First of all, I've got to confess. I'm writing this at 9 PM, but using publish features to make it appear tomorrow. I'm still nursing some type of cold, so I can't wait until midnight to watch the blue circle come down in New York with 1000's of folks waving meters, syringes and pumps cheering wildly.
What will you be doing to bring attention to diabetes? Lots of buildings will be lit up in blue tomorrow evening. I'm going to wear my blue One Shot at a Time t-shirt from Five Humans. I'm afraid I'm such a publicity hound I'm almost tempted to color some of my teeth blue, but that might be going overboard... "So I guess Bernard's really lost it, must be that insulin he's been taking for years." This year's campaign for World Diabetes Day is focused on children with diabetes. This includes raising awareness of the signs of type 1 diabetes in children. It's hard to believe but this is sometimes misdiagnosed until children end up in DKA comas, which can be fatal.
So put on something blue, maybe wear a diabetes pin for the day. And if anyone asks why tell them a little about the warning signs of diabetes.
The 2nd World Diabetes Day is coming up this November 14th. Manny Hernandez of TuDiabetes and David Edelman of DiabetesDaily have a petition asking Google to create a doodle for November 14th. This would be a great way to get publicity for World Diabetes Day, as the Google home page gets about 30% of the world's internet traffic every day.
Manny and David are hoping to get 20,000 signatures on their petition. It only takes seconds to add your name to the petition, so head over to their petition site now.
Google's doodles appear on their main search page, normally for a holiday, anniversary or birthday. For example, this one for Leonardo da Vinci.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death worldwide, it's expected to cause 3.7 million deaths this year alone.
Maybe you know someone who has diabetes, why not call or contact them in honor of today and learn a little more about what this disease is all about?
Most people with diabetes have Type 2, and often the symptoms are not recognized in time to stop complications from damaging their body. Do you know the symptoms of diabetes?
And if you'd like to know a little about what it's like to live with diabetes, check out some of the pictures from the diabetes365 project. They'll give you a glimpse into how diabetes impacts our lives.
I know this month you're focusing on raising awareness about a cure for cancer. And that's a great cause.
Well November 14th is World Diabetes Day and there are 2 million Americans that have Type 1 diabetes. Many of us get it as children and still have it when we grow into adulthood.
We'd love to have a cure, but because of insulin a lot of people think it HAS been cured. Trust me, it's not.
Check out our diabetes365 project at http://www.flickr.com/groups/mydiabetesathome/pool/ to see how diabetes affects us each and every day. Tell me how you'd feel if a child of yours was diagnosed at 3 and you had to give them multiple daily injections of insulin to keep them alive.
Please consider focusing on this terrible disease on your November 14th program.
I've had diabetes for over 35 years, and it's really taught me about the value of endurance. Even though my pancreas is broken I'm still remarkably healthy. The insulin that I inject helps my body to absorb and process carbohydrates but it's not a cure for diabetes. Despite the continued high and low blood sugars I'm blessed by God with very few complications.
My hope and prayer for me and others with diabetes is that we all endure until a true cure is found for this expensive and deadly disease.
Are you planning on doing something for World Diabetes Day? If so, you've got about a month. Get your thinking hats on.
The Diabetes Technology Blog is focused on using technology to life better with diabetes. I review: blood glucose monitors; continuous glucose monitor; blood sugar meters; diabetes software and living with diabetes.
About Me
Name: Bernard Farrell
Location: Massachusetts, United States
I was born in Ireland and now live in the US.
I have had Type 1 diabetes for over 36 years. I struggle with my blood sugar, the same as most people with diabetes.
I wear a Cozmo 1800 insulin pump and a Dexcom SEVEN Plus CGM to track my blood glucose levels.
I'm blessed by God, and every day brings the possibility of a cure.
