Dr. Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania isn't one to seek the spotlight. But as one of the two key researchers behind the science used to develop the first COVID-19 vaccines, his name has leapt into public view as of late 2020. Self-described as "just a basic scientist," Weissman is a modest man who has spent his lifetime devoted to research. He also happens to be living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for more than 50 years, spanning the two decades that he and his colleagues have spent digging into the vaccine-related research that's become so critical to public health at the moment. Weissman may not be advertising that he lives with T1D, but a recent photograph of him getting his own COVID-19 vaccine shot in mid-December tipped off the public that he's sporting an insulin pump on his belt. DiabetesMine spoke with Weissman by phone in early 2021, just as President Joe Biden took office and the scattered vaccine distribution was making
Not too long ago, I came down with an unknown viral bug that knocked me off my game for a couple weeks. It wasn't immediately diagnosed, but turned out being a viral stomach flu that was probably complicated by COVID-19 from more than a month earlier. After 10 days of being unable to work and do much of anything, I turned a corner and started moving toward recovery. This all made me realize how much I appreciate (at times) the world of life with diabetes. As much as type 1 diabetes can seem the opposite of stable, it's also predictable at times in that instability. And that in itself, might very well be comfortable when compared to other health issues life throws at us. By that, I mean that even when your blood sugars are jumping High or diving Low without any rhyme or reason, there's a certain amount of familiarity that comes with it. If you're too High, take insulin. Maybe the injected insulin or pump boluses take too long because insulin isn't too quick-acting, s
No time for my chatty-typing fingers to engage you today. I'm off to the dentist's office for a dreaded appointment. Thanks to the wonders of D-enduced periodontal disease, this should be a visit full of poking, prodding, pain, and likely some bleeding. Great times. Not looking forward to this visit. Or the next more painful one. I see soup in my future. Maybe Easy Mac. But, I digress. That's all fodder for a future blog post. In the meantime today, talk amongst yourselves. Flap those online gums in the blogging world. And remember to brush and floss.
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