetime (Dave Parker? Dave Concepcion? Anyone? Bueller?).

Before Larkin’s speech was the speech from Vicki Santo, widow of Ron Santo, who was also inducted this year. His induction comes mere months after losing a long battle with diabetes at the age of 71. He’s not the first baseball player with Diabetes inducted into the Hall of Fame (the great Jackie Robinson comes to mind). But Vicki’s speech, honoring her husband, and his life with diabetes, was an inspiring wake-up call to all of us. It reminds us that the work for a cure goes on, and that great things can be accomplished in spite of what diabetes does to our lives. She reminds us that Ron Santo helped raise over $65 million for JDRF, and that when you walk, ride, or give to a Victoria Cumbow, a Moira McCarthy, or a Jeff Mather who is Riding for a Cure, you are helping to find a cure too. And she reminds me that I have a long way to go in the advocacy department.

The link to the full video is below, courtesy of MLB Network. A few snippets that resonated with me:

“Ron said that playing the game was easy… that only the diabetes made the game hard”.

“He embraced his gift and his hardship equally– believing that one would not have mattered without the other. He believed in his journey and he believed in his cause. His journey has led him here to Cooperstown. And his cause is finding a cure”.

“…in his legacy let it be known that here is a man who attained the highest honor his sport can give, while playing with an insidious disease”.

The speech starts at about the 1:55 mark in the video. If you can, please take the time to listen. And let this speech inspire you to make a bigger difference.

Baseball Hall of Fame | Ron Santo is inducted into the Hall Of Fame – Video | MLB.com: Multimedia.

 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Additional Inspiration | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Support Groups.

May 8, 2012 – 7:20 am

Last month, I wrote about my Ideal Diabetes Support Group for the April DSMA Blog Carnival. At the end, I mentioned that I’m looking for my first support group meeting.

So I started looking for an adult type 1 support group. Man, is it hard to find a support group in Maryland! At least in Baltimore. I checked the local JDRF chapter’s website and found an adult type 1 meeting on the 2nd Monday of every month. I called the contact number and asked about the group, and found out that it doesn’t happen every month anymore. Instead, it’s a quarterly meeting. And it’s not really a support group as much as it is a peer group meeting. I’m not sure I know the difference between the two, but it looks like this is the only get-together for adult type 1’s in either Baltimore or Baltimore County. An area with a population of over 1.5 million people.

Should I be ticked off about that? I don’t think so. After all, I didn’t even think of beginning a search for a support group until a couple of weeks ago. And I suspect that others may be exactly like I was… eager to live as normal a life as possible, and not eager to sit in a sanitized room at a hospital or doctor’s practice, staring at others who remind us that we’re not always as normal as we would prefer.

Maybe I need to take matters into my own hands. Start my own group. Set my own agenda. That’s a great idea, in theory. But do I really have what it takes to lead a group? And even if I do, can I actually recruit others for a regular get-together?

I’ve got some thinking to do. And some more work to do. This process is far from complete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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