Peers

I have many photos of my peers and those guys are a very photogenic bunch! and I consider them to be my friends, too. To use one of those photos might mean neglecting friends from other photos. Anyway! That's the long explanation of why I've chosen a photo from FRIENDS the TV show rather than one of my own. My diabetes friends are my peers, there is a very strong bond between many of us. I'll be there for yoooouuuu!

I took part in the Diabetes Chat 24hr chat bonanza! yesterday. I had an hour to talk to Jules from Enough Now DOC and GBDoc to talk about safety within the diabetes community, peer support and a little about mental health. I think the conversation flowed well, from hearing about unsavoury incidents and characters to how to stay safe online and in the general community, then how peer support has impacted and benefited many across the GBDoc community. Meeting and communicating with members of the community has certainly lifted my mental health when it comes to living with T1D and I think I'm right in saying that others have had a similar experience.

I have lost count of the number of people who I've met at the events & get togethers which I've attended. I mentioned in the Diabetes Chat; I've yet to have a poor experience from meeting my peers. Each time, there has been a new story, new information or a new face to meet. Sometimes, I've been able to directly help somebody. From the accessing of the tech that they need to some gentle words of encouragement and everything in between. I've been on the opposite side of that coin, too! Several diabetes tech gadgets have found their way into my lap, a direct result of meeting my peers. Those gadgets have undoubtedly helped me to maintain or improve aspects of my T1D management. 

Without peers, where would my T1D be? I suspect that I'd be using a Libre but, likely still injecting 8 to 10 times per day instead of using a pump (soon to be replaced with a brand new NHS funded one) and instead of using a CGM - a direct result of me tweeting about T1D and being recognised as somebody worthy of being gifted a device. Without peers, my burden would be much more than it is today. Diabetes aside, my private life would be far less rich as well. I have a WhatsApp which is heaving with messages and group messages from friends. No longer are they simply "peers" and no longer is the conversation driven by our lack of beta cells.

The Diabetes Chat event was littered with my friends and peers. After I'd had my hour with Jules, I just listened when time allowed. It was brilliant to see the names of online friends, joining in and telling their stories and offering their opinions. I was very pleased to see Alex take the hot seat to present the GBDoc Quiz and equally pleased that Mo agreed to lead the Tweetchat segment to assist Jules. Alex and Mo are frequent names in the Twitter GBDoc community but I don't remember hearing them speak very often, aside from the Zoom quizzes and when I interviewed Alex for a Dad Chats to... They're lovely people and, if they read this, I'd like to encourage both to push for more opportunities. The same goes for others within the diabetes community - You're just as important as the frequently heard voices, the voices with a social media presence and the voices who work within diabetes. Personally, I enjoy listening to the infrequently heard voice rather than a repeated narrative. 

Monday (tomorrow, after this blog is published) sees the publication of a new NHS document. "The Six Principles of Peer Support" appears to have been a long time in the 

coming. There is much chatter in my circles about what to expect. I'm certainly very interested in what the NHS will come up with following private discussions with a few who live with T1D. There is absolutely many positives to peer support and my hopes are high that the NHS will only enhance what is already there. 

Monday is also World Diabetes Day. Perhaps you'll mark the day, perhaps you won't. Your diabetes, your rules. Personally, I'm going to the pub for an afternoon with my friends. It just so happens they have diabetes, too!

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Due Diligence

How is your Diabetes Awareness Month going? Still aware, I know. Hilarious jokes aside, there has been a lot of really good information and experiences shared on social media. Yesterday, World Diabetes Day, saw the awareness posts increase further and I think that's a great thing. If we want others to understand the condition which we try to manage 24/7 then it makes good sense to talk about it openly. 

It makes good sense for the people living with D, the Diabetics, to talk openly. Even if the facts aren't always correct, you'll still read first-hand lived experience. I've been an advocate of talking for several years now because, for me at least, it is a source of therapy, information exchanging and a super way to just vent about my T1D.

As individuals, we don't really need to perform much due diligence ahead of publishing our thoughts. It might be a good idea to hold fire if you're angry or upset or going through a rough time with your mental health but I think on a general day we can simply hit the Tweet, Post, Submit, Send buttons without much of a care.

In the world of health care, for profit or otherwise, I think far more care is needed and I think that there is enough information and help around for any business to avoid the brown hitting the fan. That is especially true if your business is Diabetes focused. Then you really need to be getting the right people to give you the right advice because nobody loves a pile on like social media folk while trying to balance their blood glucose levels. Some of us are happy to highlight the damaging, too. What sort of advocate would I be if I didn't vilify the hurtful and stigmatising of my peers? A pretty bad one, I reckon.

I don't actively hunt for the trash content, I have a life. I will amplify it when I see it. I might have a little sarcastic rant or simply pose an open question. Of course, how a business reacts to that is their "business" and how I give my support to them in the future, if I amplify their campaigns, if I accept any work from them, then depends on that next reaction. I think that's the correct way to behave in most aspects of life. See a mistake, highlight the mistake, wait for correction (or not) then move on in whatever direction is most morally comfortable for you.

The World Health Organisation posted some pretty awful things in relation to Diabetes on World Diabetes Day. Normally, I would include a link or a screenshot here but I think many of you have already read that rubbish or it won't take you very long to find it if you haven't and you're very interested. It's disturbing to think that an organisation of that size cannot hire somebody to perform some fact checking over their Diabetes posts and infographics. A little due diligence for the care of their 10.1 million Twitter followers, especially those who live with Diabetes, shouldn't break the bank. I imagine the right Diabetes advocates would offer their time for free for such a thing. 

That is not the WHO's only "gaff". They were busy stigmatising during their Compact summit in April. 7 months later and more trash from the same organisation. I could talk about some of their Covid-19 posts, next. The list is starting to look pretty long and very, very trashy. 

So, right now, that's me done with the WHO and everything related to them. I'm sure they'll cope without me. It was all a bit downhill after Baba O'Riley anyway.

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

BUY DIABETIC DAD A COFFEE HERE