WEGO Health

The WEGO Health Paperboy Health Activist Award winner is… Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine!

The WEGO Health Best in Show Award for Blogging winner is Kerri Sparling of SixUntilMe!

Another member of the DOC we’ve all learned to love and respect also won an award:

The WEGO Health Advocating for Another Award winner is… Scott Benner of Arden’s Day!

Congrats to all! Well done in 2011! What can we accomplish in 2012?

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The beginning of a New Year is always a good time to open your eyes and mind to explore new ways to help people with diabetes (PWDs). In this Nutri-Zine, I’ll discuss how we healthcare providers/educators (HCPs) can expose our clients to the exploding Diabetes Online Community, lovingly called, The DOC. Over the last couple of years, I’ve had the honor and pleasure to meet and interact with several key DOC leaders. Suffice to say they are an AWESOME, PASSIONATE and DEDICATED group of people (most of them are people with diabetes or the parent or spouse of a PWD). It has been heartwarming and inspiring for me to observe the web they’ve woven. Read more.

I have to say the West Coast does Very well every year – blaming Manny, Amy and Kelly Close for that – Huge thanks to them for what they do in California. East Coast? You’re lacking. Not the Advocates – the cities, towns. NYC, what happened to the Empire State Building? You did it last year, what gives? Now the folks in Indianapolis know how to get together; Cherise, Mike H. and Mike D. The Mid-West and West need to be our guides, or something. We Can Do This! Let’s light up the USA next year!

Natalie Sera

“I’m a square peg in a round hole, so I’m always looking to learn as much as I can about all types of diabetes, and passing on tidbits of information, experiences, and relationships that it has brought into my life.”

The Odd Duck Out

When it was first suspected that I had diabetes in the fall of 1992, I was assigned to the Type 2 category because of my age (44) and the fact that I was a little overweight. But it soon became apparent that I did not fit the classic description. My cholesterol levels and blood pressure only became elevated when I started running high BGs, and I derived no benefit from losing 10% of my weight and exercising as I had been advised. By fall of 1993, I was uncomfortably symptomatic, and in December, was sent to an endo who put me on Glucotrol, a sulfonylurea, which did exactly nothing for my BGs. So I begged for insulin and started it in May 1994, and have not looked back since then. At this point, I’m using a pump, and it has given me my quality of life back. I’m also eating a reduced-carb diet, and getting wonderful results from it.

I have been involved in the Diabetes Online Community since before it started, beginning with the Usenet group, misc.health.diabetes in 1993, and the Lehigh list at the same time. A group led by Dr. Arturo Rolla of Harvard University broke away from that group, and is still going, and I’m still a member. In 2010, I found TuDiabetes, and have been active there ever since, and several people encouraged me to start a blog. I will admit that I’m a reactive rather than proactive writer, and so that tends to be the nature of my posting. On occasion, I will react to things that are not diabetes related, but the D will be the central theme of my blog. I’m always interested in new topics, and reader input is greatly welcomed!

Did you know that November was dedicated to Diabetes only Last year by President Obama? Here’s the Presidential Proclamation.

I hardly know what to say about this fantastic international gathering of PWDs, including fourteen members of Diabetes Advocates! Personally, it was wonderful too see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. There was a lot of hugging, laughing and crying. And it was completely amazing. I’m still trying to process it all.

For me, the week cemented why I am a Diabetes Advocate. Sometimes, the work that we do can seem insignificant. Yes, I blog and tweet about diabetes. And I talk to people about diabetes when the opportunity presents itself. But am I really helping anyone?

The answer is yes. Like Kim said, what you do matters. What we ALL do matters. Even though I can’t see it, writing my blog helps both me and other people. As do all blogs written by PWDs or loved ones of PWDs (Type Awesomes). You may not get responses to blogs or tweets, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t reading them. And you never know the impact a conversation about diabetes may have on someone else.

However you choose to advocate for diabetes, it does make a difference. Simon taught me that. If you’ve not seen this video that Sara captured, stop and watch it now. We need to advocate so people know they are not alone. What you do matters. Your advocacy changes lives. It may even save someone’s life.

We are all with the band.

~ Jessica Collins