We’re once again smack dab in the middle of the year, in the dogs days of summer. And as always, there’s a whole lot going on around the Diabetes Online Community (DOC).
Here’s our monthly roundup of fave posts that caught our eye, in no particular order.
Please chime in and share your favorites too, if you like!
Many D-Community friends gathered in Orlando, FL, for the yearly summer conference known as Friends For Life. These FFL posts by fellow bloggers Kelly Kunik and Michelle Auerbach captured some of the sentiments, and we also enjoyed seeing the many photos the host org Children With Diabetes (CWD) shared about their annual event.
Regarding diabetes conferences, it’s always important to keep perspective. We certainly appreciate the heartfelt POV of Renza at Diabetogenic: “Those evenings when the sessions have finished, and the official dinners are over and we simply sit together, debrief, refocus and put diabetes back in perspective, make me whole again.” Amen.
This post about “Feeling Other” in the DOC from Understudy Pancreas is worth a read at, as it’s food for thought on following the Golden Rule in our D-Community.
Over in Australia, fellow T1D blogger Frank Sita had a medical professional say to him recently that he has “Very Poor Control.” Ugh, really?! Don’t miss the story behind that and what Frank said in response…
We enjoyed this Diabetes Daily interview with TV actor Anthony Anderson, who stars on the sitcom “Black-ish” and lives with type 2 diabetes himself. Always good to hear of folks in the public eye who have dared to “get real” about their D-management ups and downs.
There’s no denying that quite a bit of privilege exists in most corners of society, and that’s true in our Diabetes Online Community as well. T1 advocate Clayton McCook shares some thoughts on that issue over at Medium, of course in the context of insulin affordability and access.
While it may not be a big issue for some, the term “diabetic” can be cringe-worthy and get blood boiling for others in our D-Community. Opinions may vary on which words are offensive, but we can all agree that language truly matters. Fellow type 1 and CDE Jane Dickinson revisits this topic with some sharp words of her own.
Do you try to be discreet about your diabetes? Wil Wilbur at The Busted Pancreas has some tips on how to keep D off the grid at times. Check out the three ways he does that at “Keeping Diabetes Discreet.”
Not every moment is one reserved for diabetes advocacy, and sometimes we all just need to go about our business without feeling obligated to educate those around us or raise awareness. Thanks to Kerri Sparling at Six Until Me for reminding us that it’s totally OK not to wear that D-advocacy hat all the time.
This beautifully-written post full of deep meaning actually came at the end of last month: There’s a Crack in Everything, by T1D blogger Helen Edwards at Your Diabetes Hub. Like her, we too always try to be mindful of just striving for “better” rather than perfection when it comes to life with diabetes and the missteps we all make at times.
Oh, the Uncomfortable Truths that arise from life with diabetes… Georgie at My Lazy Pancreas has a few pointed messages for the world at large, i.e. how “it’s about time” for some fundamental changes in the way diabetes is viewed and treated.
We were inspired to read longtime T1 PWD Tamra Garcia’s post at Diabetes Odyssey about staying positive despite tough times in life — in particular being able to triumph (because she knew she could) after a triple bypass surgery years ago and start a new job recently. Congrats on all that, Tamra!
So, D-peeps: Any special posts catch your eye during the past month of July?
We share our favorites every month, and would love to include yours. Please send along your picks for the month of August to us via Twitter, Facebook or email. We look forward to hearing from you!