Most Popular: February 2014
These are the most popular post from February....
on the blog
"Worried your child is too lean for an insulin pump or CGM?
most retweeted topics on Twitter
Kris Freeman at the Olympics
Miss Manners
Freestyle Test Strip Recall
Kris Freeman's abs and a smashed OmniPod where your favorite pics on Instagram -
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Miss Manners Responds
Miss Manners. Judith Martin & Nicholas Ivor Martin
Lets recap for those who are coming in late...
On February 14th the Washington Post ran a 'Miss Manners' column that included a letter from a gentleman who described himself as an "Insulin-dependent diabetic".
“DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a businessman who frequently flies both domestically and internationally. I also happen to be an insulin-dependent diabetic.
I currently do my glucose testing in my seat. It does involve using a lancet device to get a drop of blood to test, but is fairly unobtrusive. Of course, all lancets, alcohol preps and test strips are stored in my test kit for proper disposal later.
Am I being rude to perform this test next to a stranger? Injections I perform privately in the plane’s lavatory. In the airport, I use the counter by the wash basin, since most water closets have no room for insulin vials and other supplies.
Many people seem to stare and resent the fact of performing such a function in this space. I have also had children ask, “What is that man doing? Isn’t that a bad thing?” (They’re obviously thinking of their drug education classes.) Am I too self-conscious?”
Different people in the diabetes online community had different responses to Miss Manner's (Judith Martin) subsequent advice. Some thought it was fine, some felt outrage, and others thought that she just didn't understand living with diabetes. Many made their feelings public on social media, blogs and other avenues at their disposal. I wrote about it on the Huffington Post.
Today on DiabetesMine.com Mike Hoskins shared his interview with Miss Manners about the subject, among the things he learned, Judith's 46- year old son Nicholas has been a type I diabetic for almost two decades and he is actually the one who wrote the reply to the gentleman's question. It read...
“GENTLE READER: Absent an emergency, medical applications (like bodily functions and grooming) are properly done out of sight — meaning in private or in a restroom — unless they can be done so surreptitiously as to be unrecognizable as such. Miss Manners does not object to a pill taken at dinner, so long as it is not accompanied by a dissertation on your cholesterol.
The technology associated with diabetes is fast approaching this standard, although Miss Manners draws the line at drawing blood. Restrooms exist to provide a proper location for such necessary activities when away from home, and those who use them have no business monitoring the respectable, if sometimes unaesthetic, activities of others.
You may chose to tell children that it is a medical procedure, or ignore them and let their parents do that. Miss Manners would hope that any parents present would also resolve to teach their children to be more discreet with their curiosity.”
My response to this advice wasn't rooted in diabetes. I did feel as though the advice was antiquated when it came to diabetes, but mostly my response was aimed at how the advice seemed to ignore the tone of the gentleman's letter. I felt like the advice lacked deference to personal freedom, did not address the man's concerns about his actions and ignored, what I saw as, pressure that he was feeling about being himself. The issue felt bigger than diabetes to me and it seemed that I could have swapped the words in the man's note that were specific to diabetes with any number of other lifestyles.
In fact, let's try that. I took diabetes out of the man's letter (just below). Read it again, this time with personal descriptors in place of the diabetes language. I'll bold the words that I've added in place of diabetes related text. What if the letter said...
**DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a businessman who frequently flies both domestically and internationally. I also happen to be a person who is different from others.
I currently live my life in my seat. It does involve things that others are unfamiliar with and could find uncomfortable, but is fairly unobtrusive. Of course, I do my best not to infringe on them.
Am I being rude by be myself next to a stranger? I go into a restroom when I do things that I know others are uncomfortable with. In the airport, I use the counter by the wash basin, since most water closets have no room for my life and the basic things that I need to live and be happy.
Many people seem to stare and resent me when I'm being who I am. I have also had children ask, “What is that man doing? Isn’t that a bad thing?” (They’re obviously thinking of their drug education classes.) Am I too self-conscious?**
That's how I read the man's letter. I felt him asking for guidance that would alleviate the torment he feels, both from himself and from random strangers who are made to feel uncomfortable by his presence. I read the words of a person who wants to fit in but can't figure how, so he is considering hiding himself. That's why the response that I wrote is called, 'Making People Hide Is Never the Right Answer'. I saw a parallel to all of the other social issues that people have to needlessly struggle with in the name of making others comfortable. Why is it not incumbent upon the "others" to make the people who feel judged comfortable? Why do the wants of the many outweigh the needs of the few? Why is the man, who is made to feel as though he should be hiding, the only one who is concerned about how people feel? How did it happen that people confuse being in the majority with being correct, justified or righteous.
In my mind, this man might as well have been asking for guidance about gay rights, racism or living with obesity - Really anything that the masses are comfortable being judgmental about. You may see my view as a stretch, but its how his letter made me feel. I felt compassion for a man who lives with guilt about who he is, a guilt that is unfair, unfounded and often given to him by others. What I wanted for him more than anything else was to feel free of it. I wanted Miss Manners to help him by telling the world that he is no different then anyone else, and that his humanity deserves the same respect that they demand for themselves. The answers that Judith and Nicolas gave to Mike Hoskins don't indicate, in any way, that they see this connection. I understand that the Miss Manners column is about manners, but, and perhaps it's just me, but I am never in favor of marginalizing a person to protect the feelings of another. No one is more important than the next person, and we all have something about us that requires the kindness of another to help us feel included - some of us just have stuff that's a little more visible than others.
The interview at Diabetes Mine is well done, very balanced and clear - not unlike what I've come to expect from Mike Hoskins. Mike blends facts with opinions in a well-written and conscious manner. Despite their rebuttal, I still feel that the advice that Nicholas (in the voice of his mother) gave to his readers ignored every undertone of the man's letter and I am surprised, especially now that I know Nicholas has diabetes, that he didn't choose to forgo "manners" and connect with the man on a more personal level. Perhaps he would say that isn't the goal if Miss Manners and I guess that would be accurate - but I don't find that line of defense tolerable. I do wonder how Nicholas, removed from his duties as Miss Manners, would respond to the gentleman's letter, so far we don't have the answer to that question because they choose to defend, in a very narrow way, their response to the original letter, ignoring all of the rest.
I say, people first... and then we can worry about when it is permissible to wear white.
Links you need
Miss Manners article containing the advice in question
My response on Huffington Post
Diabetes Mine Interview with Miss Manners (I hope that you take the time to read this)
Miss Manners
I don't react to every moronic thing that is said about diabetes, because if I did - this blog would be one constant rebuttal.
The other night during the DSMA Twitter chat I kept seeing people referencing Miss Manners in a less than flattering way. When I looked into the hubbub I found that she had given, what I considered to be, thoughtless and damaging advice to a reader that described himself as an "Insulin dependent diabetic".
It was too late in the evening to commit my thoughts to a blog so I waited until the next day. When I finished writing and was about to post my thoughts, I realized something.
This is one of those things. It's a bubble issue. That is, people who live inside of the diabetes bubble will be rightfully angered, they'll speak out, demand change, and then - nothing will happen. Why? Not because the incident doesn't warrant, not because our message isn't well delivered - but because we are mainly talking to each other. It's the proverbial choir being preached to.
I found Judith Martin's (Miss Manners) advice (Her complete remarks are below) to be particularly reprehensible and more than a diabetes issue - Maybe you will too. So, I contacted my Huffington Post editor* to see if there was interest in the piece. My hope was that they would like it and help it to find a broader audience. Lots of people blog on HuffPost but their writing is often limited to being seen by their community and social media circle. I think we all want these types of stories to find the mainstream, at least that's what I hope for. I want diabetes to be taken seriously and given it's space on a national stage. Not the stories that get sensationalized, but real stories about how the disease effects you.
I'll eventually post the article here for posterity but for now please head over to Huffington Post and give it a read, if you're of like-mind - share share share. The more Facebook 'likes', shares and comments that HuffPost sees, they more they get behind the story in their social media channels and when they do, stories find a life of their own. That's the game, like it or not, if we want to get these stories to a place where they will impact larges groups then IMO, we need to suit up and play.
Direct link to the story
Link to my Huffington Post story archive
Best,
Scott
* I am not compensated for my writing on Huffington Post in anyway. They do provide an Amazon link to my book, 'Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal' but no one clicks on it. Even if they did, no one is getting rich writing a book. Hell, no one is making enough to pay their electric bill writing a book... except for that Harry Potter lady and a few others.
This is the complete text (link included) from the Miss Manners article found on Washington Post and other outlets.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a businessman who frequently flies both domestically and internationally. I also happen to be an insulin-dependent diabetic.
I currently do my glucose testing in my seat. It does involve using a lancet device to get a drop of blood to test, but is fairly unobtrusive. Of course, all lancets, alcohol preps and test strips are stored in my test kit for proper disposal later.
Am I being rude to perform this test next to a stranger? Injections I perform privately in the plane’s lavatory. In the airport, I use the counter by the wash basin, since most water closets have no room for insulin vials and other supplies.
Many people seem to stare and resent the fact of performing such a function in this space. I have also had children ask, “What is that man doing? Isn’t that a bad thing?” (They’re obviously thinking of their drug education classes.) Am I too self-conscious?
GENTLE READER: Absent an emergency, medical applications (like bodily functions and grooming) are properly done out of sight — meaning in private or in a restroom — unless they can be done so surreptitiously as to be unrecognizable as such. Miss Manners does not object to a pill taken at dinner, so long as it is not accompanied by a dissertation on your cholesterol.
The technology associated with diabetes is fast approaching this standard, although Miss Manners draws the line at drawing blood. Restrooms exist to provide a proper location for such necessary activities when away from home, and those who use them have no business monitoring the respectable, if sometimes unaesthetic, activities of others.
You may chose to tell children that it is a medical procedure, or ignore them and let their parents do that. Miss Manners would hope that any parents present would also resolve to teach their children to be more discreet with their curiosity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-future-grandchild-is-worth-chilly-reception-at-shower/2014/02/04/470657d0-8a98-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html
Urgent Product Recall: FreeStyle® Blood Glucose with OmniPod PDM
Due to the important nature of this information, I'll be posting the entire press release from Abbott's site without their prior permission. I am not sure what prompted this recall but I'm working to find out.
From AbbottDiabetesCare.com
IMPORTANT: URGENT PRODUCT RECALL
FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Monitoring System
February 19, 2014
Dear Valued OmniPod® Customer,
Recently, it has come to our attention that FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Test Strips may produce erroneously low blood glucose results when using the FreeStyle® blood glucose meter built into the OmniPod® Insulin Management System. Erroneously low blood glucose results that are not recognized may pose significant risks to your health.
Please take the following steps:
1. If you are using the FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Meter built into the OmniPod Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM), you must discontinue use of any FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Test Strips you may have until you obtain replacement strips from Abbott Diabetes Care. To receive replacement strips at no cost contact Abbott Diabetes Care Customer Service at 1-877-584-5159.
2. Continue using your OmniPod Insulin Management System (OmniPod) to deliver your insulin therapy. While waiting for your replacement strips to arrive, use the FreeStyle® Freedom blood glucose meter that you may have previously received with your welcome pack. FreeStyle® test strips when used the FreeStyle® Freedom blood glucose meter will produce accurate blood glucose results.
If you would like to continue using the OmniPod system to recommend dosing, follow your OmniPod® Insulin Management System instructions for manually entering blood glucose readings.
As always, control solution should be used to check the performance of your test strips and meter until you receive your replacement test strips. If any reading from a strip appears lower than you would expect or does not seem to match the way you are feeling, you should contact your health care provider immediately. Pay special attention to signs and symptoms of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
Symptoms of high blood sugar may include: Excessive thirst, excessive urination, blurred vision, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms or are not feeling well, contact your health care professional immediately.
3. Abbott Diabetes Care will provide further information when you call on the process to obtain your test strips going forward.
FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Test Strips are the only strip type that is approved for use with your OmniPod® Insulin Management System. Please read your product information booklet and test strip insert carefully to ensure that you are using the correct test strip type for your OmniPod® Insulin Management system. OmniPod® Insulin Management System is not labeled for use with FreeStyle Lite® Blood Glucose Test Strips.
We recognize the importance of blood glucose testing and are committed to responding quickly to customers' requests for replacement test strips.
We want to assure you that our first priority is you, our customer. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this situation may cause. If you have any further questions, please call Abbott Diabetes Care Customer Service.
Sincerely,
Kelly E. Duffy Division Vice President, Quality Assurance and Compliance Abbott Diabetes Care
Kris Freeman, "I probably skied my last race of this Olympics yesterday"
Image from krisfreeman.net
“I want to be clear that I do not believe my subpar performances here were attributable to diabetes”
Shortly after competing in his second Olympic event in Sochi, Kris Freeman posted a 'Thank you' on his blog where he announced that his 2014 Olympic pursuits are "probably" over and that, "I am clearly far from my best right now and it would be fair to give fresher teammates a chance in the later races".
Kris speaks at length in his open letter about his training plan for the games, that he is looking forward to competing in next year's World Championships, but most of all - he wants you to know that his performance had nothing to do with his type I diabetes.
Please take a moment and go to Kris's blog to read his full message.
“I will have to adjust my training to allow for more recovery in the future”
Everyone in our family is proud of Kris and we look forward to supporting him in the future. I hope Kris knows just how much his presence at the games has meant to Arden. Such a huge inspiration!