Wow! Such a great day, but I’m tired! I posted a pic earlier on the Facebook page for Diabetes Light, but today was the JDRF Type One Nation event. I go every year and love it! My CGM woke me up in the night with an alarm (high… I took insulin) but because I was excited for today’s event, I could not fall back asleep for at least 2.5 hours! Ugh! I I got a lot of reading done and had two cats pestering me for pets as long as I was awake… They finally settled for lying next to me while I read.
Being up so long in the night meant functioning on about 5 hours sleep today instead of the 8 minimum that is a MUST HAVE for me to feel well and have a shot at decent blood sugars. I really pushed myself to the limit and sometimes when I’m tired like this I tend to be extra chatty which feels kind of awkward….. I guess that explains the length of this post too! 😉 Originally this was meant for Facebook but due to the length I decided to put it in an actual blog post.
The reminder email said the event was from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Running late, I skipped washing my hair, instead piling it into a bun and just took a quick hot shower. Jaim helped out by cutting up collard greens for me to sauté quickly before leaving with the breakfast in hand I’d eat there — the usual: veggies, homemade breakfast sausage, squash and delicious green tea which is something I savor every morning.
I rushed into the event, fortunately only about 6 miles from my house, to learn that I was of all things, early!! Anyone who knows me knows this never happens! Especially for something in the morning. Turns out the vendor booths were from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM and the keynote speaker wasn’t until 10:00 AM! With time to spare, I introduced myself to the keynote speaker, Gary Scheiner, who said he had heard my name before as a blogger which was a pleasant surprise.
JDRF always brings us top speakers (previous years: Natalie Strand, Kerri Sparling, Moira McCarthy Stanford) and this year was no different. Gary Scheiner, author of “Think Like a Pancreas” (& exercise physiologist + Type 1 himself) was one of the best speakers I’ve heard! His afternoon talk was on the CGM and his earlier one was comparing Type 1 diabetes from 30 years ago to now. He is both funny and so knowledgeable and his books are definitely on my list to read. For anyone else who wears a CGM and may have wondered, I asked about calibration and he said to not calibrate more than 2-4 times a day.
I had the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful Type 1’s and others I know which was a lot of fun. While I love and appreciate the diabetes online community, there is something so special about spending the day in person with people you share such a major part of your life in common with. Unfortunately I did not get photos of everyone I had the pleasure of visiting with, but here are a few. 🙂 And while I came home completely zonked and cannot wait to get to sleep tonight, Type One Nation always fills my spirit with so much joy and gratitude.
A special thanks to JDRF for bringing us this spectacular event each year. If you have not yet attended, I highly recommend checking out a Type One Nation event near you! #JDRF #blessed #typeonenation
In Peace & Light,
Cynthia
