Most of the time I get to talk diabetes in a very natural and comfortable setting for me - with my bike, when training or racing. I am surrounded mostly by guys who also love the sport of cycling, attempting new races, testing new bling titanium and carbon parts, reading maps, dodging wildlife, dealing with weather, and wrestling with my BGs along the way.
The day before World Diabetes Day, with the launch of The Blue Heel Society, that changed.
A bit.
It's definitely not that the BHS community is unkind. Quite the contrary. All involved, from the co-founders to all the folks awesome enough to post pics of Blue shoes, are the most thoughtful, encouraging, non-judgmental, and courageous people I've ever encountered.
It was just that instead of being surrounded by Trek Superflys with big knobby tires and 100mm of suspension travel, I find myself immersed with delicate Choos and Loubutins with a 5" heel.
At first it was intimidating to say the least. I was completely out of my element. I didn't even know the vocabulary. A Dolly Shoe? A Peep Toe?
Oy.
Then there is the whole looking for Blue shoes, and trying to capture photos and talk to people about them, while out in public. A little bit of a social mine field to say the least.
As time progressed, I began to fit in a little bit with this group made up of mostly women from all walks of life. I learned the buzz words, and opted into conversations about shoes, diabetes, diets, and insulin to carb ratios with them. Heck, I think I even noted once when Nordstrom had a sale.
If you stop and think about it, the social aspect is really JUST like when you or a loved one first get diagnosed with diabetes. You are nervous. Not sure what questions to ask or who has the answers to them. Haven't learned the diabetes vocabulary. Not even sure what styles you like - MDI? Glucophage? Pump? Retinopathy? CGM?
After a while you begin to find your footing. You make close friends in the Diabetes Online Community. You find organizations like the Blue Heel Society and Type1Rider.
You learn. You feel safer. You become more sure of yourself.
And, in the end, your realize that although all who deal with diabetes, in any capacity, are very diverse, we are all very much the same.
So yes. Blue Heels. Size 10. Men....
- Tony
Jan 9, 2012
Jan 5, 2012
Every Princess Needs Blue Shoes!
We are truly blessed, I must say. So many amazing members of the DOC have been so wonderful as to feature us on their blog!
Today we are over at one of my personal favorites, Hallie and Sweets over at The Princess and The Pump!
If you have never read Hallie's blog....YOU MUST. Seriously, a beautifully written blog, with honesty, love, laughter, and a heck of a lot of kick butt advocating!
Here is a little more about Hallie:
Hallie Addington is the author of the blog The Princess and The Pump (www.theprincessandthepump.com).
The Princess and The Pump chronicles the highs and lows of raising a child with type 1 diabetes.Hallie has been married to her husband, Jason, for 7 years. Their daughter, “Sweetpea”, is five years old. She was diagnosed with type 1 on April 27, 2009 – just a few short weeks after turning three years old.
Since that day, Hallie has been committed to raising awareness and funds to find a cure for diabetes. In addition to being a full time pancreas, she is also a kindergarten teacher and the Government Relations chair for the Southwest Ohio chapter of JDRF.
Thank you Hallie (and Sweets!!) for showing BHS some love, you are both simply Blue-tiful!!
Today we are over at one of my personal favorites, Hallie and Sweets over at The Princess and The Pump!
If you have never read Hallie's blog....YOU MUST. Seriously, a beautifully written blog, with honesty, love, laughter, and a heck of a lot of kick butt advocating!
Here is a little more about Hallie:
Hallie Addington is the author of the blog The Princess and The Pump (www.theprincessandthepump.com).
The Princess and The Pump chronicles the highs and lows of raising a child with type 1 diabetes.Hallie has been married to her husband, Jason, for 7 years. Their daughter, “Sweetpea”, is five years old. She was diagnosed with type 1 on April 27, 2009 – just a few short weeks after turning three years old.
Since that day, Hallie has been committed to raising awareness and funds to find a cure for diabetes. In addition to being a full time pancreas, she is also a kindergarten teacher and the Government Relations chair for the Southwest Ohio chapter of JDRF.
Thank you Hallie (and Sweets!!) for showing BHS some love, you are both simply Blue-tiful!!
Jan 4, 2012
Wordless Wed.- "She is serious about advocating!"
While normally no words go along with a Wordless Wednesday post...we have to give major props and thank you to Kim of Texting My Pancreas! Thank you for this amazing cartoon!
Jan 3, 2012
Our Shoes just got some MAJOR ‘Shine’!
“Fashion is a social agreement, the result of a consensus of a large group of people.”
-Stella Blum
The Blue Heel Society is VERY pleased to announce that Doctor Jennifer Shine Dyer, MD, MPH, a.k.a ‘The EndoGoddess’, has graciously agreed to honor The Blue Heel Society by acting as our Medical Consultant, as well as some very exciting contributions still in the works. Please join us in welcoming Doctor Dyer into our Family, and stay tuned for some VERY exciting plans.
As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love", and what we love most is YOU! What 'shape' we take is in great part driven by what you ask of us, and part of our passion & mission is to ensure The Blue Heel Society has the very best resources available, to do our very best to help everyone affected by what brings us together, and we truly believe Dr. Dyer will bring a whole new angle to our fashion & is a perfect fit!
About The EndoGoddess:
Jennifer Shine Dyer, MD, MPH, is a stylish pediatric endocrinologist and tech entrepreneur by day, and a Vogue-loving, Jackie O Fashionista by night. Dr. Dyer believes strongly in empowerment through style which oddly enough translates to her day job...patient empowerment in health through information and technology. As a physician, social media enthusiast (@EndoGoddess), app developer, and mobile health entrepreneur she has a patient-centered focus looking to make health outcomes better for people living with diabetes or other chronic diseases.
In partnership with Ohio mobile software startup Duet Health Eproximiti (http://www.duethealth.com/), she has developed the EndoGoddess App (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endogoddess/id464431379?mt=8) available for download since September 2011 for patients with diabetes who require insulin therapy. based on BJ Fogg's health behavior model with the following features: iTunes reward motivation, a unique social business plan, daily inspiring quotes submitted from the diabetes online community, multi-media informative diabetes content, social media links.
Jennifer Shine Dyer, MD, MPH, is a stylish pediatric endocrinologist and tech entrepreneur by day, and a Vogue-loving, Jackie O Fashionista by night. Dr. Dyer believes strongly in empowerment through style which oddly enough translates to her day job...patient empowerment in health through information and technology. As a physician, social media enthusiast (@EndoGoddess), app developer, and mobile health entrepreneur she has a patient-centered focus looking to make health outcomes better for people living with diabetes or other chronic diseases.
In partnership with Ohio mobile software startup Duet Health Eproximiti (http://www.duethealth.com/), she has developed the EndoGoddess App (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endogoddess/id464431379?mt=8) available for download since September 2011 for patients with diabetes who require insulin therapy. based on BJ Fogg's health behavior model with the following features: iTunes reward motivation, a unique social business plan, daily inspiring quotes submitted from the diabetes online community, multi-media informative diabetes content, social media links.
Dr. Dyer is a board-certified physician in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology previously at Nationwide Children's Hospital affiliated with the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio where she recently earned her MPH degree in health behavior studies. She received her medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2000 which was then followed by pediatric internship, residency, and then pediatric endocrinology specialty training in 2000-2006 at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas.
Dr. Dyer is also an experienced nutrition researcher with several original peer-reviewed publications, specifically with regards to the influence of macronutrient food components on metabolism and chronic disease evolution during early fetal development.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has been selected as one of '2010 and 2011 America's Top Pediatricians' by the Consumers Research Council of America as well as selection by the OrganizedWisdom Medical Review Board as a top expert curator helping people discover the best health information online. Dr. Dyer is a media-trained pediatric endocrinology physician expert on Dr. Oz's interactive online physician network Sharecare, and a frequent health expert on both local and national television media.
Founder, EndoGoddess LLC
Chief Medical Advisor, Duet Health (Eproximiti)
Blog/website: http://endogoddess.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.duethealth.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/EndoGoddess
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/drjenshinedyer
Jan 1, 2012
These must be mislabeled....they don't fit.
Numbers. They are just the bane of existence in Diabetes-ville. One place you are gonna find discussion on numbers is the DOC. More about that in a minute.Let's talk about sizes.
Those boots Lexi ordered before the holidays were her size. But...they didn't fit. She didn't change shoes sizes. She bought some from the competitor....and they fit like a glove....or a killer knee high boot. Yes.....I have blue boot envy....so what.
The number on the label said 7.5. Wait...or was that an A1c I just read? They all blur together. Numbers. Between committing carbohydrate counts to memory or learning what current dosage of prescription Glucophage is actually creating stability in your blood sugars....and what is the price of gas now? I can't keep count.
There are a flurry of blog posts and social media discussions about numbers lately. Topics ranging from respected bloggers revisiting A1c numbers and conversations about whether they should be off topic.....and a literal firestorm of discussions on several forums and social media sites about "good"and "bad" numbers. What defines a good number or a bad number? A speeding ticket that costs $100.....bad number. Over 1000 "likes" on Facebook for Blue Heel Society? "Good". Unbelievable. Awesomeness. Need we go on?
But ,blood sugars are information right? A1c....just a snapshot of a period in time? What is the big deal?
It's a personal choice as to whether or not you discuss your numbers. Our co-founder has posted his blood glucose levels and his A1c on his social media sites for years. His choice. He was recently asked to talk about a "low" blood sugar. The conversation was interesting. The parties remained civil and committed to a real and frank discussion. In fact....great information was exchanged and several other people who live with diabetes chimed in. It was refreshing to see how differently we really all see this disease.
The blood glucose reading in question? 31. Thoughts? Ya. The collective *gasp* was enough. Is that a bad number? We'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
At the end of the discussion, they actually THANKED each other.
Why are we so divided about talking about it? And is there no benefit?
What if that discussion fostering growth and promoting friendship between a varied group of people affected by diabetes instead caused harm? What if it encouraged disparaging comments and yielded a fall out of people feeling disheartened if the numbers they are told are "good" aren't yet on their horizons? How can we support and learn if we are silent? Is the silence about those "target" numbers the answer?
Difficult to navigate this disease. It's hard not to want to sing a "favorable" A1c on the highest mountain. No one is really singing about a 12. Or....should we? Why can't we embrace the spectrum of challenges we are all facing without judgement?
Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying a dinner out. The dressing on my salad boasted "light"! Great.
The serving actually had 22 grams of fat. I'd hate to see what they called "regular". What works for some, certainly doesn't for others. This was their definition of "good". I am no nutritionist....but that seemed off the mark. Down right "bad".
My knee-jerk reaction was to become indignant and send it back....what self proclaimed health food restaurant serves this nonsense? The gentleman beside me, took two and didn't even look at the label. *sigh. Bigger fish to fry there, eh?
Should we have a disclaimer? My feelings are __________ about your diabetes or should we just stop individualizing it and unite to fight?
Those boots Lexi ordered before the holidays were her size. But...they didn't fit. She didn't change shoes sizes. She bought some from the competitor....and they fit like a glove....or a killer knee high boot. Yes.....I have blue boot envy....so what.
The number on the label said 7.5. Wait...or was that an A1c I just read? They all blur together. Numbers. Between committing carbohydrate counts to memory or learning what current dosage of prescription Glucophage is actually creating stability in your blood sugars....and what is the price of gas now? I can't keep count.
There are a flurry of blog posts and social media discussions about numbers lately. Topics ranging from respected bloggers revisiting A1c numbers and conversations about whether they should be off topic.....and a literal firestorm of discussions on several forums and social media sites about "good"and "bad" numbers. What defines a good number or a bad number? A speeding ticket that costs $100.....bad number. Over 1000 "likes" on Facebook for Blue Heel Society? "Good". Unbelievable. Awesomeness. Need we go on?
But ,blood sugars are information right? A1c....just a snapshot of a period in time? What is the big deal?
It's a personal choice as to whether or not you discuss your numbers. Our co-founder has posted his blood glucose levels and his A1c on his social media sites for years. His choice. He was recently asked to talk about a "low" blood sugar. The conversation was interesting. The parties remained civil and committed to a real and frank discussion. In fact....great information was exchanged and several other people who live with diabetes chimed in. It was refreshing to see how differently we really all see this disease.
The blood glucose reading in question? 31. Thoughts? Ya. The collective *gasp* was enough. Is that a bad number? We'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
At the end of the discussion, they actually THANKED each other.
Why are we so divided about talking about it? And is there no benefit?
What if that discussion fostering growth and promoting friendship between a varied group of people affected by diabetes instead caused harm? What if it encouraged disparaging comments and yielded a fall out of people feeling disheartened if the numbers they are told are "good" aren't yet on their horizons? How can we support and learn if we are silent? Is the silence about those "target" numbers the answer?
Difficult to navigate this disease. It's hard not to want to sing a "favorable" A1c on the highest mountain. No one is really singing about a 12. Or....should we? Why can't we embrace the spectrum of challenges we are all facing without judgement?
Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying a dinner out. The dressing on my salad boasted "light"! Great.
The serving actually had 22 grams of fat. I'd hate to see what they called "regular". What works for some, certainly doesn't for others. This was their definition of "good". I am no nutritionist....but that seemed off the mark. Down right "bad".
My knee-jerk reaction was to become indignant and send it back....what self proclaimed health food restaurant serves this nonsense? The gentleman beside me, took two and didn't even look at the label. *sigh. Bigger fish to fry there, eh?
Should we have a disclaimer? My feelings are __________ about your diabetes or should we just stop individualizing it and unite to fight?
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