OrganizedWisdom Health Blog

Help Save the Life of a Child With Diabetes in 1:49 Seconds

Could it really be this simple to help save the life of a child with diabetes? When you take 1:49 seconds to watch this video between now and November 14th (Diabetes Day), Roche Diabetes Care will make a donation for life-saving insulin and diabetes supplies for children in need.  Please see Riva Greenberg’s “Save a Child in Less Than Two Minutes” blog entry for background on this video and those involved.

Please watch the video and pass it on. You can easily share the video through email, Twitter, Facebook, and various other social media platforms by clicking on the share link under the video on YouTube.

When 100,000 people view this video, Roche will donate $75,000 to Diabetes Hands Foundation. The donation will then be given to two humanitarian organizations, Life for a Child and Insulin for Life, which get insulin and other critical diabetes supplies to children with diabetes in the world's poorest countries. What do you say OrganizedWisdom readers? ---- Let's help them get to 100,000!

 

Special thanks to Riva Greenberg for her work to promote Diabetes Awareness and this campaign. I appreciate her encouragement to spread the word. Again, make sure to read her related blog entry on Huffington Post for detailed information.

by Julie Bohlen, MBA-HCM, ELS

 

Diabetes Feature: 5 Type 1 Diabetes Patient Experts

Continuing with a focus on diabetes, this Diabetes Feature spotlights five type 1 diabetes patient experts who are interesting and talented communicators. They share their health wisdom to benefit others affected by the challenges of diabetes. Many will find their positive outlooks in the midst of overcoming obstacles encouraging and their expertise helpful. 

1. @MiriamETucker Do you think by reading a 7th grader’s diabetes report that you could predict she’d be a prolific and quality medical writer? Well, after looking through Miriam Tucker’s writings, I’d say Miriam was a 12-year-old writing phenom who is still gracing us with fantastic health reporting. Her type 1 diabetes is her “personal and professional passion.”  As a senior writer for Elsevier Global Medical News/International Medical News Group, she contributes regularly to EGMN: Notes from the Road. Check out her writing. Precious nuggets such as her unpublished Dark Poem About Diabetes and her humorous prose are buried—hopefully not too deeply for the average health enthusiast. 
   
   
2. @diabetesmyths Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in college, Riva Greenberg is committed through her research, writing, and speaking to spread the tools for “Thriving With Diabetes.” She encourages those with diabetes to use the disease as a catalyst to live a healthier and more meaningful life—not despite having diabetes but because of it. Riva is the author of “50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It” and “The ABCs Of Loving Yourself With Diabetes.”  She shares her expertise on her Diabetes Stories site, d-blog, Huffington Post blog, and numerous other sites. Whether she's sharing medical research, motivational tips, cutting-edge news, or simple meaningful times, for instance when her husband was a gem after she lost her meter on a Finland vacation, you’ll find her writing and message top notch.
   
   
3. @ginacaps Gina Capone, a graphic designer, is very busy sharing her time and expertise to help others with diabetes. She cofounded DIABETEStalkfest, a support site for adults affected by diabetes that hosts live chats with medical professionals as well as The Diabetes Resource - Your ULTIMATE guide to everything diabetes related. Gina blogs about her personal experiences living with diabetes on Gina Your Diabetes BFF blog and is a patient expert blogger at mydiabetescentral.com.  She's the community manager/leader for Juvenation.org, the JDRF type 1 social website for those with diabetes and their families. She shares insights on her struggle to bring her a1c down, the CGM anti-denial campaign, and a myriad of diabetes subjects.
   
   
4. @diabetesalic Kelly Kunik refers to herself as a diabetic humorist. Her honest and positive approach to her life with diabetes as disclosed through her Diabetesaliciousness blog is refreshing and commendable. As she says, “diabetes is a huge weed whose tendrils have wrapped around my family tree.” She cuts away at the tendrils with her sense of humor, diabetes ownership, motivational speaking, and advocacy. Her mantra seems to be not to take this life for granted while overcoming the challenges of living with diabetes and ultimately living the best life possible.
   
   
5. @dontfeardiabete Sisiay blogs to reflect on some of the positives aspects about living with diabetes while clearly addressing the challenges and frustrations. The images added to the posts are very helpful. Due to the fact that he monitors his blood sugar with DexCom SEVEN CGMS and a FreeStyle glucometer, he shares tips on using these devices. He frequently shares research, products information, and practices that many with diabetes will find useful. Check out his excellent Don’t Fear Diabetes blog. 
   

If you know of someone who is worthy of our Patient Expert Award, please tweet your recommendation to @organizedwisdom in this format: "I recommend @[username] as a patient expert for @OrganizedWisdom or use our contact form. 

Other featured patient expert blog entries:

Diabetes Feature: 10 Type 1 Diabetes Patient Experts
Follow Friday: Eclectic and Effective Group of Patient Expert 
Follow Friday: Featuring 5 Patient Experts

by Julie Bohlen, MBA-HCM, ELS

Diabetes Feature: 10 Type 1 Diabetes Patient Experts

OrganizedWisdom's Diabetes Feature this week is on diabetes patient experts who share their experiences and expertise with others in the hope of helping others through their journeys with diabetes. Along the way, many share great insights, nutrition tips, and inspirations that are helpful to anyone. Read on to be encouraged by ten patient experts with type 1 diabetes who don't let this disease define who they are, but do face the daily challenges of managing this disease and share their discoveries and realities along the way. 

1. @ninjabetic George Simmons, aka the Ninjabetic, is a type 1 diabetic who blogs about life with diabetes, music, fatherhood, and more. Why Ninjabetic? As he says, “it takes being a ninja to live successfully with diabetes.” Check out his helpful blog. You’ll find that George is a proponent of Camp Carb, uses orange glucose tabs for lows, and is planning to get his exercise routine going again after his Cinderella musical performance. Break a leg George!
   
   
2. @blogdiabetes Tony Rose started Blogging Diabetes to help others learn more about living with diabetes from an online community and resources he shares. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 12 years ago. He has teamed up with Quality Health and shares his blog posts with their readers. He is also the author of DSA Insights, a blog dedicated to business analytics and data visualization topics.
   
   
3. @BernardF Know where to turn for quality new diabetes technology reviews? Well, Bernard Farrell’s Diabetes Technology Blog is just the place. Read reviews on glucose monitors, blood sugar meters, diabetes software, the new insulin patch-pen, and more. Bernard also mixes things up with posts on living with diabetes. As an example, see his interview with Kris Freeman, the reigning US National cross-country champion. Bernard educates while living in the hope that “every day brings the possibility of a cure.”
   
   
4. @sstrumello Scott Strumello authors Scott’s Web Log while he consults, speaks, writes, and lives with type 1 diabetes. He urges people to keep the hype of “junk science” in the media from interfering with real hope and science. His blog is insightful and informative. Gotta love the profound Wil “Printcrafter” diabetes quote posted on his blog. Curious? Go check it out!
   
   
5. @leeannthill Lee Ann Thill is a registered board-certified art therapist who combines an artistic approach with her writing on diabetes. The Butter Compartment blog is filled with great diabetes insights, photos, and illustrations. As an artist, she has a creative approach to her health writing and mental health advocacy. Her new Friday Food File gets two thumbs up!
   
   
6. @MatthewTendler Type 1 diabetic and mHealth innovator, Matthew Tendler, authors the iPhone Health Technology blog to share innovations and reviews in the mobile diabetes arena. As co-founder of MYLEstone Health, he is responsible for Glucose Buddy, the free diabetes and blood sugar application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. He turns technical information into informative, helpful, and interesting blog posts. He has dedicated his career to “making a true difference in the lives of people with diabetes.”
   
   
7. @amblass Allison Blass started Lemonade Life to chronicle her “life as a twentysomething living with diabetes.” I’m partial to her “My Patchwork Quilt” blog post. Allison has quite the background in giving of her time and talents to further support those with diabetes, especially teens. As a d-teen advocate, she founded dLife’s Diabetes Teen Talk, coordinated the Diabetes Online Community, and hosted Teen Talk on Diabetes Station. She’s a JDRF’s Online Diabetes Support Team member and has written for various Diabetes publications. Hats off to this fantastic diabetes advocate and patient expert!
   
   
8. @Dorkabetic Hannah loves to write and share her “dorky life with diabetes.” She writes with a playfulness, vulnerability, and honestly. She never professes to be an ideal diabetes patient, but she shares her struggles in a way in which many will identify. Her Dorkabetic blog is filled with musings of glucose levels, insulin pumps, movies, writing desires, Paper Spaceships submissions, and any “nerdy thing” of interest.
   
   
9. @diabetiville Mark Clifford blogs on grassroots efforts to promote diabetes awareness and support for those affected by the disease. He founded Global Diabetic Awareness communities. See his Diabetiville blog and video channel. You might just be inspired to start a Diabetiville Bicycle Club or other grassroots effort in your area. 
   
   
10. @iam_spartacus Christopher Snider doesn’t let his diabetes define him. In his A Consequence of Hypoglycemia blog, he not only speaks as a type 1 diabetic, but also as a self-professed gaming addict, network engineer, and Hokie (Virginia Tech) alum. Christopher is an avid podcaster and has his diagnosis story, referred to as Origin Story, on his blog. Check it out.

Check back for the next Diabetes Feature on 10 more inspiring diabetes patient experts. 

If you know of someone who is worthy of our Patient Expert Award, please tweet your recommendation to @organizedwisdom in this format: "I recommend @[username] as a patient expert for @OrganizedWisdom or use our contact form. 

Other featured patient expert blog entries:

Follow Friday: Eclectic and Effective Group of Patient Expert
Follow Friday: Featuring 5 Patient Experts

by Julie Bohlen, MBA-HCM, ELS

Why you should never ignore shortness of breath (and other health lessons learned from celebs)

The OrganizedWisdom team was saddened to learn of Robin Williams' hospitalization and aortic valve replacement. While he surely gave his family, friends, and fans a big scare, doctors say the surgery should be routine (just as long as the patient can refrain from telling jokes while they're holding their scalpels).

The silver lining is that every time a celebrity comes forward to disclose a health condition, thousands of average Joes pay closer attention to their own symptoms and get them checked out. In this case, Williams complained of shortness of breath, which can be a symptom of asthma, COPD, heart attack, and heart failure. It's definitely something to tell your doctor about if you've experienced it.

OrganizedWisdom has tracked down great resources to help you learn more about celebs with conditions you may be curious about. Here are some highly searched stars and the valuable health lessons they've shared.

• Sometimes major fatigue is a sign that you need more than just a day off: Halle Berry and Diabetes
• Extreme pain in feet and hands is nothing to shrug off: Kathleen Turner and Rheumatoid Arthritis
• A bout of indigestion can be an early sign of something worse: Anne Rice and Diabetes
• Many skin conditions stay with you for life, but new treatments can help you manage: Leann Rimes and Psoriasis

More on Celebrities and Health at OrganizedWisdom

One of our favorite celebrity health blogs: Celebrity Psychings