Info

Diabetes Connections | Type 1 Diabetes

The T1D news show you've been waiting for! Long-time broadcaster, blogger and diabetes mom Stacey Simms interviews prominent advocates, authors and speakers. Stacey asks hard questions of healthcare companies and tech developers and brings on "everyday' people living with type 1. Great for parents of T1D kids, adults with type 1 and anyone who loves a person with diabetes.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Diabetes Connections | Type 1 Diabetes
2024
March
February
January


2023
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2022
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: Category: artists actors authors
Jan 23, 2024

Have you heard about the rebel alliance of healthcare?  That’s what my guest calls the patient-led movement to improve health & health care. Susannah Fox served as the Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and she’s got a new book out called Rebel Health. If you’re thinking hey – that’s sounds like a lot of the diabetes community – oh yeah. You’re right and we talk about it.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

Learn more about "Rebel Health" and order the book here: Rebel Health (mit.edu)

Find out more about Moms' Night Out 

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Learn more about Gvoke Glucagon Gvoke HypoPen® (glucagon injection): Glucagon Injection For Very Low Blood Sugar (gvokeglucagon.com)

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Edgepark Medical Supplies

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Nov 7, 2023

Dr. Mike Natter took a non-traditional path to becoming an endocrinologist, starting out as an art student. But it turns out, the universal language of drawing can help break down barriers

Mike lives with type 1 – he was diagnosed at age 9. This is a wide ranging interview, we talk about his diagnosis at age 9, finishing his medical residency in NYC during the height of COVID, what he learned from his test run with the new Beta Bionics iLet pump, and a lot more.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

Find out more about Moms' Night Out 

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Edgepark Medical Supplies

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Oct 10, 2023

A new movie’s in the works about diabetes called "The Cost". It’s fictional, a thriller co-written and directed by Mike Hogan who lives with type 1.

Mike explains more about what the movie is about, how you can help it get made, and what it’s been like following a childhood dream that doesn’t include health insurance.

More info about The Cost here

Contact Mike directly at Mike@tallorderproductions.com

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

 

Find out more about Moms' Night Out 

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Edgepark Medical Supplies

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Jul 25, 2023

This week, actress Jennifer Stone lives with LADA.. she decided to become a nurse and started her first ER job in March of 2020. I asked her what it was like knowing she had to take care of her own diabetes while also taking care of patients during a pandemic:

You might know Jennifer best from her days on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place… I caught up with her to talk about how she manages LADA, why she decided to become a nurse and still continue acting... and what’s next for her dual careers.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

More about LADA

More about Medtronic's InPen system

Our previous episode with Jennifer Stone

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

May 9, 2023

Actor Austin Basis has a juicy role in this final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; he plays Alvin, the head writer on the show within the show. Basis was diagnosed with type 1 at age nine back in the 1980s. It was a time before home blood glucose meters, let alone pumps and CGMs.

He shares how he manages T1D during auditions and on the set and of course we talk about Mrs. Maisel! I had questions about the fashion, the plot, all night shoots and how this final season ends.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

My first episode with Austin Basis from 2018: https://diabetes-connections.com/actor-austin-basis-and-the-kinetix/

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Mar 28, 2023

Dr. Maureen Michele is a pediatrician whose daughter had already survived a cancer diagnosis, when she was later diagnosed with 1 diabetes. In fact, Dr. Michele knew enough to test for T1D, so mom and daughter found out together, in the school bathroom. The family is now on the other side of what she calls this overwhelming chaos.. and what they’ve learned can help others..

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

Maureen's Book: Reclaiming Life

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Mar 14, 2023

Ginger Vieira is here to talk about her new book – she’s written on everything from pregnancy with diabetes to exercise to her new series of children’s books. But she’s such a well-versed advocate, I had to ask her about her work at the T1D Exchange and all about her use of Afrezza. Why does she love it so much and what does she want you to know about using inhaled insulin?

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

More about Ginger: https://www.gingervieira.com/

Diabetes Doodles: https://diabetesdoodles.com/

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

Take Control with Afrezza 

Omnipod - Simplify Life

Learn about Dexcom 

Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures

Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens 

Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange

The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter here

Here's where to find us:

Facebook (Group)

Facebook (Page)

Instagram

Twitter

Check out Stacey's books!

Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com 

Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com

 

 

Mar 15, 2022

What happens when the diabetes community and the Star Trek fandom collide? The actor who brought these groups together spent time as a blue-skinned alien on Star Trek Discovery. Now Noah Averbach-Katz wants to make a movie where T1D is front and center. He shares more about the Kickstarter campaign to fund it, and about his time in the Star Trek world

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group!

Sign up for our newsletter here

-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners!
-----

Episode Transcription Below (or coming soon!)

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

*Click here to learn more about OMNIPOD*

*Click here to learn more about DEXCOM*

Stacey Simms 0:00
Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Omnipod take Omnipod dash out for a spin with a no commitment free 30 Day Trial, by Dexcom. Take control of your diabetes and live life to the fullest with Dexcom and by club 1921, where Diabetes Connections are made.
This is Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms.
This week when the diabetes community and the Star Trek fandom collide! The actor who brought these groups together spent time as a blue skinned alien with a lot of prosthetics on Star Trek Discovery, but he had to find a way to reach his fingers for blood sugar checks.

Noah Averbach-Katz 0:45
I sort of explained that to him. And they said, Well, it's fine. We'll just put you in gloves the whole time. So the entire time of my sort of run of the show, I am wearing like black leather gloves. Regardless of what I'm doing. I'm eating breakfast, I'm wearing black leather gloves, I'm flying a spaceship, I'm I'm wearing black leather gloves. And that was just so I can have easy access to my fingers. So I could test.

Stacey Simms 1:10
That's Noah Averbach-Katz . And while we talk a lot about Star Trek, he's really here to share the news about a movie he's making called type one. We've got all the info about the Kickstarter campaign to fund it, and other ways you can help.
This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
Welcome to another week of the show. Always so glad to have you along. You know, we aim to educate and inspire about diabetes with a focus on people who use insulin. I didn't plan it this way. But it's interesting. This is the second week in a row that we're doing more of a pop culture or media type episode about diabetes. Right? We talked about turning red last week, if you missed that episode, that is the new Pixar movie on Disney plus, that features two characters with diabetes in the background. And I talked to Susan Fogg from Pixar, who made that happen with her whole team, of course, and one of the things that Susan talked about was why it was just fine to have diabetes in the background, right? That's about what isn't her life. That's how it is for many people with diabetes. It's not always front and center. It's not always what you want to talk about.
But this week's guest looked at things a little differently. And she'll hear Noah Averbach-Katz wanted to put diabetes front and center and make a movie that didn't feature it in the background. So while I didn't plan, as I said, you know, back to back here, I think it's an interesting contrast. Of course, the other big contrast is that Noah's movie is self-funded, it is on Kickstarter, I am going to link that up right here in the show notes. It'll be at diabetes connections.com. Very easy to get to, as we are taping the Kickstarter is still going on. But if you're listening to this after it is ending, the deadline is March 24 2022. And as you'll hear, he's already exceeded his goal. And we'll talk about how that happened. But it doesn't mean that he still doesn't need the money. This movie is expensive, all movies are expensive, and he shares about where the money will go, even as he has exceeded the goal. So if you are so inclined, I will link that up. You can head over there. There's a preview of the movie and more information.
Noah was diagnosed with type one as a teenager, he will share that story. He's an actor, he has been featured in Star Trek Discovery. That's just one of the parts that he has had. And as he mentioned, he is married to Mary Wiseman, who has a starring role in Star Trek Discovery. When they got married in 2019. The New York Times did a write up and I will include that because it's a beautiful story. It's really well written. It's a lot of fun, but I will just share the headline here a life frequently apart, but an enterprise they'll boldly take on. There's a lot of Star Trek in this family. I do need to warn you know what is pretty blunt about diabetes. We all talk about this in different ways. But I would want a heads up if I were listening to this episode with kids. It's not that he's not factual or that he's overly morbid, but when he talks about what can happen, he doesn't pull any punches. So just go into the interview knowing that he's a dry wit and I didn't want to edit what he had to say. So he's blunt. I talked a little bit about my Star Trek fandom during the interview. I'm going to come back and share some stories about that afterwards.
Okay, our conversation in just a moment but first Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Omnipod. And I remember years ago when Benny first started on the Animas insulin pump Yeah, this was a long time ago and upgrade came out but we had to wait years to be eligible for it because of insurance requirements out frustrating is that I'm so glad things are changing. For example, the Omnipod promise takes those worries away with the Omnipod promise you can upgrade to Omnipod five s When it's available to you and covered by insurance, all for no additional upfront cost Omnipod is available through the pharmacy, which means you won't be tied to a long term contract, you're free to upgrade at any time. Not to mention, you can pick your pods up right where you pick up your insulin, go to diabetes dash connections.com and click on the Omnipod logo for full safety risk information and Omnipod promise terms and conditions, visit omnipod.com/diabetes connections.

Noah, thank you so much for joining me, I think this is going to be a lot of

Noah Averbach-Katz 5:35
fun. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

Stacey Simms 5:38
Let's just jump in and start off the bat. Tell me about this movie. Before I ask you why you wanted to do something like that. Tell me what type one what is it?

Noah Averbach-Katz 5:48
So type one is essentially a short film about a type one diabetic and his wife who in the wake of some sort of societal disaster, I mean, really take your pick these days, they sort of go on a journey to kind of find what they hope as a cache of insulin to keep the guy alive as long as possible. And that's pretty much the thrust of the film.

Stacey Simms 6:14
Is it written?

Noah Averbach-Katz 6:14
I mean, you've this is all you right? Yes, yes, I of course wrote myself in the starring role as diabetic man. So yes, it's, it's all written. I haven't read it in a really long time. So I'm wondering if it's any good. But I probably should have dipped back in on it before I started the Kickstarter, but it's too late. Now.

Stacey Simms 6:34
It's one of those things, be careful what you wish for. Because it's been so successful.

Noah Averbach-Katz 6:38
There's a saying that if you really want to freak an actor out, give them the role. I definitely feel that these days.

Stacey Simms 6:45
So it doesn't sound like you wrote this to recently tell me the story of how it kind of came to you the idea and your how you started putting it together? Sure,

Noah Averbach-Katz 6:53
I was actually doing a play in Baltimore. And in that play, there was a very talented deaf actor named Michelle Edmonds, and she was gracious enough to sort of lead me into the deaf community in a small way, kind of give me some insight on what it means how important it is all the intricacies there were and there were also, you know, translators and other deaf consultants on this show as well. And it just really got me thinking about the diabetes community, and how different it was from the deaf community. In the deaf community. There's so much that is shared between people, there's so much like common, not language, but like common understandings of etiquette and stuff like that. And there are these huge community hubs like Gallaudet University and stuff like that. And in the diabetes community, especially in the type one community, for a lot of reasons, it isn't quite like that. Part of that is, you know, at some would say this is debatable, but I genuinely consider if you choose to be diabetes can be an invisible illness. So you know, you're not sort of having to survive in the same way that people with other non invisible disabilities have to do. I felt at the time, there was a real lack of media of things that people in the diabetic community could sort of rally around and have a common thing to talk about, other than how they handle their care. Pretty much all of the diabetes representation in the current landscape right now, you know, obviously, there's this long list and some are better than others, and some are like iconically bad and some are really trying to be hard. But all of them are really for the abled community. They're not really for the disabled community. And there's nothing really wrong with that, especially when the creators or whoever's writing or producing a movie tries really hard to get things right. There's nothing wrong with that. But I think you'd be hard pressed for any other diabetics to to point to something and say, oh, yeah, that is really represents something about my experience. And I can talk about this, this is a launching point for a conversation with other people. And I was sort of in that headspace. And in this play I was doing, I was playing a dog. And I had these long stretches where I just laid on the floor for like, 45 minutes, and I would just sit there thinking blahdy blah, just random thoughts going through my head. And I sort of thought about this idea, which is, you know, basically the pitch for the movie, and I thought that could be a good idea. That's not a bad idea for a script and like, it's something that is both narratively exciting, and something that I think is a universal experience for type one diabetics, the fear of not being able to get your insulin whether that's through a natural disaster or whether that's through an institutionally caused lack of access. And that was in February, late February of 2020. And then like five weeks later, I was sitting in my house in New York being like, Well, I think I need to write this down. So for the first four or five weeks of quarantine in New York, when we were just completely locked inside, I would wake up early write for an hour. And at the end of that little section, the script was was finished pretty much.

Stacey Simms 10:20
I'm curious, when you talk about diabetes in media, I think we all have a story, or a movie, a TV show a book, something that we look at and say, Gosh, really, like, sometimes they get it right. But it's so minor. And sometimes they get it wrong. And it's major. Does there anything that you have seen that you're just like, why?

Noah Averbach-Katz 10:37
Well, you know, the one that really has stuck with me over the years is a episode of The Walking Dead. And it's so relevant to this film. It's almost embarrassing, but it's an episode of The Walking Dead, where it's a type one diabetic and his sister. I mean, I don't actually really remember so don't know what I'm sorry. Yeah. And he's dragging this cooler of insulin, and the good guy steals it and gives it back. And then I think they all get eaten by zombies. Yeah, but I just think she goes low, and they give her a shot. Yeah, something like that. And I just remember thinking, I'm sorry, what you This is year four of the zombie apocalypse, and you're just dragging around a cooler of insulin. These efforts are dead, you're dead, you're dead. And I think everybody has this conference, or a lot of people have this conversation, which, you know, what would you do in the zombie apocalypse? I get in my car, do this type of blah. And my answer is, I'm dying. I'm out. And people hate that answer that really drives them. No, no, no. And I'm like, no, no, no, I'm the guy who's going to buy you another five minutes by holding them off in the corridor, you know what I mean? Because I'm not surviving this stuff. And that sort of is sort of this other element of this whole movie is, is that experience, you know, of, of really feeling like in media, like so often, disabilities type one, but plenty of other disabilities are used as this sort of plot point where the person who is abled saves the disabled person, and they're the hero, and everything works out. And in reality, it's not that way, because people with disabilities have to fight for themselves, right? You know, in every single case, it's not abled people stepping up to the plate and saying, we're going to change this for you, we're going to do this for you. It's it's people with disabilities, absolutely fighting tooth and nail for whatever they need to make their lives livable with the help of abled allies, right. Of course, they're not doing it on their own, there are people who are assisting them. But it really is the people with disabilities front and center. And so part of this film is also putting that in the middle of it as well. So it it's not necessarily about somebody who is abled, dragging a cooler of insulin through the forest. It's teamwork, it's two people working together to try and accomplish a goal. And the person with the disability is really in the center of the story.

Stacey Simms 13:09
So tell us about the Kickstarter, this launched, I think I saw you and you and I started talking, when you were just shy of the goal in the time it took us to set up this interview and talk to each other, you have exceeded the goal by more than I think twice. You're like 200% above it. Can you talk to me a little bit about what you actually are raising money for. For those of us maybe who don't understand what needs to go into a movie, we know it costs a ton of money,

Noah Averbach-Katz 13:34
you know, I've never made a movie before. So I'm learning as I go, just how expensive everything is, you know, you have to pay for all this really expensive specialized equipment, you have to pay for the use of a space, you know, we're going to be shooting, like outside of the city center where we live. So we have to rent hotel rooms and rent an Airbnb and very people in and out and pay for everybody's food. You know, we have to compensate to the best of our ability, everybody who's working on the film. And that's not to, you know, include, like professional actors, like my wife, or, you know, a director who could really commend a fee, like Anthony is doing all this for free and helping out with the Kickstarter on top of that. So it's an expensive process. And part of it is I feel such a massive responsibility to make this movie feel as polished and professional as possible, so that everyone has to take it seriously. It doesn't just sort of get pegged as a disability piece. You know what I mean? Because it's maybe because of it as an excuse. Yeah. Oh, well, it looks a little under production value. So I definitely feel a big responsibility to make it feel and look and read like a real professional films and that is is, unfortunately very expensive.

Stacey Simms 15:03
All right. One of the things that really got my attention was you did not only get the attention of the diabetes community with your social media campaign and the Kickstarter here, but of course, you got the attention of the Star Trek community and it looks like they have been really generous. I got it. I mean, this is so embarrassing, because all right, I'll show my age. I'm a huge Star Trek fan, but I am a next generation fan. And it never kind of went from there. I started watching the next generation. Mostly I just watched in high school. Then I watched it was in syndication. I don't know if you know what that is. I do.

Noah Averbach-Katz 15:33
I'm not that young. Okay. I watched it in syndication to Alright, so Washington syndication I know that Netflix used to send out DVDs It's okay.

Stacey Simms 15:43
And then I got busy with life and kids and I missed all the other ones

Noah Averbach-Katz 15:47
Miss DS nine, you missed Voyager? No, first contact. My goodness, you've got a lot of catching up to do.

Stacey Simms 15:54
I did. I watched all the movies. In fact, we did. We did a rewatch of all of them, including the original movies like with Kirk, we did have during COVID. We'll come back to that because I have some specific Star Trek questions. But let's talk about you and your wife. No, you did not meet on Star Trek. Right? You guys knew each other before it didn't she she was cast. Tell me the story. Well, first

Noah Averbach-Katz 16:14
off, let me say this, which is that? You know, our director Anthony Rapp, who is also on Star Trek Discovery, basically has been mentored by Jonathan Frakes, aka Riker. So there is a very strong connection to the next generation in this film. As Anthony sort of has been doing directing on Discovery is Anthony Rapp the same Anthony Rapp from rent. That's correct. The very same. Oh, yes. Yes, we've got all of your favorite nostalgia pics. All in one movie.

Stacey Simms 16:47
90s. Rewind.

Noah Averbach-Katz 16:50
Yeah, yeah. So Anthony, you would, of course know him is Mark from rent, but he's been in dazed and confused, and eventually babysitting either as a direct connection to the next generation here. So it's not so far out of the realm to bring that up. But Mary and I met at Julliard, we were both classmates there. And I was a big Star Trek fan. And she hadn't really, you know, she, like everybody who grew up in the 90s. In the early aughts had like, watch the next generation, but that's kind of it. And she got an audition for Star Trek. And I was so excited. And I read the lines with her. And that was kind of it. She was supposed to do a slate, which is essentially like, just like a full body shot to see how tall you are. And she came in wearing this flowery flowing dress, sort of a hippie dress. So I would normally never say anything. But this one time, I said, Look, sweetie, you look amazing. But you need to wear something with shoulder pads. And so she came back in, and it's sort of military style jacket. And she got the parts. So that's what I liked. I liked to say that she got the part because of that. Oh, that's so funny. And that was in 2016 17 2017. And then she's just been working on the show. And I got a chance to work on the show as well. And yeah, it's just been a lot of fun for me. I hope she's having as much fun as I am. But I'm certainly having a good time. But

Stacey Simms 18:14
what is it but your mother is the biggest Star Trek, right?

Noah Averbach-Katz 18:17
This is true. Yes. My mother is of course having the most fun of all. Yes, she's gotten to go to conventions with me when I've been at conventions. She got to go on set and sit in the captain's chair. She really has. Yeah, she really has lived this this wild Star Trek fan dream that she's very, very pleased with herself. And we're all very happy for her. She's having the time of her life.

Stacey Simms 18:44
We haven't actually talked about your diabetes. Well, how old were you when you were diagnosed?

Noah Averbach-Katz 18:49
I was 13. It was the summer between eighth grade and my freshman year of high school. So that was about 20 years ago.

Stacey Simms 18:57
What do you remember about it?

Noah Averbach-Katz 18:59
I remember just like feeling kind of, I just remember all the classic symptoms, you know, going to the bathroom all the time being so thirsty, losing a ton of weight. And then my family doctor came in to the office and said something to me, and my mom looked upset. So I was like, well, this isn't good. I don't know what he's talking about. You know, this was sort of before diabetes was in the consciousness for everyone. You know, it's like phase one, phase two diabetes. Yeah. And then, you know, I'm old enough to remember using NPH and having to eat on this crazy schedule when my long acting would kick in. And you know, it's funny because I stopped using a pump in 2011 but that pump that I had been using was pretty much the same pump since 2005. And so I'm like, I'm done with pumps. I'm out. I don't want to use them anymore. But then I'm like, Oh man, like I'm still thinking about pumps like people think about the ice Phone five like Blackberry. Yeah, I'm like I'm stuck in 2005 when it comes to a lot of that technology, so it's been a similar journey to many others.

Stacey Simms 20:13
Did you go on a pump? Or do you still use pens? No, I

Noah Averbach-Katz 20:16
still use pens. But I have graduated to using a Dexcom G six. So at least I'm not completely stuck in the past. Well,

Stacey Simms 20:25
the reason I'm asking is mostly because when I ask actors, I always like to know how or if they try to hide the technology. Because some of these outfits are pretty form fitting.

Noah Averbach-Katz 20:36
When I was on Star Trek, I wasn't on the G six yet, I was still using finger sticks. And for those who don't know, I was playing an alien, a blue alien called an Andorian. It was it was a full prosthetic face, right? So my entire face is covered in this thick layer of rubber. And one of my classmates kind of the king of prosthetics. His name is Doug Jones, you would know him as the fish from the shape of water. Oh, yeah, he also wears prosthetics. And I had been on set with him a lot. And I'd see they put him in prosthetic hands. He's kind of like goofy looking gloves, but that you couldn't take them on and off, they were super fitted. So he would just sit there, you know, not being able to poke at his phone or do anything. And when I got cast, I was so you know, so excited. Thinking about the prosthetics and I thought, Oh, crap, you know, if they put me in these prosthetic gloves that I can't take on and off, I'm screwed, you know, I'm gonna have to have somebody take my blood sugar, maybe on my forearm. But if I'm wearing clothing that I can't roll up and down like this is going to be a disaster. So I asked Mary, and she said, well just bring it up to the costume people and see what they can do for you. And the costume people, oh, I sort of explained that to them. And they sort of Nan said, Well, it's fine. We'll just put you in gloves the whole time. So the entire time of my sort of run of the show, I am wearing like black leather gloves. Regardless of what I'm doing. I'm eating breakfast, I'm wearing black leather gloves, I'm flying a spaceship, I'm wearing black leather gloves. And that was just so I could have easy access to my fingers. So I could test. So that's kind of a fun, diabetes Insider.

Stacey Simms 22:20
Because you know, it's after stories, if we were talking to small children, or people who were wondering about how they're going to work at work or school, you can use an accommodation to be made even this blue alien. found a way. Exactly, exactly. But that's great. So I've already asked about your mom and Star Trek. And I hesitate. But I'm just always curious as being a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes. I'm most curious about other parents. And I know that when you're 13 or 14, you're not really paying attention to how your parents are going through something like that. But is there anything that they did when you were a teenager that helped?

Noah Averbach-Katz 22:55
Hmm, when you're 13, you're still really a kid, you know what I mean? So it's hard to say like what they did that helped, you know, they, they took me when I got diagnosed, we were gonna go to London. And instead, we went to a diabetes summer camp, which I absolutely loathe. And I was utterly miserable. I was so unhappy. But I think it was very good for them. So I think that really helped them because they were, you know, they were totally freaked out. It was this huge job, there wasn't the resources available online, right, you know, so it was just like, you kind of get thrown to the wolves back then. And it's sort of sink or swim. So I think that really helped them. And then the first semester or two of high school, I was just sort of like in and out of school, I would just like not go to school. And they were just sort of fine with that. And I think that was helpful just to take a couple of months to just get my bearings understand what was going on. And I think for them just having me around so that they also weren't worrying all the time. Yeah. And then I think it was also very helpful at some point. And of course, this changes person to person, everybody, when it comes to this stuff really needs different forms of help. But I think at some point, I just said, I am so sick of having you guys around. I'm so sick of being around you. I'm tired of you. I'm tired of you. And I'm 14, you know, yeah. So I'm taking control of this, and I'm taking control of my life, and I'll see you suckers later. And being okay, with handing me the reins, you know, is not an easy thing for any parent to do. And I think they just sort of let me go for it. You know, and I think that was really useful and very smart. Because at the end of the day, it really is it is on the diabetic to take care of it as much as the parent would love to movie with only ever leave your site. Exactly. And, you know, of course it's not the same for younger kids who really do need that different level of attention. But yeah, you know, once you hit 14, you're going to hit some problems if you're really trying to not control but have some control over your child's life, even if it is in the diabetes fear. You're the one who's who's out there alone, you have to be able to handle it yourself. So feeling like your parents trusted you to be able to not die is a good vote of confidence.

Stacey Simms 25:24
You sound like my son. That's so blunt.

Noah Averbach-Katz 25:27
Yeah. Well, you know, diabetes makes you kind of blunt, because it is black and white, right? You get this stuff and you live where you don't, and you die. And that's sort of what the movie is about. As much as it is about disaster or access to infant. It is also a very universal thing for diabetics, which can make some non-diabetics a little uncomfortable, which is a constant confrontation with mortality, right? You have the stuff you live, you don't have the stuff you die, there's not really wiggle room in there, and you kind of have to get comfortable with it. Because otherwise, you're just kind of woken up by it in the middle of the night and you start to panic. So you have to kind of make peace with it and look it in the eyes and just say alright, your this fact is coming with me, and I can handle it.

Stacey Simms 26:13
Let's talk a little bit more about Star Trek. You know, Gene Roddenberry's vision was very optimistic. Sure. Does that optimism hold up in this crazy time that we're living in? I mean, I'll answer I'll say yes, because I think that's why people are still drawn to it and still love all the shows. But I'm curious what you think about this very optimistic.

Noah Averbach-Katz 26:33
Here, my experience interacting with most people, and I think this Kickstarter is a reflection of that is that people want to be the best version of themselves, they want to be helpful. They want to lend aid where they can. And when asked to step up to the plate, most people do their best. I think that's my experience is that there is a lot of stuff that gets in the way of that. But I just really think that most people want to help. And there aren't a lot of opportunities to help. Because the world is huge. And our communities have sort of fractured and for all sorts of reasons. But when I watch different shows, or think about different shows, I actually think that the reason why Star Trek has stuck with so many people is it is a real reflection of how people try to be the best version of themselves how they would like to interact with people, which is leading with a from a sense of, of cooperation, leading from wanting to be helpful, leading to problem solving. And just those simple things cooperating with other people, anybody who's worked at a job knows this cooperating is really challenging. Working alongside other people who come from a different background have different ideas than you is really challenging, working together to solve a problem that doesn't have a clear answer, that people have different ideas about how to go about solving is really, really challenging. And I think Star Trek is about, like, how do you navigate that right? How do you navigate people who are trying to work together, but are very, very different. I think that has been the most one to one reflection of my sort of adult experience, which is that people want to help they want to be involved. They want to make the world a better place. But it's really, really hard to do. I don't know, I just think people don't want to live in a dark, gritty reality. It's cool to watch. Don't get me wrong. But I think people really do strive to live in a community orientated, bonded, connected society. And that is sort of the example that Star Trek offers less than a utopia. I don't think it's a utopia, because there are so many issues, you know, otherwise there wouldn't be any problems. And I don't think that Star Trek is offering a world where there are no problems. I think it's offering a world where the opportunity to solve conflicts to solve interpersonal problems with quality communication, where a lot of the societal barriers have been removed. So it makes the focus less about how you're going to survive and more about how you can aid your community. I think that's sort of what people would really, really like most people I interact with anyway.

Stacey Simms 29:37
Yeah. Well said very well said. So what's next for type one, the movie? I mean, as I said, you've already hit the Kickstarter goal. It'll wrap up pretty soon. What comes next in the process?

Noah Averbach-Katz 29:49
Well, you know, like, once we sort of realized, okay, we're going to have enough money to make this movie. We've sort of kicked our pre production into gear, hiring everybody who's not already on The team finding the right location, getting all the logistics in order. And that will continue basically up until we shoot sometime in May. And then after May it goes into post production, and then a post production goes smoothly will go into the festival circuit. So yeah, it's really just trying to get the machine running for this project, which seems like a small little movie, but to do it right really does take a lot of it takes all hands on deck, and you're saying May of this year just start shooting? Yeah, we got to move fast because people have to make other television shows holy

Stacey Simms 30:35
cow. Well, Noah, thank you so much for joining me for sharing so much information. I'm thrilled that the Kickstarter has gone so well. And I hope that when you can breathe again, it sounds like you're running nonstop for several months, come back and tell us how it went and how we can continue to help.

Noah Averbach-Katz 30:53
Absolutely, I would love to be back. Thank you so much for having me.

Stacey Simms 31:02
You're listening to Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms. More information and that Kickstarter link, of course, over at diabetes connections.com. If you're listening in a podcast app like Apple or Spotify, the links should be there too. Sometimes they don't work so well in those apps. So please head on over to the episode homepage every week to get the information at diabetes dash connections.com. It's really interesting with podcast apps, how they're so easy to use, but the links don't often show up, especially with Apple, which is the top way people listen to the show as to the Apple podcast app. But you know, the links are not so hot. So I always put it out there that you can head back to the homepage, I am going to tell you a little bit more about my Star Trek stuff. I alluded to a little bit in the interview there. But how I how it ties into my former career in television. No, I was never on a Star Trek episode.
But first, Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Dexcom. And when we first started with Dexcom, back in December of 2013, the share and follow apps were not an option. They just hadn't come out with the technology yet. So trust me when I say using share and follow makes a big difference. I do think it's really important. I say this a lot. Talk to the person you're following or sharing with and get comfortable with how you want everyone to use the system. Even if you're following your young child. These are great conversations to have at what numbers are you going to get in touch? How long will you wait before you call that sort of thing. And that way, the whole system gives everyone real peace of mind. And I'll tell you what I love about Dexcom share, and that is helping Benny with any issues using the data from the whole day and night, not just one moment, internet connectivity is required to access the separate Dexcom follow app. To learn more, go to diabetes connections.com and click on the Dexcom logo.
So I mentioned a little bit of the interview with Noah about how I love Star Trek The Next Generation and how that's really where my fandom stop. If you just kind of embarrassing. I meant to watch Discovery before he talked to him. But I ran out of time. And I've got to get Paramount or whatever the channel it's on. So we did watch season one of Picard. We did it with the free special right the free trial of that channel. Since the second season has just come out, I'll probably get paramount and watch Discovery.

I think that's where it is Fingers crossed. I've got it right. There's so much streaming. But back in the day before streaming, and just syndication. I used to watch Star Trek The Next Generation and I started watching it in high school. And I believe it was always in syndication, right wasn't one of those weird shows that didn't really have a network home. It was just syndicated. And it stayed in syndication forever, even after the series finished its run. So when I worked at WSTM, the NBC affiliate in Syracuse, New York, I used to go to bed very early because I had to be up I had to be on the air at five o'clock in the morning. I didn't remember what time I got up to it was even worse than radio because I had to put makeup on and you know, get dressed to look cute. I mean, that was got dressed to radio too. But you don't I mean, it's all different. So I used to go to bed at 730 or eight o'clock. And to Star Trek The Next Generation came on at seven. So I used to watch that most nights. And then when that was over, it was bedtime. And I got into that habit for ever. And then I moved jobs and move cities and you know, it just didn't last and I never picked up on any of the other shows.
I loved Picard as if they did a great job of kind of updating it and giving a lot of nods to the fans but also having a really good time and my husband is not as much of a Star Trek fan as I am and he really liked Picard. And we also watched as long as I'm giving you sci fi recommendation just we watched the Expanse this year too. We started watching that last year and that's on Amazon Prime. The Expanse is fabulous. The first season is pretty slow. I know get through it. Don't skip it though. You need it for later on. But the first season is not the best. But it's a great show. It's six seasons. I've loved it so much that when I was finished I went back and read all the books and the books are fantastic too. Good stuff Although, all right now that I'm recommending pop culture stuff, I will say that the expanse, especially in the early seasons, that early books is very male centered. It's written by a couple of guys. So no surprise there. When you watch the next generation, when you go back now with my now, those skirts are pretty short and the female crew doesn't exactly get the best storylines. So if you're looking for sci fi or fantasy, that is just incredible, and also happens to be a little bit more female centered, and Kay Jemison, Broken Earth series. I read that last year, absolutely phenomenal. Probably the best sci fi or fantasy series I've read in ages. And I'm into that too. So I'll link I'll link all this up. If you're interested. Join me for my new pop culture podcast. Stacey talks about sci fi. You know what, that sounds kind of fun. All right. But that is not what this podcast is all about. Go check out Noah's Kickstarter.
Next week, I am getting right back into the technology and tools of diabetes. We're talking with the folks from via site. This is the encapsulation of stem cells. This is the quote, functional cure. We know way down the road for type one, they were really interesting. There's a lot of new stuff that's been happening since I last talked about via site on the show. It's kind of beyond encapsulation, that what they're doing very much sci fi feeling, if I could tie it back into that, but it really is interesting stuff. And I hope you can join me. All right, thank you, as always, to my editor, John Bueknas from audio editing solutions. Thank you so much for listening. I really appreciate it. I'm Stacey Simms. I'll see you back here soon. Until then. Are any of you expecting me to say live long and prosper? Alright, be kind to yourself. Diabetes Connections is a production of Stacey Simms media. All rights reserved. All wrongs avenged

Mar 6, 2022

When Pixar’s new movie, Turning Red premieres, the diabetes community will probably enjoy the story, but we’ll be looking very closely at a couple of background characters. There are two with diabetes technology on their arms Diabetes isn’t part of the plot here, but it's very visible.

We can thank Susan Fong for that. She’s what’s called the Dailies and Rendering Supervisor for Turning Red. Fong lives with type 1 and she’s the one who asked to put diabetes into the movie. We talk about the team effort to get these characters on screen, the balance of math and art that is both diabetes and movie-making and a lot more.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group!

Sign up for our newsletter here

-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners!
-----

Episode Transcription Below (or coming soon!)

Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!

*Click here to learn more about OMNIPOD*

*Click here to learn more about DEXCOM*

Stacey Simms 0:00
Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Omnipod. Simplify life with diabetes. by Dexcom. Take control of your diabetes and live life to the fullest and by Club 1921, where Diabetes Connections are made.
This is Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms.
This week when Pixar’s new movie Turning Red premieres, the diabetes community will probably enjoy the story. But we'll be looking very closely at a couple of background characters. There are too with visible diabetes technology. Diabetes is not part of the plot here, which is kind of the point.

Susan Fong 0:45
And sometimes I think that's important. I know a lot of folks get frustrated by the number of questions. They're asked about diabetes, or can you eat that? Should you be eating that? What's that thing on your arm, and sometimes it's just nice to be who you are, and have it not be a part of.

Stacey Simms 1:01
That's Pixar’s, Susan Fung. She lives with type one. And she is the person who asked to put diabetes into Turning Red . We talk about the team effort to get these characters on screen, the balance of math and art that is both diabetes and moviemaking, and a lot more. This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
Welcome to another week of the show, always so glad to have you here. If you are new, we aim to educate and inspire about diabetes with a focus on people who use insulin. And how cool was it to see people who use insulin in the Turning Red trailer when this came out a couple of months ago, and you know, there was that first trailer, the little teaser, where we saw one child with what looked like a pump infusion set maybe on her arm. We all went bananas. But then the second trailer came out and we saw another kid with diabetes technology. It looked like a Dexcom CGM on her arm. And that prompted 1000s of posts and tons of questions. Well, we've got the answers for you this week.
My guest is Susan Fung and she is what is called the dailies and rendering supervisor for Turning Red . She'll explain what that means and how this whole process came together. Susan lives with type one she was diagnosed at age five. Her sister also has type one she was diagnosed a few years later. Susan was Pixar as sequence lead on Seoul, the rendering Supervisor of Coco and she's worked on Brave Toy Story three Wally Up Ratatouille, the list goes on and on. I am really grateful that she spent some time talking to me about diabetes and animation and a lot more.
But first Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Omni pod. You know, I'm a big fan of choice when it comes to diabetes technology. I get so excited when there's something new. Because if you live with diabetes, whatever type whatever age, you deserve to find the best fit for you. That's just one reason I'm working with Omnipod to help spread the word about their program that makes it so easy to test their system out. It's the Omnipod dash free trial. If you want to try an insulin pump or see what life without tubes is all about, you can now try Omnipod dash free for 30 days. The trial comes with no commitment or obligation, not right for you. No problem, go to diabetes connections.com and click on the Omnipod logo or go to omnipod.com/diabetes connections for details, Terms and Conditions apply for full safety risk information and free trial Terms and Conditions. Visit omnipod.com/diabetes connections.

Susan, thank you so much for joining me. I think the whole community just went bananas when we saw the trailers of the teasers for Turning Red . So to talk to you about how this all happened is just a thrill. Thanks for being here.

Susan Fong 3:55
Definitely. Yeah, thanks for having me.

Stacey Simms 3:56
Let's just jump right in. Why are there depictions of diabetes in this movie? How does this happen?

Susan Fong 4:03
We have a long history of Pixar, of trying to increase diversity and representation on screen. It's largely been motivated by folks in our characters and crowds departments who on each film have made suggestions on what we could incorporate. And I happened to be on read very early. When your supervisor you're one of the first folks to start on the film. And so given that I was on early, which is the best time to make a suggestion. I asked the crowd supervisor like hey, can we get a representation of insulin pump in this movie? And he said, Heck yeah. And then he took that back to our director, our soup tech and kind of what we can consider our production pod and the producer. They made some suggestions about what we could incorporate to increase representation on screen and everyone loved the suggestion of insulin pump. And that's how we got it in the film.

Stacey Simms 4:45
Just before we go any further sop tech.

Susan Fong 4:48
Is that a sup tech is it the supervising technical director is the supervisor of all the supervisors.

Stacey Simms 4:54
Okay. So when you were asking about an insulin pump What did you have in mind kind of to maybe sneak it in, or make it part of the story or just have it somewhere on the on the screen?

Susan Fong 5:08
Really, for me, it was just about representation. I think, you know, given that it was a kids movie, or were in middle school, we see a bunch of children on screen. It's something that I don't see, I don't see representation of myself in that way. And so even if it's not a central element of the story, to me, is just still holds value saying like, Hey, kids all look different. We all have something different about us. And this happens to represent how I'm different, at least visibly.

Stacey Simms 5:34
When I saw the trailer for Turning Red , I just thought I you know, I don't know the story. As you and I are talking, I haven't seen it yet. It has not yet been released. But even without the depiction of diabetes, you see this pre teen or tween, and then she turns into a panda. It's just such a crazy, fun representation of the madness of puberty. I mean, I assume that's what the movie really is about. And that's a time where you feel so different, whether you have diabetes or not. But having that extra stuff on you has got to be even more of a burden. So I know you were gonna talk about your story. But is that part of what you were thinking about with this kind of movie?

Susan Fong 6:11
Yes, I think that is a strong central theme is kind of that challenge of those middle school years. And what happens when you go through puberty. And it is true, that's kind of the phase when a lot of young diabetics become more self conscious, I actually did not get an insulin pump until I graduated from college, I have now had diabetes for have to do some math, I think 38 years. And so it wasn't, you know, available for me when I was that age, which meant it was a little less visible. You know, for me, the way it manifested was a blood glucose meter, always getting eat a snack maybe whenever when other folks didn't. But it did make you always stand out.

Stacey Simms 6:45
So let's talk about you. You were diagnosed when you were five years old, in the early 80s. Do you remember any of your own diagnosis?

Susan Fong 6:52
I do. And some of it I think when I describe it is likely my interpretation as an adult looking back. I you know, I did listen to one of your podcast episodes a few weeks ago, you were surprised that both folks on the show had misdiagnosis stories, well add me to that list. I came down with some sort of virus kind of standard sore throat kind of thing. We went and saw the doctor says this just a virus sent me home went back a week later, because I wasn't improving. They gave us antibiotics sent me home. Third week, when we come back, my mom was basically frantic at that point, because she could barely keep me awake. And when they tested my blood sugar, actually, the doctor took one look at me and said, Oh God, we got to get her straight to the ER, Mom rushes me to the ER. And then I'm like, basically in an attic consciousness. So I have flashes of like, remembering my mom running and screaming for help beat her up a little bit. Because my mother's amazing. Such a fighter for me, my sister is diabetic too, by the way. And so you know, I was the first to be diagnosed of the two of us. And the doctor just really kind of missed all the signs, you know, massive weight loss, massive thirst, increasing somnolence, you know, couldn't stay awake. And so when they tested my blood sugar, they couldn't, you know, return a value, it was too high to return a value. I was in about a week, I was not sent home with a blood glucose meter, which is crazy. And we were in the middle of a move, which, of course. And so shortly after diagnosis, we moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and I was lucky to be seen at Duke University. And they were much more forward thinking in that day and age of having, you know, everyone have a blood glucose meter. And also using sliding scales for insulin, really deciding on your insulin dose based on what you were eating instead of the other way around. Right. And I remember the horror, when we moved to Atlanta, endocrinologist was like you set your own doses. But I am grateful for that foundation, you know, that Duke gave us so I think I was probably without a meter for maybe four weeks. And that thing of those first blood glucose meters back then it's like three minutes that had a wash bottle. You know, it was Yeah,

Stacey Simms 8:56
yeah. Many, many people at that time didn't have a home meter in the early 80s. Is my understanding, at least Yes. Wow. When was your sister diagnosed,

Susan Fong 9:04
she was diagnosed, right? In the preteen years, bless her heart. And you know, in our case, we recognize the signs. My sister was complaining about something to my mom, my mom said, Hey, we should check your blood sugar, and it was high. And that's always one of those things where you're testing it. But you're not really thinking about what that next moment is like, if that number pops up. And it's not what you expect.

Stacey Simms 9:26
I've talked to parents who have multiple children with type one, but very few siblings. Would you mind talking for a minute of what is that? Like? I'm sure she wanted some support from you, but you're the little sister. And then after a while you do have each other to lean on, but it still had to be devastating.

Susan Fong 9:42
I think diabetes was less intensively managed back in that day. And when I think about you know, it is a constant thought woven through every moment of my day as an adult and I think as a child, honestly, I didn't think that way. You know, it was something that you tested your blood at breakfast and dinner You took a shot at breakfast and at dinner, and there was very little thinking in between, because often what they had was you running high enough to avoid the lows, you know, so I had a few critical lows as a child, you know, one of wishes the first day that pool opens and summer. Too many hours in the pool. Yeah, Dad was flying solo that weekend, I'm sure. You know, that was part of the challenge. But it just wasn't as present in my mind. And I think, you know, as we got older, and the technologies improved, and the diabetes complications and control trial results came out. That's really when the shift happened, where we tried to become more intensively managed. And so when I look back at the diagnosis that my sister, while it's devastating, and I'm sure she was devastated, we actually didn't talk about it that much. You know, I think that's just part of the innocence of childhood.

Stacey Simms 10:47
Yeah, that makes sense. For sure. One of the things that I found when I was doing some of the research for this episode was a video of you, I think it's three years old, it might be longer, it might be older than that was Khan Academy. And you're kind of explaining your job and explaining things about, you know, how it works at Pixar. And then you talked about diabetes, and you held up the Animas vibe, which I just said off such fond memories of animals. But do you mind if I ask what technology you're using now?

Susan Fong 11:15
I'm on the Tandem T slim with Dexcom.

Stacey Simms 11:17
If you're not familiar as you listen, it went under business a few years ago. But in that video, you talk a little bit about math and diabetes and math and art and your job. I thought that was fascinating. Could you speak a little bit about how all that goes together.

Susan Fong 11:32
And again, our technology has improved. But as a diabetic, I measure almost everything I eat on a food scale. And so there's a constant exercise of math of I read the package, and it says there's 20 grams of carbohydrates for 30 grams of weight. And now on my scale, I have 60 grams of weight than how many carbs do I have. So there's constant calculations like that, that you're doing. And I've also mentioned, both in my job and in diabetes, the importance of kind of gut instinct, that the longer you're diabetic, the more comfortable you are operating on gut instinct. As I know, I should take this amount of insulin for 40 grams. But because I did this intensive fitness class this morning, I'm going to lie and take a little less. And so there's a kind of a math fine, you know, is your foundation, and it helps validate your gut instincts, but you're still going to modify things from there, it's not the end all be all. And in my job, so much of what I do is predicting the amount of farm meaning render farm cores or number of CPUs or computers, you can think of it that we need to make our film on any given day. And I start doing this forecast about three years before the film comes out. And so I am constantly playing with math, you know, figuring out if this department has this many shots to do, and this is the average cost per shot, how much farm do they need on a given day. And all of that is graphed and plotted over time. And it just reminds me so much of when I look at now my Dexcom graph on my MIT swim or on my phone, and I'm looking at these graphs, and I'm looking for anomalies like, Hey, this looks a little high, Hey, that looks a little off, hey, this is going up faster than I expect. And it's all of the same things that I'm doing at work. When I'm looking at the validation of the data, I have that gut instinct of you begin to recognize the patterns over time. And then your gut kicks in and says this pattern looks wrong to me. And that's when you dive in and figure out what you know how to

Stacey Simms 13:24
fix it. I remember when my son was diagnosed, our endocrinologist said, you know, you have to understand diabetes is just as much art as science. And I understand that kind of in theory, but the way you're talking about it really makes sense is your your work must be just as much science as art and artists science as well.

Susan Fong 13:42
Definitely. I mean, I think, you know, there's so much more art, I would say in my job, then definitely than in the world of diabetes, there's the art of gut instinct, for sure. You know, working at Pixar, I'm so lucky that the math I do, ultimately results in a pretty picture at the end of the day. And I and that is how I got interested in working for a company like Pixar is I was in undergraduate school at Georgia Tech. And I took a class that was intro to graphics. And one of the things they have you do is write a math program that draws a single pixel at a time. The technology back then that we used was called ray tracing. So I wrote a ray tracer, that first time you generate a photorealistic image, just from writing text in a text editor. It's magic, you can't believe that you can do it. And that's really what the art of rendering is. There's a lot of complex math that goes into it, some of which I am familiar with, but it's more handled by our engineers. But that math is all based on the laws of physics. And the laws of physics dictate how lighting bounces around the room, or how you know, skin is slightly translucent, if it has a light source behind it. And so those kinds of things. We have a physical measurements of real world data that inform equations that we use to replicate that on screen. So it's really kind of a fascinating place to be with math and One pence to the accountants of the world. But no. When I think of what's a career in math as a kid, that's kind of what I would think of as something like, you know, being an accountant. And that did not hold enough interest for me. For me, it was more about what can I do with math that does tie back into some of my core passions, for things like art, photography, just the beauty of the world.

Stacey Simms 15:22
It's interesting. I always wanted to be a journalist, you know, I spent my career in broadcasting. And when I was a freshman in college, one of my first assignments was, I was so lucky, they did a press tour for The Little Mermaid, the movie, it wasn't finished. But they showed a lot of the unfinished animation to us. And they talked about how difficult it was to get her hair to swirl around underwater. And I always think about that, when I watch you laughing at that.

Susan Fong 15:47
I'm not, I just I've spent I've done a lot of work on hair over the years. Okay, that is a challenge. Okay,

Stacey Simms 15:53
so when I remember they took her hair, I think about that almost every time I watch an animated movie, and I cannot believe how realistic it's getting. I cannot believe how far it's common. And you know, I know it's just the beginning is that realism that we're seeing? Is it all the computers animation getting better is it people knowing how to manipulate it better, isn't just so much, or the computer so much more powerful,

Susan Fong 16:15
it's all three. So see anything about simulation simulation of something like hair or cloth, we start with a physical space solution that our director of software engineering who has a PhD from UC Berkeley, she has written along with her team, a simulator, and that kind of is the first thing that our simulation team will will run. But there are many cases that kind of physically accurate, isn't what the director is looking for. And that's where the art of simulation comes in. Of if the director is saying they want a different shape, try to think of a good example, like in the movie Brave, when Maratha has a hood up and then pulls it back over her long curly hair. That was a very art directed shot. If you just ran a physics simulator, that's not what it would look like. And so you know, you have to learn to incorporate, you know, ways of tweaking that that base foundation to kind of give the look that you're looking for. It's really one of those things where it marries everything you've said, there's better software that you know, is based on the laws of physics, there's faster computers that can run more complex calculations. And then we evolve our artistry over time, and our simulation artists have gotten better at better at the art side of simulation, you know, sculpting the shape of a blanket or sculpting the way the shower curtain silhouette is. These are things that are more art than science.

Stacey Simms 17:33
So let's go back then to Turning Red does the diabetes that we saw depicted on the two characters does that come up in the movie at all is it in the background isn't mentioned or explained,

Susan Fong 17:44
it does not come up in the movie. It is not mentioned or explained more than one character is diabetic. One of my favorite characters that happens to be a diabetic. And you may have seen this on our second trailer is a blonde girl, her hair in a ponytail in the girls bathroom. But when Mei turns into a panda in the bathroom, she's there, and she has her infusion set on her arm. Her name Stacy Frick, you know, she's the the popular friendly girl. She accepts me for who she is, despite all her differences. And she also happens to be a diabetic. And so it's just kind of she is a more central character than we often have. When we think about different efforts, we've had that increasing representation. A lot of times it's just you know, kind of in the background on a crowds character, but species a reoccurring character, but it's not part of the story. And sometimes I think that's important. I know a lot of folks get frustrated by the number of questions. They're asked about diabetes, or you know, can you eat that? Should you be eating that? What's that thing on your arm? And sometimes it's just nice to be who you are, and have it not be a part of the story.

Stacey Simms 18:46
Okay, I'm gonna let the fact that she's named Stacy slide right by because I do not want the illusion ruined that I somehow influence that. I know I didn't. But you mentioned a couple of minutes ago that you would listen to a podcast episode where two of the women were misdiagnosed. And I'm pretty sure that was one where we talked about this movie. And we talked about representation. And specifically one of the guests was concerned about talking about this as though it was only inclusive of type one, which we all know diabetes technology is worn by people with different types of diabetes. Did that occur to you at all? And is that? Well, I'll just leave it there. Did that occur to you at all? Is that something that you had thought about?

Susan Fong 19:26
I mean, I 100% agree with Dr. Walker. I think I'm lucky that I've had exposure through my friends to type two diabetics that do read the same technology that I do. You know, one of my my good childhood friends, her mom crashed out her car when she was low, and she had never heard of a Dexcom and granted back then they were a little bit newer. But when I found out what happened, you know, I said you know about this technology. And one of the problems that we've been having over the years is having endocrinologist be open to fighting for that technology for a type two diabetic let's say to come into dependent. So I 100% agree with Dr. Walker, that it's extremely important to have that just be diabetes, and not necessarily about the type. We all have different pieces of technology that we need to use to manage ourselves. And this is just one of the tools.

Stacey Simms 20:14
I was struck to when you mentioned that you brought it up, hey, we'd like to have somebody with diabetes, visible technology in this movie. And the person next to you said, Heck yeah, let's do it. Pixar seems to really be making this push to show so many more different kinds of people, different types of people, I guess you could have a big company meeting and talk about it is it's kind of something in the air. How is that happening? And it just seems like they're doing it right.

Susan Fong 20:38
I think this goes back to the importance of having a diverse workforce. If you have diverse voices in the room, they're more likely to advocate for different things about the stories that stand out to them, where representation is lacking, or something as misrepresented. In general, in the tech industry, we've seen a groundswell of support for different diversity inclusion efforts. And we have had several talks and summits at Pixar, where we talk about different strategies to both increase our presentation, but also improve the hiring process, improve the support that folks are lent once they do start. And I think it was around that area that folks started saying, Hey, can we and crowds was our easiest place to start, because we build a giant library of different people. And so you know, over the years, we've added crutches and canes and wheelchairs, a cochlear implant on one movie. And I remember, I think it was added a few films back, but there's a shot of someone just sitting in a waiting room, you know, it's pretty large on the screen that you definitely see it. And we had a similar response to that. People just want to see the presentation of the real world. And I think given that this film, in particular, was set in toronto, toronto is an incredibly diverse city. And it gave us so many opportunities to represent represent that diversity on screen. It's a little difficult

Stacey Simms 21:55
to see in the trailer, what type of diabetes technology the characters are wearing, is that on purpose, is it supposed to be a depiction of a Dexcom or a tubed pump site? You know, my listeners are really wanting to dig deep and find this. More general, it's

Susan Fong 22:10
okay either way, unroll response on social media was overwhelming. And I took all my willpower in the world to not hop in and be like, it's not that. I appreciate everyone's curiosity. So I think one of the things that was really important to our director is being accurate to the time period in which the film was was set. And so this is the early 2000s, I was an early adopter of Dexcom. It did not look like that in the early 2000s, I think was 2004 when the Dexcom, seven first came out, they weren't widespread. And so what we see is more of our presentation of a tube pump. And one of the challenges when we we said heck yeah, and that was our crowd supervisor, Paul Candiac. And are one of our folks and characters Mara. They were both on board. But then the question and the challenge became, how often do you shoot characters waist, which is where more most people wear a pump, in film and TV, if you've watched, you know, an episode tonight, pay attention to it. We're always framing character spaces. If we put the insulin pump on the waist, I think it was going to be more challenging to actually see it. And so that kind of led to some strategizing by Mara of like, well, hey, can we put the infusion set on the arms? You know, how common is that. And I definitely had friends that did that. And it seems like a great way to make sure that even if we're shooting from the waist up, or kind of, you know, torso up, that you would still have an opportunity to see a representation of it. So it's intended to kind of be representative of a pump of that era, kind of pre CGM being quite popular.

Stacey Simms 23:41
Yeah, I had growing emotions and growing up when my son was growing up, we saw lots of kids wearing two big pump on their arms. He would never ever do that. He just drives me bonkers, like, just try it. No, but I remember we saw lots of kids doing it. I'm curious to you know, as a mom of a child with type 1 diabetes now, older teenager, my goodness, I am curious. And maybe I should ask your mom, but I'm gonna assume that your mom sees all of your movies. Yeah. And when she goes to this one, she's got two kids with type one. She seen you guys through lots of ups and downs. Not only is she got to be just so incredibly proud of you. And I'm sure if your sister, what do you think something like this means to her?

Susan Fong 24:21
That's a great question. I remember one story and I'm trying to pull it out of the recesses of my brain where my mom was explaining to someone that she had to give me a shot twice a day, and the other mother responded with I would rather die. And oh my god, no. I'm sorry. I think increasing representation helps even our parents, you know, who are fielding the same questions of just normalizing it. And I think there's a lot of misconceptions about diabetes. If you're well manage, and you know that someone is going to have birthday cake. Generally, you can figure out a way to manage that with insulin. And so there's a lot of missing conceptions that parents are often having to fight, you know about what their children with diabetes can do? And the answer is they can do everything they can to everything that kid without diabetes can, it might be a little bit harder. It might take, you know, some strategizing some trial and error, but they can do everything. A person without diabetes can. And so I think, you know, just that normalization of kids are all the same. Some of them were diabetes, tech, some of them are diabetic, some of them are not, I think could be powerful.

Stacey Simms 25:29
When I asked my listeners, what kinds of questions they wanted me to ask you, the only actual question and I'll share the thought is, was we say goodbye in a moment, but the only actual question was, will they make stuffed animals or merchandise featuring these characters? I understand. But I'm guessing the answer is probably not if they're not main characters in the movie?

Susan Fong 25:51
Probably not. I'm not a part of our kind of, I can't remember the name of the group consumer products are not a part of consumer products to know what is coming as a part of bread. But yes, I would imagine that

Stacey Simms 26:02
follow up and get the skinny on that one. And then the last question I want today, it's really wasn't about diabetes. But I'm just curious, you said you started working on this years ago, can't imagine you know, I talk into a microphone, we put the podcast episode out next week or whatever, I can't imagine the process here. What is it like for you all, when you know that people are going to finally see this movie?

Susan Fong 26:22
Oh, it's it is the moment of joy that we all wait for. It's been challenging and COVID times because we're used to being able to go out to a theater and watch it with a fresh audience. And sometimes, after you've seen a film for, for many times, through many iterations, you don't laugh at the jokes anymore, because she's kind of have absorbed them and are used to them and you're more focused on the visuals on screen and getting them approved. And so when you see with a fresh audience, it's the first time you get to see that, that reaction, it really does make your heart sing. There was an absolutely incredible moment, when the crew was watching the film. At the end of the film, when the credits come up, the band in the film named for town is singing a song, and the audience was singing back. And it was amazing. And it's yeah, it's those moments that are really, really powerful. Just, I can't even put words to what it feels like. But it's a highlight for sure.

Stacey Simms 27:22
Get not really understanding how not only animation works, but all the computer stuff you were talking about. You kind of mentioned that many people had a role in this. Can you talk about what you meant there?

Susan Fong 27:33
Yeah, so my only contribution on the insulin pump was the spark of an idea. And from that point forward, many, many artists had their hands on this. There's a process in the art department where they're pulling reference, and they're coming up with what they think that design should be. There's a process of approval, where it goes in front of the director, and approving the design, the art director approving the design, it moves into characters to actually be physically modeled as a 3d model, into shading to be shaded, to look representative of insulin pump. And then you know, the tubing and the infusion set itself are also a particular challenge, because our stimulation department had to make sure that the tube moved as the cursor moves, they had to make sure that the infusion set laid flat against the skin. And a lot of those tweaks ended up being done by both animation and our characters department who do shot sculpts, which is when you just need to tweak something to make it flush, just a tiny little, you know, adjustment. So it actually required a number of requirements to have their hands on it, to make it work. So I just really want to thank everyone that put effort into it. And I think also, you know, artists also say when they work on something like this about how much they learn, and how rewarding it is to learn about how these different pieces of assistance, topology work.

Stacey Simms 28:47
Did they call you down sometimes, like, can we look at your pump? Can we look at your CGI?

Susan Fong 28:53
You know, I helped recall the shader packet repo reference and, you know, put it up on a board to kind of decide, you know, how you're going to take the reference you see and turn it into something that is our own. And yes, I pulled a lot of the reference for for fire characters department and fielded constant questions. And I love that. One of the little things under the scenes is the infusion set was not named infusion set, because it got lost in the game of telephone. So it's called insulin injector as the name of the model.

Stacey Simms 29:22
Oh, gosh. Gosh, I really appreciate this. It was so much fun. And I'm so excited to see the movie now. I mean, we're so funny, because we're like, yeah, yeah, the plot looks great. Tell us about this five second scene.

Susan Fong 29:37
I still am very overwhelmed by social media response. And I knew it was important to me. I didn't know it would be the same for everyone.

Stacey Simms 29:46
Oh, well. It was quite the big deal. And it will continue to be so well, I said that my listeners didn't have a lot of questions. But one thing they said over and over again was to please thank Pixar. They're doing such a good job at making everyone feel rested. sent it. And everybody just said, please say thank you for doing this. And I wanted to pass those thoughts along as well. Because it really, as you saw on social media, I guess you saw the posts, it's so meaningful to people. And we really do appreciate that not only you did it, but you came on to talk about it. So Susan, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your story and for sharing your story in the movie.

Susan Fong 30:21
Of course, I appreciate it.

Stacey Simms 30:28
You're listening to Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms.
More information as always, at diabetes connections.com. If you're new, and you're listening, maybe on a podcast app, like Apple or Spotify or something, the show notes also have a transcription and links can be kind of difficult to see in some of those players even in some of the top and most used podcast players. So if you can't find it, or it looks weird, you could always go back to diabetes connections.com. And we have a very robust search as well. If you are new, and you'd like to take a spin through all of our episodes.
I got to give a big thanks to Jim Hill. He is the host of the Disney dish podcast and fine tuning to podcasts. I really recommend if you're Disney fan, he connected me with the right people at Pixar and helped make this happen a little bit more to share about Turning Red in just a moment.
But first Diabetes Connections is brought to you by Dexcom. So my husband and I were watching a movie the other night, and we got a Dexcom alert, then he was upstairs in his room. And for some reason it took me back to the days when we basically had blood sugar checks on a timer. This was a long time ago, my son has lived with diabetes for 15 years. And we would check doing a finger stick the same time every day at home and at school. And whenever extra we needed to. It really is amazing to think about how much our diabetes management has changed with share and follow. I didn't stop the movie to get up and check on him. I knew what was going on, I could decide whether to text him or go up and help out using the shared follow apps have really helped us talk less about diabetes, which I never thought would happen with my teenager. And he loves that part too. Trust me, that is what is so great about the Dexcom system, I think for the caregiver or the spouse or the friend, you can help the person with diabetes manage in the way that works for your individual situation. Internet connectivity is required to access Dexcom, follow separate follow up required, go to diabetes connections.com and click on the Dexcom logo.
Just a little bit more before I let you go about Turning Red in the community response and vape a little bit more from Pixar. I'm releasing this episode a little early, which means I'm taping it a little bit early. At this point, I have submitted an op ed to a couple of national outlets. So hopefully they will be picked up. And I'll be telling you about that. But the Op Ed was about a lot of what Susan and I talked about in that interview in that Turning Red shows but doesn't tell about diabetes, how it is not a plot point, and how that's actually a bit of a breakthrough. And in the Op Ed I go on to talk about how it avoids what so many other even children's shows run into, which is a depiction of media diabetes depiction of media. That's wrong. And we talked about that a lot in the episode that Susan falling mentioned there with Dr. Heather Walker, and Dr. Phyllis duros, who was also in that episode as well had contributed a chapter to Dr. Walker's book. So I will link that episode up you can go back and hear our whole conversation about diabetes and media. Her particular take on Turning Red s depiction you just showing telling about diabetes. And that will keep you posted. If the Op Ed pops up anywhere. We also talk in the op ed a little bit more about the type how the type is not mentioned either. And I think that is important. So as you're sharing this story, remember, you know not everybody who wears an insulin pump or a CGM lives with type one diabetes, let's include people with lots of other types. There are lots of other types of diabetes. I am one and I get pushback on this a lot. And we're all entitled to our opinion. But I am one who thinks our community is much stronger together. And that means not throwing people with other types of diabetes under the bus. And all of that to say I haven't even seen the movie yet. Right? The movie hasn't been released as I'm taping this, I cannot wait. I'm sure it's going to be terrific. And you know, I'll be watching it as soon as it is released. Let me know what you think I would love to hear from you. I have a feeling we'll be talking about this for quite some time to come.
Thanks as always to my editor John Bukenas from audio editing solutions. Thank you so much for listening. We've got in the news in just a couple of days. I do that every Wednesday live on social media and then we turn that around for a podcast episode on Fridays. These episodes are usually released these long format interview episodes every week on Tuesday. This one's snuck out a little bit early, but usually we are on Tuesdays so you can find out more on the homepage or on social media. Of course you can always follow me. I'm Stacey Simms. I'll see you back here in a couple of days until then be kind to yourself.

Benny 34:50
Diabetes Connections is a production of Stacey Simms media All Rights Reserved all wrongs avenged

Oct 12, 2021

Pregnancy with type 1 is never simple, but this week's guest faced an unusual complication. Vanessa Messenger has had two babies during the COVID pandemic! Vanessa, who lives with T1D, gave birth to her daughter in the summer of 2020. She just had another baby - 15 days before our interview.

Her new book is launching this month. Called, "Teddy Talks: A Paws-itive Story About Type 1 Diabetes" it features a little dog who helps explain what kids should know about check glucose, using a CGM, taking insulin and a lot more. Teddy is modeled after Vanessa's real-life dog, who already looks like a character in a children's book.

This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
.

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group!

Sign up for our newsletter here

-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners!
-----

Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go!

Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android

Episode Transcription coming soon

1 2 3 4 Next »