Where Have I Been? Wher Have You Been?

Sorry for such a long time in between posts....Lot's to do and little time to do it. For now, I'm going to postpone the attempts to write this blog on a frequent basis...All for good reasons of course. I'm currently training for a marathon (New York) and am raising money for the Education for Children With Diabetes Foundation at the same time. I've also been offered a spot in a documentary for athletes with diabetes at the 2008 Wisconsin IronMan. Once again, so many good things, so little time.

So I'm signing off for now with the hopes I can begin this adventure again soon...

Tour De Cure Here I Come!!

Hi guys,

With the days getting longer and the weather getting warmer, do you find that more people are out riding their bikes? I sure do! That's right, summer's here. Time for summer baseball games, double scoop ice cream cones, and bicycle riding.

And so, with that in mind, I signed up for next weekend's Tour De Cure! If you've never heard of it, the Tour De Cure is a fantastic fundraising event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. Riders collect money for the ADA, culminating on a sunny warm Sunday morning where participants can bike a 15, 30, or 60 mile ride. Animas, the company that I work for has put together a team to 'compete' against some of the other Johnson & Johnson teams in the spirit of friendly competiton.

Now when I say compete, I don't mean anything like the Tour De France; none of us are professional cyclists. But we are trying to raise money for an important cause, one that you already know is quite dear to me.

Interested in riding? Great! You can find local rides by clicking here.

Don't have time to ride in one? Well, if you're interested in donating to the cause you can do so at my team page by clicking here.

Oh, by the way....I'm running instead of biking - the 30 miler. My goal is to finish before the last Animas rider completes the 60 miler (I know they said it's not competitive, but hey that's me.)

Take Care

How Do You Carry Your Dexcom?

I've always loved to try and come up with carrying cases that allow me to exercise while still keeping tabs on my blood glucose. How else could I enjoy what I'm doing? So I wanted to give you the inside scoop on the carrying device I made up for my Dexcom. The Dexcom has been a great addition to my diabetes management. I'm absolutely in love with the fact that 'we' can get instant access to the direction our blood glucose is going (and please notice I used the words, 'direction our blood glucose is going', and not what our blood glucose actually is), but I could not stand the carry case. You too? It's not Decom's fault, there just aren't a lot of us diabetics out there who are passionate (or did I meant to sadistic?) about exercise.

And so after a couple of trials, here it is. I'm currently in talks with Nike to patent it (Wait a minute, what you do mean they'te blocking my calls?) hey so hurry and take a look at it while you can before they attach a swoosh on it and sell it for eighty-five dollars. The carrying case is a wristband that quarterbacks use to keep their plays neat and tidy on their forearm, and with a little sewing work that would made Martha Stewart grimace with disgust I attached some Velcro to close the opening. And before you know it, WA LA! A device I wear on my forearm I can carry my Dexcom in!

Now these examples are just like all of those free software offers on the web (without the added spyware). You're free to take this idea and use it for your self, or even improve on it. And if you do, don't be shy, let me know!

Time is running out!

Holy Snikeys!!! We've only got two more days left in the year, and I've yet to make good on any of the resolutions I set for 2006.

Yes, that's right. The Guru is just like you. I set a gillzillion resolutions with the best of intentions, and by the third week of the new year they've been thown to the way-side. But would you beleive that last year I actually set a resolution and kept it (I lowered my A1c). Well that mean's I've got to do another - gotta keep the streak alive?!?

So first let's take stock of what I wanted to accomplish this year...I probably won't have time to cure diabetes, and that probably means there won't be enough time to create the energy efficient pump either. So let's go on to plan 'B' - improve myself in some small way, (very small) learn some new skill to say I ended 2006 on a high note.

Off to the garage to rummage through boxes and see if I can come up with any ideas. And low and behold here's the answer. My Spanish CDs! Fantástico! (That's Spanish for fantastic for all of you who don't know.) I'd purchased them believing I'd surprise the wife with my fluent Spanish on our trip to Mexico. Yet as I put in the first CD (the first of sixteen mind you) and began to listen to a woman who sounded a little like the the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoon specials (wa-wa-wa-wa), I realized I should move on to plan C (that's C in spanish in case you did not know).

How about the piano? I played in the band in high school, even had some music theory in college. Surely I could learn at least one song, maybe even a tune for the holiday? Down on the stool I sat and prepared for my musical masterpiece. With my fingers ever so lightly touching the keys, I fixed my eyes closely on the pages before me. Ok, that first note is a G, definitely a G. Or is it an E? Hmm, well we'll skip that one and come back to it. The next one is definitely an F. Wait a minute, that numeral sign at the beginning of the music, what does that mean, something about the notes being sharp, right? Or maybe lowercase?

Ok, I can read the writing on the wall better then I could read this music. Drop the idea and move on. Time is running out fast. What to do? I've only got three hours before Ma and Pa Foster show up, and the wife is already hitting me up with the 'Honey-do' list....I've got to think fast. On to plan, yup, that's right, plan 'D' (or 'D#', yes it's definitely plan D#).

My meter! Yes! The Guru is a genius! I was so excited to the new BG meter last month I stuck a battery in it, coded the vial of strips, and was off and running without setting the date or the time. This is perfect, I'll keep my streak of resolutions in tact and be able to keep an accurate record of my BGs (Boy, I hope my doctor isn't reading this...)

Up the stairs I ran to where I keep all of my diabetes supplies. I threw the doors of the closet open to search for the instructions that would lead to my salvation. All my diabetes supplies were stored in boxes stacked on top of one another - infusion set boxes, cartridge boxes, old meter boxes, shoe boxes, shipping boxes. Yes sir, everything in a box and a box for everything. One might call it a mess, yet I prefer to use the word, 'systematic'.

I finally find the instructions for the meter, it was a booklet of about four million pages long, give or take a page. (You'd think I was building the meter from scratch with parts from a radio.) I sat on the bed and began to scan the table of contents in the hope of bypassing the introductory stuff to get what I needed. Welcome, no....Precautions, no....Waiver, no....A-Ha! Time and date!

Frantically, I fumble with the meter and work to enter the time and date. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Enter! Scroll, scroll, scroll. Enter! I felt as if the countdown to the new year was upon me. Ten. Nine. Eight. Wait, wait, Wait! I've got to scroll back and fix the month. Seven. Six. Five. Darn It!Four. Three. Wait, wait, wait! Two...

Whew! Got the time and date done in the nick of time. The streak lives on and no one's the wiser (especially me). As I throw the instructions onto the top box of one of the stacks, the weight of the instruction booklet toppled the stacks over, causing the other stacks of boxes to fall over like a big stack of dominoes. Crash!

'What honey? My parents are here? Ok. I'll be right down. No, that noise was nothing. Trust me.'

Well, looks like I've got a resolution for 2007, I've got to get these supplies organized....

The Best and the Worst of 2006

Although there are countless examples of breakthroughs and outstanding stories about Diabetes this year, here are my top five...


1) Kris Freeman competes in the 2006 Winter Olympics - Kris Freeman pushed forward the belief that those with diabetes can accomplish anything they set their minds to by qualifying and competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Kris competed in a total of three events: the Men's 15k Interval Start (placing 22nd in a field of 97), the Men's 4x10k Relay (the U.S. team finished 12th of 16) and the Men's 50k (placing 61st overall). For more on Kris and his amazing accomplishments, click here.

2) Team Type 1 wins the Race Across America - A group of eight insulin dependent diabetics were not only the first with diabetes to compete in the prestigious 25th annual Race Across America, they won their division. They completed the grueling 3,052 mile race in five days, sixteen hours and four minutes. Not only were they empowered by the idea of proving to others with diabetes that they can accomplish anything, they raised funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. For more on Team Type 1, click here.

3) Johnson and Johnson buys Animas - Johnson and Johnson took a giant leap forward in their intent to 'Create a world without limits for those with diabetes,' by acquiring Animas Corporation, maker of the Animas 1250. Not only did their purchase have them enter the insulin pump market in a leadership position, they set a standard for what is to come in the realm of partnerships between insulin pumps and glucose meters (Johnson and Johnson also owns Lifescan, makers of the One Touch Meters). To learn more about the acquisition, click here.

4) FDA release of the Dexcom - Not since the release of the Glucowatch has a product gotten more interest in the realm of continuous glucose monitoring. The Dexcom is used as a trending device to show the speed at which these changes happen, and for those who understand it's benefits it truly is monumental. The only drawback to a product as wonderful as the Dexcom, is that it does not live up to the dreams of what those with diabetes want - a device to replace finger stick testing. To read more about reviews of the Dexcom from Children with Diabetes, click here.

5) A cure for diabetes? It's been theorized for years that the body's nervous system has an influence on Diabetes, but a group of scientists took a huge jump in proving this theory. Although this isn't the first time that scientist has gotten the hopes of millions up with a possible cure, the latest in research shows this group in off to a good start. For more on the breakthrough, click here.