I am hoping Terry won’t mind but I want to check in with how the weekend went.
This was my third retreat and every year I learn something new. Just when you think you know it all, you don’t. And I also have felt they can’t talk about anything new because I know everything. So very, very wrong.
Yes, I find the health fair not needed as I am using most of the newest stuff out there and some things off label. So I am pretty in touch with what is happening out there. But it is a great retreat and they always put on a great and fun gathering.
But last year it was very cool to meet Terry in person (along with Norm!). And I was thrilled to see him again this year. Always great to sit at a table with different people for each meal and hear others stories and what works for them. Terry and I are in line with many of our treatment plans and some things we are not. But the great thing is we both get it. What works for one person might not for the next.
But this year we walked around Balboa Park and walked down to Little Italy for ice cream! A lot of walking, a lot of hills and we both had our cup of wonderful ice cream from Salt & Straw. Terry got his Oregon fix while in San Diego. And we both enjoyed our ice cream and we both handled it a little differently. And while walking back up the hill, the alarms started but quickly took care of it. So no plan is ever perfect and we both handled it and enjoyed a beautiful sunny Southern California day! And of course had a crazy homeless person steal poor Terry’s bottle of water right off the bench. Oh well, even in paradise, there are things that can go wrong.
It was fun seeing Terry and Norm again and great meeting people from all over the world. They are talking about next year around the same time. Might want to make it a vacation trip with some diabetes fun included!
If you have the time and money to make it to a diabetes meeting or conference, I highly recommend it. You get to interact with people who get your focus on diabetes. Most gluco-normals just don’t understand the extent to which we must pay attention to our glucose metabolism.
It only takes one or two good ideas for a conference like this to make it all worthwhile. I got to listen to Loop expert, Katie DiSimone, for a few hours on Saturday. This November will mark three years of Looping and in some ways I still feel like a newbie.
Talking with Sally, I was reminded of William Polonsky’s emotionally enlightened view of our sometimes unhealthy treatment discipline – the healthy good-enough. While I love to reach for treatment ideals it’s perfectly OK for me to accept a healthy good-enough. Driving for perfect can sometimes drives us crazy.
I was also reminded that diabetes survival is all about the long haul. I met one gentleman who has lived with diabetes for two years longer than I have lived. And I celebrated my 66th birthday this month.
While I’m not fortunate enough to share my diabetes daily burden with a spouse, there were many so-called “Type 3’s” in attendance. I commented to more than one of them about how difficult I imagine their role is. There were a few sessions where they gathered to talk about the difficulties that they face. Hurray for T3s!
One other point was raised that I had not given much thought to before. If people take care of their diabetes they can often live healthier and longer than the non-diabetic cohort they’re from. As I look around at my family and other groups I move in, I realize that my diabetes has provided me with plenty of motivation to looking after my general health. Diabetes has also honed my discipline to set valuable goals and put in place tactics to achieve them. My persistence, curiosity and knowledge that I learned through diabetes serves me well as I treat my heart disease and low-thyroid.
You don’t have to fly to some distant city and spend money to mix it up with your diabetes tribe. TCOYD conducts one day conferences all around the country. Check it out.
Thanks for sending in this update! I attended last year, but could not be there this year. It really is a unique gathering, with a mix of technical, practical information, and humor. I sure do like Terry’s comment:
“Most gluco-normals just don’t understand the extent to which we must pay attention to our glucose metabolism.”
~Sarah, T1 for 42 yrs
How do you find one in the northeast. Maybe I will check The Joslin Clinic.
Here is 2019 schedule of the remaining expo/one day events. They vary some locations each year, so check past schedules for other potential locations for future events. There was one in Albany, NY this past June.
https://tcoyd.org/tcoyd-conference-health-fair-2019/
I think the weekend event is in CA, and only once/year, but just my guess.
Yes, the type 1 retreat is one weekend in August in San Diego. The one day conferences are held throughout the country.
I had breakfast with someone who works at TCOYD and she said that the likelihood of them returning to a city depends on how many attend the first one. It is always a numbers game. So if you think your city could attract a lot of people, ask them to come. If there is enough interest and they can find a location to hold it, it might happen.
I started the process to get a TCOYD conference in Portland Oregon a coupe years ago. I had lived in San Diego for decades -got spoiled -and went every year for about 12 years. Anyway, I thought I would start by enlisting the support of the local JDRF and ADA. either of them returned my calls or emails. Very disappointing. The JDRF has an annual summit, but is geared to those with T1D children. and the ADA events I had attended here were focused o T2. When we first moved here, I went to the ADA expo in hopes that I could meet the vendor reps. They weren’t there - no pump companies, no CGM companies - nada.
It is so empowering to be with others n our tribe, and to meet those of us who have been managing for decades. The lack of support (and respect) from HCP’s is disheartening and it is good to get “re-heartened”
Perhaps smaller cities just don’t have the critical mass needed to support these conferences? The Canadian city I live in has a population +/- 1.2 million, and we have nothing like this. I think it’s something that needs to be changed
Since the “target” audience is PWD’s of all types as well as parents of kids with D and also counts as CME credit for HCP’s the conferences draw from neighboring cities and towns. I went to one in Spokane a several hour drive from Portland Oregon. I asked for what the cost to TCOYD is for putting on a conference and it is about 170,000 (USD). I was all set to do some local grant writing, which is why I wanted to get the JDRF and ADA to back me up (not with but support and getting the word out).
I believe - do’t know for sure - that local Endo practices volunteer and lend expertise to the patients tat are in their service area.
Hi, Artwoman,
Too bad you live in Portland and not Eugene, where I am. We could meet for coffee and call it a micro-TCOYD conference! I also lived in San Diego for many years, and went regularly to the conferences, including the summer “One” retreat for T1’s only.
If you find yourself going to the summer retreat (“ONE: The Ultimate Conference”) next near, (2020) let me know. We could share some of the travel expenses. So far, I’ve stayed with friends rather than at the Paradise Point Resort. I’m sorry to hear that JDRF and ADA did not return your calls.
~Sarah, Oregon tribe member, 42 yrs T1