A very big announcement today, my Friends. Welcome to the kickoff of the …

2nd Annual DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge

* a competition designed to foster innovation in diabetes design and encourage creative new tools that will improve life with diabetes *

OK, so the month of April is coming to a close and it’s time for a close inspection of my so-oft-tested fingertips. If you’ll recall, I began evaluating the ground-breaking new Pelikan Sun electronic lancing device on April 1 and promised to make a month of it.

Now here’s a study near and dear to my heart: just this morning, Kaiser Permanente released results of the largest study ever to examine trends in diabetes and pregnancy. They looked at both pre-pregnancy Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational diabetes (GDM) in thousands of women who gave birth in 11 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California between 1999 and 2005. What they found was pretty eye-opening. Among other things:

American Public Media, the people who bring us public radio programs, are very smart. They not only have some very cool ideas, but they also know how to implement them. The latest is something called the Health Care Idea Generator, an “online activity that allows the public to share ideas and solutions regarding America’s health care system.”

So a diabetic walks into an endo’s office and says, “Hey Doc, can I get your email address in case I have any follow-up questions?” And the doctor replies, “Sorry, we do medicine, not email.”

I made that up myself. No, really… I did.

Karen Talmadge is has a PhD in biochemistry from Harvard. She’s currently the executive VP, co-founder, and chief science officer of Kyphon (orthopedic),
which was purchased last year by Medtronic for $4 billion. But first and foremost, she’s the mother of a daughter
who’s had Type 1 diabetes since the age of two. This, she says, is what fuels her passionate work as an advocate for ADA and supporter of a number of
entrepreneurial diabetes-tech companies over the years.

Say what? Am I really sitting here reading all these headlines about how glucose testing supposedly makes no difference for treating diabetes? No. Worse. That it could actually be harmful to diabetics because they’re more likely to become anxious or depressed if they check regularly?

For those of you who were old enough at the time to remember life before your diabetes, the term “disruption” may seem like an understatement. Diagnosis is more like a crossroads, where your life morphs from one form into another entirely.

Another year passes, and how do I feel? Pretty darn good, most days, despite the chronic illness. If I do get the chance to blow out any candles today, what would I wish for? Pretty simple (hoping disclosure won’t jinx me here):

Who remembers cloves? Ooh, I am so dating myself. I think that song 1985 may have been inspired by me. Anyhoo, I noticed that the other big campaign underway among the diabetes educator community, at least in California, is a big push to get PWDs to quit smoking.