I knew I was getting close to the banquet room for the JDRF annual meeting when I spotted a used ACCU-CHEK test strip on the carpet like a breadcrumb in the forest.

I was reluctant to go; reluctant to make the commitment. As it is, there are not enough hours in the day.

Walking through the doors was sort of surreal. It was like a plumbers' convention. Only they weren't plumbers. I snaked my way around the room looking for a place to sit, taking in the throng of diabetes chatter as the people talked shop.

Snippets of conversations zipped into my ears and blended into others.

"So I says, honey, you got to get a freakin' pump!" coming from one table.

"You get ketones?" from another table.

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