Last Friday, November 14th, marked World Diabetes Day, and the Blogabetes bloggers marked the day in style. I wanted to make sure you didn't miss their musings, so here's a quick recap!

Scott Marvel wrote a great list of ways to celebrate and get involved with World Diabetes Day - check out his suggestions here!

Lindsey Guerin gave us some insight on how she sprinkled diabetes education into her day.

Michelle Kowalski wrote a poignant post about how emotional this World Diabetes Day was for her.
(READ MORE)

If you spend any time around the diabetes social media advocacy (#dsma) community on Twitter, you will see references to #unicorns in general, and "glitter-farting unicorns" (GFUs) in particular. The unicorns seem to have sprung fully-grown from Kerri's vision of cockeyed optimism, and it is said that their flatus can cure even the most stubborn case of type 1 diabetes.

Obviously, GFUs are part of the Diabetes Online Communitiy's myth and legend, and may even be responsible for Halle Berry's miraculous "recovery" (come on, can't you see her dressed in a skinsuit and narwhal-horn-shaped headdress?) Their pull is powerful, and talismanic unicorn mascots have been popping up all over the DOC.

  (READ MORE)

JoeBGood

National Diabetes Awareness Month is here! Yep, it's November already. My birthday is right around the corner, along with Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. November is a busy, busy month.

But most importantly, it is Diabetes Awareness Month. Fall Walks are happening every weekend. World Diabetes Day takes place. And people advocate our disease.

On Saturday, I'll be participating in the local JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes with several friends. We raised over $450 for the walk. It's my first walk so I'm very excited to see how it works and meet all the people there.

  (READ MORE)

I'm skipping the letter L - in favor of my very late Raise Your Voice post. Even later than I thought - because of technical difficulties... (Thank you, K) My voice still counts, I hope.

The countless days of senseless whirling
Numbers chugging, dancing in my head
Reminding me of their import

The unending barrage of needles and blood
And of damage and fear
Reminding me of my body's most drastic flaw

The every day of it

The every night of it

The demands

The requirements

The relentless, all-consuming weight of it
The wishing it was different - I was different
And the realization that you play the cards you're dealt

I watch, most days silent, as it destroys people I love.
This beast.
And I wonder how many healthful, strong days remain for me.

I look into eyes so like my own
Mirrors reflecting the days behind - the mistakes
And the days ahead? - For me?
(READ MORE)

Back in November, Christopher Thomas of Diabetic Rockstar suggested that one of the reasons diabetes doesn't get the attention it deserves is that there are so many different diabetes-related organizations which seem to be so much at odds with each other that "they can't even decide on a color". By this, he was referring to the American Diabetes Association's (ADA's) use of red as its primary color rather than World Diabetes Day Blue, which is close to the blue used by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and not too far off the blue used by dLife® on its Web site and in the screens on dLifeTV®.

  (READ MORE)

Every November, those of us in the diabetes community bewail the "invisibility" of our condition, our passion, our advocacy over the remaining eleven months of the year. One of our ongoing gripes is that -- unlike breast cancer's pink ribbon, the red ribbon of AIDS awareness, Livestrong's iconic yellow wristband, or the double-cross of the American Lung Association -- there is no single, universally-recognized symbol or color representing diabetes.

  (READ MORE)