Scott's Diabetes

D-Blog Week: Fantasy Diabetes Device

Scott K. Johnson — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:35:23 +0000

Third Annual Diabetes Blog Week! Today I get to dream of a fantasy diabetes device! This is pretty exciting, but also a little intimidating and hard. I have been so used to the crappy devices that we have today, I feel like I have automatic “dream limiters” in my brain.

First of all, let me say that as long as I’m dreaming, I’d like to just be done with the whole diabetes thing. I love you guys, and all of the amazing friends I now have, but diabetes sucks and I’d give it away in a heartbeat.

As far as devices go, I am getting spoiled by all of the connection and communication non-diabetes devices have today. Everything is connected and everything talks together. Even down to simple things like my browser having the same bookmarks across different computers. I take that connection and communication for granted, until my day bumps into a diabetes device.

As soon as I have to interact with a diabetes device, it’s as if my world enters a backwards time warp where everything is independent, nothing talks to anything else, and I’m just expected to cope with it. Actually, I’m not expected to cope with it, I’m forced to.

My fantasy diabetes device(s) would allow me to mold great diabetes management into my life without having to bend much of my life around diabetes. We deserve that much at least.

D-Blog Week: Fantasy Diabetes Device is a post from: Scott's Diabetes

D-Blog Week: One Thing to Improve

Scott K. Johnson — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:15:44 +0000

Third Annual Diabetes Blog Week! The assignment for today is to talk about one thing we could improve on in our diabetes management. I didn’t have to think much, if at all, about what that thing would be for me. Carb counting. Or maybe I should say accurate carb counting.

I fully recognize the critical nature of counting my carbohydrates. I know that if I don’t get it right I’ll end up too high or too low shortly after (though, to be fair, even if I do get it right that may still happen). But there is something that bothers me deep inside about having to count my food.

It’s not necessarily about learning to eat proper portion sizes. Even if I ate less, I’d still have to count it, and that bothers me.

Diabetes in my life has led to an unhealthy relationship with food. I have a lot of anger around that. When I’m ready to dig in and work on it, I know I’ll have my hands full and will need a lot of help. DOC – I’ll be leaning on you guys, big time.

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D-Blog Week: One Great Thing – Activity!

Scott K. Johnson — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:01:08 +0000

Third Annual Diabetes Blog Week! Today’s assignment is called “One Great Thing” – what is just one diabetes thing I do spectacularly?

Most of the time, activity is easy for me. I love playing basketball, and most weeks I’m able to play four or five days per week.

There is a YMCA near where I used to work where there are always guys playing basketball over the lunch hours. They start every weekday at 11:30 AM and play until people get tired or have to go. There have been days where we played until nearly 3:00 PM!

I love that it is YMCA basketball. Anybody can find a spot to play, regardless of age, athletic ability, or basketball talent level. They also run a fair system, which keeps the games moving and makes sure to rotate everyone through. Nobody has to wait longer than anyone else to play. None of us are getting paid to play, and everyone is there to have fun and get some exercise.

From what I understand, they’ve been playing basketball up there since before I was born.

When I get pulled away for a stretch, or am out for an injury, what I end up missing the most is fellowship with the guys. It’s in my nature to be a bit social. Working from home has some benefits, but socializing isn’t one of them. Basketball at the YMCA fills my desire to interact, as well as providing some exercise. At least when I remember to bring my shorts…

How blessed am I to get exercise through something I have fun doing?

I’m going through withdrawal right now though. Through the month of May I am on strict instructions from my TeamWILD coaches to stay away from basketball. I’m most of the way through an 18-week training program in preparation for a HUGE bike ride on the first weekend of June, and I’m following their instructions as best I can.

I can survive a month without basketball, and I’m staying active by logging hours and miles on the bike.

Gotta keep moving!

D-Blog Week: One Great Thing – Activity! is a post from: Scott's Diabetes

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D-Blog Week: Find a Friend

Scott K. Johnson — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:06:27 +0000

Third Annual Diabetes Blog Week! Today’s assignment is called “Find a Friend”, and we are to introduce you to a blog I’m reading that you may not already know about.

With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Drew at MyT1D.com!

Drew was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in January of this year (2012). He’s rolling through his honeymoon period right now, and is doing all he can to hang on to whatever insulin function he has left.

I just met Drew a few days ago, and am still getting to know him. But when I went to his blog and saw a picture of Kevin Garnett throwing down on some fools, how could I not like the guy?

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Camp Sweet Life – Southern Minnesota – Register Now!

Scott K. Johnson — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:52:39 +0000

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Scott & Dr. Robert Larson

Not too long ago I posted about running into my childhood endo at a local event.

He has been working hard to get Camp Sweet Life up and running, and I wanted to give it a quick plug before summer starts flying away from us.

Know any young folks (ages 8+) living with type 1 diabetes in Southern Minnesota? Please pass this information along to them.

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Livin’ With Diabetes – A Ginger & Mike Creation!

Scott K. Johnson — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:48:52 +0000

Today’s smile is brought to you by Ginger Vieira and Mike Lawson.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Livin’ With Diabetes – A Ginger & Mike Creation! is a post from: Scott's Diabetes

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Brenda Novak’s 8th Annual Auction for Diabetes Research

Scott K. Johnson — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:50:06 +0000

Brenda Novak is a world famous NY Times (& USA Today) Bestselling author with a ton of accolades to her name. But if you were to ask her, she’d say she’s just a mom with a passion to help find a cure for her son.

I had the opportunity to chat with her via e-mail over the weekend, and her down to earth manner really made an impression on me. I was totally star-struck, which only magnified her humbleness.

Her son, Thad, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five (same age as my diagnosis), and shortly after she started holding an annual online auction to help fund diabetes research. To date she has raised over $1.3 million.

Before I dive into my chat with Brenda, I’d like to cover the basics of the auction and talk about a special giveaway just for readers of Scott’s Diabetes. There are a ton of details and resources on her webpage, Brenda Novak for the cure of Diabetes, if you’d like more than what I explain here.

The auction starts this morning, May 1, 2012 and runs through the end of the month. In order to participate, you have to register an account on the auction website. If you enter ‘SJ2012′ in the promo code box, you’ll get a free autographed book from Brenda!

Once you are registered you can browse all of the cool items that are available. Some of the items up for bids include having afternoon tea in the English countryside with Crime Novelist Peter James, getting to know NYT Bestseller James Rollins over lunch, drawings for Writers Conferences, chances to win a MacBook Air, Advanced Reader Copies, naming a character in an upcoming book, having a book dedicated to you, and more! The list goes on and on.

Head on over to register today! Remember to enter ‘SJ2012′ to get your free autographed book.

Chatting With Brenda

SKJ – How and when did you come up with the idea for the online auction?

BN - I wanted to do something almost immediately after my youngest son was diagnosed (at five) ten years ago. I was brokenhearted to learn of the difficulty of managing his blood sugars and that he would likely suffer some terrible side effects (as most here will know, those with diabetes have a much greater chance of getting cancer, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, etc.). I was panicked and wanting to do anything possible to help my son, but I was a young mother with five kids and no resources. I was also very busy, was just starting to build a successful career as a writer. My husband kept telling me to relax, that “there is a time and a season for everything.” But I was relentless in my desire. I wanted to do something, and I wanted to do it right away.

About two years after Thad was diagnosed, I attended a silent auction at his school. I was disappointed by the turn-out. I remember thinking that those who had donated items were not getting the PR they were, no doubt, hoping for, and the school wasn’t getting the kind of money they’d been hoping to raise. I thought, “There has to be an easier way to raise money than to try and get over a hundred people to come to one place at one time and include dinner.” And that was when the idea popped into my head. I realized I had a website with significant traffic. I began to wonder if I could enlist my fans to help me raise money via an online event–and Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research was born in May of 2005.

I knew from the beginning that I would need to give people a reason to shop there–something unique. So I started offering opportunities for aspiring writers to get in front of some of the most powerful people in the business. All the other great items–the trips & stays, the celebrity autographs and meet-and-greets and jewelry and handmade items–help round out the offerings, but the opportunities were what helped it catch on. That first year I raised nearly $35,000. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to tell me the idea had merit. I kept working to build the auction the next year, and the amount raised doubled. It nearly doubled in its third and fourth years, too, so I have kept pushing.

SKJ – Why did you pick the University of Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute? (disclosure – I have a business relationship with the DRIF, the fundraising arm of the institute)

BN - I wanted a cure-focused research center. I wanted to strike at the very heart of the disease, to find a cure so that education and money for supplies for the underprivileged would no longer be an issue. After touring the DRI, I became convinced that they had the same goal I did–they wanted to make diabetes a thing of the past. I talked to the scientists there and came away encouraged. I felt, and still feel, as if they have the best chance of delivering a cure and was determined to put the money where it would do the most good.

SKJ- How do you get so many cool things donated each year?

BN - The writing/reading community has been amazing. They have been so supportive, year after year (and they are always the first to get behind a good cause). But I try to make sure that there is something in it for everyone. We had over 20,000 unique visitors last year and over 500,000 page hits. That gives authors a great audience, a chance to put their cover and story hook in front of many people who love books. The authors get the promotion value. The readers get first chance at reading their favorite author’s new book (many times before it even comes out–like in the instance of my new book, WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES, which won’t be out until September but someone can get at the auction in May). And the charity gets the money for research.

The authors and other industry professionals have also been generous in helping me to promote the auction, so it’s growing fast.

SKJ – What does Thad think of your efforts?

BN - Thad has been enthusiastic about it all. When the auction is running, he always comes home after school and checks right away, “What are we at today?” We celebrate every new success. He also helps a great deal in loading items on the auction and helping me get items boxed up and shipped when it’s all over. He helps pass out flyers to promote, too. When I had a local event to coincide with the auction last year, a brunch, he was a huge part of it. I’ll never forget him running around selling raffle tickets. He’d come and report how much he’d raised about every fifteen minutes. LOL

Brenda, thank you for being so generous with your time, for the auction, the giveaway, and this great dialogue. I really enjoyed it! And maybe I’m a bit silly, but I have to say it was so freaking cool to chat with you. Who ever would have thought that my rambling would have me crossing paths with such a famous author?

Brenda Novak’s 8th Annual Auction for Diabetes Research is a post from: Scott's Diabetes

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Using Social Media: A Patient Perspective

Scott K. Johnson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:43:52 +0000

Presented on April 23, 2012 at the International Diabetes Center Symposium for Advanced Diabetes Educators.

Using Social Media: A Patient Perspective

View another webinar from Scott Johnson

You are welcome to share this wherever you’d like.

I hope that my presentation was well received, and that I helped remove some of the perceived barriers between healthcare professionals and social media resources.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

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Questions are the Answer

Scott K. Johnson — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:30:37 +0000

This PSA resonated with me, so I wanted to help spread the word.

It’s all about being an empowered patient and asking questions, and having a discussion with your doctor about your health. It’s from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a government agency with a mission to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

And here is a little blurb from their PA Specialist on how to find more information:

“Questions are the Answer” features a website – www.ahrq.gov/questions – where you will find these free educational tools to use with your patients:

A 7-minute video featuring real-life patients and clinicians who give firsthand accounts on the importance of asking questions and sharing information – this tool is ideal for a patient waiting room area and can be set to run on a continuous loop.

A brochure, titled “Be More Involved in Your Health Care: Tips for Patients,” that offers helpful suggestions to follow before, during and after a medical visit.

Notepads to help patients prioritize the top three questions they wish to ask during their medical appointment.

Clinicians can request a free supply of these materials by calling AHRQ at 1-800-358-9295 or sending an email toAHRQpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov.

>> View Campaign Website
>> View Featured PSAs
>> View Original Video Series

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28% Interested (a.k.a. Distracted!)

Scott K. Johnson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:15:53 +0000

I recently had a dream that I was attending the ‘Design of Medical Devices‘ conference at the University of Minnesota. I had no idea such a thing existed until somebody signed me up to their mailing list. I was hoping for a free invitation, but nothing ever came of it. Must have been someone’s idea of advertising.

In my dream, I was sitting at a table with a number of other people, all of us listening to presentations. One guy had designed a wireless blood sugar interest monitor. That’s right, interest. As in, how interested are you with your current blood sugar?

It looked just like a wireless router, hanging high on the wall just above a light, and it was giving this guy a readout of everyone at the table.

0% interested, 0.01% interested, 0% interested, then he got to me. 28% interested. Almost a third of my active brainpower was being consumed just worrying about my blood sugar.

I know it was just a dream, but I’d say there’s a pretty good slice of reality in there somewhere.

28% Interested (a.k.a. Distracted!) is a post from: Scott's Diabetes

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