Me-volunteer of the year???

Last week, I got a letter from Diabetes Ireland telling me that I have been nominated, along with 3 other people, for the Diabetes Ireland Volunteer of the Year award. I was quite taken aback and found myself getting a bit weepy.

 

I don't know who took the time to nominate me but I'm deeply grateful and humbled that you did.

 

I have so many emotions surrounding this nomination that it's taken me some time to identify them and to be able to articulate them.

 

Firstly, I'm overwhelmed that someone out there thinks kindly of me AND went to the effort of putting together a short essay on me!

 

I also feel a wee bit guilty for being nominated because I the personal reward for me has already been so great. Through volunteering, I have become a more confident person, very unlike the little mouse who sat at the back of the classroom hoping the teacher wouldn't notice me. I've learned that I'm capable of anything; all I need is an idea that I believe in, time and google.

 

I also feel a wee bit guilty because I originally got involved with Diabetes Ireland for selfish reasons. I wanted a diabetes support group for myself. The benefit of hearing other peoples diabetes stories has been ten-fold for me. They are my role models.

 

I'm a bit embarrassed because some of the things I've done in diabetes I only did because they needed to be done; kind of like emptying the dishwasher.

 

I think most people who volunteer don't do it to win awards, myself included, but every now and again it's nice to hear a "thank you". I look forward to meeting the other 3 nominees and hearing their diabetes stories.

 

The winner will be announced at Diabetes Ireland's Annual General Meeting which will be held in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on Sunday 11th November at 12.15pm.

 

P.S. There are a lot of others in Ireland who volunteer to raise awareness about diabetes, fight for a better health service for us and who fund-raise like mad to make sure that Diabetes Ireland can keep up the fight. I thank you for your work.

Losing Faith!!

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is making headlines again but then what's new. It's so frustrating that nothing has changed in the six years since I moved back to Ireland.

The optimists among us would probably say that we just have to find a new way to show the rule makers that they need to change the way they do things. We, the advocates and activists, have to constantly change our methods yet the rule makers don't. Why can't we just launch a rolled up piece of paper from a rubber band into their faces and say "WAKE UP!' Oh yeah, that's been outlawed:-(

I'm exhausted from all the changing... and I don't even do that much to advocate apart from raise my voice or send an email when I'm asked. I can't imagine how frustrated the guys are that actually have to sit down and negotiate with this crowd and make nice with them.

I'm so fed up of hearing about how inefficient and under-resourced the health service is in Ireland. It's been that way for decades! I'm fed up of hearing how it's the minister's fault!  I'm fed up of the HSE blaming the department of Health! I'm fed up of the minister making promises and then being stonewalled when trying to deliver those promises. I'm fed up hearing about negotiations with unions when efforts are being made to improve working conditions; a better service means happier workers. I'm fed up hearing about how the HSE staff can't change anything because of the hiring freeze! All we hear from them is "I can't".

Well people, I think it's time some of you read "The little engine that could".

Is it really that difficult to straighten out a health service? Is it rocket science? Is it really about lack of money?

I'm not asking for a perfect system here, just one that works reasonable well.

People of the HSE, all of you, stop blaming each other and fighting with each other! GET THE JOB DONE AND STRAIGHTEN IT OUT!!!

Carb Counting

At our last Type 1 diabetes support group meeting we talked about carbohydrate counting, commonly referred to as carb counting.

The group was made up of people who practiced carb counting, people who kind of practiced, people who knew about it but didn't know where to start and some who never heard of it. We were a motley crew.

The topic was introduced by stating that carb counting has been around for a long time in one form or another. When I was diagnosed in 1993 I was introduced to the Exchange List. This was a list of commonly eaten foods such as bread, weetabix, that contained roughly the same amount of carb. For example 1 slice of bread contained approximately 15 grams of carb as did 1 weetabix. The idea was that if you had weetabix for breakfast in the mornings and fancied a change you could switch it for toast.

In today's world we can do carb counting by either weighing our food in grams or using the unit Carb Portion (CP). It's a bit more precise than the exchange list.

We, then, discussed today's methods of carb counting and what exactly it is. "Carbohydrate counting is a method of matching your insulin requirements with the amount of carbohydrate you eat and drink."

If you take insulin, you can use carbohydrate counting to decide how much insulin to take.

The benefits that carb counting can give you are:

• May lead to better blood glucose control and greater flexibility and freedom of lifestyle.

• May be able to predict your blood glucose response to eating different foods and drinks.

• Eat according to your appetite.

• Enjoy a wider variety of foods.

• Enjoy restaurant and takeaway meals.

The only disadvantage to carb counting the group came up with was that you really have to put great deal of time and effort to get those benefits.

Where do I learn more if you live in the Mid-West?

The dietitian at your clinic or any registered dietitian who is knowledgeable in Type 1 Diabetes.

DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) courses http://www.dafneonline.co.uk/DAFNE is a structured education course delivered in a five day intensive skills based education programme to people with Type 1 Diabetes. In this course, people learn how to adjust their insulin dosage to suit their free choice of food, rather than having to work their life around their insulin doses. DAFNE aims to encourage and equip people who have Type 1 diabetes to manage their insulin regimens actively and independently. This course is available only to patients who attend the Diabetes clinic in University Hospital Galway.

· BERGER course The Berger Programme is a comprehensive diabetes self-care skills course, named after Professor Michael Berger, the eminent Endocrinologist who recognised the value of teaching people how to adjust insulin to match their daily food intake. This programme is designed for people with Type 1 diabetes. People attending this course learn how to adjust their insulin dose depending on their food choice. The course also focuses on enhancing diabetes self-management skills. This course is run in St. John’s Hospital Limerick 061/462271

· BRUCIE - Better Regulation Using Carbohydrate and Insulin Education BRUCIE is an education programme aimed at providing adolescents over 12 years with diabetes the skills to understand the relationship between food, blood results and insulin dose adjustments. The workshop is based on developing practical skills and involves gaining a greater understanding of the effect of diet on their blood glucose levels. Education sessions on carbohydrate counting are also provided for parents of adolescents who attend BRUCIE. A joint session with adolescents and parents is provided at the yearly follow up. BRUCIE is delivered by the diabetes Dietitian and the Advanced Nurse Practitioner in diabetes. This course is available to patients who attend the Diabetes clinic in University Hospital Galway.

· Private Carb Counting Course by Kelly Johnson. The cost of the course is €150 for two full days. Contact information: mobile number: 086 8117676. She is hoping to run a course on 29th Sept and the 6thOctober.

If you don't live in the Mid West you can find out about carb counting courses from your diabetes clinic or from the DAFNE website.

Weighed down by weight issues

I'm getting old! Yep, I'm having that life crisis that happens to even the most optimistc of us as we approach those birthdays that end in zero.

Anyway, this summer when I was trying to squease into the seasonal outfits I thought to myself, "why not just tackle that stone or two once and for all". Wishing for it to happen doesn't make it happen, does it?

My diet is fairly decent; it does have some flaws but nothing catastrophic. I've always trimmed out the fat except for my little treat after my dinner every day which I will not give up! Never! So where the calorie intake is concerned I've decided to cut down on portion sizes and increase portions of salads and veggies.

My next step is to review my calorie output. Exercise! Auck! I already do a 30 minute brisk walk Monday through Friday. So in an effort to add to that I delved into "The I hate to exercise" book for people with diabetes to look for inspiration.

Now this book has been sitting on my shelf untouched for about 18 months. And if I'm honest the other reason I picked it up was because the previous book I read was so good that I would stay up until the wee hours reading (I needed some sleep).

I open it  and the first line is "well done, you've opened the book". At first, I laughed and patted myself on the back but when I thought about why I was reading it, I stopped laughing. I felt a bit ashamed but then I decided to laugh again. Why not?

So, well done me! I read the whole book. Surprise, surprise. there were no magic cures or quick fixes contained in it because there are none with weight loss. The book was really not targeted at me. It's really written for people who have not included exercise in their lives and may be more advanced in age.

My new next step is to carry on with my reduced carb portions and my 30 minute walk from now til December. Live life as best I can and not to get so weighed down (pun intended). I'll let you know if it works. I will say my blood sugar readings are looking very good with these reduced portions. One step/one day at a time:-)

People with diabetes can be the best of the best

I'm not the athletic type if anything I'm a sporting lost cause. I was never very good at it and therefore never really got into it. So, when the Olympics comes around every four years I notice what makes the news headlines in Ireland but that's about it.

However, in an effort to be a better world citizen I'm paying attention to the London 2012 Olympics and I'm actually quite interested. I have never watched an Olympic Open Ceremony (I know I should be ashamed but I'm not) but I figured I would do my duty and give it a chance. (BTW it was an amazing production that I'm still talking about and loving the music from it).

I became swallowed up in the mystery of who was going to light the Olympic flame even though I didn't think I would have a clue who it was when I first saw them.

Imagine my surprise when the image of the gentleman who was waiting to take the torch from "Becks". I stuttered "Is that Sir, StSteve Regrave?". The commentator confirmed it and also referred to Sir Steve as "one of Britain's greatest Olympians". I felt like yelling "AND HE'S AN INSULIN DEPENDANT DIABETIC". But of course I know that's not what defines him and that only other people with diabetes would be interested in knowing this.

Steve Redgrave bringing the Olympic torch into the stadium represented the idea that talented people with diabetes can be the best of the best despite being lead to believe otherwise by people who wouldn't necessarily know any better. If you are one of these people who has an Olympic dream I would like you to not listen to those people and most importantly not be afraid to push the boundaries because of your diabetes. If you're working hard on your dream then you can figure out your diabetes as you go along. By the time of 2016 you will have learned how to teach your diabetes to allow you to excel.

People with diabetes can be whatever they want to be but a lot of us already know that.

I'm grateful to my diabetes!

Diabetes is a burden, a nuisance and feckin' depressing. But it shouldn't be all of those things all of the time.

You probably think I'm "cracked" when I say that I'm grateful to my diabetes. Let me explain;

There are a number of little things that I'm grateful to my diabetes for and the coolest one is that when I was pregnant with my babies I got loads of ultrasound photos. Seeing your baby on the ultrasound monitor is so "awesome" and pregnant women without diabetes in Ireland are lucky if they see the ultrasound twice in the whole nine months. I got to do it at least 8 times with both of mine.

Another little thing I'm grateful to my diabetes for is my weight - it hardly ever changes because I have to keep track of my carbs. Most of the time my weight never increases. Unfortunately, I would like it to go down by about a stone but I'm truly grateful it's not going up.

A big reason I'm grateful to diabetes is how it has enabled me to broaden my horizons as a person and made me stand up for myself in order to take better care of me. How this came about is a bit of a story - please bear with me.

Before 2007, I was the type of person who sat at the back of a room and listened. I would never in a million years speak up in a crowd. And I had never organised an event or even people.

In the 9 years after my diagnosis, I did what I was suppose to do to take care of my diabetes. I didn't ask questions about why I was doing all of these everyday tasks and how they were making my life better.

This desperation came to a head in 2007. I started to struggle with coping with my diabetes and I felt that I wasn't getting the kind of health care I had become used to living in America. I had just moved home and I wasn't going to be force to pack my bags again just because the healthcare service was letting me down.

I refused to believe that just because things are the way they are; doesn't mean they can't change.

I needed to reach out to someone but I didn't know who. I saw a piece in the local newspaper about a diabetes information meeting that I had been too nervous to attend. I took a deep breath and phoned the number; not knowing who was going to answer. I needn't have worried because I found a friend at the other end. I didn't know the woman who answered but she had type 1 diabetes, was in the same age decade as me and echoed every feeling I had about living with diabetes.

I came to the realisation that the way forward for me was to connect with more just like me and that the way I could do that was to set up a support group. This is how I became an active member of Diabetes Ireland.

The local branch was relatively new at the time and was bursting with ideas on how to provide support and information to all people with diabetes. I took it upon myself to make sure that those ideas didn't fall into a big black hole. I reminded the others of what they had volunteered to do and I gradually began to step more and more out of my comfort zone to expand it.

In 2007, fear of rejection meant I didn't like calling strangers on the telephone, especially health care professionals, who wouldn't be expecting my call, about what we're were trying to do but I did it.

Today, I'm a confident person who is not afraid to ask questions no matter who they are directed too. I give presentations to groups of people and I'm not as bad at them as I was in the beginning. Today, it's not unusual for health care professionals to call me asking for information on diabetes events and resources.

The support groups have grown and grown and the feedback we get is that everyone who attends gets something out of it. I'm so proud that they have been sucessful.

The achievement I'm most proud of is the editing of a Type 1 Diabetes guide for adults which was published in March 2012. My previous diabetes voluntary endevours meant that I had become comfortable contacting health care professional to review and ammend this book to ensure the information was relevant to irish people with diabetes. However, when it came to finding a big chunk of "change" to pay for it's printing - that was a new area for me. I found myself talking to regional managing directors of multimillion dollar companies, telling them why this was a excellent investment opportunity!!!

The skills I've developed and the (mostly) confident person I have evolved into today has made be deeply grateful to my diabetes and my one-time desperation of it. And I've found the health care in Ireland that I had become used to when living in America:-)

I wish more people could benefit in the ways that I have. 

P.S. I couldn't have done any of the above if my husband didn't tell that I'd be well able to.