November, 2012

I stopped over at Six Until Me and found all the windows boarded up and the rooms were littered with squatters. Tumbleweeds bounced across the yard. "Kerri who?" they said when I asked of her whereabouts.

Things sure have changed since Halle Berry cured diabetes five years ago. The online diabetes community has become a ghost town of inactive blogs and non-updated web sites. Though it's absolutely amazing to have a cure, the blogosphere frankly doesn't know what do with itself. Some have just vanished, never to be seen again. Some are still out there, staring vacuously at Google search screens, not knowing where to go, like long-time prisoners released back into society. Others have had a harder time moving on and have resurfaced under new management. (READ MORE)

I know several people who participate in fantasy football leagues. I just never got into that sort of thing. I really have no interest investing so much time and energy into football. For those of you not familiar with fantasy football, points are earned based on how well one's fantasy team players perform each week. It's a pretty big deal for some. Participants draft players, trade players, decide which players to start and which to bench and they even act as legal representation when their players get in trouble for injecting illegal substances, abusing their wives and/or organizing dog fighting rings.

But I really do like a little competition. I certainly invest plenty of time and energy into diabetes and my knowledge of the disease is fairly good. What if we had our very own fantasy league? A fantasy league for diabetes. Well, look no further. (READ MORE)

During our 504 meeting with the school staff, my wife and I mentioned that we'd like to read a short children's book to Charlie's classmates so that they could have a basic understanding of diabetes. Surely they would want to know why he was putting a blood sample into a strange device every couple of hours and why he was able to eat at times that they weren't.

The teacher and the principal thought it was a good idea, but the district official, who was there to make sure everything was kosher, suggested the principal have a look at the book before approving A Ruler, a Number 2 Pencil and Diabetes by Dr. Troy Apaches.

My initial thought was that this was strange. I mean it's a published children's book. What could possibly be offensive? Though, truth be told, it had been years since I read the book. I suppose I could have forgotten about some of the content. (READ MORE)

Championship teams begin with good scouting. You always have to look to the future of the organization.

It's no coincidence that Charlie's Angels has won the Mid-Jersey JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes three years consecutively, breaking all sorts of records along the way. Sure, we get some odd looks from people as we dart past them in full sprint in our matching black running shorts to the finish line, high-fiving each other and calculating our heart rates. We're so fast, it almost seems like everyone else is walking. Must be jealousy. We train year-round for this. They should be jealous.

But to remain an elite team year after year, you've got to bring in new blood and drop some dead weight. We've got a nice-looking team heading into the big race on Sunday. We've made a few changes - some very difficult - but all for the good of the team. (READ MORE)

Congratulations to Mark G. for winning the first-ever 2007/2008 Fantasy Diabetes League. Mark won with a staggering score of 46 points for enduring a down-right spattering of ridiculous comments related to his daughter's diabetes.

In his own words, following his wife's trepidation in ratting out the numerous offenders of diabetes etiquette (that seem to be growing on trees in Texas), Mark says:

"Damn her social graces, the FDL won't win itself."

We at the FDL applaud Mark's competitive spirit.

What makes Mark's victory even more impressive is that he's been in the diabetes game for only about six months. As a mere rookie, he and his family have amassed more diabetes drivel than most would in a lifetime. Well done!

The final standings are as follows: (READ MORE)

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Since it is April Fools Day I am going to share a coupled of my favorite moments messing with people while using diabetes to my advantage.

The first story is about Dave. One of my best friends in the world, Dave is my son's Godfather and a very close friend to the rest of my family. Dave and I were roommates long ago and even though he knew I was a type 1, he would always turn his back on me when I was taking my shot. (READ MORE)