Diabetes Blog Week, Day 2

Diabetes Blog Week, Day 2, "One Great Thing"

 Today's Topic:

Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”.  But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit.  Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly!  Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes.  Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well! 

I am going to make myself uncomfortable and do two things that I abhor. The first and admittedly easier part, I'm going to write to the prompt. Second and much more difficult, I'm going to unapologetically say nice stuff about myself.

• I think I do a good job of sharing what it's like to be a parent of a child with type I diabetes. I see being this transparent as a public service and it makes me proud that Arden's Day helps people.
   
• I can basal away a high or low BG in a way that makes me feel like dropping confetti on my own head.
   
• Arden's A1c is in range.
   
• It still remains to be seen but I truly believe that the greatest thing that I will ever do (as it relates to diabetes and excluding caring for Arden) is to imagine 'Arden's Day Gives'

Thanks to @alsophil for our logo!

The interactions that I've had on this blog led me to believe that while there are many obstacles that we all face while living with type I diabetes, one of them bothered me more then the rest. I was startled by the number of voices that I heard online that want devices to help them manage their type I but can not, even though a great many of them are insured, afford to use them. After much soul searching and some timely input from others I came to the conclusion that I could be the one to effect this issue and we set about forming a non profit to do just that. 

On April 17, 2012 'Arden's Day Gives" was granted it's incorporation status from the state of New Jersey and we are currently in the process of applying for charitable status from the federal government. The process is a long and complicated one but we are making our way through it quite nicely. 

I hope Arden's Day Gives can serve as an example to you that your thoughts are only one physical action away from being tangible. I took a word on a digital page and turned it into an entity for good. Though ADG is still just a FaceBook page that's under construction, a twitter account and a URL that doesn't point anywhere yet, it is closer to helping the children in our community that need it most then it may appear. 

So far what I've done amounts to not much more then a raised seal on some paperwork but that's just the part that you can touch. In the feeling world, in the place where hope lives, it's already "great"!

I hope that you can follow Arden's Day Gives at one or all of the ways that I provided above. Very soon we will launch a website at www.ardensdaygives.org, be announcing our board members and with some luck be in possession of a 501(c)3 distinction by the end of the year. After that we will seek support from where ever we can find it and then go about doing the work of getting insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors to the children that want and need them.

http://twitter.com/ArdensDayGives

http://www.facebook.com/ArdensDayGives

Bring Your Child to Work Day 2012

My wife's company, Novartis, does an amazing job every year with Bring Your Child to Work Day, they put a lot of resources and manpower into creating an informative and fun day for the kids. This year the focus was on how products are imagined, marketed, and brought to a store near you. People from all different parts of the company spoke to the children and explained what their department did and why it was important to the process. After each "talk" the kids performed different tasks with the goal of producing a cookie that they could sell at the end of the day.

All of the proceeds from the cookie sales are being donated to our JDRF chapter so the last talk of the day was from me and Arden. We explained the difference between type I and type 2 diabetes, gave an overview of the JDRF and had a hands-on look at Arden's OmniPod insulin pump and her DexCom CGM. Insulet was kind enough to send me some non working or dummy OmniPods so that the kids could try them on if they wanted to.

The day was a wonderful success raising $1,100 for the JDRF, an amount that will be matched by Novartis 100% for a grand total of $2,200! 

One of the best parts of the day was watching the kids work so hard on their cookie ideas, boxes and then seeing the hustle they all showed selling the cookies. It was while they were selling that I began to really notice all of the OmniPods on their arms and I have to admit that it was a very warming experience to see the children so enthusiastic and excepting of it. If I had enough pods I think every kid in the room would have been wearing one.

Arden and her team sold chocolate chip cookies and their marketing hook was that they had a celebrity endorsement, if you look closely at the boxes you'll see, "Arden's Favorite Cookies" on the sides.

Big thanks to Novartis, my lovely wife Kelly for suggesting that the JDRF would be a great place to send the funds collected and Insulet for sending the pods for the kids to wear. 

I explained to the children that advocacy and awareness is what people with type I need the most from them and that I hoped they would tell someone about the good work that they did. I was very proud of all of them for the attention, effort and concern that they displayed throughout the day... it was a great experiance for everyone!

WDD: Hero of the week

The International Diabetes Federation is asking, "Do you know someone that is active in promoting the diabetes cause or that are engaging, motivating and leading others to take steps toward creating healthier lives". If you know someone that fits this description please nominate them at this link. There are so many "Diabetes Heroes" in the DOC, please help to get them the attention that they deserve.

I want to thank the IDF for the unbelievable pleasure that comes with being recognized by them and for the honor of being called a "Diabetes Hero". I am humbled by this distinction and I hope you can take a moment to visit their site and learn more about their amazing efforts in the diabetes community and the world.

The Untitled Giving Project needs a name

We are on track to file the incorporation paperwork this week for our Untitled Giving Project!

I keep circling back to the name for this charity. I'm 99.9% sure that it should be called 'Arden's Day Gives' but as I find myself committing the name to an application... I get less sure. So I was hoping that I could get some feedback from all of you?

My reasons for the name Arden's Day Gives are as follows:

The phrase 'Arden's Day' has significant penetration with search engines and I think that giving that away and starting new would be a disadvantage.

The name is a simple representation of the charity's goal.

I don't want to pick a super specific name and then one day in the future decide that the charity is capable of doing more, branching out and have the name be restrictive. 

I couldn't find a good acronym for "Helping children afford insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors". Unless you'd like to be a supporter of the H.C.A.I.P&C.G.M? :)

If you like the name 'Arden's Day Gives' please let me know in the comment section but if you have another thought... please don't hold back. I want you all to love your t-shirt ;)

Thank you for your input and continued support!

Best,

Scott

Guest Post: Mila Ferrer of Jaime-dulceguerrero.com

I first met Mila Ferrer early last summer while she was investigating different platform options to launch her type I diabetes blog. In only a few months she has proven to be a strong voice in the diabetes blogging community and I am proud to feature her today as my first guest writer. Take it away Mila...

***

Hi, I'm Mila Ferrer, I write a blog in spanish about Type 1 diabetes. Why? My younger son Jaime was diagnosed at the age of three. Since then, our family has been learning and educating ourselves about this condition, to be able to provide Jaime the best care. My blog Jaime-dulceguerrero.com is filled with experiences, education and mostly support to other families. During this learning process we've met the most amazing group of parents and patients, people that are as committed to educate and support as we are. This wonderful community or DOC (Diabetes Online Community) is eager to help, promote education and inform about anything that might be useful to us parents and patients. 

As a parent my first search was to meet other families, having a young kid diagnosed with T1 Diabetes can sometimes be overwhelming, and it's nice to know that we are not alone. Thats how I met Scott and Arden, I started reading his blogs and really connecting with his feelings. My family wasn't alone. Scott and I have decided to share some of our posts, that way we'll keep sharing our thoughts and experiences through this journey.

I want to share with you my thoughts and feelings about the DOC. That group of people who are always there to answer questions and lift your spirit when your feeling blue. This link will take you to the spanish version. I also created a tab on the page that is named Mila's Blog, there you'll find some of my posts translated. Hopefully you'll enjoy my posts and find them helpful to you and your family, feel free to ask me anything in english, I'm fully bilingual (sometimes I like writing better in english than spanish). 

You can find me on Twitter @dulce_guerrero (english and spanish information)

or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Jaimemidulceguerrero

Mila

***

Please take a moment to check out Jaime-dulceguerrero.com but before you do... dust off your high school spanish and give Mila's DOC post a read... It is linked above but I'm including it in it's entirty right here.

***

¿Qué es una comunidad? Para mí, una comunidad es un grupo de personas que trabajan o buscan un fin común. Ese grupo de personas que hablan el mismo idioma, viven experiencias similares y se ven reflejados en otras historias. La comunidad se apoya, busca el bienestar de todos y comparte ideas e inquietudes.

Algunos de mis compañeros de viaje en esta travesía llamada Diabetes.

Afortunadamente cuento con una gran comunidad que apoya a mi familia y me ha servido de ejemplo en este gran proyecto de educación.  Me refiero a el DOC (Diabetes Online Community) o la Comunidad de Diabetes en Línea. Esta comunidad cuenta con tanta gente maravillosa, talentosa, inteligente, pero sobretodo comprometidos con la diabetes. Lo más curioso es que no he conocido personalmente a ninguno de ellos, sin embargo en nuestras conversaciones en Twitter o Facebook es como si nos conociéramos de toda la vida. Siempre dispuestos a ayudar, a contestar preguntas y apoyarte cuando te sientes frustrado.

En muchas ocasiones cuando tengo alguna duda o me ha pasado algo fuera de lo común relacionado a la condición de Jaime, recurro a mis colegas blogueros de diabetes. Através del DOC he conocido padres y madres de otros niños igual que Jaime y pacientes adultos que llevan años manejando la condición. Quién mejor que ellos para contestar preguntas, aconsejar y dejarnos saber que no estamos solos. Ellos viven lo que yo vivo, tenemos las mismas preocupaciones y queremos lo mismo; el bienestar de los pacientes de diabetes.

Durante este mes de noviembre el DOC ha trabajado mano a mano creando conciencia y apoyando las actividades benéficas que provean un mejor tratamiento a los menos afortunados, la Gran Prueba Azul fue un éxito. Otra actividad que hizo el DOC fue crear un intercambio de tarjetas postales entre familias y pacientes diabéticos. Alrededor de 530 personas participaron de este intercambio, Jaime envió postales a Canadá, Australia, Reino Unido y varios estados de los Estados Unidos. De igual manera él recibió tarjetas de estos niños, la carita de emoción de Jaime al leer cada postal fue de gran valor. Inclusive hasta una nueva amiguita por correspondencia hizo. Esta actividad nos relaciona con otras personas y crea un lazo muy fuerte entre los pacientes.

Me siento muy orgullosa de pertenecer a una comunidad tan activa y deseosa de trabajar. Una comunidad abierta a recibirte, dispuesta a ayudarte y compartir entre si educación, información y sobretodo apoyo. No estamos solos, hay toda una comunidad que con mucho gusto y placer te darán la mano cuando lo necesites.

***

Mila, gracias por compartir tu blog con mis lectores y por su amistad en elDOC. Mejor de mí, Scott (lo siento, pero tuve que usar Google Translate,espero que funcionó!)