Today is my 18th diaversary. That’s DOC slang for the anniversary of my diagnosis. I used to think 18 years with diabetes sounded like a looooong time. Growing up, most of the people I knew had diabetes for about as long as me, because most of my D-friends were the same age as me and were diagnosed around the same time as I was (at age 8). Now that I’m older and have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people with diabetes, 18 years no longer seems that impressive! I know people who have had diabetes for 30 
years, 40 years, 50 years — and last summer I met a man who has had diabetes for 85 years!
Most people I know have a sharp picture in their minds of when they were diagnosed with diabetes. They almost always know the year, usually the month, and sometimes the day. I remember my diagnosis very clearly, even though I was only 8 years old. I remember waking up with an ear ache, complaining to my mother and begging to stay home from school. I remember her deciding to take me to the doctor to get checked out. I remember sitting in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. I remember listening to my mother tell my pediatrician that I was going to the bathroom a lot. I remember the low yellow light of the bathroom where the doctor told me to go so I could pee in a cup. I remember waiting at home for the results. I remember the phone call came at 4:00 in the afternoon and I remember my mother flipping through the yellow pages looking at hospitals to take me to. I remember my dad coming home, and I remember looking up at him while I laid on the sofa in our bonus room, and I vividly remember remember telling him, “I’m a diabetes girl now.”
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My dad has hypothyroidism, as does my grandmother. For my whole life, my dad has taken a tiny little pill every morning to make sure his metabolism functions properly. I always thought that compared to diabetes, thyroid disease wasn’t very “serious” — all my dad needed to do was pop a pill! — and that it was nothing I needed to worry about anyway. But then, because of my diabetes and my “genetic predisposition,” my endocrinologist insisted…
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AmyT on
January 25, 2012 Roughly ten days ago, I was at the annual sprawling nexus of new consumer technology that takes place in Las Vegas every year, otherwise known as CES. For the second year in a row, a breakout event called the Digital Health Summit was a packed house, close to standing room only, as people swarmed in to find out what’s happening in the world of new health and medical devices, apps, and all manner of mobile…
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AmyT on
January 24, 2012 Like many of you, Allison and I have been spending time reflecting on the past year, and thinking about where this new year might take us.
Turns out, this month’s Diabetes Social Media Advocacy DSMA Blog Carnival asked just that question:
What is the one thing you are looking forward to in 2012? (diabetes related)
It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing, but here’s where the thought process took us both:
Amy’s Answer…
To me,…
More islet cell research to share with you today:
We’ve been covering quite a few companies working hard at finding ways to protect islets from immune system attack. First we profiled Cerco Medical, which is also the subject of a documentary film, and a couple of weeks ago we checked in with ViaCyte, of San Diego. Both of those companies are working with stem cells, but today’s company, Canada’s Sernova, is kicking it old school…
