Yesterday, I responded to the question about "things you wish your doctors knew about diabetes and the daily task of living [with it] by mentioning that many healthcare providers' knowledge of diabetes is incomplete and/or out of date. Rather than be a part of the problem, I've proposed a first-draft solution — some things I would put into a Continuing Medical Education (CME) syllabus to fill in some of those gaps. I'm sure I'm missing rather a chunk of stuff, but then again, this is a first draft.

If I were to develop a syllabus to fill in the gaps in professional diabetes education, as I perceive they exist today, these are some of the things I would consider:

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Susanne made it through Thanksgiving and then Christmas. She prepared both succulent meals with not even one nibble. Christmas cookies, butternut squash with apples and maple syrup, honey-glazed smoked ham with pears, cranberries and cinnamon. She even joked when our daughter Maeve was setting the table, telling her to set a straw for her instead of a fork and knife.

And now her first birthday with gastroparesis. At least last year she could stick a candle in a gluten-free brownie and make a wish. This year I got her vanilla birthday milkshake and held a single candle in my hand for her to blow out. The kids gathered around the faint yellow glow surrounding the Styrofoam cup like a force field and sang "Happy Birthday." It was mildly pathetic.

She misses food. Misses it very much. I miss having food with her.

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I wish he didn’t love food so much. I wonder if it would be different if he wasn’t raised with so many food restrictions and limitations. I wonder if we created this monster. This monster that if given the green light would eat a whole penguin in one sitting if it was fried and could be dipped in some sort of sauce. (READ MORE)

I road shotgun as a Meals on Wheels "runner" yesterday afternoon through the impoverished streets of Trenton, New Jersey.

My company sets up lots of philanthropic programs during the holiday season. I had never before delivered meals to the elderly or disabled, so I signed up. Yesterday’s hot meal was ravioli. I can still smell it. The day was sad and sobering and not one that I’ll forget anytime soon.

Like a tour guide, my driver added color commentary as we pulled up to each home.

"I call this one the Cat Lady," he said.

Aptly named. Three sets of tiny kitten eyes peeked out of the door when the Cat Lady opened it.

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As an informed person with diabetes and an active member of several online diabetes communities, it's important for me to "get out into the real world" and make connections with other people with diabetes and with people and associations whose purpose is to support us medically, psychologically, and socially. In addition to real-life meet-ups with members of my various diabetes online networks, I go to health fairs and community events to make contact, inquire about the state of diabetes-care support and diabetes advocacy programs, and have even given a presentation about how diabetes online communities positively effect the lives and health levels of people living with all types of diabetes. 

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On Tuesday, I noted that Scott's trouble with canned soup was just the tip of the carb-counting iceberg (or should that be "the lowest climbs on Everest" for the math-challenged?), looking at discrepancies in a product's own label as well as between what is stated on the label and what can be measured in the kitchen. Yesterday I looked at errors introduced by the processes of cooking and serving food, the canard of "free foods", and upscaling issues. Today I hope to conclude the series with issues of variation between individuals with diabetes (or an individual with diabetes). In short, Your Carb-Counting May Vary.

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