Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D

Mary Ellen Phipps, MPH, RDN, LD, has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was five years old and now helps others navigate food and diabetes through Milk & Honey Nutrition. This episode is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. In this episode, Mary Ellen and Scott explore how diabetes nutrition guidance has changed over the years, from highly structured meal plans to greater flexibility around food. Mary Ellen explains why she believes balance is important: people should be able to enjoy the foods they know and love while also having practical strategies that can support more stable blood sugar and help them feel their best.

Drawing from her personal experience and professional work as a registered dietitian, Mary Ellen shares practical ways to make food work better without creating another set of rigid rules. She introduces her diabetes toolbox, with strategies such as pairing carbohydrates with protein, fat, or fiber to help slow digestion, changing food order when it makes sense, and experimenting with resistant starch. The goal is not to use every tool at every meal. It is to understand your options and choose what fits the food, the situation, and your life.

Mary Ellen and Scott also discuss the loss of support that can accompany the transition into adult diabetes care, perfectionism on social media, and why black-and-white nutrition claims deserve caution. Throughout the conversation, Mary Ellen returns to a reassuring message: blood sugar is data, not a moral judgment, and your body may respond differently from anyone else’s. As she puts it, “You are you.”

What You'll Learn

• Why Mary Ellen believes balance is important when thinking about food and type 1 diabetes
• How her diabetes toolbox helps people choose strategies based on their goals, preferences, and current situation
• What it can look like to add protein, fiber, fat, or vegetables to support a meal instead of restricting a food
• How food pairing and food order may help slow carbohydrate absorption and support steadier blood sugar
• What resistant starch is and why cooling foods such as potatoes, rice, or pasta may change how the body processes them
• Why nutrition strategies often associated with type 2 diabetes can also be useful for people with type 1
• How to experiment with nutrition tools without turning them into rigid rules or making every meal a project
• What to look for when online nutrition advice sounds overly certain, judgmental, or one-size-fits-all

Key Quotes

• “Your blood sugars are just data. That’s all it is. There is no moral value to what your blood sugar is or how your blood sugar ran that day.” - Mary Ellen Phipps
• “The expectation is never that you’re going to use every tool available to you at every eating occasion. It’s about what works for this situation, what have I educated myself about, and what can I use going forward?” - Mary Ellen Phipps
• “You are you. You’re not your neighbor next to you, and you’re not the person on social media. Your body is going to respond in a unique way.” - Mary Ellen Phipps

Resources & Links

• Milk & Honey Nutrition - https://milkandhoneynutrition.com/
• ADA Diabetes Food Hub - https://diabetesfoodhub.org/
• Blue Circle Health - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Val Luong from The Diabetes Link was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 23 while serving in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Far from her family and without peers who understood what she was experiencing, she didn’t even know community was something she might need. Years later, one Instagram message helped her find the connection she had been missing, and ultimately helped shape her work as Manager of Community and Engagement at The Diabetes Link.

Scott and Val explore community during young adulthood when life is already full of transitions. Val explains why connection doesn’t have to mean joining a formal support group or making a big commitment. It might be one person, a text message, an online space, or a casual meetup built around a shared interest.

Along the way, Val shares how The Diabetes Link helps young adults connect on college campuses, whether it’s online through Discord, at informal in-person gatherings, or in their chapter meetings. She also offers practical guidance for reaching out, participating quietly, recognizing whether a community feels welcoming and useful, and taking one small step toward connection that genuinely fits your life.

What You'll Learn

• Why community can feel especially complicated during young adulthood
• How Val’s experience of isolation after diagnosis led her to seek connection years later
• Why diabetes community doesn’t have to mean a formal support group or a major commitment
• How one person, a text message, or quiet participation online can provide meaningful support
• What online and in-person communities can each offer young adults with T1D
• How The Diabetes Link helps young adults connect through college programs, Discord, and informal local meetups
• Practical, low-pressure ways to reach out and begin building a connection
• How to recognize whether a community respects your needs, boundaries, and energy

Key Quotes

• “All I wanted was to know one person. I didn’t even know if we were going to be friends, but I just wanted to know that someone else out there existed and might have some similar experiences as me.” – Val Luong
• “Community doesn’t have to be something you do every Friday for the rest of your life. It could be something that you jump into when you want to and jump out of when you’re focused on different areas of your life.” – Val Luong
• “You don’t have to figure it all out by yourself. It’s okay to ask for support, and it’s okay not to have all the answers.” – Val Luong

Resources & Links

• The Diabetes Link - https://www.thediabeteslink.org/
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org/

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

In this episode, Scott Johnson and Theresa Hastings talk about automated insulin delivery and open-source AID in approachable, everyday language. Theresa has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1998 and serves on the Nightscout Foundation Board. For years, she didn’t know anyone else living with T1D, and that isolation contributed to recurring diabetes burnout. Finding DiabetesSisters, and later the open-source diabetes community, gave her more than connection. It introduced her to people who understood the burden and were working together to build practical solutions.

Theresa recalls the first time she saw automated insulin delivery in action and how exciting the possibility was, but felt intimidated by the technology until experiencing a frightening low that ultimately helped her move through that hesitation. Together, they explore why some people seek open-source options and the additional choice these systems can offer.

They also talk honestly about the responsibility involved. Open-source AID requires ongoing learning, maintenance, troubleshooting, and a willingness to seek information without traditional customer support. Theresa describes what support looks like and the structured development practices behind established open-source projects while emphasizing that no technology is right for everyone. 

What You'll Learn

• How isolation and diabetes burnout shaped Theresa’s early experience with type 1 diabetes
• What changed when she found DiabetesSisters and the open-source diabetes community
• How automated insulin delivery brings together a CGM, insulin pump, and algorithm
• What makes an AID system open-source and how that differs from a commercial system
• Why some people seek the additional choice offered by open-source AID
• What users need to understand about ongoing learning, maintenance, troubleshooting, and personal responsibility
• How documentation, volunteers, peer support, and structured testing help sustain established open-source projects
• How to begin learning responsibly, and why the best diabetes technology is the technology that fits your own life

Key Quotes

• “The burden of diabetes is so great, and there are times when it is so scary. Knowing that there was a tool out there that could make it better, the only thing stopping me was my own fear.” — Theresa Hastings
• “Do it yourself does not mean do it alone.” — Theresa Hastings
• “I care more about somebody finding what works for them than using what works for me. Every person should just focus on what they need and finding the solution that works for them.” — Theresa Hastings

Resources & Links

• Diabetes Sisters - https://diabetessisters.org/
• The Nightscout Foundation - https://www.nightscoutfoundation.org/
• Loop and Learn - https://www.loopandlearn.org/
• LoopDocs - https://loopkit.github.io/loopdocs/
• TrioDocs - https://triodocs.org/
• AAPS Documentation - https://androidaps.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
• Theresa Hastings on Instagram - http://instagram.com/defiantt1d
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Kacey Sochacki, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Diversity in Diabetes, has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was seven years old. She joins Scott to discuss why feeling seen, understood, and respected by a healthcare team is an important part of living well with T1D, and why inclusive care requires more than treating the numbers.

Kacey shares how early connections with the diabetes community shaped her career and eventually led her and co-founder Quisha Umemba to create the first People of Color Living with Diabetes Summit. That experience grew into Diversity in Diabetes, an organization working to connect people with resources, healthcare professionals, and community support that reflect the realities of their lives.

Scott and Kacey explore how limited appointment time, unfamiliarity with cultural foods and routines, and gaps in representation can be barriers that prevent healthcare professionals from seeing the whole person. They also discuss cultural humility, using the Diversity in Diabetes Care Directory, building trust in diabetes research, and how individual advocacy can help create better care for others.

What You'll Learn

• How Kacey’s early experiences with diabetes community shaped her career and advocacy
• Why Kacey and Quisha Umemba created the People of Color Living with Diabetes Summit and Diversity in Diabetes
• How time constraints and limited cultural understanding can affect diabetes care
• What cultural humility can look like in a relationship with a healthcare professional
• Why it is okay to ask providers direct questions and evaluate whether they are the right fit
• How the Diversity in Diabetes Care Directory helps people find and connect with healthcare professionals
• Why representation and trust are essential in diabetes research
• How people with supportive care can still help build a more inclusive system for others

Key Quotes

• “There are so many people out there who are so passionate, and they are not waiting to be invited to these tables. They’re bringing their chair, and they’re sitting down.” — Kacey Sochacki
• “You really want to honor the individual living with diabetes and their culture, and help make diabetes fit into that.” — Kacey Sochacki
• “We need to build trust. So much has happened in research across different cultural communities that has crushed that trust.” — Kacey Sochacki
• We need to use the voices and positions we have right now to help our future selves or a future family member.” — Kacey Sochacki

Resources & Links

• Diversity in Diabetes and the Care Directory — https://diversityindiabetes.org/
• Diversity in Diabetes on Instagram, including monthly DiD Dialogue conversations — https://www.instagram.com/diversityindiabetes/
• T1D Exchange and the Health Equity Advancement Lab — https://t1dexchange.org/
• Diabetes Link resources for young adults with type 1 diabetes — https://thediabeteslink.org/
• Blue Circle Health — https://bluecirclehealth.org/

Want to Share Your Story?

Your story matters. When you share it, you’re helping to build something bigger. You’re helping others feel seen. You’re making sure the realities of living with T1D are heard. You’re inspiring needed change.

Visit https://www.bluecirclehealth.org/shareyourstory/ to submit your story.

We’ll share these stories to help grow the movement for better T1D care.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Susan Weiner, MS, RDN, CDN, CDCES, FADCES, is a longtime diabetes advocate, registered dietitian nutritionist, and diabetes care and education specialist who has spent her career translating complex health information into practical support. In this episode, Susan joins Scott to talk about her experience attending the 2026 DPAC Community Hill Day and how personal experience can help shape decisions affecting insulin, technology, education, insurance, and care.

Susan takes us behind the scenes of advocacy on Capitol Hill, from training and team preparation to full office meetings and five-minute hallway conversations. She explains why lawmakers and their staff remember authentic stories, how advocates can stand alongside people living with diabetes without speaking over them, and why the work continues long after Hill Day ends.

Most importantly, this conversation brings advocacy back to everyday life. Susan and Scott discuss practical ways to begin which might include following an action alert, sharing a post, sending an email, attending a town hall, or contributing behind the scenes. They also explore how to choose an issue that matters to you and stay involved without turning advocacy into another overwhelming responsibility. You don’t need to be a policy expert or travel to Washington. Your story matters, and one manageable action can be a meaningful place to start.

IMPACT Awards:
Blue Circle Health has been selected as a finalist for the Red Sox Foundation’s 12th Annual IMPACT Awards, presented by the Manning Family Foundation!

This year, the awards are focused on supporting organizations that are making a real difference in the lives of those affected by diabetes — and we’re incredibly honored to be recognized.

Help us hit a home run and win a grant from the Red Sox Foundation!

Vote now through August 14th at RedSox.com/IMPACT

What You'll Learn

• Why personal stories can influence decisions about diabetes care, access, and affordability
• What diabetes advocacy can look like beyond politics or a trip to Washington
• How DPAC prepares participants for Community Hill Day and meetings with lawmakers’ offices
• Why you don’t need policy expertise—or a perfectly polished story—to make a difference
• Practical ways to get involved, from action alerts and emails to town halls and behind-the-scenes support
• How to find an organization or advocacy effort connected to an issue that matters to you
• How to share your experience without disclosing more than feels comfortable
• Ways to make advocacy sustainable so it doesn’t become another overwhelming responsibility

Key Quotes

• “The truth is that your lived experience and your story are what will stick with people. That is what people remember, a specific story.” — Susan Weiner
• “Instead of thinking polished, think authentic. Think honest.” — Susan Weiner
• “Getting started at whatever point you’re ready is so important. When you share your voice, you also inspire other people to share theirs.” — Susan Weiner
• “I believe it’s the work of advocates that helps make the wheel turn, and that’s something you can be part of.” — Susan Weiner

Resources & Links

• Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC) - https://www.diabetespac.org/
• DPAC Advocacy Handbook - https://www.diabetespac.org/handbook
• American Diabetes Association Advocacy - https://diabetes.org/advocacy
• Breakthrough T1D Advocacy - https://www.breakthrought1d.org/explore-advocacy/
• Blue Circle Health Webinar - Advocacy Made Simple: An Introduction to Diabetes Advocacy with DPAC - https://youtu.be/OEbK2J2MFhk
• Blue Circle Health Webinar - Everyday Advocacy: Small Ways to Make a BIg Difference with Steph Ash - https://youtu.be/6O9qG-GyoLQ 
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

Want to Share Your Story?
Your story matters. When you share it, you’re helping to build something bigger. You’re helping others feel seen. You’re making sure the realities of living with T1D are heard. You’re inspiring needed change.

Visit https://www.bluecirclehealth.org/shareyourstory/ to submit your story.

We’ll share these stories to help grow the movement for better T1D care.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Natalie Bellini, DNP,  BC-ADM, CDCES and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM, CDCES join Scott to cut through the noise of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Scientific Sessions for an hour-long special! For many people living with type 1 diabetes, this annual conference can feel like a dense academic event designed strictly for clinicians and researchers. However, in this episode, Natalie and Diana break down a few highlights and talk about what they mean for daily life with T1D.

They explore some of the most exciting developments presented at the conference, including advancements in islet cell transplants, the promise of Continuous Ketone Monitoring (CKM), and the evolving role of GLP-1s and inhaled insulin in T1D management. It’s a candid, realistic look at what’s on the horizon, what’s still experimental, and how to filter out the headlines to focus on tools that will actually improve your quality of life. And while these are great actionable takeaways, you should always consult with your personal healthcare team before making any changes to your treatment plan.

What You'll Learn

• Translating Research: Why ADA Scientific Sessions matter for people with T1D and how to think about "bench research" versus tools you might actually see in your doctor's office soon.
• Islet Cell Transplants: Updates on the Eledon trial and the use of Tegoprubart to reduce the burden of traditional, harsh immunosuppression.
• Continuous Ketone Monitoring (CKM): How a new sensor (like the Libre Duo) could revolutionize DKA detection and prevention for both adults and children.
• SGLT2 Inhibitors: Understanding the benefits and risks of these medications in type 1 diabetes, specifically regarding euglycemic DKA.
• Inhaled Insulin: How inhaled insulin is expanding to pediatric use, what that means for adults with T1D, and practical ways it can be used for "rescue" dosing or meal management alongside traditional insulin delivery therapy.
• GLP-1s in T1D: Why these hormones are a hot topic, focusing on how they help with hunger cues, glucose fluctuations, and overall cardiovascular/kidney health.

Key Quotes

• "Fortunately, DKA is not super common, but it's a life-threatening emergency. So I think anything we can do to prevent that is a huge, huge win." – Diana Isaacs
• "I'm looking for these pearls. What can I take back? What can we do right now?" – Natalie Bellini
• "Behind every number is a story. It's not just throwing tech at people. It's also listening to their story and really individualizing the care that we provide." – Diana Isaacs

Resources & Links

• Diabetes Dialogue podcast - https://www.hcplive.com/podcasts/diabetes-dialogue
• diaTribe ADA 2026 Articles -
  • https://diatribe.org/diabetes-research/top-diabetes-news-ada-2026
  • https://diatribe.org/diabetes-technology/diabetes-technology-highlights-ada-2026
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Erika Szumel has lived with type 1 diabetes for 25 years, works on the Blue Circle Health community engagement team, and is currently training for another marathon. But this episode isn’t really about running. It’s about doing hard things with type 1 diabetes.

Scott and Erika explore what confidence actually looks like when you live with T1D, and why it’s often not something you have before you begin. Through stories from marathon training, diabetes management, setbacks, and self-doubt, Erika shares how confidence is built through experience, experimentation, adaptation, and simply taking the next step.

Along the way, they discuss the fear of failure, learning from mistakes, the value of community, and why waiting until you feel completely ready may keep you from doing things that matter most. Whether your challenge is athletic, professional, personal, or diabetes-related, this conversation offers encouragement and practical perspective for moving forward even when the outcome feels uncertain.

What You'll Learn

• Why confidence is something you build, not something you need before you start
• How marathon training helped Erika rethink challenges both inside and outside of diabetes
• The role experimentation, adaptability, and self-trust play in living well with T1D
• Why setbacks and frustrating diabetes days don’t mean you’re failing
• How community and shared experience can make difficult goals feel more achievable
• Practical ways to approach intimidating goals one step at a time
• Why perfection isn’t required before pursuing something meaningful
• How lessons learned from doing hard things can carry into every area of life

Key Quotes

• “Living with diabetes is already an incredible challenge that you take on every single day... Anything else is nowhere near as challenging as diabetes is.” – Erika Szumel
• “You don't need to climb the whole staircase, you just need to take the first step and that's it.” – Erika Szumel
• “The more you go on, the more you trust yourself and feel that confidence.” – Erika Szumel

Resources & Links

• Diabetes Nerd podcast episode - https://youtu.be/4WKjILgEtVM
• Type One Run on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/typeoneruncommunity
• Breakthrough T1D Teams - https://www2.breakthrought1d.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=run_homepage
• American Diabetes Association Teams - https://diabetes.org/event/2026-team-diabetes-chicago-marathon
• TeamCWD - https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/events/teamcwd/
• Beyond Type 1 - https://beyondtype1.org/marathon-team/
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Kathryn Ward, a licensed clinical social worker at Blue Circle Health, joins Scott to talk about emotional resilience: something many people living with type 1 diabetes feel but don’t always have words for. 

Kathryn works closely with people navigating the emotional side of diabetes every day. In this conversation, she and Scott explore what emotional resilience really means, what it doesn’t, and how to navigate burnout, self-criticism, and tough diabetes days with more self-compassion. 

They talk about burnout, shame, and the pressure to “do diabetes perfectly,” along with simple, realistic ways to nurture emotional resilience in everyday life with diabetes to find a more realistic, compassionate approach that helps you keep going, even when things feel heavy.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by diabetes or wondered how to keep showing up for yourself without burning out, this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn

• What emotional resilience actually means in the context of type 1 diabetes
• Why “pushing through” isn’t always the answer
• How small mindset shifts can reduce burnout and self-judgment
• Practical ways to respond to tough diabetes days
• How support (from yourself and others) can change everything

Key Quotes

• “Remember that this is a moment in time. How do you slow down, nurture yourself in this moment, and take care of your blood sugar in a way that's going to keep you safe?” – Kathryn Ward
• “Acceptance is a repetitive process I have to go through. I’m accepting of it right now, but as soon as something happens that throws me off track, or if I’m having a hard time, I have to go through that process of reaching acceptance again. It doesn’t feel like a one-time thing for me.” – Scott K. Johnson
• “Being able to allow painful emotions… that’s where we start to take our power back.” – Kathryn Ward
• “Burnout is normal, overwhelm is normal… it’s actually an expected response to this full-time job of being a pancreas.” – Kathryn Ward

Resources & Links

• Beyond Type 1’s Mental Health + Type 1 Diabetes Resources - https://beyondtype1.org/mental-health-type-1/
• Behavioral Diabetes Institute’s Diabetes Distress Assessment & Resource Center - https://diabetesdistress.org/
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Matthew Garza, Director of dStigmatize at diaTribe, joins us to unpack a topic that so many people living with type 1 diabetes feel—but don’t always have words for: diabetes stigma. From subtle judgment to systemic bias, stigma can shape how people see themselves, how they interact with healthcare, and even the outcomes they experience over time.

Matthew shares what diabetes stigma really is, why it’s more than just “a bad joke,” and how it shows up everywhere: from doctor visits to media portrayals to policy decisions. But this conversation isn’t just about naming the problem—it’s about what we can do to address it.

We talk about the real impact stigma has on mental health, self-care, and engagement with the healthcare system. We discuss how small shifts in language, community, and confidence can start to change the story. This is a powerful, validating conversation for anyone who’s ever felt blamed, judged, or misunderstood while living with diabetes, and an important reminder that none of this is your fault.

What You'll Learn

• How stigma goes beyond hurtful comments to influence healthcare, research, and policy decisions
• The connection between stigma, shame, burnout, and disengagement from care 
• Why negative healthcare experiences can create a cycle that’s hard to break
• How language choices (like “control” or “compliance”) can unintentionally reinforce stigma
• Simple ways friends, family, and providers can be more supportive
• Practical ways to push back against stigma in your own life
• Why your lived experience with diabetes is real expertise—and deserves to be respected

Key Quotes

• “Diabetes stigma is everywhere, and as soon as you start to notice it, you see just how insidious it is.” – Matthew Garza
• “It can feel really dismissive and make people want to disengage.” – Matthew Garza
• “When you find those allies, that helps it feel a lot less lonely and a lot less isolating.” – Matthew Garza  

Resources & Links

• End Diabetes Stigma Pledge – https://enddiabetesstigma.org
• dStigmatize – https://dstigmatize.org
• diaTribe – https://diatribe.org
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

David Panzirer is a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the father of two adult children with type 1 diabetes. In this conversation, he shares what it was like to go from knowing almost nothing about type 1 diabetes to becoming deeply involved in improving care for people living with it.

In this conversation, David reflects on the early days of fear and uncertainty, what it really feels like to support a child living with diabetes, and how his perspective has evolved over time. He talks openly about the emotional weight carried by parents and caregivers, the importance of listening to people actually living with T1D, and why the healthcare system still falls short for so many. David also shares how important it is to listen to lived experience, and how he turned his fear and concern for his children’s well-being into advocacy, change, and a deeper mission to improve the lives of everyone living with type 1 diabetes.

What You'll Learn

• What the early days after a type 1 diabetes diagnosis can feel like for parents
• How fear can evolve into purpose and advocacy over time
• Why listening to lived experience changes how we think about support
• The tension between wanting control and learning to step back as a parent
• Practical ways anyone can advocate or support someone living with diabetes

Key Quotes

• “Fear can be a very good motivator. And I was scared.” – David Panzirer
• “If you were trying to design a system that would make life really difficult for people with a chronic disease, you’d have exactly what we have here in the US.” – David Panzirer
• “Allow yourself some grace. Allow your child some grace who may be dealing with this.” – David Panzirer

Resources & Links

• The Helmsley Charitable Trust - https://helmsleytrust.org
• Children with Diabetes - https://childrenwithdiabetes.com
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.