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Ah yes, here we are again. May Day. Common associations involve May Queens, maypole dancing, and for me, my diaversary. This year, five years. Wow, that's come and gone fast. I know that my blogging has got very, shall we say, sparse, but I thought this one was definitely worth marking. 

I thought about the sort of anniversary that your fifth anniversary is. If it was your wedding anniversary, the common gift is, according to the internet, wood. Now I thought that was especially poignant as I had been working on something else to bring you.

You might remember that back at the end of last year, I posted about finally starting to produce my own theatre under the name White Tree Theatre. Trees. Wood. See what I did there? Thematic linking, oh yes I think so! I talked about working on my one woman show about D advocacy, using the same name as this blog. 

Well it happened. And it was well received. So what I'm letting you know today is that, amongst my other diaversary day activities (which involved meeting a waitress who was a pump user during my lunch, and more attempts at gardening which ended badly), I finally managed to make a trailer for the show out of the recording that was made. 

It's not a great quality recording - I wasn't really doing the performance for camera, but you can hear everything, and what's more, you can hear audience reaction. It's just a little taste of what happened. 

I do have the whole thing recorded - it runs at about 40 minutes. I also have one of the Q&A sessions that I ran after the performance captured. I will be uploading an edited version of the Q&A in the next couple of days, and I can share the full performance recording on request. 

The really exciting thing, at least for me, is that since I performed it the first time back in November, I've had several people ask me how they can get me to come to their event. So what I'm doing is saying - ask me. Start a discussion. If I can get there, I'll try my hardest to come. If this show can help you or your community, I want to help.   

I've posted more information about what the show needs to operate on this page. Please feel free to pass the information forward if you can think of someone who might want to know about this. 

Five years. Yikes. Here goes year six, I suppose. 

Posted by Becky at 23:05 | Labels: advocacy, theatre | 1 comments |

I consider myself to be a fairly well read and educated person. I'm also surrounded by a lot of very well educated, well informed and well read people an awful lot of the time. Sometimes it seems that however well educated and well informed a person is, you can still find things that surprise you.

Case in point - I read A Christmas Carol when I around twelve years old, and thoroughly enjoyed it. As adaptations of the book go, I maintain that The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of the best, even though I'm thoroughly aware it makes plenty of changes - it feels the most faithful to the book's spirit. No pun intended. 

Just before Christmas I found myself having a discussion about A Christmas Carol, and more specifically The Muppet Christmas Carol with some friends. Someone admitted that because they love the Muppets version so much they sometimes forget that in the original there is only the one Marley brother. Which made me stop and think, then I realised that I had done the same thing myself more than once. How about that, when I'm actually well noted amongst people who know me as having a ridiculous memory for facts of this kind?

Between us we decided that because the Muppets version was one of the most loved, and most watched adaptation, it was often what people came to know first, so no wonder they're surprised when they go back to the source material and see that something's a bit different. 

Now, as amazing as the Muppets are, you might wonder why I'm talking about this. I have a point. 

See this?

This has been floating around Facebook again today. I've seen it before, and no doubt I will see it again. I know it's not just been on my newsfeed as well, as I've seen various members of the DOC addressing it. 

'It's just a joke!' I've seen people saying. 'You're reading too much into it', when I point out that I find it offensive.

I have a sense of humour. A good one. I know people often say that when they're trying to defend the fact that they don't get jokes. I get it. I get what you think is funny about this, but I'm sorry, it's just not. 

This is exactly the sort of misinformed 'humour' that perpetuates myths about diabetes as whole, regardless of whether it's Type 1 or Type 2. There is so much ignorance and misinformation about there about what diabetes is, cause and treatment that does anyone think that 'jokes' like this are really helping anyone?

Like with my point about A Christmas Carol, if a person's first point of contact with any sort of information is incorrect, and they then hear that repeated over and over, what do you think they'll believe? You only need to do a quick flick through your television, or a quick search on Youtube to see people making these sorts of 'jokes' again and again and again (and again and again - I could go on). It becomes mainstream. And no matter what you think, it still seems as though blaming anyone with diabetes for their condition is still an acceptable target. Couple that with the often downright dreadful portrayal of diabetes as a whole in fiction, and the blunders and idiocy of mainstream journalism, is it becoming clear now why I, and many others don't find this sort of joke funny?

Would you make this joke if it was something that impacted you or someone you love? What if it was about something that you cared passionately about people understanding and getting right in their heads?


When I saw this appear on Facebook today, I took to explaining to a few people exactly why I don't like it. And to their credit, they seem to have listened to me, so this is not me 'having a go' at them. Really, it's not. They're my friends and I love them. But things like this, for all the reasons I've just said, make me sad. They make me angry and tired and just want to sigh. Some days I just don't have the energy to fight these battles. So maybe you'll excuse me when seeing multiple people 'like' this picture on Facebook upsets me. Maybe you'll forgive me if I don't see the funny side.



 

Posted by Becky at 23:59 | Labels: advocacy, diabetes in the media, doc, soap box | 1 comments |

 

I talked recently about going down to London for World Diabetes Day. I did. and it was great.

I got to London on the evening of the 13th, which meant I got to join in with a JDRF Type 1 Discovery Evening - I'd always wanted to go to one, but travel and finances have always prevented me. Boy was I glad to be there! The speakers were excellent, and included Fredrick Debong, from mySugr,  Kyle Rose (of Team Type 1, Delta PM Diabetes and about a million other places), an update on artificial pancreas research, and diabetes poetry. I ever got to plug my show quickly, and hand out a few flyers and press releases. Oh and a free bar. Excellent. 

On the 14th, I woke up, and joined in with the #wddchat13 24 chat, still lying in my sleeping bag on my friend's settee, with her cat still staring at me.

 

And we were off! I had people responding to me, loads of which had already been going for a couple of hours already. It was great. As were my levels that morning. 7.6 (136) - I'll take that happily. I threw on my Hello Kitty onesie, and got on the underground.I'll be honest that, with my tube-anxiety, I thought I handled myself very well all day in that regard!

I met up with Shelley, the wonderful founder of Circle D and we hit the streets. We weren't really trying to collect money, we were more about making people look at us, and hopefully ask questions. We got into some great conversations with members of a London bus tour company, an owner of a souvenir stall, a taxi driver and a bunch of commuters. We joined in on a JDRF coffee morning. Then I sadly had to part ways with my other Type Onesies, who had to go back to work. I found myself hypo in a coffee shop, and whilst I was waiting to come back up again, I joined back in with the chat.

I dropped in and out throughout the day. I went walking down the river and took pictures of buildings that had gone blue for the evening. It was great. I got back on the train to go home, and chatted away. As I pointed out...

 I really did feel tuned in and switched on throughout the day. I love the DOC, I really do, and I've made some wonderful friends over the past few years, but I do think that my location sometimes makes it difficult to join in things like DSMA. Much as I want to join in, I can't ever really justify staying awake to participate, because there's always work the next morning. So the 24 hour chat was a revelation to me. I met all sorts of new people, who cared about what I had to say, and I was fascinated with their answers to the questions. As I travelled back, I was tweeting away. And then it went past midnight. World Diabetes Day was over for me. 

And the world continued. And my levels were RUBBISH by the time I got home. I was not enjoying the glue-mouthed 17's (300's). And that's the thing, I supposed. WDD is just one day - there's still the other 364 every year, where there's less visibility for us as a community, there's less of everything. Or is there?

When midnight hits, and we leave the ball, we're still like Cinderella. We might have to put our ball gowns away, and our carriage might be a pumpkin again, but we're still there despite all the finery being put away. And we've still got a job to do, and it's an important one. We've still got to keep supporting each other, managing to stay alive, and stay strong. Even if it's in a slightly less celebrated way for the other 364 days.

Posted by Becky at 23:59 | Labels: advocacy, dsma, friends, jdrf, worlddiabetesday | 0 comments |

Just can't wait to get on the road again...

Well, on the train, anyway!

I'd been trying to make this work for a while now, but you can imagine how thrilled I was that shortly after my first Blue Fridays picture for November was taken, all the pieces fell into place to send me southwards for World Diabetes Day!

Hoorah! Now, I will admit I am far from the biggest fan of London. I'm a northern girl through and through - it's noisy, dirty, busy and expensive, and there aren't enought trees. But many of the people I love tend to end up there, so I try to go when I can. But it's been a while. 

So when my wonderful friend Shelley, of Circle D fame said that she was running a Type Onesie Day for World Diabetes Day, I wanted to do everything I could to be there. And yesterday, all the required bits came together to make it all systems go. So I shall be donning a Hello Kitty onesie and parading around the streets of London, praying that it doesn't rain! 

What is also wonderful is that it's turned out that due to timings of travel, I will be in the Big Smoke in time to join in the London Type One Discovery Evening on the 13th. I've never been in the right place at the right time to join in one, so it seems things are very much on my side at the moment! UK DOC, do let me know if you're going to be along, so I can say hi!

On a side note, it would be great to see your photos filling my inbox soon. In case you missed it last time, I'm very keen to end my show with hope, and would love you to be involved. I am putting together a video, which I am inviting you to be a part of. If you would like to be part of the video, all you need to do is take a picture of yourself holding a sign with your name on it, and the words 'I live in hope'. Then email it to me. Simple as that.  I really hope to see your pictures soon so I can start putting this together for a brilliant end to things!
 

Posted by Becky at 21:26 | Labels: advocacy, friends, jdrf, worlddiabetesday | 0 comments |

So, back in May - all the way back in Diabetes Blog Week I teased about a project that I had in the pipeline. No, really I did. And since then, I've been working away behind closed doors, and letting my ideas bubble away. 

Now I'm ready to share them, and I hope, DOC, that you'll be pleased with what I'm planning. 

Over the past four years that I've been part of the DOC, I've seen an amazing array of advocacy, from the ridiculous to the sublime, which have all been beautiful and marvellous in their own special ways. What has made them all so individually wonderful and perfect in my eyes is that all the people involved used what they were great at to make them brilliant. Which has had me thinking. What do I think I am good at? What are my skills?

Most of you probably know that I write for the stage. I've been doing it seriously since 2005, and I've been fortunate enough to see several of my scripts brought to life. But before I ever thought about writing, it was performing that I loved. I still love it - I used to perform professionally, so I certainly hope I still love it! I found myself thinking about the skills I have, and how I could use them in advocacy.


I've been planning to launch myself into creating and producing my own theatre for a good few years, and decided that this project I'd been working on would be the one that I would use to launch myself with.

I wrote a show, telling a story. My story. Using this blog as a starting point, I have written a one woman show of my experiences from diagnosis onwards, and I'm going to be performing it. In less than thirty days time. Yikes.

I plan for it to be warm, funny, engaging, and very, very honest. There's a lot of content that I've never spoken about here, and working on it so far has been an unusual and surprising experience. I also really want it be a success. And there are a couple of ways in which I could use your help, DOC.

Firstly, I need to start reaching people to tell them about this project. Wherever you are in the world, as the people who are passionate about the heart of this, you're invaluable. If you would take the time to check out the website of White Tree Theatre, my new professional operating name (the site is still a work in process!), follow on Twitter and like on Facebook, I would really appreciate it. If you have a friend that you think would be interested and you tell them, that would be even more amazing. I'm going to be blogging about the development over the following month with a more theatrical slant over there as well, so if that's of interest to you, it might be worth a few minutes of your time.

Secondly, and very bluntly, if you're reading this and you're in the UK, take a moment to consider buying tickets to see it performed. I'll be performing at Friargate Theatre, in York, (where I happen to work) on 22nd and 23rd November at 19:30. Tickets are only £5.00, and you can either buy them online here, or you can call 01904 613000 during office hours. Since I run the Box Office, you might even get to speak to me! I'm keeping ticket prices low, as I'm planning to run a collection on the two evenings to split between several D-Charities. I'm not aiming to make a profit from this, but I still want to reach as many people as possible.

As I'm performing this in November, as my contribution to Diabetes Awareness Month, I want to be able to offer as much information as possible, even if it's not discussed outright within the performance. I'm going to have an information stand at the theatre, and I'm going to be running a Q&A after both performances. Is there something in particular you think that I should have there to offer, or someone I should be in touch with? While I might have already thought of it, there's no guarantee that I will do, so do please drop me an email and let me know if there's something you think I could miss that I shouldn't.

Lastly, and I really hope this is something that the DOC will want to be involved with. I am very adamant that this show ends with hope. I don't want it to be depressing or pitiful in any way. I want to end with hope, and with that in mind, I am putting together a video, which I am inviting you to be a part of. If you would like to be part of the video, all you need to do is take a picture of yourself holding a sign with your name on it, and the words 'I live in hope'. Then email it to me. Simple as that. 

Well, there you go, world. I've let this loose now - we'll see what happens next.

Posted by Becky at 20:12 | Labels: advocacy, fundraising, theatre | 3 comments |

Posted by Becky at 22:28 | Labels: advocacy, being thankful, guilt, reviews, soap box, type 1 | 1 comments |

I had been looking forward to the summer. Now, please don't get me wrong, I haven't been having a dreadful time, but I have been having a rather busy time. Which is why I've been away since...whoa, April. Yikes.

I've not been entirely silent though. I've recently written a guest post for DiabetesMine, and had the rather lovely experience of chatting with Chris for an episode of Just Talking. In the real world, I've been to a couple of D meet-ups - a lovely London based one with my wonderful friend, Shelley, and more recently I popped my head in (not really for long enough, sadly) to one on my doorstep. I also got invited to do a Q&A for a group of new start pumpers at my hospital (a post on that in the near future, I promise).

With the first year of my MA under my belt, with no scheduled classes for the summer term, I had anticipated having time to breathe a bit, get my thoughts in order. Has it turned out like that? Well, no, not really. Sure, I'm done with the MA until October, but other things have stepped up to fill the void. 

I don't consider myself to be immensely highly strung, or very high maintenance. But in truth, I'm not exactly the most laid back person in the world. I stress. A lot. I get anxious, which doesn't help me in any way, shape or form. Stress and I have a bit of a vicious cycle. I stress, which pushes my levels up. Which means I don't sleep well, which makes me tired and edgy. Which makes me stress more. Which starts the circle all over again. Oh and don't forget to throw in the small fact that my IBS symptoms are mostly stress induced. And round we go, again and again.

So I've been quiet on the whole social media front. I've barely been on twitter, which is normally my haunt of choice. I've not been blogging. But, oh my D-friends, I have missed you. I really, really have. But I had to try and keep a hold on my sanity, whilst struggling with this horrid cycle, working my normal 9-5, and then turning my mind over to the equivalent of a 5-9, which is getting a new company off the ground, and getting creatively and practically ready to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

So there you go. I've been battling the heat, the ongoing nagging in the back of my mind that I should be trying harder to lose weight after 'chubbygate', the stress, and, if I'm honest, feeling very alone and isolated. But I'm still here. I'm trying - and I've missed you all.

Posted by Becky at 23:45 | Labels: advocacy, guest post, heat, IBS, sleep, stress, university | 6 comments | Location: York, UK

Posted by Becky at 22:27 | Labels: advocacy, shoes | 4 comments |

Posted by Becky at 20:45 | Labels: advocacy, type 1 | 3 comments |

So I've been a little bit on the quiet side recently. As the old cliché goes, it's not you, it's me. It's been a busy and strange month, and unfortunately, writing here had to take a back seat during that time. 

I did miss you all though! I've been quiet all over the place, really - Twitter, Facebook, forums. Not through a matter of choice, but rather necessity. I had certain things that I had to get done. For the most part, it's done, but some things are still yet to be done.

Relating to my last post, about pumping - thank you to those of you who commented, or spoke to me elsewhere - I really appreciate your thoughts. I have decided to go ahead with pumping, at least for the time being. It does make sense to try. So I'll be starting at either the end of October, or the start of November. No news yet on what pump I'll be using, and I've still not decided whether I want to push for the Animas or the Medtronic. Still one more decision to make there!

October's going to be another busy time. Can't believe how quickly it's rolled around, but it's only a few weeks until I start my MA. With that, and Dancesport starting out again, I'm going to be rather stretched for time. Hopefully I won't go 'dark' for as long as I just did - it's all about the routine!

Interesting piece of news for you though. If you're at all nearby, I'm going to be speaking (briefly) at the Diabetes UK Volunteering Conference for the Northern & Yorkshire Office. So I'll be in Darlington on 9th October, if you're in the vicinity and want to say hi!

So, if you're still reading despite me being quiet for this long, hi, again, and let me know what you think of the new layout!

Posted by Becky at 23:06 | Labels: advocacy | 0 comments |

Last week, I gave you the full run down of the challenge I was planning to undertake to raise money for JDRF. Today, I'm kicking off the fundraising.

I've already had an email from the JDRF offices, and they're sending me out a fundraising pack. On my end, I've set up the info HQ for the challenge. Take a look at The D-Team Page. On there are all the details about who we are, what we're doing and why. 

I've also set up a Just Giving page here, and I'd really love it if you could consider donating. Every penny that's donated, whether it's through Just Giving, or if you want to send a cheque, will be donated to JDRF. If you're even considering sponsoring me and my idiocy, a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The one big way that you guys could help me would be to tell others. Tweet the page, download the badge (made by the amazing Chris - thank you!) and display it on your blog, or website for a while. Tell your friends on Facebook, or a forum. 

We're hoping to raise at least £500.00 - there's no way we can do that without your help. 

It's time to get started! xx

Posted by Becky at 20:25 | Labels: advocacy, fundraising, goals, jdrf, nablopomo, the d team | 0 comments |

I went out for dinner on Friday with Nick. Tapas - yummy! 

Since the food seemed to arrive in parts, I decided to shoot for food as it came out. So some bread first, and then for some spicy tomato and potato things afterwards. Seemed to work in the end. However, we were set to leave, and I popped into the loos, and just as I was washing my hands, I realised that I hadn't actually done the second part of the injection. 

Now, I'm a firm believer of never hiding away injections - I have nothing to be ashamed of, and I would never choose to inject in a toilet over somewhere else. Yet, I just couldn't be bothered to go into the middle of the restaurant and do it there, so I decided to do it by the sinks. Just as I was inserting the needle, a little boy (maybe two or three?) and his mum came out of one of the stalls. As she helped him wash his hands, he looked at what I was doing, and turned to his mum and asked what I was 'putting in my tummy'. She didn't answer him.

I wish I'd been a bit quicker off the mark to understand what he was saying. I don't understand the voices of small children well, so it wasn't until that point where it just becomes a bit too late to reply back that I worked out what he'd been saying. So I just smiled at them, and finished what I was doing. 

I should have said it was 'medicine', but I missed my moment. And I think for some reason, that will always bother me a little bit.

Posted by Becky at 23:29 | Labels: advocacy, fail, guilt, nablopomo | 0 comments |

Hoorah! The Wii Fit Guy actually had some nice things to say to me this morning! Which was good, because I needed to hear him say something nice.

So, I promised to tell you what this was all for. Here we go!

What is it about?

It's about me, and friends (who will now be referred to as The D Team!) taking on a high wire obstacle course in Dalby Forest, Yorkshire. The date is yet to be securely fixed, but it will either be in mid August or very early September.

The course in question is run by a company called Go Ape. Since they themselves say it best, this is what they describe themselves as:

...we build giant obstacle courses up in the trees using ladders, walkways, bridges and tunnels made of wood, rope and super-strong wire, and top it all off with the country’s best zip lines (including the longest at 426 metres – check it out on You Tube).


We then kit people out with harnesses, pulleys and karabiners, give them a 30 minute safety briefing and training and let them loose into the forest canopy, free to swing through the trees. 

So that's zip wires, nets, tunnels, bridges. Oh, did I mention I'm claustrophobic, and I still have remaining issues with heights? Quite honestly, I'm also not in the right shape to take on a challenge like this. Which is why it's a challenge at the end of the day! Let's see what the course we're taking on has to offer during the two-three hours that it's estimated to take to complete it:

• Highest point: Site 4 Zip Wire 35m
• Longest Zip Wire: Site 4 Zip Wire 250m
• Longest crossing: Indian Bridge (site 3) 15m
• Total length of all crossings: 888m
• Number of crossings: 37
• Number of sections: 6

 I will complete this. Why am I doing it? I want to raise money for JDRF. I know I'm not alone in thinking this is an amazing charity that is doing really important work. They need our help. If that means I have to do something stupid, something beyond my capabilities, and something that's going to be really hard work for me, so that I can try and support them as much as I can - well, then I'm going to do it.

I'll be keeping you updated along the way, with more training reports, videos (almost certainly complete with the A Team theme tune, I'm sure), and more. What I'm hoping for is your support. 

I will be setting up a fixed page on here in the next couple of days, with all the details - details of the event, members of The D Team, and links to a page where you can make secure donations if you feel so inclined (which I hope you do!) I hope that when these details are up, you'll help spread the word, so you can all watch my quite probable humiliation, and help the team raise money for a fantastic cause.

No, it's not a marathon in the literal sense, but getting ready for this is going to be just as gruelling for me, if not more. 

And that's Day Four

Posted by Becky at 22:57 | Labels: advocacy, exercise, fundraising, goals, INI let loose, nablopomo, the d team, training | 3 comments |

Over the last few days, I've had some issues of serious failure cross my path. Some of them got me so riled up that I feel I need to share them. 

First up, the rather wonderful Kelly over at Diabetesaliciousness™ came across something really rather rage inducing. 

Read about her encounter with a completely ignorant book at her local pharmacy, which infuriates me both as a diabetic, and as a Christian. I believe anyone with any kind of faith, or any kind of conscience for that matter will get seriously enraged by this. Kelly is also encouraging everyone to try and get this awful book removed from shops. Please go and get involved, particularly if you're US based. They will listen to us if enough of us complain.

Secondly, she's not the only one talking about this right now, but Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine is talking about the ruling that only 'trained' nurses are going to be allowed to inject insulin in certain US states - what happens in schools where there are no nurses? It seems utterly ridiculous, and also incredibly dangerous.

Diabetes UK are also, amongst others, trying to highlight the plight of parents in the UK who have been forced to give up work in order to care for their children with Type 1. Schools in question, hang your heads in shame!

Now, as a form of counter balance, here are some moments of win from online, which have also crossed my path!

Cara from Every Day, Every Hour, Every Minute is doing a giveaway of some amazing carb-free cupcakes! OK, they're actually crayons, but they're pretty awesome all the same. They definitely look good enough to eat!

Ginger Vieira's site Living In Progress has caught my eye. She does Life Coaching for people with chronic illnesses and health problems. As soon as my laptop has been repaired/new one has been purchased, and my Skype is working again, I'm looking forward to having a consult!

Diabetic Feed is back! After a fairly long hiatus, they're back in business with podcasts about diabetes news and the online community. Definitely worth a download!

Not wholly diabetes related, but I've been enjoying reading posts from John Schumann over at his blog, Glass Hospital. His blog is all about 'demystifying medicine one week at a time'. 

With demystifying medicine in mind, my own little plug is for my new article, 10 Tips For Living With Type 1 Diabetes at Health And Life Stuff, who are all about explaining complex medical things.

Finally, it's Diabetes Week here in the UK! See what Diabetes UK are up to and what they have to say.

Posted by Becky at 23:29 | Labels: advocacy, fail, friends, guest post, nablopomo, soap box, win | 4 comments |

I had the day off work today, in order to go to what I believed to be a 'user involvement' day, run by Diabetes UK. As it was being held pretty much opposite where I work, I figured it couldn't hurt to go along. It'd be a good chance to network, perhaps promote DiDkA, and promote, and perhaps recruit a few people for Circle D North Yorkshire. 

Did you ever go to a party where you turned up dressed in something vastly inappropriate? I felt a little but like I'd turned up to a black tie event dressed in fancy dress - perhaps dressed like a bear.

Whilst everyone was really lovely and welcoming (and the DUK staff seemingly thrilled to see someone under thirty), it became quite clear that the event had a) been slightly misrepresented, and b) I may also have got slightly the wrong end of the stick about the whole thing. The day was about 'Service User Reps', and getting feedback. Do you know what one is? I most certainly didn't.

That's not to say that the day wasn't interesting, because it was. I never knew that the NHS had a constitution, for one thing! I don't know if I would become a Service User Rep - I get the impression that it may well be a time heavy commitment, and especially closer to the autumn, when my Master's course starts, my time is somewhat of a premium. But like I say, I didn't know there was an NHS constitution, and that it turns out that they're legally obliged to listen to us. All interesting stuff. I did also have an interesting chat with someone from the DUK head office!

Maybe I'll just leave my bear costume at home next time!

Posted by Becky at 23:58 | Labels: advocacy, nablopomo, sieve brain moments | 2 comments |

This is a strange place to start this post with, but I do so love the Eurovision Song Contest! It's happening tomorrow night, for those of you not in the know, and I'm really looking forward to it. It's so wonderful in its camp naffness. With that in mind, I decided to go searching on Spotify for a song that I remembered from a previous contest. Turns out it was Latvia's entry in 2008.  The song was 'Wolves of the Sea' by....erm, Pirates of the Sea. Have a look at them performing at Eurovision on You Tube, and tell me it's not hilarious. As I said on Facebook and Twitter earlier today, you just don't get enough singing Latvian pirates during the rest of the year!


Problem was that after listening to it once, I listened to it a second time, because it cracked me up so much. And dammit if the song isn't actually catchy. So I spent the rest of the afternoon at work listening to it on Spotify, and thinking about pirates. 


So pirates. Obviously the glorified fictional kind, and not the very real modern day ones. Famous for treasure hunts and quests. On the trail of hidden booty, usually whilst wearing rather fantastic boots. Sometimes it turns out to be misleading, and X doesn't always mark the spot in the way you might think. Weirdly, I can relate. I also imagine that a lot of you out there can, too. 


So many of us living with diabetes are on the trail of some goal or other. Whether it's a better HbA1c, a pump, losing weight, more stable levels...the list goes on and on. For me at the moment, it's getting a better grip on my carb ratios, and having fewer hypos. Getting myself sorted generally, and into a better routine. 


Another thing that came to mind when thinking about pirates came because I'm currently re-watching The West Wing, (it fills me with hope!), and the episode 'And It's Surely To Their Credit' was on the other night. In the episode, several characters keep mixing HMS Pinafore with The Pirates of Penzance. Apparently, 'He is an Englishman' is in 'the one about duty'. As various characters point out though, when it comes to Gilbert and Sullivan, 'they're all about duty'. 


I love a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan (I really do!), and duty is an interesting thing to think about. Like pretty much every G&S is about duty, pretty much every person I've met in the DOC (diabetes online community for anyone who has been puzzled) has been about duty as well. Speaking I personally, I know that I feel a sense of duty to myself. No-one is going to do the work I need to do for me. If I want to look after my health, it's my duty to do everything that I can. 


I also see an amazing level of devotion to duty in the DOC from parents, friends, partners, spouses. People who don't have diabetes themselves, but are willing to step up to the mark, and fight. Fight for good health, fight for better public understanding, fight for the right to access proper and appropriate care. Now that's spirit for you. Pirates would be proud!


So welcome aboard the good HMS Diabetes! As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome whatever your treasure hunt may be. You're all pirates of the best kind. And if the ninjas decide to turn up for a fight, I believe we've got at least some of them on our side!

Posted by Becky at 22:01 | Labels: advocacy, being thankful, getting philosophical, goals, nablopomo | 1 comments |

I was going to write about something completely different up until about five minutes ago. I started writing a different post, but then deleted it all. I want to talk about something else. I imagine this is more than slightly influenced by the fact I've been rather riled up, coupled by my seriously considering joining the Take Back Parliament rally in York on Saturday, but I've been thinking about the way I want to campaign for things more and more these days. I believe strongly in fairness. I believe in equality, and injustice bothers me down the the core. Social welfare is one of my major concerns in life. 

So with that in mind, it shouldn't surprise me, really, that I want to fight for the 'little guy'. For all those who are under-represented in the DOC and non-OC, who find themselves shafted, or thrown aside. Who see doors shut in their face. This sort of thing makes me unbelievably angry. Wrong doings in corporations? Oh don't get me started. 

It comes naturally that I'm firmly behind DiDkA. I've also spoken before on how I want to be a good advocate for Type Ones. I don't even know how to go about that, really, but I know that I want to be someone who is concerned with what is right, what is fair, and in helping people with diabetes access what they're entitled to in terms of education, resources and support. I'm still aiming to run the Rat Race Mean Streets Challenge in September to raise money for JDRF

Having been inspired by the amazing work of Circle D, (which, if you're not familiar with the group, is an awesome support group for 18-30's living with diabetes) I've moved to set up Circle D North Yorkshire, which is not really exclusive to North Yorkshire! If you're within travelling distance, you're more than welcome. If you, or anyone you know might be interested, please do check it and get in touch. 

But those of you who have greater and longer experience in such matters, I turn to you. How do you become a good, strong and positive advocate? What tips would you give me, and where do you think I should go? I've got my soap box out, and I'm ready to roll my sleeves up.

Posted by Becky at 23:18 | Labels: advocacy, didka, fundraising, goals, nablopomo, soap box | 1 comments |

So tomorrow is the General Election here in the UK. I have refrained from making a statement of my political leanings on here, and although I may comment on the results, right now I'm not going to. However, if I may make a request. If you are in the UK, and are old enough to vote, vote. Go out and vote - both men and women died so that you would be able to have your say. And whilst I might hope that you'd vote (in my mind) sensibly, that's not for me to say. I just want you to vote full stop. I'm rather of the school of thought that it's disrespectful to all those people who died, and that if you don't vote, then you don't have any right to complain about the state of things!

Message over, and hopefully received! First up, a big happy birthday to Lou over at One Size Doesn't Fit All.

Secondly, a post of mine is featured in today's Blog Carnival over at Chronic Babe. There are lots of really great posts over there, and I suggest going and having a read. 

With Blog Carnivals in mind, just a reminder that you've still got time to submit a post to the first ever volume of the Bureaux Carnival. Looking through the inbox, we've had some terrific submissions so far, and I'd really like the first volume to be absolutely aglow with all the amazing blogging talent I know is out there. So if you've not put fingers to keyboard yet, get thinking, and pass the details on to anyone you think should be joining in. 

For those interested, tonight was the first session of my four week 'Living With Type 1 Diabetes' course. A full report will be here in due course, I assure you! 

Posted by Becky at 23:35 | Labels: advocacy, appointments, blog carnival, bureaux carnival, INI let loose, nablopomo | 0 comments |

If you took a poll of my friends and family, I'm sure general opinion would be much of the same. I'm not ladylike. Now, to be clear, it's not that I'm a ladette, or a lout of some sort. It's just that by obvious definition, I don't exactly embody the innate qualities of grace and elegance.

When I was in my teenage years, I can remember the shouts of 'spacial awareness!' from my Dad on a daily basis, as I would once again walk into the coffee table. Oh how that would annoy me. To be fair though, I do have the tendency to be a bit of a klutz. I have several different laughs. One of which sounds like I've swallowed a seal, and the other sounds like I'm a wounded moose. 

But just because I'm not pretty, don't wear make-up, or style my hair beyond drying and brushing, and I prefer jeans and trainers to pearls and heels, does that really make me un-ladylike? What makes a lady ladylike in the first place?

I had a quick google for 'how to be lady-like', and found a very helpful wikiHow, which gave me some food for thought. A huge part of being a lady has absolutely nothing to do with appearance. 

Choose your words wisely. I do believe that this is very important. There are a lot of things that I would like to say, but since I'm trying to regulate the frequent absence of a brain to mouth filter, I am practising the art of biting my tongue (or fingers) more these days. There are a lot of people online in the d-world. I don't necessarily agree with everything that's said. I'm very opinionated in a lot of matters, but I try to be respectful, even if I completely disagree with what a person says. If I can't phrase it properly, I often steer clear. Not because I'm not interested, but I think it's probably better to say nothing than to begin a tirade against a person or an idea that looks like bullying. I hate bullies, and I've vowed never to be one. I've always wanted to be someone that younger people can look up to. There is no way that I could ever be considered a decent role model if I blurted out things without thinking about the consequences.

Sharpen your mind. If it's all about the knowledge, then I think that I must be a lady in training. I don't think I've absorbed as much information as I have in the last year in a really long time. I think the first year with anything as life altering and new is a very steep learning curve. I think being pro-active has really helped with this. I read articles, I read books. I'm happy to talk with people, and educate when I can, and where it's appropriate. I think even writing this blog has been useful in helping me keep things together.

Having read through a few different articles, and looking through any comments about grooming, I see 'stand up tall to face the world'. That, I absolutely agree with. Everyone should try to do that - it's all about the confidence. If you don't feel it, at least try to pretend you do until you can get back up again. All of us, ladies or gentlemen, need to walk tall and proud - I think that's how you get people to take you seriously. I think as well, it's how you get people to believe that diabetes isn't going to stop us doing anything. That it's nothing to hide and be ashamed of. Doing so could go a long way to changing some of the public misconceptions about this disease. Misconceptions that I, for one, am getting tired of seeing.

So what do you think, ladies and gents? Could I be a lady-in-waiting? And would a pair of heels help me stand up a little taller?

Posted by Becky at 23:08 | Labels: advocacy, goals, soap box | 3 comments |

I've been spotting a bit of a trend lately. I've been seeing people in all different places online who are, for various reasons, starting using insulin. Some are newly diagnosed Type 1's. More are Type 2's who have progressed onto requiring insulin. This isn't the trend I'm referring to though. What I have spotted is that there seems to be a lot of negative feelings associated with this.

I hear 'failure', 'guilt', 'my fault', and 'bad'. It seems that insulin has acquired a stigma. As though it is some sort of punishment for misbehaving. This makes me really very sad. 

Starting using insulin can be scary. It can be frightening, especially if you're not sure what to expect. I can appreciate that, I really, can. I remember how unnatural it felt to insert a needle into my arm for the very first time, all the while thinking 'I'm sure my parents, countless teachers, and 'special' episodes of TV shows told me that this sort of thing was a bad idea'. I remember sitting on the floor of my living room the first evening after being discharged from hospital, and having to do my first completely solo injection. I believe I even said aloud 'I'm not sure that I can do this'. 

But do you know what? You do it. Some people might cry, some might shout and rage, but the world will keep on turning, and the second time simply can't be as bad as the first. You've done it once before - there's no reason that you can't do it again. It will never be fun. There won't be a full musical number, or kittens and rainbows. I'd love it if there was. I'm a big musical nerd, adore kittens, and everyone likes a rainbow. But there won't be. At the end of the day, you're putting a needle into yourself. However, there is a positive to all this. It's what you're injecting in.

It's not made of gold, or starlight, or pixie dust, but insulin is a little bit magic, when you get down to the nitty gritty. We didn't always have this option - the simple fact that we do have the ability to inject, and control the way we do is close to a miracle in my eyes. All you need to do is think for a moment about the time before insulin, and then, for an instant, it does take on the qualities of pixie dust.

I know the journey for Type 2, and I suppose that of people with LADA as well, onto insulin is bound to be different to mine. I didn't really have that delay, that time of building up the event in my mind to be this huge thing. It was either have insulin there and then, or wait a day (it seemed as thought it only would have been one day more, from the way they talked to me about it), come in unconscious in a coma and have insulin then. It was as blunt as that.

But if you've got a longer journey, possibly starting with diet and exercise, then medication, then finally to be told that insulin is what's needed?  I can see how one could try blaming themselves. The thoughts of 'I mustn't have tried hard enough', 'I've done something wrong', or 'this is my fault'? Very understandable, but if you're thinking that, do you want to know a dirty little secret?

It's not your fault, and you're not to blame. Some things just don't work for some people, and you've got to look down a different road for the control. It's nothing shameful, injecting is nothing to be embarrassed about, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Otherwise let me at them, and I'll set them straight.

Posted by Becky at 22:48 | Labels: advocacy, being thankful, diagnosis, guilt, injecting, insulin, type 1, type 2 | 4 comments |