Health Mascot ~ HAWMC, Day 24

Give yourself, your condition, or your health focus, a mascot. Is it a real person? Fictional? Mythical being? Describe them. Bonus points if you provide a visual. 

Diabetes doesn't have a mascot; heck it doesn't even have an official symbol. The blue circle (the one seen in abundance in November for World Diabetes Day) is about as close to a symbol as we currently have, but it's not universally used, plus it's the property of the International Diabetes Federation. As it stands, the IDF permits the use of the blue circle by anyone for the purpose of promoting diabetes and the diabetes community, and in any publications, etc., as long as it not used for commercial purposes and for anything other than diabetes. For a full explanation of the uses of the blue circle permitted by the International Diabetes Federation, or to download various sizes and formats of the circle, please click here.

There used to be a blue ribbon that was kicked around here and there, and there have certainly been a few other attempts at a diabetes symbol, but so far none has stuck. Personally, I think rather than create a mascot for diabetes, the focus needs to be on promoting the blue circle to a unified and universally recognized symbol for diabetes. I love the color, and I love its simple, yet effective message of unity within the community.

World Diabetes Day 2011 ~ Open A Book

Open a book. Point to a page. Free write for 10-15 minutes on that word or passage.

Today has been an emotional day. It is World Diabetes Day, and the anniversary of Frederick Banting's birthday and I have found myself thinking about diabetes constantly today. Yes, diabetes occupies my thoughts for a large portion of every day, but today it's different. Today my focus has strayed from the typical worry about Dylan's blood sugar levels and carbohydrate intake, to an overwhelming feeling of gratitude towards the  man who discovered insulin, and thus subsequently saved my son's life. Without Banting, Dylan would not be alive today. Period.

So I thought it fitting to choose a passage from a book about Banting for today's prompt. I am currently reading "Breakthrough; Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle" by Thea Cooper and Arthur Ainsburg. I am only about halfway through the book, but I flipped ahead and picked a passage, that I believe is perfect, for today's post. The passage describes the conversation between Banting and Hughes the first time they meet. Banting is performing a basic medical examination of Hughes, then 14 years old, and she, in her precocious manner, is asking him more questions than he is of her. Approximately halfway down page 197, the text reads, 

Banting dragged the chair from the desk over to the examination table. He turned it around and sat on it backward, resting his arms over the back. He looked seriously at Elizabeth.

"How do you feel generally?"

"Hungry."

"Besides that."

"Thirsty."

"How long have you felt this way?"

"Three years and nine months." Elizabeth turned serious for the first time during the examination.

"You look sick but you don't act sick. Why is that?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and leveled her gaze at the young doctor. 

"Dr. Banting, have you ever known something, just known it in your bones? And even though everything may seem to point to the opposite, you still know it's true?"

"As a matter of fact I have."

"Really?"

"Truly."

"Well I know that I am going to get better. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, I do."

"Really?"

Banting nodded solemnly.

"Then you're the first one ever."

A mere minute or two later, Banting proceeded to inject Elizabeth with her first ever insulin shot. The first of over 42,000 such shots she would receive in her lifetime; more than anyone on earth at that time.

The honesty and simplicity of this passage speaks to me. Not only as a mother of a child with type 1 diabetes, but as a human being, because against all odds, even after living on a starvation diet for over three and a half years, Elizabeth believed in her recovery. And, perhaps equally important, so did Banting. There was never a doubt in either of their minds that the newly discovered treatment would work. They had so much hope, and it paid off.

Diabetes is a scary disease. It can be terrifying at times, but I can't help but think about Elizabeth and how she must have felt in those first few days of treatment, as she rapidly gained weight and began to eat foods forbidden for the previous three and a half years. She believed in Banting. So did her parents, and soon after so did the thousands of other children and adults living with diabetes.

Fast forward to today, over ninety years later. We are still using the same basic treatment for type 1 diabetes and it's still working. Still saving lives. Every single day.

Thank you Frederick Banting, and happy birthday.

If It's Not Broke, Don't Fix It

What is working well in your community, healthcare, blogs, social media, or your work in particular? What do you like about it?

November is diabetes awareness month, so it is the perfect time to write about what's working in the diabetes community. There are so many terrific things happening this month, ranging from Blue Fridays, to the Big Blue Test, to the WDD Postcard Exchange, to World Diabetes Day itself on November 14th. Check 'em all out!

Blue Fridays

Another brilliant idea by #DSMA creator Cherise Shockley in which people are asked to spread diabetes awareness by wearing blue not just on World Diabetes Day, but on every Friday for the month of November. Think blue. Wear blue. Watch the following video for more info. 

Big Blue Test

This diabetes awareness program is spearheaded by the Diabetes Hands Foundation and runs until World Diabetes Day on November 14th. The goal of the program is to reinforce the importance of exercise in managing diabetes. People with diabetes are encouraged to do the Big Blue Test any day between November 1 and November 14 at midnight Pacific Time, by testing their blood sugar, getting active, testing again, and sharing the results online at bigbluetest.org.

"In the last two years, just 14 minutes of exercise decreased participants’ blood sugar level between 15 and 20 percent. In 2010, more than 2,000 people did the Big Blue Test. Over 120,000 people watched the Big Blue Test video. Roche Diabetes Care, makers of ACCU-CHEK® diabetes products and services, funded the production of the video and helped it go viral by donating 75 cents for each of the first 100,000 views, resulting in total donation of $75,000. The donation provided insulin and supplies to more than 2,000 people with diabetes in developing countries.

In 2011, in connection with the number of people that do the Big Blue Test, another donation from Roche Diabetes Care will benefit more than 8,000 people with diabetes in need. Five nonprofit organizations focused on helping under served areas with a high incidence of diabetes in the United States will each receive $10,000, while $25,000 will go to support the work in Latin America by the International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child Program."

World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange

This awesome initiative is by Lee Ann Thill over at The Butter Compartment and is an old-fashioned, snail mail postcard swap between people whose lives are affected in some way by diabetes. 

Anyone can sign up - whether you are type 1, type 2, LADA, or a spouse, parent, or sibling of someone with diabetes. Simply email your name and mailing address to Lee Ann and she will match you up with your recipient. Then you create an actual card stock postcard and mail it to your recipient in time for them to receive it on or before World Diabetes Day November 14th!

For full info, including Lee Ann's email address, head over to Lee Ann's Postcard Exchange post at The Butter Compartment!

World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is the pinnacle diabetes awareness campaign for the month of November. Created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation, WDD became an official United Nations day in 2007. "The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public spotlight. This year sees the second of a five-year campaign that will address the growing need for diabetes education and prevention programs.

World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the IDF each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14th, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922."

It's Blue

Blue here, blue there, blue blue everywhere. With diabetes awareness month just around the corner, exciting things are happening!! World Diabetes Day falls on November 14th, and this year we will also be celebrating blue Fridays throughout the month of November. 

Another awesome project by Cherise Shockley, creator of Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (DSMA), in which everyone is encouraged to wear blue every Friday in November and on World Diabetes Day. "Think Blue. Wear Blue". Check out and "like" the Blue Fridays facebook page for more information!

So what are you going to do to show your "blue"?

WDD Postcard Exchange!

Just in case you haven't yet heard about the awesome World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange being organized  by Lee Ann Thill over at The Butter Compartment, check it out! Lee Ann is arranging an old-fashioned, snail mail postcard swap between people whose lives are affected in some way by diabetes. 

Anyone can sign up - whether you are type 1, type 2, LADA, or a spouse, parent, or sibling of someone with diabetes. Simply email your name and mailing address to Lee Ann and she will match you up with your recipient. Then you create an actual card stock postcard and mail it to your recipient in time for them to receive it on or before World Diabetes Day November 14th!

For full info, including Lee Ann's email address, head over to Lee Ann's Postcard Exchange post at The Butter Compartment!