#1866 Beyond the Cure

Filmmaker Rebecca Hodges joins Scott to discuss her documentary, "Beyond the Diagnosis," which explores the emotional weight, caretaker fatigue, and the ongoing race for a Type 1 diabetes cure.

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Key Takeaways

• Filmmaker Rebecca Hodges is creating "Beyond the Diagnosis," a documentary exploring the unseen emotional weight and resilience of people living with Type 1 Diabetes.
• The journey toward a Type 1 Diabetes cure is advancing rapidly with new transplantation research, though bringing these therapies to the general public will involve regulatory and systemic hurdles.
• Caretaker fatigue is a significant but often overlooked aspect of the disease, profoundly affecting parents and advocates who fight for a cure 365 days a year.
• Sharing authentic, gritty, and real stories about Type 1 Diabetes is crucial for building a deeper baseline of empathy and awareness among the general public.
• Touched by Type 1 and similar advocacy groups play an essential role in providing community, support, and necessary funding for ongoing diabetes research.

Resources Mentioned

• Beyond the Diagnosis Film
• ABLE Now
• Medtronic Diabetes (MiniMed 780G System)
• Contour Next Gen Blood Glucose Meter
• Touched by Type 1
• Diabetes Research Institute (DRI)
• Juice Box Podcast Website
• Wrong Way Recording

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Introduction and Sponsors

Scott Benner (0:00)

Welcome back, friends.

You are listening to the Juice Box podcast.

Rebecca (0:12)

My name is Rebecca Hodges.

I am a filmmaker.

And, yeah, my goal is just to to tell impactful stories and hopefully create some positive change in the world.

Scott Benner (0:24)

If this is your first time listening to the Juice Box podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple Podcasts or Spotify, really any audio app at all.

Look for the Juice Box podcast and follow or subscribe.

We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy.

Wanna learn more about your diabetes management?

Go to juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu and look for bold beginnings, the diabetes pro tip series, and much more.

Scott Benner (0:49)

This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin.

While you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise.

Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin.

This episode is sponsored by ABLE Now, tax advantaged savings accounts for eligible individuals with disabilities.

If you or your child lives with diabetes, you may qualify for an ABLE account because of ongoing medical needs, and many people in the diabetes community do.

Scott Benner (1:29)

With ABLE now, you can save for future expenses without affecting eligibility for certain disability benefits such as Medicaid.

Learn more and check your eligibility at ABLE now dot com.

You spell that ablenow.com.

Today's episode is also sponsored by Medtronic Diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the MiniMed seven eighty g system and their new sensor options, which include the Instinct sensor made by Abbott.

Would you like to unleash the full potential of the MiniMed seven eighty g system?

Scott Benner (2:05)

You can do that at my link, medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox.

The podcast is also sponsored today by the Kontoor Next Gen blood glucose meter.

This is the meter that my daughter has on her person right now.

It is incredibly accurate and waiting for you at kontoornext.com/juicebox.

Rebecca's Journey into Filmmaking

Rebecca (2:26)

My name is Rebecca Hodges.

I am a filmmaker.

I started my own company, which is called Hodges Film in 2016.

I started it in Orlando, but now I am Boston based.

And, yeah, my goal is just to to tell impactful stories and hopefully create some positive change in the world.

Scott Benner (2:46)

Oh, that's awesome.

How do you make a decision like that?

Like, when most of us are just thinking about paycheck, I wanna maybe get me some health insurance.

I'd like to have a place to live.

How do you land on something that sounds to an outsider?

Scott Benner (3:00)

I'm an outsider.

It sounds like what you just said was, I decided to waste my time and not make any money.

And so, like but but but, obviously, ten years later, you're still doing it.

So what's the path that gets you to that?

Rebecca (3:12)

Well, the funny thing is that I I started off with a scholarship to college, and I went thinking that I was gonna go pre med.

And when I got there, my second semester, I went into a film class, and I stopped going to all of my other classes so that I could just go to my film class and spend all of my time working on my project there.

And when I finished it, the professor of the class took me aside, and he said, I think that you're quite talented, and I think that this is something that you might actually want to pursue.

And when I told my dad, I don't think I'm going premed anymore.

I think I wanna go into film.

Rebecca (3:51)

And he was like, thank god.

We didn't think you wanted to be a doctor anyway.

Oh,

Scott Benner (3:55)

really?

Well, that's nice.

Are your parents, hippies?

What what's the how come they were so accepting?

Rebecca (4:01)

No.

My dad was a lawyer and my mom was a nurse, but I think that they just saw in me that I'm a very creative person.

And even though I thought going down one path, you know, to have insurance and to have

Scott Benner (4:14)

Yeah.

Rebecca (4:15)

Money to buy a house, you know, they saw that, and they were like, we still think that that's the wrong path for you.

Scott Benner (4:21)

Isn't that awesome?

Oh, it's wonderful.

Rebecca (4:22)

Yeah.

Scott Benner (4:23)

And then when you're done with your education, how do you get into the business?

Do you end up working for somebody?

You try something on your own?

What's the first step?

Rebecca (4:31)

Yes.

So I I finished my degree actually at Full Sail in Orlando.

Mhmm.

And out of that, I was, hired into an internship.

And from the internship, I was hired to become an assistant editor.

Rebecca (4:46)

And then I told my boss, I don't just wanna be an assistant editor.

I want you to give me some more production work.

So we at the facility, we bought a camera, I started going out and producing my own projects.

Then within the next two years, I was a producer, director, and editor at that same facility.

And I when I left there in 2016 and started my own company, it was because I wanted to, you know, curate the projects that I was working on.

Rebecca (5:13)

And that's, you know, again, the storytelling that I like to be involved in is stories that are creating change.

Scott Benner (5:20)

Okay.

Well, that's really awesome.

You're a bit of a go getter then.

Rebecca (5:23)

I am.

Yeah.

I think so.

Scott Benner (5:25)

No.

It sound I mean, it sounds like it.

You're like, I I have a job in the thing I like.

Not enough.

Give me more.

Scott Benner (5:30)

This was fun.

I gotta get out of here.

You know, that's great.

That's good energy.

Rebecca (5:34)

Yeah.

Scott Benner (5:35)

Listen.

I'm not gonna lie to you.

When I was a young person, I used to think I wanted to write for movies.

I didn't do what you did.

I started I finally had an idea that I liked and I sat down and I wrote all day.

Scott Benner (5:48)

And I remember I just I think I had just been married.

We were really young.

And I showed it to my wife when she got home.

She read the whole thing, you know, and she's like, this is really very good.

And I was like, thank you.

Scott Benner (5:58)

And she goes, have you ever read A Bridge to Terabithia?

And I said, no.

Why?

And she goes, well, you're writing it.

And I was like and I went, oh.

Scott Benner (6:08)

But what I took Rebecca, instead of taking from that, that the first time I had an idea, it was it was reasonable.

You you know what I mean?

Instead of taking that, I thought, oh, everybody's already had all those ideas.

I'm never gonna have a new idea.

And I let it make me, like, disenchanted with the whole idea of the whole thing.

Rebecca (6:26)

Yeah.

Scott Benner (6:26)

It threw me.

So

Rebecca (6:28)

Finding new ways to tell an old story is, I think, something that every creator has to face.

The Genesis of "Beyond the Diagnosis"

Scott Benner (6:35)

Yeah.

Well, now I do that with people who live with diabetes.

So it it worked out well, and I brought it up so I could say that so I could segue into k.

I just like to pull the curtain back so everybody knows how they're being manipulated.

Can you tell me what you're working on right now?

Rebecca (6:51)

Yeah.

So the film is called Beyond the Diagnosis.

It's a film that follows real people living with type one diabetes and explores the parts of the disease that I don't think a lot of people get to see.

So the constant decision making, the emotional weight, and then at the end of the day, the resilience that these people are taking with them to live their life every single day.

Scott Benner (7:13)

Okay.

How long have you been working on it?

Rebecca (7:15)

Oh, boy.

The film is focused on Elizabeth Forth, who you know well, but she is the founder of Touched by Type one and Dancing for Diabetes.

I started working with her in 2014, and we worked on different stories, different awareness campaigns for years.

And I think probably after five years, I said, you know, I think that this is a bigger story.

I think that we should be making a feature film.

Rebecca (7:40)

Mhmm.

So we kinda talked about it for a while.

And then a year and a half ago, I said, Elizabeth, I'm going to put together a board to help get this film up and running.

And so at that point, we said, this is go time, and we put together a team.

She came on as my executive producer.

Rebecca (8:00)

I'm producing and directing.

Touched by Type one is a partner.

Film is in association with them.

We then brought on the Diabetes Research Institute.

So it's been growing and getting momentum ever since.

Scott Benner (8:12)

That's awesome.

How did you know Elizabeth back then?

Do you have diabetes in your family or your life?

Rebecca (8:17)

No.

I actually knew nothing about type one when I met her.

I met her through an intern at my previous job.

My intern came to me and said, I'm shooting a live dance show, and I really need some help.

And so I started working with her on that.

Rebecca (8:34)

And then she was like, I think you need to meet Elizabeth, and you need to take over.

So I met Elizabeth, and the rest is history.

Scott Benner (8:40)

Yeah.

Yeah.

No.

She's wonderful.

She's another go getter with a lot of good energy.

Rebecca (8:44)

She sure is.

Scott Benner (8:45)

Yeah.

I love the interns.

Like, I took a job I shouldn't have taken.

Was that about the vibe?

Like, I need help.

Scott Benner (8:52)

Or just because that dance show is huge.

Yeah.

But, yeah, it's quite an undertaking.

Rebecca (8:57)

Bigger and bigger every year.

Scott Benner (8:59)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, and that's something else.

Understanding the Emotional Weight of T1D

Scott Benner (9:01)

I want you to remind me when we're done that I have a question I wanna ask you while we're being recorded, but it's about me.

It's not about this.

So don't I wanna be greedy at the end.

Okay.

So tell me then in your time with Dancing for Diabetes and with Elizabeth and Touched by Type one, the time you've been around it, how did your understanding of diabetes grow?

Scott Benner (9:21)

And then I wanna know how it maybe moved again after you started making the film.

Rebecca (9:27)

When I started in 2014, I knew absolutely nothing.

And I actually, my very first interview, I was interviewing a little girl who was part of the Elizabeth has this program called the kids and teens dance program

Scott Benner (9:44)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (9:44)

Where she gets together groups of children and teenagers who have type one diabetes so that they can all just be, you know, normal kids together in a dance.

And I was interviewing one of the girls, and we asked her a question about how does it feel like when when you're overwhelmed, what do you do?

And she said, I talked to my sister, and then she got really quiet.

And I we said, how are you feeling now?

Are you gonna cry?

Rebecca (10:09)

And she just completely broke down.

I guess that right before she had come into class, she and her mom were reading about the search for a cure and how it's right around the corner, and she was so excited.

But, you know, you get excited, then you're waiting, waiting, waiting, and it's like this never ending journey.

And when she started crying, I just emotionally broke inside.

And I was like, I want to help these people.

Rebecca (10:33)

You know?

I'm not gonna be the one to cure this disease.

But if I can tell stories to create more awareness or to engage people with the scientific community.

Like, that's what I can do.

That's what my part will be.

Rebecca (10:45)

So I started learning with every person that we interview, with every project that we tackle.

I learn more.

Now I feel like I'm quite educated about type one diabetes.

And when I'm talking to, you know, people who don't know so much, I'm able to tell them a lot about the disease.

I will say that when we started filming, which we started filming around the the twenty fifth annual Dancing for Diabetes show this past November.

Rebecca (11:11)

And when we were filming that, what hit me really hard was caretaker fatigue and getting to know one of our protagonists, Lindsay Kiser, who has the Life on Sweet Street Facebook and Instagram for a social platform.

Mhmm.

She doesn't have type one diabetes herself, but she has three children who all have type one diabetes.

Mhmm.

And so in her sharing her stories about, you know, watching these kids grow and and taking care of them, hearing about the caretaker fatigue, and then also hearing Elizabeth give her interview the day after the Dancing for Diabetes show, and she was feeling, like, really low that day.

Rebecca (11:52)

She had you know, she works all year round for this show, and she's on such a high that night, and she's collecting dollars to go towards curing this disease.

And then the next day, she was so low, and she was saying, well, we're gonna start again for next year because we still don't have a cure for this disease.

Scott Benner (12:09)

Yeah.

Rebecca (12:09)

So we're celebrating twenty five years of this show, but we're also twenty five years without a cure.

Mhmm.

So it wasn't so much the knowledge about the disease, but really seeing, you know, how impacting it is on emotional welfare of everybody involved.

Scott Benner (12:27)

Yeah.

Rebecca, striking me how similar the decision you made was to the one I made and how Elizabeth's experience is similar to mine as well.

I you know, for context, my daughter is 22 now, but she was diagnosed, like, right after her second birthday.

And I remember thinking a year later, like, I I should help somehow.

I can't.

Scott Benner (12:50)

I'm not gonna cure this.

I'm not a doctor.

I'm not a scientist.

I don't understand any of it.

I wonder what I could do.

Scott Benner (12:55)

And and I started doing I mean, what was the beginnings of all this?

And Right.

I see it help people immensely every day.

And yet, I can really relate to Elizabeth because it's hard not to it's hard to fight off the feeling that you haven't done enough.

That that it's very real.

Scott Benner (13:15)

And you actually have to find a way to compartmentalize it or it'll take you over.

So I yeah.

But I know how and I also know how hard she works and how like, she and I probably text.

I would say we probably text a dozen times a year, you know, about something.

And she's just always thinking about how to help, how to do, how to create, you you know, it's really admirable is Yeah.

Scott Benner (13:40)

Is a word.

Anyway, I, it's nice that you fell into that feeling after having that experience.

Hard not to.

Right?

Like, not to be around another person feeling that way and not have more than just a little bit of, I don't know, of a reaction to them.

Scott Benner (13:55)

And you had a way you felt like to what?

What did you think?

Shine a light on it?

Help other people understand?

Like, when you said I'm gonna help, like, how did you feel like like, where did you think your talent would help?

Scott Benner (14:08)

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Scott Benner (14:21)

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Scott Benner (14:32)

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Scott Benner (14:58)

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Scott Benner (15:10)

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As I told you earlier, Able Now is sponsoring this episode.

Able Now, of course, tax advantaged Able accounts for eligible individuals with disabilities.

If you or your child lives with diabetes, you may qualify for an Able account because of ongoing medical needs.

Scott Benner (15:29)

Many people in the diabetes community do.

With Able Now, you can save for future expenses without affecting eligibility for certain disability benefits such as Medicaid.

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Scott Benner (15:59)

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Rebecca (16:15)

Yeah.

So I think shining a light on it, helping other people understand was the beginning, and then that grew.

So a few years later, we had interviewed Josh and Jamie Terry, who are the parents of Kisi Terry.

Scott Benner (16:30)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (16:31)

Kisi had a misdiagnosis when she was five years old, and she had strokes and cerebral edema and ended up passing away from complications of of being misdiagnosed and not diagnosed with type one diabetes on time.

And so when I when we created a story around that, what I could do at that point is share the the signs of what type one diabetes looks like.

And every year on on Kisi's birthday, we actually reshare those posts of of things to look for.

So, you know, talking about misdiagnosis, talking about signs and symptoms.

And then that shifted to, again, the the emotional health.

Rebecca (17:13)

What does it look like to be taking care of one another and and growing a community?

So every year, the goal changes, the project changes, the interviews change, but it's it's constantly shifting and just trying to figure out how to better support the community

Scott Benner (17:28)

Yeah.

Rebecca (17:28)

And how to share those stories to engage a wider audience.

Scott Benner (17:32)

You ever get I get sullen sometimes when I think of all the stuff that I've created that is sitting somewhere not doing anything anymore, but I know it would still be valuable if I could find a way to repurpose it.

Do you does that I mean, after you've been at this for a while, do you have those thoughts sometimes?

Rebecca (17:48)

Well, no.

Because this project's all about repurposing.

Scott Benner (17:51)

Yes.

But that's what you're doing really.

Right?

Is you're taking everything you've learned and putting it into one place.

Rebecca (17:56)

Yeah.

And and because this documentary is focused around Elizabeth, and I've been working with her for, you know, going on eleven years now.

We're taking footage that we've collected.

So it's a big undertaking as a filmmaker to to go through all of this, but repurposing everything that we've already created and merging it with all of the new content that we're gathering.

But I think that that's one of the powerful things is, like, look at look at how far we've come, but look at how far we still have to go.

Scott Benner (18:27)

Yeah.

Tell me something.

Don't give me a a shiny answer.

Right?

Just really like, what have you learned about Elizabeth making the film that you didn't know before?

Rebecca (18:37)

That she puts on a brave face, but that she can be sad too.

Scott Benner (18:41)

You didn't know that prior to that?

Rebecca (18:43)

No.

Because she she's so stoic.

And I tell this to her all the time because whenever I interview her, I say, you gotta let me in.

And she she always does have the shiny answers.

And it's because she's running all of these programs, and she is the go getter, and she's trying to help so many people that she doesn't let people in.

Rebecca (19:02)

But she can be sad, and she it's a type one diabetes.

It's a very lonely disease.

I think when she actually let me in and she showed me that sadness and she showed me how hard it is to fight for this twenty four seven, three hundred and sixty five days a year.

Honestly, after we filmed that day, I when I flew home, I felt like I needed to take a few days for myself because, you know, when you see people sad, it it impacts you.

Yeah.

Rebecca (19:31)

And this was, like, a very deep I don't wanna say she's depressed because not appropriate.

I

Scott Benner (19:37)

understand what you're saying.

Rebecca (19:38)

But it it was it was heavy.

It was really heavy.

Scott Benner (19:40)

Yeah.

Rebecca (19:41)

You know, she she doesn't show that to many people and being able to see that and really seeing the reality.

And that was the same thing.

Another person who's involved in this film is Chris Rudin, and he's a public speaker, and he's a go getter, and he's very positive, positive, positive.

And when I talked to him, said, I don't want all of the positivity.

Like, of course, we're gonna talk about that, and I wanna hear about all of the things that you've done to turn this disease into something that works for you every day or something that you can share, something that you can be useful with to other people.

Rebecca (20:13)

But I said at the end of the day, I also wanna hear about the the underlying challenges and everything that you're up against.

And he was like, oh, I can talk about that all day because it's every day all of the time.

Scott Benner (20:23)

Yeah.

That's not hard to find.

I've I've interviewed Chris a few times.

He's good at sharing how he feels.

Yeah.

Scott Benner (20:29)

When you talk about, like, the heaviness that came from Elizabeth, was it heaviness around what she's doing, the mission of it, or did any of her personal experience with diabetes come through?

Because she has type one.

And you're you know, it just occurs to me that you're out there pointing a camera at other people and talking to them about what it's like to live with diabetes while you're, you know, showing what Elizabeth is trying to do for those people and for type one in general.

But do we get to talk about what it's like for her personally?

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Rebecca (22:10)

Yes.

We do.

And that is one of the the main parts of this documentary is we're we're going behind the scenes.

So while the main through line of the doc is about Elizabeth putting together this twenty fifth annual dancing for diabetes show, we really get to see the different things that are happening.

Like, for instance, we see her having to do a a pod change in the car because she something was faulty, and she was getting errors.

Rebecca (22:40)

And so she had to go into her car in between interviewing other people to go and change her her sight on her body.

Mhmm.

And then, you know, we're going to interview somebody else, and she's going low.

And she keeps dropping, dropping, dropping.

Alarms are going off, and she's like, oh, well, I left my fruit snacks in the car.

Rebecca (22:58)

Does anybody have anything?

And everybody's running around looking for sugar, and it was right around Halloween.

So we were in a school, and the teacher opened up the door, and she's like, kids, we need candy.

So but, yeah, I think that there are so many little vignette that are happening here where it is focusing on what's happening behind the curtain.

That is where that sadness lies.

Rebecca (23:20)

It's in these these individual moments that are happening all of the time that people don't necessarily see.

Documentary Production and Storytelling

Scott Benner (23:28)

I'm constantly faced with the idea that the online digital world today is not the same as it was when I started all this.

And I usually tell people, like, there was a time I could have written a blog post, and it could have been read by 40,000 people in twenty four hours.

Mhmm.

And now I arguably have a a much larger platform, and it's a thousand times harder to get something in someone's hands.

Mhmm.

Scott Benner (23:53)

So what's the distribution like for this?

How are you expecting to to get it into people's hands and get them to see it?

And is it do you have a I would imagine more of a macro view of what success looks like.

Right?

This isn't it's it's not a Mission Impossible nine or something like that.

Scott Benner (24:11)

You don't expect everybody to go the first day.

Right?

Like, how so what's the do you have a plan, or is that a thing you haven't put together yet?

Rebecca (24:17)

We do have a plan.

We definitely want it to be seen, in festivals.

We're planning a premiere in a theater.

The larger distribution plan is something that I'm working out now.

I'm going to bring on a sales agent.

Rebecca (24:31)

So in the film world, working with a sales agent is where you're able to connect with distributors and and make sure that your film gets seen by a large group of people, which is the goal here.

Yeah.

But, yes, we're working on distribution plans.

The goal of the film is really to to engage the type one diabetes community because a lot of people say that this is an invisible disease, and we want those people to feel seen and feel understood.

We also wanna educate the general public and build a deeper baseline of awareness and empathy around the disease.

Rebecca (25:07)

Then we also wanna translate that awareness into meaningful change, whether that's stronger advocacy, whether it's legislative progress or, money going towards research and innovation, because we're in a global race for a cure, and so we want to also bring that to the front lines.

So I would say that those are our goals.

We also want people who are involved in the the making of the film to be able to share it with all of their followers.

Scott Benner (25:34)

Yeah.

Rebecca (25:34)

And hopefully, it just gets to gets to the people that really need to see it whether they have type one diabetes or not.

Scott Benner (25:41)

Makes its way around.

Do you think that it will resonate outside of people with type one?

Like, I mean, how much of it do have shot already?

Is it I mean, are you in the editing phase now?

Are you still shooting?

Scott Benner (25:54)

Where is it at?

And and who do you think who do you think the real audience is for it?

Rebecca (25:59)

So we're working in three phases.

We had preproduction and the production of phase one where we shot around the the twenty fifth annual Dancing for Diabetes in November.

So I would say that that's about 65 or 75% of the film that's in the can.

Scott Benner (26:15)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (26:15)

And then we're going to go around and shoot with the rest of the people who are involved in the film.

So that's Chris Rudin, Gary Forbes, the Terry family, Lindsay Kiser, Camilo Ricordi at the Diabetes Research Institute, and then Penelope Polly, who's an endocrinologist in Orlando.

Yeah.

So we're going to go and shoot we're gonna get some scientific background and some education for those who don't necessarily understand the disease.

Mhmm.

Rebecca (26:41)

And then we're going to do all of the vignettes where we explore all of those individuals' lives and what they're doing to impact people living with type one diabetes.

Scott Benner (26:50)

Oh, that's cool.

You'll do the vignettes, then the doctors will kinda be like whiteboard and explainers and then move people into another story.

Is that the idea?

Rebecca (26:58)

Yeah.

And especially, there's so much going on in this race towards a cure right now.

So, you know, I'm gonna get doctor Camilo Ricordi to explain in layman's terms what's happening, because it's really fascinating.

Scott Benner (27:11)

Yeah.

Rebecca (27:12)

So once we have all of that, that will be phase two, and then post production will be phase three.

And we're looking to premiere the film.

Our target date right now is February 2027.

So although it seems far away, it's not.

Scott Benner (27:26)

It doesn't seem far away to me.

I'm old now.

I time moves so quickly.

I just I can't believe how fast.

I have something coming up next week that I keep looking out on the counter.

Scott Benner (27:36)

I'm like, that can't be right.

I'm not so that was, like, a year away when I said yes to that.

So it's Wednesday.

I gotta go on Wednesday?

So I should probably think about this for half a minute before I head over there.

Scott Benner (27:50)

No.

No.

That's really it's really lovely.

So when you're setting, do you kind of like I don't know.

Do you do you imagine it in your head before you shoot it, or do you start talking to people and then see what you get?

Scott Benner (28:03)

And then do you fit the pieces together then?

Like, do you know what I mean?

Like, is it a puzzle in a box when you start, or do you open up the pieces and go, I wonder if I can make something out of this?

Rebecca (28:12)

Oh, it's for sure a puzzle.

The way that I work is I love note cards.

Scott Benner (28:18)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (28:18)

And I'll write out ideas of of different things that are happening.

Again, in working very closely with Elizabeth, we were talking about different events that she had going on, and she wanted to go back to her high school where the actually, it was her middle school where her first Dancing for Diabetes was ever held.

So we create looking at events, different things that are going on.

I make different scene index cards.

And then I put them all up on a whiteboard, and I start shuffling them around.

Rebecca (28:49)

What leads from one scene to the next?

And then how do we get every scene should lead into the following scene.

And then if you need more explanation of something, where does that fall in?

And so, yes, it becomes this giant puzzle, and you're constantly shifting things around.

And then once you film, it shifts all over again because you have things that happen while you're filming that you didn't anticipate were going to happen.

Rebecca (29:12)

So then you kind of add those in, and and it becomes this giant shuffle.

But when you're you're focused on a through line of where you need to go, everything will eventually fall into place.

But the shifting and the the tossing out of ideas, it's it's a beautiful creative meh.

Do

Scott Benner (29:31)

you edit as you go?

Rebecca (29:32)

I don't typically edit as I go.

I have had to for this project because we we needed to create a a pitch deck, which you use to, you know, launch out to investors.

We needed to create a trailer for we just had a a big gala event that we held in Orlando at the doctor Phillips Center.

So I've had to edit my way through this because we're trying to show individuals different scenes that are happening and and why they would either want to watch it or get involved and invest in.

I have a really great idea of what we've collected so far because I'm always there during all of the filming.

Rebecca (30:09)

But I typically like to collect everything and then sit down and immerse myself in the edit.

Because once I get into the edit, I I like to be sitting here for, you know, eight to ten to twelve hours because everything starts flowing and you just you're very present in the edit.

Scott Benner (30:26)

How many hours of film do you have so far?

Rebecca (30:29)

I wanna say thirty.

Scott Benner (30:30)

Okay.

That's a lot.

Are you gonna be at the thing on that next week for for Elizabeth in Atlanta?

Rebecca (30:36)

I will not be in Atlanta.

No.

Scott Benner (30:38)

Okay.

Because you have similar coverage already.

Is that the idea?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Scott Benner (30:43)

Yeah.

It's so interesting.

How do you keep it from feeling Pollyanna?

Do you know what I mean?

Like, I've seen stuff in the past where it's just like, wow.

Scott Benner (30:51)

Why is this all, like, big smile lady where everything's great?

And, like, like, how do you, like, how do you get to the grittiness of it without making it a bummer?

But making it real enough that it doesn't feel like it's does that make sense?

Like Yeah.

Yeah.

Scott Benner (31:08)

Have you had concerns like that?

Line there.

Yeah.

Rebecca (31:10)

Yeah.

There's a fine line, and you actually asked me earlier, and I don't even think that I answered it.

You said, why would somebody who doesn't have type one be interested in watching this?

I think that there's a fine line here of telling the grittiness because people who don't see type one don't get it.

I'm just they don't get it.

Scott Benner (31:30)

For sure.

Rebecca (31:31)

And when they, you know, see a kid who's checking their blood sugar and they're like, oh, well, you just shouldn't have had that soda.

You know?

All of the the misconceptions that are out there, they're so real, and they impact these people every single day.

I think that the vignettes will be focused on on underlying issues of what each protagonist deals with.

And then through those issues and through facing that adversity, they've all come out on the other side to do something, to create something.

Rebecca (32:04)

So, like, Gary Forbes, he is a former NBA player, and he is now working on a comic platform, where he turns kids with chronic conditions into superheroes.

And, specifically, one of those characters has type one diabetes.

But it's through his journey of you know, he had all sorts of things that he came up against going into DKA, going into he had two car accidents because he was low.

So there are all of these things that build up his story.

And now what are the actions that he's doing to to share that story and to better the lives of others?

Rebecca (32:39)

So I don't think that it's ever going to be Pollyanna because there are so many, you know, complex emotions that are the underlying drivers of of the positive outcomes.

Yeah.

So I wanna share all of that.

And I think that that's intriguing to anybody whether you have type one diabetes or not.

I would love to watch a movie where, you know, you see somebody who's dealing with this disease, something that you don't truly understand.

Rebecca (33:03)

You're like, wow.

I didn't know that, you know, people are afraid to go to sleep because they might not wake up in the morning.

I didn't know that somebody could be misdiagnosed at five years old and and then pass away.

I didn't know that parents who, you know, just like you, have a two year old who is diagnosed.

It's like taking care of a baby.

Rebecca (33:20)

You need to be checking them all the time.

So I think that there are fascinating stories that need to be told to people who have no idea about what's going on, people who have type one who can watch this film and be like, yes.

Somebody really gets what this is like.

And finally, there's a story that that everybody can watch that kind of explains what's going on.

Scott Benner (33:41)

Do you think it it's helpful, like, in your ability to be dispassionate about it that you don't have type one or a personal connection to it, but you have context?

Rebecca (33:50)

Yeah.

Probably.

Scott Benner (33:51)

Yeah.

I'll tell you because what I've I've I've been around I don't wanna call it the space.

That feels weird.

But I've been doing stuff in diabetes for a really long time.

When I'm dissatisfied with how people are doing things and I'm, you know, I'm I'm busy acting like the king of the world in my own mind or in this room.

Scott Benner (34:07)

I don't like it when people come off like the, I don't know, the secretary from Ferris Bueller.

You know what I mean?

Where it's just like, oh, gosh.

Golly.

Everything's awesome.

Scott Benner (34:15)

You know?

Right?

Like, that stuff.

And I don't like it when people are like, I almost died today for the want of a cookie.

And I'm like, there's a middle there's a middle in there that's not so, like, either dramatic or and and ham fisted or, you know, dismissive of the seriousness of it and trying to make it all be like, oh, no.

Scott Benner (34:37)

I'm good.

Everything's good.

Like, there's a reality in the blend there, and I I'm I'm super excited to see you to get ahold of that.

That that is just a to me, we don't have enough of that around diabetes.

If you want people to really understand it, then you have to let people talk, but you have to also mix in, you know, real life and some levity.

Scott Benner (34:58)

And it's gotta be a full blend of what it means to be a human being, not just, you know, not just a a slice of it that makes it seem all one way or the other.

I don't know if that makes sense.

But

Rebecca (35:09)

No.

Definitely.

And I think exactly what you just said, the reality holds both truths.

Like, it's an awful daily it's a horrible disease.

And the reality of of having to deal with that all of the time while also trying to live out your dreams and do amazing things.

Rebecca (35:27)

I mean, the fine line exists in everyday life.

Scott Benner (35:30)

I just I find too with interviewing people.

So I I don't have the benefit of looking at people, which I think has sort of made me better at this over time because No.

There's a lot of intimating that has to happen, and I can't be wrong or it it comes off as false pretty quickly.

And I was just listening to an interview I did recently with, like, a 25 year old type one.

And you could tell that she had there was stuff right under the surface she wanted to let out, but she didn't have the words or the reason to let it out.

Scott Benner (36:02)

And then if you just ask the right question, it it opens a floodgate for them.

And they they can unburden themselves, but in a but not in a, a distasteful way.

It's just very real.

And, you can tell how the better they feel when I'm done speaking to them, the more sure I am that the conversation was valuable for someone else to hear.

Does that make sense?

Rebecca (36:25)

Yeah.

Yeah.

For sure.

Scott Benner (36:26)

So it's a really interesting job.

I much rather what I'm doing than the stuff I've done previous in my life.

It's a it's a great job if you can get it, is is what I'm saying.

Will you miss it when it's over, or do you think you'll have had enough of the immersiveness of of the process?

Like, how because you've done other things in the past.

Scott Benner (36:45)

Like, do you find yourself, like, does one job just build your humanity for the next one?

I mean, do you lose it completely?

Like, is there a world where you'll wake up six years from now and, like, have not thought about diabetes for a while?

Is it a thing that you process, or how does that all work for you personally?

Rebecca (37:02)

No.

Elizabeth can't get rid of me.

I'm on I'm on the board of touched by type one now.

I don't ever foresee a day where I'm not working with touched by type one and Elizabeth.

I know that this documentary film will come to an end, and I do think that I'll be sad when when it's over.

Rebecca (37:22)

But like you said, this is this will just build up to the next project, and I've gotta find something else that I think is interesting and that I feel passionate about and think that people should know about and keep the ball rolling.

Scott Benner (37:36)

It's interesting.

So you don't really know what you'll do after this?

Rebecca (37:40)

I have a few ideas.

Scott Benner (37:41)

Okay.

Rebecca (37:42)

Because you should always have something in production and post production and in development.

So

Scott Benner (37:47)

Is it about a a a little too old, not that handsome podcaster?

Is that what's happening right now?

I'm just kidding.

Please don't

Rebecca (37:54)

You you know how to find me.

Scott Benner (37:55)

If you pointed a camera at me, I would be either I don't know what would happen.

I is is one of two things would happen, Rebecca.

Either the fat kid inside of me would put his head down, or I would be absolutely unbearable.

Would I would pontificate forever.

Rebecca (38:13)

I have filmed you at at

Scott Benner (38:16)

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Rebecca (38:17)

My goodness.

Scott Benner (38:17)

At Touched by Type one.

Rebecca (38:18)

At the the Touched by Type one oh gosh.

What is it called?

The annual Yeah.

Scott Benner (38:25)

The the conference.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The conference.

Rebecca (38:27)

The conference.

Thank you.

Scott Benner (38:28)

The conference.

Stand up there.

That was that was is that right?

Is that where it was?

Rebecca (38:32)

Well, I've seen you there, like, three or four times.

And one time you were over talking to a child at a table, and I went running over with my camera, and you were like, get out of here.

Don't tell me.

Scott Benner (38:43)

Was that a couple of years ago?

Rebecca (38:45)

Yeah.

Scott Benner (38:46)

Yeah.

I was worried about my weight back then.

Now you can point it at me if you want to.

It's different.

But, no.

Scott Benner (38:51)

I I just know that I'll like, there was I I did this thing for JDRF.

It was huge in, Georgia one year.

I mean, there was a room.

It was 650 people in that room.

And there was this part of me inside.

Scott Benner (39:04)

It was like, please get a nice wide shot of me talking to 600 people.

Like, that and then there was the rest of me that was like, but could you shoot it from the roof?

And I actually said to the cameraman, I was like, do not point that thing at me from down there.

I was like, you better go find a ladder and climb, my friend.

I used to think of my I didn't think of myself as caring about that.

Scott Benner (39:23)

But when push came to shove and a camera came out, I was aware of it.

And now I've actually, you know, with the help of a GLP medication, Rebecca, I've lost, like, 70 pounds.

Like, and now I don't think about it anymore.

It's very freeing, actually.

I actually just did some content for Omnipod recently.

Scott Benner (39:40)

Mhmm.

And it was one of those things like, you know, show up at a studio, stand in front of a big, you know, high def camera with a lot of light and nowhere to hide.

And Yeah.

And I and I was like

Rebecca (39:52)

It's terrifying.

Scott Benner (39:54)

And well, the the terrifying part was how not terrified I was, which is why I think that if you pointed the camera at me, you would just be like, this guy's insufferable.

He has a lot of thoughts.

But I had this nice moment afterwards when, I mean, when they got done with it, obviously, some very talented people, you know, do the editing and and, you know, do the color and all that stuff.

It looks so it looks amazing when it's done.

But I had a few people online tell me that I was really natural at that format.

Scott Benner (40:23)

And I thought, oh, I've been avoiding doing that my whole life.

And then somebody said, I think this would be a great way for you to get some of your information out.

And all I thought was, who's gonna do that?

Like, how am I I don't know how to light that.

I don't have I'm not I don't wanna get involved editing video.

Scott Benner (40:38)

Like, it all just seemed, like, overwhelming.

And I know that's ridiculous because most of the world just holds up their phone and just puts out whatever they do and doesn't worry about the rest of it.

Mhmm.

But I think I might be a bit of a princess now that I've seen myself color matched.

I think it's I think maybe that's how I prefer to look.

Scott Benner (40:56)

Even even today, I'm I'm not sure what I'm gonna do about it.

But do you do any of that?

Like, I'm not asking you for me.

I'm actually my my bigger question is is, how do you make a living doing what you're doing?

Like, it sounds like this project's taking years.

Scott Benner (41:08)

Right?

So,

Rebecca (41:09)

like And this project will take years.

Scott Benner (41:11)

Yeah.

So do you do do you intersperse with, like do you do other work?

Like

Rebecca (41:16)

Yeah.

Scott Benner (41:16)

Yeah.

Rebecca (41:17)

So my production company, Hodges Film, I take on smaller projects that I work on throughout the year.

This past year, I I was very limiting to that.

I wanted to solely work on this documentary.

Scott Benner (41:29)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (41:29)

I obviously get paid for for the documentary.

Scott Benner (41:33)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Rebecca (41:33)

I have a a line budget item for myself.

But, hopefully, when this documentary gets seen by people, then this will propel another documentary.

My goal is to continue to continue to work on feature film.

And then I think everybody takes commercial or PSA small smaller work in between, but feature film is where I wanna live.

Scott Benner (41:53)

Got it.

That's awesome.

And you're and you've been doing this for how long now?

How I don't know how old you are.

I didn't ask you.

Rebecca (41:59)

2016 is when I started my own company.

I got into the industry in 2012.

Scott Benner (42:06)

Okay.

Wow.

That's a long it feels like a long time.

How did you find the nerve for it?

Because I recall feeling like the where I grew up, no one did the thing.

Scott Benner (42:17)

Like, so when I was young and people was like, what do you wanna do?

I'm like, I think I could write a movie script.

People would look at me like, you might wanna just get a job in a factory and shut your mouth.

Yeah.

There was no one around me to, like, say, oh, I know a guy who did that to kinda expand on that for a second.

Scott Benner (42:30)

Like, my son played baseball right through college, and I think he thought that was possible because he knew other people who played baseball in college.

And he also knew a guy who played professional baseball, so the whole thing seemed reasonable.

Rebecca (42:42)

Mhmm.

Scott Benner (42:43)

You know, whereas when I started talking about it, people were like, no.

That's not a thing that's not a thing people do.

Was it your enthusiasm and what you found at college that made you incapable of ignoring it?

Was it a little bit of that mixed with your parents being like, oh, thank god.

We did not think you were gonna be a good doctor?

Scott Benner (43:02)

Or, you know, like, what was by the way, they didn't say that.

I I added that.

What made you feel like it was possible?

Rebecca (43:08)

Yeah.

I think I'm just a very passionate person.

Mhmm.

When I when I get my hands on something that I wanna do, I'm full steam ahead.

So I think that it really just took me and I'm a firm believer that if you're doing something that you love, that, you know, everything else will follow.

Rebecca (43:26)

So

Scott Benner (43:27)

Oh, okay.

Rebecca (43:27)

It didn't really matter to me that I was going into the arts because I was like, well, I'm gonna make something amazing.

And, you know, everything else, insurance will come after.

Scott Benner (43:35)

And you did have a little bit of like, said your father was a professional.

Right?

So you there was some comfort.

Not comfort.

There was some security there.

Scott Benner (43:42)

I mean, I'm just saying I was broke.

Like, I I I was I had a really terrible job.

Yeah.

Rebecca (43:47)

I wouldn't say that because No?

I was broken, actually, as much as it was nice of my parents to say, you don't wanna do that.

My dad passed away when I was 22.

Oh.

And my my mom I you know, this is going deep now.

Rebecca (44:02)

But my I moved out of my mom's house when I was 14.

So it's kind of like a a broken home.

And maybe that's one of the reasons why, you know, I had to grow up at a very early age.

And so, you know, helping to tell these stories that can that can, you know, impact people, and I can do my part in the world of of bringing positivity and and making the world a better place.

I think that there's a lot of deeply ingrained feeling in in me of needing to help others, I think, because I I needed help myself, and I had people that gave that to me.

Rebecca (44:37)

And so I wanna be that person for other people.

Scott Benner (44:39)

Oh, that's awesome.

Also, I think it would be wrong of me to point out that I have now done the thing that I've been describing for the whole hour by getting you to say something deeper that was real, and and that was nice.

Look at me.

I'm really good at this.

That's all I wanted to say, Rebecca.

Scott Benner (44:53)

There's no way in hell you thought you were gonna talk that today when we started recording this.

Right?

No.

Tell the people how good I am, Rebecca.

No.

Scott Benner (45:03)

I'm just kidding.

Rebecca (45:03)

You didn't.

No.

You're amazing.

Scott Benner (45:07)

People like, do people cry on the podcast all the time?

I'm like, no.

But I know they say a lot of things they didn't expect to

Rebecca (45:11)

say.

Yeah.

Scott Benner (45:13)

Just because there has to be a reason for that.

Just the same way I mean, listen.

It's pretty obvious.

Right?

You see a lot of people, who grow up with type one diabetes get into medicine, or you see Elizabeth who is absolutely propelled to help people because she needed somebody to help her.

Scott Benner (45:29)

And, you know, and you are trying desperately to tell people stories, and I recognize that because I'm doing the same thing.

Right?

Like, I grew up very poorly, in case you're wondering, Rebecca.

You know, my parents were divorced when I was 13.

I ended up raising my brothers.

Scott Benner (45:44)

You know, my mom was working most of the time.

We were completely broke.

And when I talk to people, all I wonder inside, always I'm also adopted in case you needed, like, a a double whammy on this.

Everything I do when I'm speaking to somebody is, like, the the kernel of the seed of the idea behind what I'm thinking is, why are you doing that?

Like, why do people do those things?

Scott Benner (46:09)

And not good or bad, by the way.

Anything at all.

Like, what is motivation?

What motivates somebody to do something?

What allows them to ignore common sense and become a filmmaker?

Scott Benner (46:19)

What ignores them to ignore common sense and treat a child poorly?

Everything in between.

Like, I am utterly fascinated basically about why did someone abandon me.

And, like, why do people do what they do?

And that's what I do when I talk to people.

Scott Benner (46:34)

I just try to figure out where their motivation comes from and where the motivation came from for the people surrounding them that, you know, in essence, were the, you know, the ones who propelled them in the direction their life took them.

So I just I'm very interested in why people do what they do all the time.

But probably any reasonable Freudian therapist would tell you it's because I'm adopted, and then my adopted family got divorced.

Right?

Pretty simple.

Rebecca (47:00)

Well yeah.

I mean, your identity your identity has shaped you know, the identity of now your podcast of how you're reaching out to people.

Scott Benner (47:09)

So Yeah.

Rebecca (47:10)

For it and for it, I think that searching for that nugget is it's an important nugget to look for.

Scott Benner (47:15)

Well, more importantly, I think, at some point, I was like, well, I can't just keep doing this for myself.

Like, I pretty much have my answers.

I know where I'm at.

So, like, how do you take that then, like, combined skill and use it for good, basically, which is what you're doing, by the way.

It's what Elizabeth is doing.

Scott Benner (47:31)

It's what you're doing.

It's what I'm doing.

It hopefully, what a lot of people are doing.

And and maybe one one day, we'll all get to see it, you know, come to fruition somehow.

The Global Race for a Cure

Scott Benner (47:40)

What would you say your feeling is about the chase for a cure, like, an outsider to it?

Does it feel hopeful?

Is it interesting?

Does it feel tangible?

Does it feel like you'll see it in your lifetime, or is it just great to know it's happening?

Like, what information have you pulled together on all that so far for yourself?

Rebecca (48:01)

So I am incredibly optimistic, and I am one of the people who continues to believe that the cure is five years or closer away, especially with the transplantations, everything that's happening right now.

I just did a tour at the DRI recently, and I got to see the three main avenues that they're working on in their search for a cure.

Scott Benner (48:26)

Mhmm.

Rebecca (48:27)

And I was blown away.

So I feel like it's right around the corner.

And in my talks with doctor Camilo Ricordi, he continues to tell me that this is a very, very exciting time to be in this search, but there are a lot of things that he and the the community are up against.

He was actually just talking about how The United States is not competitive globally because of the standards that they're facing here.

And so they have to treat everything like they're clearing it by the FDA instead of instead of just being able to research and and push everything that they're working on forward.

Scott Benner (49:02)

I just interviewed doctor Wachowski the other day Yes.

From Chicago.

And, yeah, he was talking about all this as well.

Rebecca (49:09)

So it feels it feels like a very exciting time.

And I'm not the only one thinking that.

I think a lot of people feel that way.

Scott Benner (49:16)

Yeah.

Rebecca (49:16)

But Elizabeth often tells me, you know, calm down a little bit, Rebecca.

We've all been waiting for this cure for a really long time.

So I try to limit my excitement because I feel like I'm I'm very invested now.

You know?

I want this cure for all of the people that I know who have type one, and so I hope that I see it in my lifetime.

Rebecca (49:37)

Again, I'm very optimistic that it's it's close.

How do you feel?

You have somebody that

Scott Benner (49:42)

First of all, Elizabeth is probably on her fifth or sixth five year journey with the cure is coming, I would imagine.

And I would tell you that I felt prior to talking to doctor Wieckowski and and even more so after speaking to him that, you know, there are regulatory hurdles.

There are hurdles of, you know, even being able to source islet cells.

There's hurdles about how many people can actually do the procedure, who the hell is gonna pay for it.

Rebecca (50:09)

You know,

Scott Benner (50:09)

how do you administer the medication that comes afterwards?

You know, is it really reasonable to ask somebody to do something like that every twenty one days?

And in the case of his research, you know, are they gonna have to make the the anti rejection meds something you can take at home eventually?

I think that when I hear you talk about it, I agree with you that, like, it feels like they're on the precipice of something.

And yet that I think the reality of life and commerce and everything else, even if they had it today, even if somebody stepped up right now and said, here it is.

Scott Benner (50:44)

It is the thing.

I have it.

I don't think that means that my daughter's getting it for twenty years maybe.

Rebecca (50:50)

Right.

Scott Benner (50:51)

And then, you know, and that makes her 50.

So does she care by then?

Like, I don't even know.

It's one of those things that I think I don't know how to explain this exactly, but I think it'll exist at some point, But it won't be for the people who are paying attention to it right now in mass.

Maybe some of them, probably some of them, not all of them.

Scott Benner (51:11)

Mhmm.

But there might be a day in the future where it just isn't as prevalent as it is now because of the thing that was learned and grew and and, you know, changed and and reformatted itself over and over again till it becomes what it ends up being.

And I don't know how long that takes.

Yeah.

You know?

Scott Benner (51:30)

But that feels like it

Rebecca (51:31)

is one of the biggest biggest questions is when there is a cure developed, how long does it take to get from high end research out to

Scott Benner (51:41)

Everybody.

Rebecca (51:42)

Your everyday Jill?

How how does that transition happen?

How many years does it take for that to happen?

And and that's a that's a real journey right there.

Scott Benner (51:50)

I sort of separate the medicine and the research from the reality, and I think and then I start thinking about, like, well, I look at how the world works, and we can't get my garbage collected on the right day.

Like, we're gonna do this.

Like, it's crazy.

That's why I think it's just a thing that slowly matriculates until it doesn't exist anymore.

And then one day, people just don't even realize it was ever a thing and but you can't quantify the day it happened.

Scott Benner (52:15)

I don't think there's gonna be a a cure day.

I don't think there's gonna be a line people get into, and they come out the other side of the factory, and they're okay.

I think it's just gonna happen slowly.

It'll probably start with the sickest people who can tolerate it.

And then or and, also, I'm gonna assume some of the richest people.

Scott Benner (52:31)

And then it will, you know, hopefully spread out over then, maybe eventually be covered by insurance in a way that, you know, you get diagnosed with type one diabetes and someone instead of sending you to the hospital, they send you somewhere and they go, oh, we're just gonna give you some of these cells and give you a little of this juice and you're all set.

Like, I don't know.

You know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Scott Benner (52:51)

But I love your attitude.

So seriously.

No.

Seriously.

Rebecca (52:54)

This reminds me of Elizabeth was just recounting a story that she was told.

I can't remember who told it to her.

But the gist of it is that there was a boy in Africa when he urinated, their ants would come to the urine.

Mhmm.

And it was because of the sugar in the urine.

Scott Benner (53:15)

Sure.

Rebecca (53:16)

And so the the diabetes test is the ants come to your urine, and then that means that you have type one diabetes.

And for them, it's still a death sentence.

And so the you are almost like the sooner that you pass, the the easier it is for them to get help to other people instead of caring for you.

Okay.

So very morbid.

Scott Benner (53:41)

Yeah.

Rebecca (53:41)

But it's like you are taxing our health care system with a disease that we don't have a cure for, and so you're prolonging the inevitable.

Scott Benner (53:51)

Okay.

What a way to think of it.

Jeez.

Rebecca (53:54)

When you hear that and it it puts this disease into a different light.

So I hope that, you know, whether it's a cure that comes around, you know, no cure day or what, I hope that the development of of getting to the cure, like you said, maybe there's something in between that can that can slow down, that can I don't know?

Something in all of these instances that can can help people who are in those kind of situations that aren't lucky enough to live in The United States, that aren't lucky enough to have access to to care.

So that's kind of my hope in in all of these situations is that we can get something to people who don't have immediate access to to, you know, the greater health care loop.

Scott Benner (54:40)

You know how I feel about it?

I just realized you know that scene in the Incredibles with the little boy in the driveway?

And mister Incredible goes, what are you looking at?

He goes, what are you waiting for or something like that?

He goes, I don't know.

Scott Benner (54:50)

Something amazing.

That's how I feel sometimes.

Like, I don't I don't know what's coming exactly, but, I'd like it to be something amazing.

You know?

Like, I think it's kinda it's a little like, it's academic to sit around and pontificate about what you think it might be or how it's gonna look or whatnot, but I don't really care.

Scott Benner (55:07)

I just as long as it's something beneficial for people and it feels like a leap, that would be nice.

You know?

Yeah.

Like, give people some hope and real momentum.

Just a leap, I think, would be awesome.

Supporting the Film and Final Thoughts

Scott Benner (55:18)

I don't even care what it looks like.

Yeah.

I I don't understand what people argue about.

I mean, I I I'll help people make the point if they come on the on the podcast, and they're like, well, that's not a cure.

Like, doctor Wikowski right there.

Scott Benner (55:29)

He's got 12 patients.

He put islet cells in their liver.

He gave them something called tegoprobar, and they're they seem like they're okay.

Right?

And then there are people like, well, that's not a cure.

Scott Benner (55:39)

And I'm like, yeah.

I I mean, is that what you wanna argue about?

Like, you you know what I mean?

Like, they don't need they don't they don't need insulin anymore.

It's pretty awesome.

Rebecca (55:46)

Right.

Scott Benner (55:47)

You know, they're not gonna have a low blood sugar in a movie theater or crash their car or something like that.

There's a lot of, you know, value there.

I take your point.

It's not a light switch.

They didn't just flip the switch and go, hey.

Scott Benner (55:58)

No more I know that's how people's minds wanna think about it.

But Yeah.

I would always ask those people, why don't you go sit down and Google how many things has mankind cured?

Because you're gonna find out that it is a shockingly short list.

I don't think we're at that place yet.

Scott Benner (56:12)

Like, I don't think we're advanced enough to just throw a light switch and change how your body does something.

We don't even understand inflammation.

You you know what I mean?

Like, it's you know?

Anyway, be happy for whatever you got.

Rebecca (56:23)

I think everybody's waiting for something amazing and waiting for that leap.

And I don't feel like that leap is far away.

Scott Benner (56:30)

Yeah.

No.

I'm glad.

I I'm glad you feel that way, and I'm glad you understood what I was saying.

I am really disappointed.

Scott Benner (56:35)

I couldn't remember the quote from The Incredibles, but, you know, I got a lot in my head.

It's hard to remember.

Rebecca, where can people go to learn more about the film?

Rebecca (56:46)

Beyondthediagnosisfilm.com.

That's the website.

We're on Instagram.

We are on YouTube.

We are on Facebook.

Rebecca (56:55)

You can reach out to myself, which is Hodges Film.

You can reach out to Elizabeth Forrest at touched by type one.

But, yeah, I think that we want people to to get involved and to follow along with the story.

And when it comes to supporting the film and going out and seeing it, going to premieres, that's we want to drive this through the community and get this movie seen.

Scott Benner (57:19)

Yeah.

What are you asking people to do right now?

Anything?

Just start following so they know more?

Do would you like them sharing stuff or telling folks?

Scott Benner (57:26)

Is there something they could be doing to help them tell you?

Rebecca (57:29)

Follow, share.

We have a platform for donations, which you there's a link to on the website.

But we are in phase two of filming, and we're still looking for funding to to go into, post production.

But I think mainly getting in there, sharing, talking about it, and just staying in touch.

Scott Benner (57:51)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hey.

Listen.

Everybody remember, Elizabeth is running a it's a charity.

Scott Benner (57:56)

It's yeah.

Touched by Toughbun is not a it's not a money making business.

It's a thing she does to try to help people live easier with type one diabetes, and she's raising money to give to, those out there looking for a cure.

She's hustling her, her butt off.

So

Rebecca (58:10)

She is hustling.

Scott Benner (58:12)

Rebecca, I really appreciate you doing this with me.

And, also, I appreciate you coming on a half an hour early when I bugged you late last night and said, you do this earlier today?

So thank you very, very much.

Rebecca (58:20)

That is a okay.

Scott Benner (58:21)

Awesome.

Hold on one second for me.

I'd like to remind you again about the MiniMed seven eighty g automated insulin delivery system, which of course anticipates, adjusts, and corrects every five minutes 20 four seven.

It works around the clock so you can focus on what matters.

The Juice Box community knows the importance of using technology to simplify managing diabetes.

Scott Benner (58:48)

To learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes, visit my link, medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox.

I'd like to thank the blood glucose meter that my daughter carries, the Kontoor Next Gen blood glucose meter.

Learn more and get started today at kontoornext.com/juicebox.

And don't forget, you may be paying more through your insurance right now for the meter you have than you would pay for the Kontoor next gen in cash.

There are links in the show notes of the audio app you're listening in right now and links at juiceboxpodcast.com to Kontoor and all of the sponsors.

Scott Benner (59:31)

A huge thanks to today's sponsor, AbleNow.

AbleNow offers tax advantaged Able accounts for eligible individuals with disabilities.

If you or your child lives with diabetes, you may qualify because of ongoing medical needs.

With Able Now, you can save for a wide range of disability related expenses without affecting eligibility for certain disability benefits such as Medicaid.

And thanks to recent federal law updates, more people are eligible than ever before.

Scott Benner (59:58)

Learn more and check your eligibility at ablenow.com.

You spell that ablenow.com.

There's links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com.

I can't thank you enough for listening.

Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app.

Scott Benner (1:00:15)

I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the juice box podcast.

If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast private Facebook group.

Juice Box Podcast, type one diabetes.

But everybody is welcome.

Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me.

Scott Benner (1:00:35)

If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort, or community, check out Juice Box podcast, type one diabetes on Facebook.

The Juice Box podcast is edited by Wrong Way Recording.

Wrongwayrecording.com.

If you'd like your podcast to sound as good as mine, check out Rob at wrongwayrecording.com.

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