It’s a funny thing writing a blog for this long. If you’ve been with me for a while you’ve noticed I post less frequently and the pieces are shorter. When I come across something I feel is worth sharing, something newsworthy or just an insight, I’ll post it. The remainder of the time, I’m just out here living my life. That said there are some classic articles the seven years I wrote on the Huffington Post if you want to see.
The living took me to London the past two weeks. It was actually a wedding that prompted the trip, but while there I got to meet a gentleman, Alan Sinclair, who’s dedicated much of his medical and academic career to advancing care for type 1s as they age and become elderly and frail. I’m currently on a committee under his stewardship. The main committee of medical professionals and researchers is establishing guidelines for health professionals who care for elderly/frail T1Ds who use CGMs in setting such as hospitals and nursing homes. Alan and his wife kindly and generously had me and the husband to his home for a beautiful lunch, and pronounced immediately that I was the star, since I’m the one who lives with this condition. I didn’t argue as I sipped my rose in his garden.
You realize how 20 years ago such a committee wouldn’t exist. We didn’t have CGMs and people with type 1 diabetes didn’t live as long. Just like the Joslin Institute now gives medals to those who’ve lived 80 years with type 1, things are getting better, even if it feels at times like it’s happening at a snail’s pace. Were I still in London, I’d say, “Brilliant, let’s keep cracking on!”