The Corner Booth

Getting back into the swing of diabetes-management is always a challenge, when you've drifted far from the coast of control for so long. But that's been my adventure for the past couple weeks, and it's revealed the surprise and realization that - despite my thoughts to the contrary - my health hasn't been all that out of whack. A recent A1C was higher than it should be, but had dropped from the one more than a year ago. With the aid of a new Minimed Paradigm 722 that came to replace the now-discontinued Deltec Cozmo I'd navigated for two years, all seemed well again in the carb-counting and blood testing world as the levels are becoming more consistent and pleasing to the eye. The D-Life seemed good, once again. Then came the unexpected battle this week, one that may evolve to other levels in the coming months. With my push for tighter control, I'd discussed with my trusted endo that it would be a good time to explore the CGMS. We agreed recently to move forward...

Staying up through the night has advantages and can make you appreciate even more what you normally take for granted —, particularly when asleep. Tonight's wandering around my neighborhood was a fine example. In doing some family history research into the late hours, I came across a news item about the yearly Perseids Meteor Shower that typically peaks around this time in August. So always being curious about the larger world we live in, I decided to see what could be seen outside in the night sky. A Google search tells me that the Perseid meteor shower's been observed for ~2,000 years, with the earliest information coming from the Far East and some Catholics referring to this event as the "Tears of St. Lawrence." That was because this shower peaks between Aug. 9-14, and coincides perfectly with that saint's martyrdom. Sadly, my eyes are shedding their own tears of not seeing St. Lawrence's tributary shower tonight. At least, I don't think so. To my disapp...

Written by Amy Tenderich at DiabetesMine in July 2009 It's difficult to describe the feeling of being physically in the same room with 30 people with whom you have a longstanding online intimacy, seeing their faces and hearing their voices in the flesh. With the likes of David Mendosa , Jeff Hitchcock , Manny Hernandez , Scott King , Kerri Sparling , Fran Carpentier , Scott Johnson , Kelly Kunik and a whole mess of other bloggers and heads of online D-communities gathered, it felt something like a meeting of the mafia bosses — in a good way. Meaning all these "influencers" were at last sitting under one roof, heatedly debating the future of our respective/collective turf. And here we all are: As I have shared leading up to this event, Roche had reached out to me to help organize this first-of-its-kind event bringing patient advocates together from the Diabetes Online Community (DOC). We bloggers and social network aficionados have been calling for the me...

An important blog post worth reading today from my journalism mentor, Jane Briggs-Bunting who heads the Michigan State University J-School. It's about the current state of our newspaper industry, and the heart of what we do. She writes on a day when the Ann Arbor News announces that after 174 years, it's closing in July and will go online. Here's the newspaper report being updated throughout the day. This news follows the one early this year from the Detroit major metro dailies, saying they'll be cutting home delivery to a few days a week and offering much of their content online. They set the precedent - it officially starts Monday. More newspapers will likely follow suit, amid the grim economic news and continued cuts that we'll also likely see throughout the country. With that, the Indy Star reports today about its planned reductions for the 2nd Quarter.... All of that uncertaintly led to the recent news from a longtime colleague - who'd been in the newspape...

This marks my 25th year with diabetes. A worthy feat, particularly since I'm turning 30 years old on Feb. 1. With my diabetes anniversary, also comes the one for my mother marking her 50th anniversary. We both have cause to be thankful, as we've been blessed to have no serious ramifications of complications at this point. When she was diagnosed at 5, docs told her parents she wouldn't live past 21. That was back in the mid-50s. Obviously, that worked out. My prognosis was much more optimistic by the time this 5-year-old got the news in the mid-80s, though the looming fear of complications clouded the manageability. Years later in the teens, I heard from docs that if my poor control and high A1Cs continued I likely wouldn't live to see 30. Well, that clock is counting down on that one. Only a few weeks to go - (here's me knocking on the wooden desk...) While alive and relatively healthy, both mom and son have encountered bumps in the road, of course. She's got he...

Heard a great song by Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Live On. An awesome four-minute experience, even at the 2 a.m. hour. No coffee, but enjoying some Irish or English Breakfast Tea that was part of a Christmas gift box from the parents. The dog is curled up in a ball on her blanket by the window, as I sit here typing on the home computer in our disorganized and far from clean office. Wife is sleeping down the hall, nice and snug I know as I've checked on her and laid next to her more than once. But tonight is one of those times when sleep just isn't coming easy, possibly because of aching legs and feet, much on my mind, and just simple restlessness at week's end. Of course, sitting in front of me - while I sit here with headphones strapped on and the music blaring - is a wonderful reminder of How Lucky I Am. A card that says just that. From Suzi. Just a no reason, on the spot reminder from her one day. So, it brings a smile at this late hour and lets the mind wander about life...

We had the fun and excitement of pumpkin-carving this past weekend. Of our two pumpkins bought at the now traditional pumpkin spot about five miles south in Whiteland, one became a smiling ghost. The other takes on a civic duty and preaches a good message: "Vote Obama 08." Well said, smart pumpkin. Originally, we were going to create a work that would have rivaled the magnificance of Michaelo's masterpiece - the Palin pumpkin. We'd stencil her face on the pumpkin, and then of course add an ever-so-fitting witch hat. Nearby, we'd have a button that says, "Lipstick and pitbull sold separately." Thought that was pretty clever, but it was later determined we non-Palin folk must be "anti-American" as we seemed to lack the skill to perfect the stencil-pumpkin work. Plus, it might very well scare the kids away from our porch come trick-or-treat time. So, the voting encouragement won the battle and became engraved on our pumpkin. It beats out the pesk...