One of the surprising things I've found out about myself while interviewing people for Diabetes By The Numbers is that I'm one of the worst pronouncers of names I've ever met.

That's horrible, especially when I have a guest as special as Renza Scibilia. Renza is a diabetes superhero worldwide, with her blog, her work for a large diabetes organization in Australia, and her presence at the forefront of the most important issues facing all of us.

After Renza gets me straightened out on the correct pronunciation of her last name, we talk about the upcoming ATTD conference in Berlin, the importance of #LanguageMatters, and how critical the Spare a Rose campaign is.

Which is timely, because this episode of Diabetes By The Numbers is part of Diabetes Podcast Week, February 10 through 16. All of the podcasters and video bloggers are throwing their efforts this week behind the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign through the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child program.

As I've mentioned before, the cost of one rose (about $5 USD) saves the life of a child for one month. The cost of a dozen roses gains a child in another part of the world an entire year to play, go to school, and be with their families. Who doesn’t love that?

There are children all over the world who are depending on us. So please, take time right now. Go to LFACInternational.org/SpareaRose and make your life-sustaining donation.  I hope you enjoy my conversation with Renza! Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic

Renza Scibilia is a gifted writer, and you can read her at: Diabetogenic.wordpress.com

Be part of the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign this year by making your donation at: LFACInternational.org/SpareARose

Mike Lawson is easy to talk to. He's been on the podcast before, in one of his many roles with Diabetes Hands Foundation. Today, Mike still has a number of roles... in addition to a full time job, he's a board member at T1 International.

And he's written a book! Open Up Your Bag is a delightful children's book that helps familiarize young ones to the everyday tasks that come with living with diabetes. As Mike mentions, it also helps facilitate discussion about life with diabetes between kids and their parents.

If you're a fan of Mike's artwork at DHF and elsewhere, you'll notice it in the new book because he's the illustrator too! 

In our conversation, we talk about the book, about Mike's creativity, and his lifelong love of children's literature. It's a terrific chat, and a terrific book. Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic

Mike Lawson's new book, Open Up Your Bag, is available via Amazon: Get your copy of Open Up Your Bag

You can find coloring and activity sheets for Open Up Your Bag by going to Diabetes Doodles: diabetesdoodles.com

Diabetes By The Numbers is BACK!

Thanks to everyone who waited patiently while I worked to retool the podcast. It took a while, but I am happy to be sharing another interesting conversation with you.

Today I'm speaking with Grainne Flynn, who is a passionate writer and diabetes advocate living in the Republic of Ireland. I've been reading her blog, Blood Sugar Trampoline, for some time, and I got to meet her in person last October at the joint Diabetes Sisters/Diabetes UnConference get-together in Alexandria, Virginia.

Did you ever strike up a conversation with someone and instantly feel comfortable? That's how you'll feel hearing Grainne. We talk about Blood Sugar Trampoline, the amazing Thriveabetes conference just completed... and she even shares her three must-visit places on the Emerald Isle. I hope you enjoy our conversation. And thank you so much for listening. Again. Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic

Grainne Flynn writes about her life with diabetes at her personal blog, Blood Sugar Trampoline: BloodSugarTrampoline.com

Grainne is a co-founder of the diabetes empowerment organization Thriveabetes, which works to foster education and connections in the Republic of Ireland, and hosts a yearly conference: Thriveabetes.ie

Clinical trials come and go, and often they may seem like the same thing is just being tested over and over again. But it’s really not like that at all.

Case in point is the clinical trial beginning at the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology. Jess Robic and Jennifer Pinnata from the CDT are here to talk about this trial specifically, and to answer a few questions surrounding clinical trial participation in general.

This trial is specifically recruiting MDI (multiple daily injections) users, but it’s using algorithms developed for use in artificial pancreas systems. There are many super interesting aspects to this study.

The best part is all the diabetes stuff you get as part of participation in the trial. It includes:

- Insulin for the length of the trial - Use of an innovative insulin “smart” pen - Use of a Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor - Test strips for the length of the trial - A stipend, dependent on the number of in-person study visits you complete before the end of your participation.

Seriously, if I was an MDI user, I would sign up for this trial yesterday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A quick note: this interview was conducted two days before the unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12. If you’re wondering why we’re so cheery in the interview, and why we’re not even acknowledging anything about the racial discord of that weekend, or the fact that someone lost their life, it’s because it hadn’t happened yet.

In the aftermath of that sickening weekend, all of us decided to wait a bit before airing the episode. If you qualify, I hope you will consider signing up for this study… I believe it will help lead to something truly unique in insulin delivery for people living with diabetes. Reference Material - Click below for more information

Jess and Jennifer talk about CDT's Recruitment Database... to join the pool of potential clinical trial participants, CLICK HERE.

To see the clinical trials currently recruiting and taking place at the University of Virginia, CLICK HERE.

 

Mindy Bartleson is accomplished.  I don't think that's overstating it.  What's really amazing is how accomplished she is at only 24 years of age. Mindy lives with a number of chronic conditions, diabetes being one of them, and we talk about them here.  Many people remember her from her previous work at College Diabetes Network.  She has a really super blog.  Her writing has been featured on numerous websites. And now, she's written a book.   We talk about the book, about what it's like to live with so many things and go to college and write a blog and write a book too.   This interview is being aired in conjunction with the Kickstarter campaign designed to help Mindy get her book published.  CLICK HERE to contribute... the end result will be well worth it.   Here's a pretty revealing look at one of nicest people you'll ever get to know.   Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic   Help Mindy publish her book!  To donate to Mindy's Kickstarter campaign, CLICK HERE.   Mindy's blog is titled There's More To The Story, and you can find it here: blogMoreToTheStory.com

Truth be told, I look to Christopher Snider as the gold standard for quality diabetes interviews and podcasts.  I've wanted him on this podcast for some time. Now, with that out of the way, let me tell you why Christopher was part of the podcast this week.  He has a new role, as Community Manager at Tidepool. Tidepool is a terrific nonprofit organization that helps provide a free, open platform where people with diabetes, doctors, researchers, and others can either upload or view diabetes data.  Christopher explains it way better than I do, so I will encourage you to listen for that. We spend a good amount of time talking about Tidepool's recently announced Big Data Donation Project.  Tidepool has agreed to donate ten percent of any fees they receive for selling your de-identified data to researchers.  The money will go to one of eight diabetes nonprofits that you probably know well.  Christopher explains it way better than I do, so I will encourage you to listen for that too.   There's also a vague reference to Odin, the Norse god.   Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic Christopher Snider is Community Manager at Tidepool: Tidepool.org   To find out more about Tidepool's Big Data Donation Project, go to: Tidepool.org/BigData   Christopher Snider is host of two amazing podcasts: Just Talking Podcast Mark All That Apply

How do you do two interviews on the same subject on different days within the same week?  It helps if something big happens on one of the days in between interviews. "Everything in my life, every decision I've made throughout my life, has always been framed around, 'Will I be able to get health insurance?'." In part two of my discussions with leaders of the March for Health, the wonderful organizer of the Nashville march, Cara Richardson explains perfectly why, even though the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives pulled his "repeal and replace" healthcare legislation from consideration last Friday, there is still a need for a March.  She explains exactly why access to care and spreading knowledge of patient's rights are such an important part of her life.    Trust me... this will be well worth your time. Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic Cara Richardson is organizer for the March for Health in Public Square Park, Nashville Tennessee, Saturday, April 1st at 11:00 a.m.  To find out all about March for Health Nashville, or to find another city where you can march; or to help support March for Health with a donation, go to: MarchForHealth.org March for Health still needs volunteers who can help with everything from e-mails to fundraising to setup and cleanup.  To become a March for Health volunteer, email: [email protected] Cara writes about her life with diabetes at the blog Every Day, Every Hour, Every Minute: countrygirldiabetic.blogspot.com

Wow.  What a turn of events.  Last Thursday, when Leyla Mansour-Cole and I recorded this interview, we were less than 24 hours away from the unexpected move of the Speaker of the House of Representatives pulling the Republican's "repeal and replace" health care legislation from consideration.   Still, there is a lot left to debate when it comes to health care in America.  And that's why people all over the country will be participating in the March for Health Saturday, April 1.  So many of us are affected by the way care, drugs, and medical technology are delivered in this country.  That's a lot of what we'll be talking about in this episode.  And don't forget to listen to Wednesday's companion interview on March for Health with Cara Richardson.  Together, these two are the model of what happens when you see an important issue and throw yourself head first into the discussion, making a huge, positive impact.   Reference Material - Click below for more information Leyla Mansour-Cole is National and Washington, D.C. coordinator for the March for Health, Saturday, April 1st.  To find a city where you can march, or to help support March for Health with a donation, go to: MarchForHealth.org March for Health still needs volunteers who can help with everything from e-mails to fundraising to setup & cleanup.  To become a March for Health volunteer, email: [email protected]

Hello, and welcome to my little part of Diabetes Podcast Week.  This week, eleven diabetes podcasters and video bloggers are taking part in a week-long diabetes information-fest, and centering once again on the Spare A Rose, Save A Child campaign.  So listen to this episode, then use the giving link to make your donation and save the life of a child living in a developing country who is also living with diabetes.  More information on Spare A Rose, Save A Child is at the beginning of this episode, and there's an additional link below.   My guest for this episode is one of my best friends in the world, Karen Graffeo.  But that's not why you should listen to our conversation.  You should listen because Karen, in addition to leading Diabetes Sisters' Virtual PODS (Part Of Diabetes Sisters) group, is helping to lead Diabetes Sisters Voices, a collaboration between Diabetes Sisters, the Johns Hopkins University, the University of North Carolina, TrustNetMD, and the Diabetes Sisters stakeholder advisory board of women and diabetes advocates.   If you're a woman living with diabetes, there is an easy way for you to participate in this groundbreaking research, and Karen is going to tell you all about it.  There's also a link below.  I think I also may have inadvertently convinced Karen to reprise Diabetes Blog Week this spring:)  I hope so.   Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic   Are you a woman living with diabetes?  Find out more and participate in Diabetes Sisters Voices research: DiabetesSistersVoices.org   Help save the life of a child by using the giving link and donating to Spare A Rose, Save A Child: LifeForAChildUSA.org/SpareARose   Thanks to Stacey Simms for coordinating Diabetes Podcast Week again.  Find out about Diabetes Podcast Week and meet each podcaster by going to: StaceySimms.com   Karen Graffeo writes about her life with diabetes, and hosts Diabetes Blog Week at: BitterSweetDiabetes.com

Time now for the third and final part of my conversation with Christel Marchand Aprigliano.  If you haven't yet listened to the first two parts of our chat, please go back after this episode and listen to them, because they are well worth your time. In this episode, we talk about Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition,or DPAC.  Christel and Bennet Dunlap started DPAC as a way to help amplify the voice of the patient to elected officials and policy makers.  They provide a slew of tools that empower friends, family, and fellow advocates to take action on a number of diabetes-centric issues.  Often, in less than one minute. Note: I volunteered with DPAC in 2016, and plan to do so again in 2017.  Also, I should mention that this interview was recorded after the November 2016 election, but prior to the beginning of the 115th U.S. Congress in 2017.   Thanks so much to Christel for sitting down for this conversation.  Enjoy, and get your advocacy on! Reference Material - Click below for more information on this topic Christel Marchand Aprigliano writes about diabetes at: ThePerfectD.com   You can connect with Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, or DPAC, at: DiabetesPAC.org