Recent Posts
Gratitude – IDAA
Driving home late one evening in the late 1980s on an Interstate Atlantans call ‘The Connector’, something caught my eye on an electronic sign atop West Paces Ferry hospital. I was surprised (and proud) that diabetes was in the bright lights. I took note of the...
Gratitude – Insulin Pumps and Pat R.
In the late 1980s I read about the progress being made with insulin pumps. They had become smaller in part due to learning from the US space program. The Diabetes Treatment Center of Atlanta was progressive and an excellent resource for insulin pumps. I researched...
Gratitude – Diabetes University (Diabetes Association of Atlanta ) and Marti C.
What if the people living and treating diabetes could meet in one place for one day? The thought had never crossed my mind until I received a mailer for something called “Diabetes University.” It was the late 1980s or early 1990s when the Diabetes Association of...
Gratitude – Sliding Scale, Insulin Sensitivity & Correction Factors
Early in the 1980s, the development of blood glucose meters provided immediate data and feedback about my blood sugars. But what was I supposed to do when my blood sugar was still high several hours after eating? I knew that insulin would lower blood sugar, so I...
Gratitude – Steve Inskeep
I moved to Atlanta in 1985 after accepting a job transfer with AT&T. I was 25, and it was a big move for me. Until then, I had stayed close to my nest in and around Kansas City. With that came a comfort zone of family, faith, friends, lifelong sports teams, a...
Gratitude – Dave Borgelt
I met Dave in Kansas City the summer after graduating from college. We both moved to Kansas City for jobs after graduating from different places. I was coming home after four years in Manhattan, KS, and Dave graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO....
Gratitude – Me
After leaving both the family nest and college cocoon, I entered the real world. It was 1981 and I had a good job with a public accounting firm in Kansas City. Now on my own and single, I was experiencing way too many lows amidst the erratic way I was living. I...
Gratitude – Blood Meters
Two years after graduating from college, I became frustrated with the number of hypoglycemic episodes and the impact they had on my exercise, work and relationships. So, in 1983 I sought help from a specialist and set up an appointment with an endocrinologist....
Gratitude – Dave Scott
I met Dave in the Spring semester of my freshman year at Kansas State University. During his senior year of high school, he was a Kansas City All Metro football player and chose to play at a small college during his freshman year of college. A semester of that was...
Gratitude – Vocation Rehab Bill of 1973
The U.S. government has a history of helping and protecting disadvantaged and disabled citizens. Legislation dates back to 1917 and the benefits continue today. As I prepared for college in 1977, the Vocational Rehabilitation Bill of 1973 offered help – because I had...
Gratitude – Chris Rossie
I met Chris Rossie in high school at Shawnee Mission South after his dad was transferred from Dallas to Kansas City. Chris was an unusually talented guy – bountiful in academic and athletic prowess. And he excelled at both. He became our starting shortstop in his...
Gratitude – Baseball
Growing up, games and sports help fill our days and dreams. My game? Baseball. My Dad started it by playing catch when I was 4 or 5. That led to fifteen year of progressively competitive baseball. I developed a love for the game because friends played it and God...
Gratitude – Teachers
Teachers help us learn and achieve in the classroom. Their experience and knowledge shape our minds. Some teachers go the extra mile with their students. They get to know us. They encourage while serving as examples. Their selfless ways help us become more...
Gratitude – Diet Sodas
Theme parks sprung up across America in the early 1970s. So when Worlds of Fun opened in my hometown of Kansas City, I was eager to explore. As an early teenager, the park was a blast and included constant walking while taking in the rides that were bigger and...
Gratitude – Athletes of 60s & 70s
My childhood was all about being outside and active. Kicking a ball onto the front face of our home’s roof and running to the backyard to catch the ball before it hit the ground. Did that over and over. Day after day. Elementary school graduated to recess with...
Gratitude – Tullis Hall Ice Cream
Candy such as jelly beans, sugar babies, lifesavers, and tootsie pops. Candy bars including Snickers, Butterfingers, and Baby Ruths. Soda drinks like Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, and Dr. Pepper. Sugared cereals like Captain Crunch, Sugar Pops and Smacks. These were the...
Gratitude – Insulin
In 1920-1921, a Toronto laboratory dog’s pancreas was removed; a hormone from the displaced organ was isolated and then injected back into the dog. The results were amazing … the symptoms of the dog’s diabetes disappeared within days of injections. This hormone was...
Gratitude – Dr. Jack Burr
My diagnosis was similar to most. I had been sluggish for weeks, lost weight, and frequently visited the bathroom. My Mother called our pediatric family practice. A young, recent medical school graduate had become part of the practice. His name was Jack Burr. Dr. Burr...
Gratitude – Jennifer
My one sibling, Jennifer, is two years younger than me and was 18 months old when I was diagnosed. Growing up, we were a tight family and did things together. So it’s fair to say that she also lived with my diabetes. This included observing my morning insulin...
Gratitude – Mom
Reflecting on the first 20 years of my diabetes, I sometimes wonder how I made it. Much of the credit goes to my Mother. In many ways, she lived diabetes with me. There’s not much a three-year-old can do to manage diabetes. So, that’s where my Mother stepped in. She...
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