DPAC is a new effort to make it easier for people with diabetes to communicate with policy makers. Co-founder Bennet Dunlap explains how Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition works and how we can all take part. Our Community Connection is with Stacey's cousin, Aaron. He shares his experience at JDRF Children's Congress this summer.
Worried about alarms she couldn't hear, Dana Lewis and Scott Leibrand "hacked" into the programming of her CGM. What they learned led them to a do-it-yourself closed loop artificial pancreas system that Dana has been using since December 2014 (and which she wore during their wedding in August). We find out how they did it, why they make their methods public and what it may mean for the future of diabetes management. In the Community Connection segment, we hear about LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults).
Named the 2014 Diabetes Educator of the Year by the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Gary Scheiner answers questions from our social media feeds. Gary is the owner and director of Integrated Diabetes Services and has lived with type 1 since 1985. Also this episode, Stacey shares her frustrations with trying to manage and learn about diabetes while sometimes not knowing even what questions to ask ("not knowing what we don't know").
"A Mile in My Shoes," is a fun, interactive project by diabetes nurse educator and family therapist Joe Solowiejczyk. Joe's been living with type 1 diabetes for 50 years. The Community Connection this week features Will's Way, which helps families with health insurance pay for diabetes supplies. We talk with Lisa, who started the non-profit after her son Will was diagnosed with type 1.
This episode features a giveaway for "A Mile in My Shoes." Contest entries close on 9/13/15 at midnight.
Richard Vaughn was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1945 at the age of six. This month, he marks 70 years of living with T1D. Vaughn shares how diabetes management and tools have changed over the years and why he thinks he's been able to stay healthy. Our Community Connection features a woman who's also lived a long time with type 1 (40 years) but still encounters some awkward situations. She shares an uncomfortable moment she had while traveling and how she dealt with it.