Several of the posts coming back from the Children With Diabetes annual Friends for Life conference (FFL) have likened this gathering of beta-less buddies to a traveling circus, a family reunion, and the sitcom Cheers, in whose eponymous bar "everybody knows your name" -- except that in the case of FFL, "everybody knows what it's like to live with type 1 diabetes". The effect, even without the Disneyification (FFL is always held at Disney World), is a Magic Kingdom of Diabetes. It makes sense: the event promoters are (and need to be) familiar with the condition, and the property managers need to be aware of -- and capable of handling -- a large, temporary influx of people who all have the same, or similar, "special needs". (READ MORE)

"We can’t have him beeping all day in class," I said.

It’s like I’m Anakin Skywalker sending R2D2 to his first day of android school.

"Yeah," Maeve mumbled, her mouth full of Cheerios.

"It would be distracting to everyone in the class."

I fumbled with Charlie’s pump settings, trying to figure out how to turn off the beeping from the low reservoir. I never could figure it out, though I did get it to vibrate momentarily.

"Ooh," Charlie said.

"Do that again."

Did I mention there’s a kid with type 1 who just entered kindergarten at the school?

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I've been feeling overwhelmed by life lately, not just on the diabetes front, but on all of them.  My toddlers are making me nutty, my 20 year old son is making decisions that I think are really unwise and my job bores me to tears most of the time. The only thing not driving me nuts is Olivia. Considering she's a 14 year old girl who's just been dumped by her boyfriend of six months, she's been pleasant to be around most of the time.

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donmimi83 ( away )

A topic came up on one of the diabetesteentalk forums which got me thinking. The topic was about how diabetics miss days from school or work because of doctor's appointments, seizures or ketones. There were alternating perspectives. Some chose to think that if you miss for diabetes related events, you should be excused or allowed time off without feeling guilty. Others chose to think that you have to suffer through at work or school and should not miss because of diabetes. After all, it is a self managed disease. (READ MORE)

A co-worker of mine recently told me about her morbidly obese future sister-in-law, who has "diabetes real bad."

"It doesn't exactly work that way," I told her, smirking like a diabetes snob. I went into the difference between type 1 and type 2 and told her that one doesn't get a bad case of diabetes. It's not like acne. So young, I thought. So naïve, I thought. So wrong. (READ MORE)