The weekend of March 19th saw the 5th TAD (Talking About Diabetes) annual conference back in London. Following Covid-19 restrictions and subsequent postponements, this conference was a couple of years delayed but it was certainly worth the wait.
The Royal College of Physicians building played host to the crowds of T1D folk and what a lovely turn out it was! I was immediately struck by the diversity of the attendees. Do you remember me calling out for more diversity in advocacy? Yes! Great start and this continued as the event began with speakers from different backgrounds, ages, accents, ethnicity and disabilities having their turns on the mic.
I was seated in what became known as The Royal Box. This area was actually for wheelchair users so it was nice to see good accessibility on offer but, while attending with actual Diabetes royalty - HRH Jules, it seemed correct to recognise this area as Regal. The view was pretty good, as you can see from the photo at the top of the page and the company was excellent.
(from left to right; Me, Jules, Kate, Beth & Anita)
Five pretty happy faces, considering the early starts to catch various trains from various stations. Caffeine is a marvellous thing.
So, Partha got things underway with a short intro before handing things over to Natalie India Balmain. I've been social media buddies with Natalie for years so, it was lovely to see her confidently compere the event as well as offer snippets of her own story in-between the talks. Oh! and her red jumpsuit was absolutely amazing.
Our speakers took their turns and I found myself choked up at many points throughout the day, beginning with George who attended with his dad. Dad got through his talk admirably, despite relaying the moment when he thought he was going to lose George, soon after T1D diagnosis. I think something landed in my eyes at that point.
Jasmine was next. She told her story and how she uses Instagram for her Diabetes advocacy. Inspiring stuff!
Before lunch, Dan Newman took to the stage. Dan and I have some similar experiences in regards to our early T1D lives and eye complications, further down the line. Keep checking Dan's socials for his podcast with me - we spoke for ages! I reckon he'll need to edit a lot! He is such a cool and calm presenter and offers his story in such a brilliantly relatable fashion.
As stomachs began to rumble, it was wonderful to see James Norton back on the stage as he took questions and had a brief chat with Partha about Bond, hair, technology, Marvel and more. One question which especially caught my interest came after James spoke about the possibility of moving to an insulin pump - he injects up to 15 times per day and appeared to be toying with the idea of switching to a pump. The question/comment rightfully noted that pump access wasn't a given, right now and that it's a battle for many to access that technology. James agreed, Partha agreed and noted that it's being worked on and that most attendees are a tech using bunch which can give a skewed view of just how much insulin pumps are used (circa. 20% of T1Ds are pumping). I was pleased to hear him say that it's being worked on, I'm sure that once the looping trial data hits the media and CGMs are readily available to all, the demand for pumps will increase dramatically.
Then it was time for lunch! Hurray! SOME of you might remember me passing an observation on the lunch of TAD 2019. This was better! lots better! The picnic boxes were especially good and there appeared to be a good variety of choices dotted around the room. A happy Diabetic is a well fed Diabetic!
The afternoon session began with Ros, telling us about the changes in her life with Diabetes and noting how the community had influenced things for the better. I assumed Ros had done this sort of thing before because she was excellent. Later on, I spoke with her in a pub and she confirmed it was her first time. What?! I was a shambles after talking to 20 people, Ros clearly has an aptitude for public speaking.
Next up, we heard from Sophie who is a mind-bogglingly talented musician. She captivated all with two pieces of music played on the cello with a talk about her story in between.
Just as I was regaining some emotional composure, the Tadpoles came out and displayed their artwork to us all. Each had drawn a tremendous picture of their superhero and told us about their superpowers. They were so confident! and so happy to relate diabetes through their pictures, with pumps on display for some of the heroes.
Those kids are my heroes and as adults we must, must, must! do all we can to give them the best life with their T1D. I hope that when they're my age, they won't need to think about Diabetes, that it's a fading memory and that a lot of funny looking adults gave them a huge round of applause once, when they were young.
The Tadpoles
Phew! What a day! I loved every second of it and I encourage you to attend a TAD event in future if you're lucky enough to get a ticket.
Of course, after a such a day and with the sun shining you'll need to hydrate and where better than a pub? A large group headed to The Green Man pub for the remainder of the day and good chunk of the evening. Many stories were exchanged, hypos a-plenty began, photos happened... it was your standard Diabetes get together, really. As usual, at such get togethers, it was lovely to talk to old friends and make some new ones!
Type 1 Diabetes is a prick, a bully, a gaslighter and it spends 24/7 trying to hurt us or kill us. I think that because of everything we go through, how we live and the shared experiences, the bond between many of us is very strong. I believe that the friendships made through our shared condition will last a lifetime and I'm so grateful and happy about that. I'll never be happy to be a Type 1 Diabetic but the good things that we create because of it sends a middle finger it's way and a bucket load of joy our way.
Hydration
As you might have seen, a conflict has broken out in Ukraine as Russia has invaded that country. The scenes on TV and on social media are horrifying. What can we do? Well, I don't think there is a wrong way to help if you donate to charities who are active in helping the people of Ukraine. I support many charities but one which has always had my heart is MSF. Medecins Sans Frontieres translates as Doctors Without Borders. When it comes to the health of others in disaster areas, war zones and the like then I think we all have a duty to do what we can to help and help those who directly help! such as MSF. With that in mind, all donations to me via Buy Me a Coffee and all the pennies generated through the ads dotted around my pages will be donated to MSF. I will make up the difference for the fees taken by PayPal and Buy Me a Coffee. That will run until further notice, no time frames and possibly until Ukraine is a free country again. Thank you for reading my blog.
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