A Shout Out to My Home Team

I am a huge champion for peer support to help us live with type 1 diabetes. My type 1 diabetes friend in Clare and around the country have kept me positive and fighting for almost 10 years now. But, as it's Valentine’s Day and the month of his birthday, this post is a tribute to my home team. My husband has been my very biggest supporter and cheerleader for over 15 years. 

From that very first day, when he asked me for books on type 1 diabetes so that he could learn something about it, to every day I have to use the code words “low”, “hypo”, “help” or “I’m fine” (biggest codeword ever for I’m not fine). Thankfully, that’s not too often.

He came to my most recent hospital appointment so that he could learn to insert my Continuous Glucose Monitoring sensor for me. 

He shares research articles he finds in The New York Times- he actually brought my attention to the Bionic Pancreas first all of those years ago.

He does 90% of the cooking (yes I know how lucky I am) and is always considerate of my carbohydrate, mmm, sensitivity.

All of my best ideas get bounced off him and therefore improved by his input.

He is constantly reminding me of what I can do.

He volunteers with Diabetes Ireland on their national council, even though he does not have diabetes. He even got to meet President Higgins on his first official act as president, but that’s another story.

He makes me feel like there are two of us working hard to keep me healthy.

He is my Type 3 and my Valentine.

By the way, hun, I have a feeling I’m going to suck again this year for your birthday - sorry! #SpareaRose and post on a blog:-D 

You Never Know Where People with Diabetes will Pop Out From

You never know where one of our comrade in arms will pop out from. We are everywhere! You may not think it but we are. My neighbour across the road from me who I've know for at least 5 years, only told me at Christmas that he has type 1 diabetes!  And here's another one for you.

I have no qualms about saying that as an Irish housewife I love going through the Aldi Supermarket weekly ad magazine. Always looking for a bargain, I am. Or a nice surprise. Just in case you are not familiar with Aldi, they don’t just do groceries, they also do “nice” things.

And so there's that very bright smile jumping off the page at me. Yeah, the kid’s cute too. But I’m taking about Stacey Moloney, fellow person with type 1 diabetes.

I came across Stacey last year during the Irish Blog Awards. Stacey’s blog, Your Mindful Guide was one of the finalists in the Best Health & Wellness Blog category. She very generously allowed me to write a guest post on her blog to promote the Thriveabetes conference in 2015.

She attended Thriveabetes 2015 and we got to meet face to face, ever so briefly. And she wrote about her experience at it. See it here.

Stacey has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was 9 years old and was hospitalised for two weeks when she was diagnosed. She is now in her twenties and let me tell you she is living every minute of it. Diabetes is NOT holding her back.

The aim of her blog; Your Mindful Guide is to spread positivity, change the 'tree hugger' stigma attached to recycling and make it accessible, fun and trendy. Are you ready start your journey to becoming healthier in every sense of the word, mind, body, and soul?? Then you share the same passion as me. This is my life – to inspire and encourage you to live your life the best way possible and learn how to become more mindful.

As well as being owner of her own website and blog she is a marketing executive at WEEE Ireland, a non profit private company that promotes recycling electrical appliances, equipment and batteries, which is why there is such a nice photo of her in the Aldi catalog. Aldi Ireland are the WEEE Ireland Retail Battery Collector of the year 2015.

You really do not know where you will meet fellow people with diabetes but if you talk about your diabetes you might meet a friend.

Welcome to Blood Sugar Trampoline

A combination of my personal blog about living with type 1 diabetes in Ireland and sharing information I collect along the way. I feel that living with type 1 diabetes is sometimes like being on a trampoline, except you can never get off. It doesn't take long for us to get tired of all that bouncing. It's not any fun.

Here, we can bounce together, keep each other steady, and cheer each other on when we get tired and want to get off the trampoline.

Spare a Rose; Give a child with diabetes a chance

Imagine living in a country where you could not afford to buy insulin for your child with type 1 diabetes? 

I'm so lucky that I was born and live in Ireland. I can go to a chemist at any time and walk out with a month's supply of insulin, test strips and whatever else I need to live. Without paying a cent!

If I was born elsewhere that would not be the case. I would not be able to afford my insulin and I would not be here today.

Yesterday, I donated money that I had set aside to Spare A Rose and give a child with diabetes a chance at life for a year.

Spare a Rose, Save a Child is the brainchild of the Diabetes Online Community in North America. The idea being to take the typical “dozen roses,” so popular on Valentine’s Day, and just buy 11, save just one rose and donate to spare the life of a child. 

The Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign is directed at raising awareness and funds for the Life for a Child program, which is an International Diabetes Federation program aiming to take “contributions from donors go to established diabetes centres enabling them to provide the ongoing clinical care and diabetes education these children need to stay alive.” 

The idea was to take the typical “dozen roses,” so popular on Valentine’s Day, and save just one rose to spare the life of a child. “Spare a Rose, Save a Child” is simple: buy one less rose this Valentine’s Day and share the value of that flower with a child with diabetes in the developing world. Your loved one at home still gets flowers and you both show some love to someone across the world who needs it. From Kerri Sparling, Sixuntilme

Please join me! Donate here.

#IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes....

Some of you may have come across the Hashtag #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes..... over the last year, which is the brainchild of Diabetesaliciouness blogger, Kelly Kunik.

I met the superwoman herself last July at the MasterLab Diabetes Advocates conference. On that first morning, as I took a deep breath and joined a table of strangers. I know, I'm a very grown-up woman but I still have to force strongly encourage myself to do these things because I know I'll regret it if I don't.

Anyway, I did not recognise anyone but as soon as the ladies started conversing and using their first names, I started to connect the "who" to the "blog" and figured out that the girl sitting right beside me was Kelly.

Kelly has lived with type 1 since she was 8 years old (that's 38 years), and comes from a long line of direct relatives with type 1 diabetes, including her sister who died in 1991 from complications at the age of 33. Kelly gave an indept interview in August to Diabetes Mine in which you can read lots more about her and why she does what she does.

The #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes hashtag and the #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes Day, (22nd April 2015), were inspired by 3rd grade teacher, Kyle Schwartz and her #Iwishmyteacherknewthat hashtag, which was heartbreaking.

Photo cortesy of DiabetesMine.com

Kelly says that "This day is about people living with diabetes taking to twitter and using the hashtag in unison for a 24 hours period to express the good, the bad and the diabetesalicious of it all."

The #hashtag and day took on a life of their own with over 16 countries participating and generating over 17 million twitter impressions to date.

The IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes hashtag has now become an initiative, a movement and a call to action where people can express themselves past the 140 character limit and in various multimedia formats. Kelly launched the "Iwishpeopleknewthatdiabetes.org" website last November. She (and I) encourages everybody to visit the website and submit your own "what you wished people knew about diabetes". You can also read some guest posts from rock stars in the Diabetes Community and some totally-not-a-rock-star-or-even-close people's guest posts (i.e. yours truly. I was so honoured that she asked!!!)

IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes.org is well worth a visit.

Operation Transformation - A National Movement

The tv show Operations Transformation is more than just a fluffy piece of entertainment. It's a national movement. And, for me, it's the most uplifting programme on telly today.

No, I swear I'm not crazy... or easily entertained!!!

I only began watching the programme a number of years ago, when the creators partnered with Diabetes Ireland to create more awareness about type 2 diabetes. It was only then that I realised this show is about so much more than getting five people to lose weight.

And I got hooked! Unlike any reality TV show that I have seen, it's not about putting people down or pitting them against each other.

Operations Transformation is advertised as a health and fitness programme. It airs on RTÉ One in Ireland. The show is a cross-media event broadcast via radio, web and television and it's been running (ha, ha, pun) for nine years.

The show motivates and inspires people and communities to come together to become healthier. They are partnered with Sports Ireland who help organise nationwide walks in over fifty locations all around Ireland.

It encourages everyone to take back control of their lives, no matter what your demons are.

How does it work?

Five leaders are selected and are supported and guided by a panel of experts in the fields of fitness, nutrition and psychology in order to reach their individual goals. The show broadcasts over a period of seven weeks but most leaders continue on their journey sucessfully.

The leaders are chosen on the basis that there is someone for everyone to relate to. The meal and exercise plans which have been created for each leader are published online so that viewers can follow the plans also.

 

The first two programmes of the series introduces all the leaders, who they are, what they do and why they want to do Operation Transformation. Let me warn you, it's a cry-fest. Well, no it isn't I'm just a big SAP!

 

You find out that these people are not just battling their weight; they have darker demons buried inside that are holding them back. Being overweight is just a symptom of what ails them.

 

This programme also gives you an insight into just how difficult it is to decide to lose weight and that you're crazy if you think there is a quick fix and that support is key. Why do it by yourself.

Why am I writing about this programme?

I think this programme is an Irish phenomenon and could be replicated elsewhere.

And this programme is educational; I was happy with my weight but the truth is that when I go clothes shopping I am definately not. 

 

As a person with type 1 diabetes I feel that the food I eat is healthy most of the time! I did pare it down a number of years back to drop some baby weight and it worked. And I get my 30 minute walk into my day 4 times a week so I couldn't be bothered trying to add more exercise. 

 

But when the show introduced me to leader, Noeleen who is 5" 3" in height and 75 kgs and officially obese - I woke up! I'm 5" 4" and 72 kgs!!! Yikes! Too close for comfort.

 

So while I really don't want to change the way I eat - I starting to think I need to move more to officially be healthy. Let's face it who doesn't!

 

All the leaders are inspirational this year and along with Noeleen, I'm especially interested in cheering for Chef John Conmy who has type 2 diabetes. During his fitness test during the programme he was discovered to have heart disease. He wasn't aware he had it and this programme may have saved his life. 

 

And then there's Clare Scanlan, who's has not been able to move past her grief after losing her 15 year old son to sudden adult death syndrome two years ago. 

 

The show has teams up with Sport Ireland, who organise nationwide walks in over fifty locations all around Ireland. The highest number to date who took part is over 19,000 people. Every year this numbers climbs and climbs.

 

People are doing it! Taking back control of their lives!