Stepping Out
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 4:37PM On Monday night my wife and I attended the JDRF Annual Meeting for the Orange County chapter.
I often get emails about event the local JDRF is having and most of the time I cannot make it. Traffic in Southern California can make it hard to get around on a weeknight so I often just read about all these great events but never go.
I ended up leaving work early to get home with enough time to change and get back to the meeting.
And I am glad I did.
The night was first and foremost an update on all the chapter had done the year prior and also the electing of a new board. There were two speakers lined up to give talks of interest to the group.
First up was Tim Blett whose topic was “Can Social Media Find a Cure?” His presentation was good as far as utilizing social media for fundraising but when I think about diabetes and social media all that comes to mind is the DOC and all the support available. That is a talk I would love to give.
The other speaker was none other than Nat Strand, winner of The Amazing Race last season and a type 1 diabetic. She went through slides of the show and talked about how she dealt with diabetes all along the way. It was really interesting since we watched every episode and cheered her on the whole way.
One thing she said really stuck with me. She mentioned that diabetes was only mentioned a few times during the show, a fact that I read some people were upset about. She felt as though that was a good representation of how diabetes is. We take care of it on our own but every once and while those around us see us dealing with it. It’s invisible most of the time.
After her talk I got a chance to chit chat with Nat. When I told her the name of my blog she said that he often says that you have to be like a ninja to live with diabetes. I said, “Exactly!” She was even nice enough to take a picture with Jasmine and I.
It was awesome.
But the highlight of the evening for me was getting to meet a new friend from the DOC. The crazy part is our paths have sort of crossed before.
In March of 2010 I tweeted this picture.
I was on my way to work and saw this car. It was so cool that I had to share it with my Twitter friends.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I started following @t1advocategma
When I saw her avatar I got curious. Could this be the owner of the SUV I took a picture of a year prior?
It was! Crazy right?!?
She was just as awesome as can be! You should check out her blog Type 1 Advocate Gramma. She is an amazing person who wants to find a cure for her grandson who has type 1. Be sure to follow her on twitter too!
All and all I am glad I made the effort to go to the meeting. It was a little scary not really knowing anyone but I know in due time I will get more comfortable.
Reader Comments (8)
What a great post, George! And what an incredibly small connected world, where you got a chance to meet up with Ty 1 Advocate Gramma who was motivated into the blogosphere thanks in part to your good bud Scottie! It's like it all comes full circle, now with you finding out she's the owner of that awesome SUV message! Glad you were able to attend the meeting, George. We have one coming up here in Indiana in the next week and one of the topics is the same as you've described - social media use as far as the JDRF is concerned. Will be interesting to see how they compare, and how the DOC can be an element of that work discussing.
Oh my gosh!! You are so sweet...Thank you so much for the plug!!! I was so thrilled to meet both you and Jasmine. It really made me feel like I really am part of the DOC!!
Funny thing is...I've been' trying to figure out a way to get a meeting put together to try and show our chapter how IMPORTANT the DOC is (so many people don't understand)...and then you write "that is a talk I would love to give"!! Well...we HAVE TO put our heads together and come up with some ideas for a meeting that will draw a crowd and I already know who our guest speaker will be!!!
I almost went to that event!!! I grew up in the OC and now I live in LA. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! Nat was the JDRF OC gala too, did you go?? What a small world!!
What a wonderful post George and great pic of you and your wife with Nat! I like here description of "D" and how it is invisible to many. So true. And, in that, I think the show did a good job of portraying it from an "outsider's" perspective. Only those of us who live it know how the details of the mundane can drive you insane...eh?
And...cool meet-up!
Very cool! I love that picture! I'm also thrilled that you got to meet Jeanne - she's awesome. :-)
Im sure between you and Jeanne can get a talk for you lined up! You would be so great!
What a great picture with Nat! That is a show I have always wanted to do.
You certainly put your fancy pants on in that suit! ;)
I'm so glad you had such a great time at the meeting. I hope someone from the chapter reads this post and makes arrangements for you to give that Social Media / DOC Support talk. You would be a perfect fit to help guide people towards finding the gold-mine of on-line support!!
Wow. You guys look beautiful all duded up!!