Anne's Blood Sugars during IM AZ

Anne's blood sugar during her race last weekend. I'm sharing for those of you who usually think of diabetes as shots, testing and watching what you eat. As you can see, their lives are much more complicated, 24/7.

Grab a sandwich, a kleenex, and watch our new clip

I seriously cannot believe it is already 2009. Seems like yesterday it was September 2007 and a bunch of people I had never met were flying in and staying at my house so they could sign up for Ironman 2008. Today Andiamo Productions released a new clip about Ironkidz and the Triabetes documentary. I love how the story has evolved into more than a story about a few great people doing Ironman. It has become the story also of a great group of kids who set out on an adventure on a river to learn about themselves, only to find strength in meeting a Triabetes athlete and helping to cheer them across a finish line. Those of us involved in the project knew it would be inspiring for the kids. What I didn't expect was how pivotal it was for the athletes themselves. Please enjoy the next little segment about a project that doesn't come from just my heart - it comes from the heart of many. Please spread the word. We can't do it without all of you...


http://vimeo.com/2722286

Triabetes is the story for Ironman Wisconsin 08

Just a quick note before I take a nap. Ironman came and went. Go see the results if you like at www.ironmanwisconsin.com. Thanks so much to all of you for the support, the cheers, and the love. I will post a ton of pics, I promise. 11 of 12 crossed the finish line, all twelve are Ironmen to me. If you have facebook, please go to the "Triabetes 2008" page to see photos that have already been uploaded.

It was a very long and inspiring day. I saw that a million people checked my blog yesterday - sorry - i was out the course all day!

More to come...

Twitters, tweets and twhirls are the name of the game

Ok, kids. It's here. Ironman Eve. Yet no champagne? Hm...

Do you want to follow the athletes via computer tomorrow - check out:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=triabetes

You can watch messages from people out on the course all day! They will be emailing any time they see a Triabetes Athlete on the course! You can join us, wanna know how???

If you are on the course follow these instructions:

Send a text message to phone # 40404
enter message "@triabetes hi michelle"
you will get a message back asking you to confirm by sending your name back.

Any time you see an athlete on the course, do the following:
Send a message to 40404
"@triabetes saw Dave Shack on Midtown"

Whomever you see, let us know! We will follow it and let our videographers know! We need you to make the documentary work. It's late...going to bed. questions? Give us a shout on the comment screen - I'll be checking throughout the day!

So Facebook Asked Me....

"Where would you like to see yourself in five years?"

Hmmm.

A stupid facebook "interview" that someone sent me actually turned into a massive pondering. If someone had asked me this question in the Spring of 2006, my answer would have involved different people, a different life. Since that Spring, my life has changed greatly. The "who" is much different, yet... I still find myself diving into the diabetes and sports world. I still find myself obsessively checking the http://www.ironmanlive.com/ site to see how our athlete, Anne Findlay, is doing in the Ironman today in Coeur d'Alene. I still find myself looking at the photos Bob Schrank and Alex Bowden of Team Type 1 just posted of their RAAM experience (nice head stand contest, Schrank). I still find myself doing everything I can to cure Jesse.

Wow. Where WILL I be in 5 years? Where will the documentary be? Will people still watch it? Will it be important anymore because there are 75 people signed up for Ironman Wisconsin in 2013 with diabetes and it's old news? I hope so! Will Jesse be getting up in the morning and shooting himself with a dose of smartinsulin in his junior year of high school and living a virtually diabetes-free day? Will Mike Runnels actually have won that damn lottery and given me all my promised goodness? Will I actually find that perfect guy who loves the diabetes world as much as me AND shaves his legs (at least during bike season)?

For now I guess I live my life one foot in front of the other, with moments of extreme pleasure as I watch my kids play frisbee in the backyard, or spend a weekend riding rollercoasters with my daughter, or hanging out with my old neighbors...but in my new house. And a simple pleasure of driving down Mineral Point Road and not even noticing Robin Parkway. :)

Who thought Facebook would get me to reflect?

Of course, everyone cracked up when the question was "if you had any superpower, what would you want?" and my energetic 7 year old, Joey, didn't blink before shouting out, "lightening breath." Huh. Like it was a no-brainer!

Smart Insulin - this blew me away

It is very rare I get excited about something "new" I read about in diabetes research. True, I work for an incredible organization, JDRF, that funds research like no one else, but that said, we sure see a lot come across our desk each and every day and it starts to lose it's luster.

At our annual conference, on of my favorite researchers, Dr. Aaron Kowalski, actually got EXCITED talking about "Smart Insulin". Read about it at:

http://www.smartinsulin.com/index.html

I will be brief in my "mom" version of what I interpreted but basically, the patient receives one shot of insulin per day that adheres to a gel. As glucose levels increase in the body, the gel releases the insulin and in short, gives a type 1 diabetic normal blood sugar levels throughout the day. This is currently succeeding in rats, but has quite a ways to go. So while the scientists over at Smart Cells, Inc. continue to test rats (I keep envisioning rats lounging in a hot tub, drinking margaritas to see if heat affects the gel), I will keep my hopes up.

(I couldn't help myself...INDEED...you CAN google "mouse in hot tub" and behold.....it exists)

Triabetes Rules You Tube - at least in my opinion

Ok! I've been DYING to see new footage of the hottest thing in diabetes in sports (I may be biased). Here you go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpIywyPvqDg

Thank you so much for continuing to support the Triabetes Project! Many of the athletes are in Chicago at this very moment at Diabetes Training camp with Matt Corcoran, M.D. (featured in this video). Please take a moment to comment on YouTube about the video so more people find us!