Why diabetes?

I only have a few weeks now before my journey begins in the US, and as part of my travels, I've applied to be a volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

No, I don't have diabetes.

Although, like many who have a strong connection to support causes in health care; Breast Cancer research, ALS, or Alzhiemers Disease, mine is with Diabetes.

So,

without further ado,

Here's why:

I became interested in diabetes in 2007 after meeting Hannah. I remember spending several hours doing research on this illness so I could have a better understanding of my dance partner. 

She used to carry around snacks, and tested her blood glucose levels (BGL), especially before and after our ballroom dance competitions. 

We spent a lot of time together, six days a week to be exact. When weren't training, we were taking lessons. when we weren't taking lessons, we were teaching. Otherwise, we were just hanging out at the dance studio looking at ourselves in the mirror, working on movements, filming them and being silly.

Then one day our friend, [also a ballroom dancer] was diagnosed with Type one Diabetes (T1D) at the age of 14. During that time, we would visit her in hospital, and at the time, my knowledge about T1D was pretty much limited to what I read on wikipedia and WebMd, which wasn't much at all, so Hannah did most of the talking.

In saying that, Hannah didn't speak up much about her diabetes. Besides from seeing her testing and treating lows, the only time it came up was the couple of times when I'd be at the studio waiting for her only to be advised that she was in hospital after a hypoglycemic episode which happened overnight. 

So, I'd stay to do some practice by myself then I'd go home to do more research on diabetes, this time specifically more on hypos and hypers, specifically the whys and hows. 

However, when Hannah was back at the studio again, I never approached her about wanting to understand more. My impression was that she wanted to keep it private, and I respected that so no further questions were asked. 

I also got to know another person with Diabetes (PWD) through ballroom dancing, and again, I never drummed up the courage to approach her about the topic. 

At the time, I discovered Kerri Sparlings blog: SixUntilMe, which helped me fill in a few blanks. She also made me aware that T1D isn't just about being insulin dependant, but also about the struggles and victories that PWD's deal with mentally and psychologically on a daily basis. 

As a result, I understood how important it was to be supportive above anything else.

I stayed informed, but not intrusive.

Hannah and I caught up recently, and I told her about this blog entry and whether it'll be alright if I wrote about her using her real name, instead, she gave me this:

" I don't talk a lot about my diabetes, as a teenager it was embarrassing to be different but now I see it in a new light. I think it's important for people to know I have T1 diabetes as a measure of safety, but I do not let it define me!

That's my only advice to other sufferers. No you cannot ignore it. (which I often did and that was why I would end up in hospital.) I haven't had any issues or hospitalisation in years and that's because I accept it as a part of me. 

I don't look at it as a fault, instead as a quirk or my imperfection - We all have one don't we?
I don't think people that know me would say 'oh she's a diabetic!', instead, they'd say; 

'fun, charismatic, incredibly clumsy and carefree!' 

My personality, drive and morals is what defines me.

You're stuck with it until they find a cure so you got to accept it at some point!

I control diabetes rather than diabetes control me! "

Hannah and I danced together for almost three years. We trained hard, and towards the end, we were winning most of our competitions in ballroom dancing. We also taught Salsa dancing once a week, and did performances up until I had to leave the partnership to focus on my restaurant business the middle of 2010. 

Hannah continued on with dancing, and to date, she is still competing and winning. I'm so proud of her achievements not only as a dancer, but also as a young professional. 

Then came Mallette, 

the superstar Barista of Duke's Lounge for the summer of 2014. 

(Not a ballroom dancer this time, but she has a hidden talent for salsa dancing.)

The day she came in for a trial I noticed she had a device clipped to her waist. I asked her about it, and she told me it was an insulin pump as she's a type one diabetic, 

and just like that, my eyes lit up. 

She was armed with an Animas OneTouch Ping Insulin Pump and a Dexcom G4 CGMS which blew my mind as I've never seen [or knew of] these devices before in my life.

So after her trial shift concluded, I quickly dug up my notes from four years ago and started to read about T1D again that very night. 

Now, with an updated understanding of T1D, I couldn't wait to see her again. 

First and foremost, she was an outstanding candidate with exceptional skills in the hospitality and service industry, along with having a high business acumen.

Secondly, I wanted to witness this miracle called Insulin Pump Therapy (IPT), 

so I quickly hired her and trained her up as a Barista.

From a distance, without being a creep, [which is probably too late to say now] I would watch her count carbs and bolus for a meal, adjust her basal rate, check her CGM and calculate corrections after testing throughout the day. 

When she wasn't looking I would take a quick glance at her CGM, awestruck by this technology. 

But, I slowly learnt to read the graph, the numbers and the arrows and knew roughly when it was a good time to ask her if she wanted coffee, or whether it's a good time to ask if she wanted lunch. 

I also stocked up our fridge with a dozen juice boxes at a time, making sure I rotated the flavours once she went through a certain amount. 

I also confess that I drank a few myself. 

Eventually, without further hesitation, I brought up the topic of T1D with her. 

Aside from making a fool of myself like forgetting that butter has no carbs, Mallette was very open to discuss about it. 

Along with high fiving each other everytime her BGLs were on point,

we started with standard topics first such as how generic test strips will enhance care and manageability especially for PWDs in lower economic situations as long as they were reliable, 

and why the Thai green curry she had the other night screwed her numbers up. 

We also discussed how convenient it would be to have one site/one infusion set for both the pump and the CGM. (In which I believe Medtronic are on top of that now with the Minimed Duo for the EU market, while we wait patiently for the FDA to approve it for the US) and we were pretty excited to hear about the trials and success of the bionic pancreas system which uses both insulin and glucagon together to simulate a healthy pancreas.

We even played the BGM countdown game once at a bolus worthy pie shop.

..Finally! 

after years of keeping it to myself, I got to come out of the closet and was able to speak to someone about my 'type none' diabetes. 

Yes, I know, I'm slightly creepy. 

Mallette worked for me for about six months. 

She's now back in the US attending medical school and being a part time marathon runner.

As a matter of fact, I'll be watching her run the Chicago marathon this year in October, and hope to catch up with her afterwards again in her hometown to win a chess game we left unfinished in Sydney, just to even out the scores, 

because I hate losing, 

especially when it comes to chess.

Moving on,

Because of this, I felt confident and aspired to learn more, and so I stumbled upon the Diabetes Online Community (#DOC) while obsessing over the medical technology in Diabetes (#DTech) and saw how the push to open data inspired 'Databetes' and 'CGM in the cloud', and manifested the #wearenotwaiting movement, initiated by the Do It Yourself Pancreas System (#DIYPS), and the NightScout Project.

From there it lead me to follow blogs on Diabetes (#DBlogs) and its authors, which lead me to the Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (#DSMA.) 

Furthermore, who could forget the amazing #showmeyourpump movement lead by the most beautiful; Sierra Sandison, aka Miss Idaho,

and the announcement of 'phase 1/2' trial of the encapsulated beta cell replacement therapy, lead by ViaCyte and the JDRF.

I also was mind blown with the 'Threshold Suspend' feature lead by the MiniMed 530G Medtronic pump with Enlite sensor, the first of its kind to be approved by the FDA. 

..and the exciting news about the Tandem TSlim and Dexcom integration. 

..so on and so forth!

So now,

including advocating awareness through my online and offline resources, 

I also attend a few #DOC chats weekly, such #DSMA and the occasional #HCSM to 'listen in' and broaden my knowledge. 

Otherwise I'm devouring information on Dblogs and websites such as DiaTribe, asweetlife and DiabetesMine, and attending online webinars [the latest being about Insulin Pump Essentials]. 

Needless to say, I follow a whole bunch of PWDs and T1D advocators, HCPs and carers on Twitter, and I'm grateful to have the blessings of everyone for allowing me to listen and learn from their experiences.

Lastly,

Thank you for teaching me that T1D isn't caused by ballroom dancing.

From the bottom of my heart, @Dukeslounge