My Story

I'm in my late 30s.

Type 1 diabetic since March 1984, when I was a little 5-year-old kiddo.
 (Same as my mom, diagnosed with type 1 at the same young age back in the 50s)

 Originally from Southeast Michigan, we lived in Central Indiana from 2004 to 2015 before returning to our home state of Michigan.

A newspaper journalist by trade, hitting all the various types of papers in my first professional decade out of college - weekly, large and small dailies, and a statewide specialty legal newspaper.

Then, there's Diabetes Advocacy...

It all truly began in about 2006 after finding what's become an ever-expanding Diabetes Online Community. Aside from my creative and journalistic writing, I've been periodically writing about diabetes for more than a decade - first offline in my own computer journal then gradually online through listservs, AOL message boards, community forums, and then a MySpace blog before eventually starting my own free blog in 2005. It was mostly personal journaling and writing that touched on diabetes periodically, but eventually after reading more D-focused blogs online and connecting with the online community that became my focus. The Corner Booth became my own little corner of the world online where I could tell my story of how diabetes has affected my life and how it's changed since I've learned I wasn’t alone.

That led to a new career path, working for DiabetesMine since 2012 where I've been able to combine my passions for both journalism and diabetes advocacy full-time. So that's where you can find my D-stories and how I'm working to connect the dots. Here, at The Corner Booth, you'll find my personal tales of whatever fits the mood - politics, poetry, my life and family, or anything else that might come to mind!


As a Sigma Pi Fraternity man, I've learned to live by some basic ideals and these are what I strive to make real in my own daily life:

Advancing Truth and Justice
Promote Scholarship
Encourage Chivalry
Diffuse Culture
Develop Character, in the service of God and Man.



 I Believe.

That is a part of everything I do, personally and professionally, online and offline. I believe that we're all a part of something bigger than ourselves, and this is just one snapshot of how I work to be a part of that broader human experiment and do my part in whatever small little way I can.

In order to change the world, you just have to start in your own little corner of it. This is mine.



"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
~ Robert F. Kennedy

Popular posts from this blog

COVID-19 Vaccine Researcher with Type 1 Diabetes Wins Nobel Prize

Image
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
Read more

Flapping the Gums

Image
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.
Read more

Less Alcohol, Healthier Mindset for 2023

I've been enjoying my alcohol drinks a bit too much during the past several years. This has not gotten to a point where I've developed a problem. But it's just been too much, which has led to a number of health-related effects: weight gain, less-stable blood sugars, and probably just a stresser on my kidneys overall. Now granted, with the weight, alcohol alone hasn't been the issue. I've also enjoyed snacking. Working from home for so long has allowed this to happen in the middle of the day while working, as well as in the later evening hours when just relaxing and watching TV or hanging out at home. However, my reality for a good amount of time has been to have multiple drinks per night — whether it's a beer, craft brew, or bourbon and Diet Coke. As the saying goes, moderation is key. And I haven't been moderating to the best of my ability. After experiencing a severe stomach flu in mid-January and being dry for a 2-week period, I'd lost the interest in
Read more