Our Diabetic Life

Meri SchuhmacherMeri Schuhmacher of Our Diabetic Life
Three Sons; Type 1 Diabetes, 2006 – 2009 – 2010

“Meri is mom to 4 boys, 3 who have Type 1 Diabetes. Muddling her way through with humor and hope, she wishes every family to know they are not alone.”

Our Diabetic Life

My husband and I have four boys, three who have Type 1 Diabetes. Our 13 year old son was diagnosed at 8 months old. Our 9 year old son was diagnosed at 5 years old, and our 7 year old son was diagnosed at 2 years old. I began my blog, Our Diabetic Life, about two years ago. It was my field of dreams…I truly believed if I could build it, they would come. Since then I have met hundreds of Mothers just like me, and many adults with Diabetes who inspire me every day.  The DOC has brought me joy beyond measure. The power of “same” is an amazing thing. Knowing our family is not alone in this battle has changed our life for the better. I hate to think of the families that battle alone. We are an army that is stronger together.

Our Diabetic Life

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, Parents of D-Kids, Type 1 Diabetes Tagged With: ,

Ninjabetic

George SimmonsGeorge Simmons of Ninjabetic
Type 1 Diabetes, October 1990

“Using honesty, humor, and truth, I share the entirety of my life with Diabetes to help others feel less isolated and alone.”

Ninjabetic

George Simmons is a husband and father living with Type 1 Diabetes. He was diagnosed over 20 years ago but only started taking his health and his disease seriously a little over 5 years ago.  A self proclaimed “Ninjabetic,” George began blogging as a way to meet other people with Diabetes and share his experiences with others.

His personal blog serves as a place for George to express his frustrations, triumphs, and failures. In June 2006, George began insulin pump therapy that has helped lower his A1C and his overall management of his Diabetes.

He frequently uses his sense of humor as a tool to help not only himself but others through the mental struggle and strain that diabetes can create. Always known to wear his heart on his sleeve, this native Southern Californian loves to listen as much as he loves to talk. Being a “shoulder to lean on” for family, friends, and PWD’s is one of the things that brings him joy.

Ninjabetic

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, Type 1 Diabetes Tagged With: ,

Insulindependence

Insulindependence Group in Costa RicaPeter Nerothin of Insulindependence
Type 1 Diabetes, April 2001

“Insulindependence is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that inspires people with Diabetes to set personal fitness goals,  educates them on adaptive management strategies through hands-on experience,  and equips them to explore their individual capacities.”

Insulindependence

Estimated annual expenditures for Diabetes-related care are as high as $92 billion dollars in direct medical costs alone (CDC, 2008). This means that one in ten healthcare dollars spent in the U.S. can be attributed to Diabetes. With the rate of diagnosis increasing, this amount is expected to grow by more than $8 billion a year (ADA, 2008).

Insulindependence is addressing these issues and the quality of life of thousands of individuals by improving the health of the Diabetes community through its various recreation programs. Unlike any other organization of its kind, iD empowers people with Diabetes by surrounding them with peers and role models who share their condition, while teaching them the value of communication through positive and challenging experiences, and encouraging them to embrace self-management through active living.

Insulindependence changes lives by offering real-world experiences to help individuals with Diabetes overcome challenges and fears. Program participants gain enhanced self-images, fresh life-perspectives, enduring friendships, and deeper self-understandings that lead to improved self-management of their disease. Ultimately, this affords a higher quality of life to individuals and society as a whole.

Insulindependence

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, LADA, Parents of D-Kids, Sports, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes Tagged With: , , ,

DiabetesMine

Amy TenderichAmy Tenderich of DiabetesMine
Type 1.5 Diabetes (LADA), May 2003

“Type 1 journalist, author & advocate with a quirky personality. Amy’s editor-in-chief of DiabetesMine.com, sometimes called ‘The NY Times of Diabetes.”

DiabetesMine

Amy Tenderich is a journalist / patient blogger who started DiabetesMine.com after her diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes in 2003. Her site has become a leading online destination for people with Diabetes and one of the top health blogs around the country and the world. In 2006, she won the LillyforLife Achievement Award for Diabetes journalism from Eli Lilly & Company.

She is the co-author, along with Dr. Richard Jackson of Joslin Diabetes Center, of Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes – a unique motivational guide to the 5 key medial tests that everyone with Diabetes should have and monitor regularly.

Amy is also community manager of DiabeticConnect.com, the fastest-growing and most successful social networking site for people with Diabetes, with 400,000 registered members to date.

She recently joined DiabeticConnect’s parent company Alliance Health Networks, creators of social networks for people living with chronic conditions, as VP of Patient Advocacy. She’s totally passionate about patient empowerment, and has become a well-known advocate for all people
with Diabetes and all engaged “e-patients” everywhere.

Amy lives on the fringes of San Francisco, CA, with her husband, three daughters, and a calico cat.

DiabetesMine

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, LADA, News & Analysis, Parents of D-Kids, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Women with Diabetes Tagged With: , , ,

Naomi Kingery

Naomi Kingery of The Diabetic DivaNaomi Kingery of The Diabetic Diva
Type 1 Diabetes, September 2001

“The Sugar Free Series shares an honest outlook on emotions involved in living with Diabetes and empowers readers to embrace their bittersweet life.

The Diabetic Diva

 

At the age of twelve, Naomi Kingery was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes which changed her life in more ways than she could imagine. With a unique diagnosis in India, where she was living in India as a missionary kid at the time, Kingery saw very quickly how challenging Diabetes would be. In the hospital bed she gave herself the nickname “The Diabetic Diva” which was her way of accepting the new life she would begin to live. After the first few years of diagnosis she learned that Diabetes was not only a physical journey but one that was emotional, which led her to authoring  The Sugar Free Series. Her series currently consists of two books, Sugar Free Me and Sugar Free Teens, which speak about the emotions involved in choosing to cope with Diabetes every day. She now writes a weekly blog to echo the same messages she shared in her book, as well as a glimpse into her personal life as an Advocate in the diabetic community. As a Medtronic patient ambassador, board member of diabeticrockstar.com, and partner of organizations such as Juvenile Diabetes No Limits Foundation, Kingery uses old voice to spread hope to the hopeless. Her target audiences are those who are younger with Diabetes and the loved ones who support them. She often talks about her teen years with Diabetes, since she entered the teen years as a diabetic, and is very hopeful as she has survived and excelled during her teen years as a now twenty one year old. Kingery is passionate about learning all of the sweet, and bittersweet, challenges that Diabetes brings her way and will continue to share these lessons learned with all of those in the Diabetes Community. She attributes much of her success to those in the Diabetes Community as they have shown her that she is not alone, which is the primary reason she has chosen to begin to seek a more active role within the community to make this message even louder.

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, Parents of D-Kids, Type 1 Diabetes Tagged With: ,

diaTribe

Kelly Close of diaTribeKelly Close of diaTribe
Type 1 Diabetes

“Research and product news for people with Diabetes.”

diaTribe

diaTribe® is an e-newsletter for people eager to learn more about better managing Diabetes. Here at diaTribe, we attend all the conferences, read all the reports and articles and cut through the clutter to give you up-to-date news and opinion on drugs, devices and treatments. Kelly Close is a passionate entrepreneur with extensive sales and financial experience. Proven track record in pharmaceutical/medical technology industries. Known for quickly establishing trust and credibility with wide variety of audiences ranging from millenial employees (hired and trained over 40 since 2002) to executive teams. Demonstrated ability to build  strong client relationships with a variety of healthcare executives.

diaTribe

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, LADA, News & Analysis, Parents of D-Kids, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Women with Diabetes Tagged With: ,

Diabetes Hands Foundation

Manny and Andreina of Diabetes Hands FoundationManny and Andreina of Diabetes Hands Foundation
Manny; Type 1 Diabetes, October 2002

“Connecting people touched by Diabetes, offering support and information and raising awareness through programs like Big Blue Test and No-Sugar Added Poetry.”

Diabetes Hands Foundation

The Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects people touched by Diabetes and raises Diabetes awareness. Through its online communities (TuDiabetes.org in English, EsTuDiabetes.org in Spanish) and its other social media channels, DHF offers support and information to more than two hundred thousand people every month. Since 2008, DHF has developed pioneering Diabetes awareness programs such as Word In Your Hand™, Drawing Diabetes, No-Sugar Added Poetry, Making Sense of Diabetes and The Big Blue Test.

Diabetes Hands Foundation

Filed Under: Diabetes Resources, Español, LADA, News & Analysis, Parents of D-Kids, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Women with Diabetes Tagged With: , ,