A Few Hours Left

Tonight at 10PM PST is the end of the BACON SKIN GIVEAWAY! If you, or someone you know has a Medtronic insulin pump, make sure they leave a comment on Monday's post (or today's if they works) with the words "Bacon Wrap My Pump" included. Then they will be entered to win one of six pump skins that were donated by Medtronic. 

Remember, if you don't have a Medtronic pump you can still take advantage of a 25% off coupon code that is good through the month November. Just click on this link and use the code MDTBacon at checkout for the savings!

Good luck!

You Tube Tuesday #248

Yesterday was World Diabetes Day and check out how some people raised awareness in Brussels!

World Diabetes Day - Giveaway!

Check out the video first than read the details below! 

Awesome right? What better way to raise diabetes awareness than by sporting a sweet bacon skin on your Medtronic pump! Imagine how many people will ask, "What is that?" And that is the perfect opportunity to tell them all about diabetes!

So how did this all happen you ask? 

After seeing Jessica and Sara go crazy over cupcake pump skins at Friends for Life, Medtronic hatched an idea with them to create a bacon skin. What more fun way to personalize a pump than with bacon skins? And when you think Bacon apparently my name comes up so why not let me host the give away! Right on!

Here's how it works, leave a comment that includes the phrase, "Bacon wrap my pump!" and you will be entered to win a bacon pump skin for your Medtronic pump. Comments will be closed for this post on Wednesday, November 16th at 10PM PST.

Six lucky winners will be chosen at random and announced right here on Thursday, November 17th so spread the word! 

One last thing, if you don't have a Medtronic pump but still would love to get a sweet skin for another device, you can click this link to SkinIt and use the code MDTBacon for 25% off of your order! The code is good until November 30th so everyone wins!

I know this may seem silly to some but finding ways to have fun with this annoying disease makes living with it day in and day out a little easier. If that means tricking out your insulin pump with the best argument against becoming a vegan than so be it!

Good luck and be sure and let your friends know to enter to win!

Now go do The Big Blue Test again so we can be sure to reach the 8000 test goal and help so many people with diabetes in need!

Disclaimer: Medtronic is sponsoring the give away of 6 bacon pump skins for any Medtronic pumps shown on Skinit.com's website as available models for those chosen by the winners. I will receive a bacon pump skin for my pump but that is the only thing I received for hosting this give away. Ninjabetic, Medtronic, or anyone else in their right mind would never suggest anyone wrap their medical devices with actual strips of bacon regardless of how awesomely delicious it sounds. 

Patient 13

Please watch this video first and than read below.

I have been blogger for a while now and I often get emails about new diabetes products, cook books, or other press releases that people want me to write about.

More times than naught I don't. 

This space is my personal blog and I want to keep it as personal as I can.

When I received an email about this project I was intrigued. Not sure I would write about it but I wanted to check it out. 

The email read:

Patient 13 is a feature documentary about the race to cure Type 1 diabetes. We are following Scott King – scientist, entrepreneur and Type 1 diabetic – at the climax of his 30-year quest to cure the disease.

Compelling docs have been made about Alzheimer's, cancer, and many other conditions, but this is the first significant documentary film project about diabetes. We believe it has the potential to help this invisible illness gain the level of awareness and visibility that it demands.

As soon as the producer mentioned a short video following Ana and Sam I thought, "wait a minute. Is that the Ana and Sam I know?" When I saw Sam's face I knew I was in.

I met Sam, her mom Ana and father Daniel at the JDRF meeting where I spoke about social media. In that post I mention a parent who showed me a picture of a kid wearing a Team Ninjabetic shirt at the camp her daughter had just attended! That was Ana!

Watching that short brought me to tears. It is so real and so heart breaking. I did chuckle to myself at Sam's response to "what is the best part about having diabetes," only because I remembered what her answer was.

But hearing her answer to "what is the worst part about having diabetes" broke my heart.

People need to understand that diabetes is serious. We need a cure.

I wanted to share this with you all asking for some help getting the word out. Maybe this will result in a cure or maybe not. But a film about finding a cure for type 1, by a scientist with a type 1, and a producer with type 1, seems like a good start at some awesome awareness.

If you have a voice and you want to raise diabetes awareness, this may be a opportunity to do that in a different way. Go to Patient 13 and donate or help spread the word!

From Firsts to Lasts

Being a dad means you have lots of firsts with your kids. Those first few years are filled with first words and first steps. Than seeing those first signs of independence and seeing their personalities develop.

And it goes on.

First days of school, first loves, first heart breaks.

But now with my oldest a senior in high school it is time for some “lasts.” And it is tougher than I thought it would be.

My son has been in band since 6^th grade and is the drum major at his high school. During football season the band practices every Thursday night to brush up the half time show for the football game and also to prepare for any competition on the Saturday after which happens often in football season.

Well this week the football game, the last of the regular season, is tonight. Last night was George’s last band practice of his high school career.

When I got home I asked him how is day was not thinking about practice at all. He replied with an unenthusiastic “It was weird.”

“What made it weird son?”

“Well, tonight was my very last band practice. I dunno, it was just…weird.” I could see the look on his face and could see how much it was getting to him. His heart is all about music and band is so important to him that I know he misses it already.

I started thinking back to my senior year and being drum major. I don’t remember ever having an issue with my last band practice or football season at all.

And then it dawned on me.

I was hardly in school that fall. That was the fall I was diagnosed. I missed football games, competitions, and so much more. My lasts were kind of taken away because of diabetes but oh well.

Tonight is the Senior Game when every senior involved in the football game is brought out to the field with their parents or guardians and are introduced. Before the game they have all the senior football players come out. At half time all the cheerleaders and band members who are seniors will come out with their parents.

I am already a wreck just thinking about it.

With every “last” comes a new “first” and that warms my heart. My joy in raising my children was and is always about helping them to be functioning, successful, members of society and seeing them respond. The closer my son gets to being an adult the happier I am in the choices we made raising him. The proof is in the pudding.

Sugar free pudding.