“We are the world, we are the children, We are the ones who make a brighter day, So let’s start giving. There’s a choice we’re making, We’re saving our own lives. It’s true we’ll make a better day, Just you and me … We R the Cure!”
Yes, I’m riding again to cure diabetes with JDRF. Training has started. Our Central Virginia Chapter Team is riding Oct. 31, 2015 — Halloween Saturday — in Nashville, TN.
The signs are obvious: It’s time for a blog Comeback. Easy to say, hard to do. However, blogging is more about therapy and communication than about setting social media records. I am a proud member of the #DOC — Diabetes Online Community, and I am an advocate for better health care through research and technology. I am sorry I’ve been a dark page recently, but the good news is I am not a diabetes statistic today. I am one in 3 million Americans — an achiever battling against the odds and celebrating each day without complications.
Last week, I had the privilege of meeting Sebastien Sasseville for dinner in Richmond. I will post by recap of that chance encounter. In a nutshell, Sebastien is amazing and inspiring. Covering nearly 7500 km from coast to coast and completing the equivalent of 180 back-to-back marathons, Team Novo Nordisk triathlete Sebastien Sasseville ended his epic run across Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia on World Diabetes Day in November 2014. Sebastien ran his final kilometers into historic Stanley Park, reaching the shores of the Pacific Ocean after nine months on the road battling rain, sleet, ice and snow, and more than 30,000 feet of climbing through the Canadian Rockies. Stay tuned for my story on Sebastien.
In the past few months, I’ve also done a limited outpatient clinical trial with my friends at the University of Virginia’s Center for Diabetes Technology (CDT). I see more trials coming on the near horizon and I’m hoping to participate with Dr. Boris Kovatchev and his awesome team at UVA. Stay tuned for more updates on UVA CDT trials and news from across the globe.
In closing, I’d like to reprint an excellent excerpt from Kerri Sparling’s book — “Balancing Diabetes.” It summarizes the paradox of living with #T1D — healthy looking on the outside, dying on the inside. If you don’t know Kerri Sparling — you gotta check her out online. She’s amazing.
Finding Balance and Moving Forward
“It’s a delicate balance, this one between “I’m sick” and “I’m fine.” … On an average day, diabetes falls in the “annoying but tolerable” category. … But on some days, diabetes falls into the “eff you and the effing islet you refused to ride in on” category.
“You seem fine.” I am fine. I think? I have a chronic illness — a disease — that compromises the function of my pancreas to the point where I need synthetic insulin daily, and even with dedicated management, I may see serious and debilitating complications in my lifetime. That’s part of the dance — feeling and seeming fine and actually being fine, even though my body is dealing with something serious every moment of EVERY DAY.”
“Diabetes means living life on that seesaw. Some days you are way up high and other days have you almost in the dirt, both literally and figuratively. .. I can’t let myself hate it because it is a part of me. A part that I work so hard to maintain.” Thanks Kerri. Your book is an inspiration.
We R the Cure 