Friends For Life, 2015

My wife, Anita, and I attended the Friends For Life type 1 conference July 8-10. The trip to Orlando on July 7 was not good. The plane was delayed for four hours in Florida before it arrived in NY where we were waiting. That caused us to land in Orlando at 9:00 PM. Arriving at the Coronado Springs Resort at 10:00 PM was not fun. When we were finally in our room we called the Disney Magical Express. They were supposed to deliver our luggage to our room. They told us our name was not on their schedule, and they did not know the location of our luggage. That was very upsetting!!! An hour later someone called and said our luggage had been found at the airport. It was delivered to our room at 3 AM. We had almost no sleep that night, and I was worried about my session scheduled for 3:30 PM the next day.
On Wednesday we were able to drag ourselves into the conference center and meet some people, pick up our schedule, and organize the slides for my talk. We were so tired that we had to force ourselves to have some breakfast. There were talks being given that day, but we were too tired to attend. We went back to our room and took a long nap. That helped a lot! Our room was supposed to be close to the conference center. I made the reservation for our room in February so we could have a better choice of room location. We have physical handicaps with arthritis and knee replacements. The room we were given was so far from the conference center that we had to take a bus to get there. We were NOT impressed with Disney and the resort!! frown emoticon

That afternoon I gave my talk 3:30-5:00 PM. There were about 30 people in my audience. I gave a short intro and asked for questions. There were lots of questions, and I really enjoyed them. I had so much to talk about, and did not present much of it because there were so many questions, and it was easy to see that the people there were enjoying the question and answer format. I have put my notes away, thinking I may use them in the future. After the session, and for the next two days there were many people who gave compliments on the session, and so many who were not able to attend, but wish they had. My session was on a Wednesday, but that is not prime time for the conference. The best attendance is seen on Thursday and Friday.

There were some very good sessions that we attended. Two of them were given by type 1 men. Will Cross has climbed Mt Everest, walked to the North and South Poles, and is planning other mountain climbing expeditions. He is 45, and Anita said she wanted to give Will Cross a hug and ask him when he is going to stop his dangerous adventures. He is 45 and has a wife and kids, so why does he do this??? Sebastian Sasseville was the other speaker. He has walked coast to coast across Canada, climbed Mt Everest, and walked across the Sahara Desert. Lots of great pictures were shown by both speakers.

The meals were good and we have no complaints about the conference, it was wonderful! I wish we could go every year, but it is much too expensive, and so tiresome.

The temperatures were consistently above 100 degrees, there was so much walking, and we are probably too old to go back to Florida again. It is great to be back home where we can resume our normal, relaxing routine in peace and quiet! Every year in early July I am going to sit at home and take deep breaths, wishing I could go back to the Friends For Life Conference. Being too old is the pits! lol

Home Sweet Home!!! That is probably the best place for Anita and me.

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I was very fortunate to be able to attend Richard’s session. He gave a really inspiring talk about his life. I think for many of those present, Richard is a real hero. He has gone through really hard times in his life dealing with diabetes. But through all of that he never let it keep him down. He led a successful and happy life, had a full career, married, had children and to this day he just oozes optimism and happiness.

Before the session started I had a friend take a photo of Richard and I:

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Thanks, Brian. I enjoyed meeting you.

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I have followed the action on Twitter every year using the agreed-upon hashtags. This year was so much better than ever, as there were live feeds from many of the MasterLab sessions. I know @curlysarah and I could hardly tear ourselves away from our computers at times! I hope DHF will continue to expand the coverage, if the FFL organizers will allow & you can send several more @mrmikelawson clones to the event. :wink:

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I wanted to attend the MasterLab session, but that would have required my wife and I being there an extra day. We were there late Tuesday through early Saturday. I missed the Lab and the activities on Sat and Sun morning. We were exhausted. I am too old to be there for six days. My wife is too. We are not anxious to go back to Florida!!

Thank you for the report, @Richard157. I am sorry it started out with difficulties, but having gotten to know you here at TuD, I am thrilled that you could speak and answer questions!..All Bright Blessings to you and your wife…Judith…

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Hey Richard!!

I sure wasn’t expecting the awful experience you and Anita had to endure the first part of your trip.
Unbelievable! I’m glad that your luggage was delivered to you at least and eventually everything settled down.

That’s so Great that you were able to show up for your important presentation and that the audience had so many questions for you. That is awesome that Brian was there also. Wonderful photo of you and Brian. You Guys look like best Friends. :slight_smile:

Well, you never know, you may end up going to another FFL Conference. For now, you have many fine memories of your excitement and of meeting so many of your Admirers while at the Conferences. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

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Terrie, I was rather harsh in describing my FFL trip. We were so tired when we got home, and I was not in a good mood. We have changed our opinion, and are intending to go back there in 2016. The venue in even numbered years ia at a Marriott hotel in Orlando Our room and the conference is all under one roof, so there will be no walking outdoors in the heat, and no rain to bother us. Much less walking will mean we will not be so exhausted. I am anxious to try that venue. My wife agrees to do this, but only because she loves me, and she knows how much it means to me. There were dozens of people there this year who wanted to meet me. There were hugs and tears from some. They are inspired by speaking to a long termer who has been type 1 for 70 years, and has good health.

We do not know how many more years we can make this trip. I am 75 and Anita is 71, and we have physical handicaps that really slow us down. Putting off our next FFL would not be a good idea.

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Well, that’s a relief Richard. I’d hate to think of you sitting at home when you could be having a blast at the FFL Conferences. You and Anita are still young enough to enjoy these trips. I do understand about not feeling well with the RA and Osteoarthritis but life still goes on. We can’t hide under the bed. We’ll do that in our 100’s. :smile:

The Marriott is one of our favourite hotels and the service is awesome . When we went to Nova Scotia last November for the Conferences, I was alarmed that there was no fridge to put my Insulin and snacks in or a microwave. One call and the door bell was ringing within a half hour with both items. The pedways were great for walking to other buildings without needing a coat. I shopped a lot. :smiley: Anita is a Dear! :slight_smile:

Thanks for describing the Marriott in your area. We will like being consistently indoors, avoid the heat and rain, and all the extra walking. Some people on Facebook are saying there is still a lot of walking inside the Marriott, and they are advising us to use scooters. They would be delivered to us on the day we arrive, and picked up on the day we leave. Have you ever used a scooter? They are seen at grocery stores in our area, but we have never used them. It sounds like a good idea for the conference in 2016.

Quack!! Scooters at the Marriott? Who knew? I wish I had known that. YES, the Marriott is huge, so there is lots of walking. Using scooters is a Good idea Richard.

Yes, I’ve used scooters in the bigger stores when my feet, hips or knees got really painful. Those scooters are big. ( I recall John Ben saying that he ran someone over with one while in the store. :open_mouth: ) I miss him.

I’ve also tried the personal scooters(4 wheel—more stable than the 3 wheeler) at the Medical Care store. I would not buy one though. As my Hubby pointed out, I would have to raise my arms in order to steer/drive it. I have severe RA in all of my joints plus OA in my back and many joints including my shoulders, also RA there. So if my medication wore off while I’m using the scooter, I would not be able to lift my arms up to the handle bars to drive/steer the scooter. My Hubby got me a used Power Chair instead. It has a small joystick on the right hand arm that I can easily drive/steer with my fingers. I like speeding sometimes. :smiley: If I’m in a lot of pain, I usually do not go shopping unless I am desperate for something. I prefer to walk, if I am feeling 3/4 decent.

When I go on trips, I take more medication than I should including Prednisone. Usually, it makes
for a more enjoyable trip.

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During previous visits to Orlando I have rented scooters from [Walker Mobility][1]. They have reasonable rates, frequent specials and their equipment has always been in good order. Their scooters are compact and can be disassembled to fit in the trunk of a car. If you ever have trouble they will send someone out right away, even if you are in the middle of one of the theme parks. And they deliver right to the hotel and it can be there when you arrive and you can just leave it in the hotel lobby when you leave. Very convenient.
[1]: http://www.walkermobility.com/

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Terrie, I am glad you have found a scooter that suits your needs, and is easy to handle. My wife refuses to use one, and it would look funny if I used one and she was walking. She actually needs one as much as I do, but she is very uncomfortable about people seeing her not walking. She wants people to think she is in good shape, so she hides her pain.

I guess we will both walk. We did it this year, and I guess we will do it next year too. We were very sore and tired when we got home, but we are much better now.

Oh, it wasn’t a scooter that I found worked best for me(although they are cooler looking). I use my power wheelchair on occasion, Richard. I agree with Anita! I feel self-conscious about driving it but when I can’t walk the distance that I need to, it does come in handy. Sometimes I take a taxi(there goes another arm and leg) and my Hubby drops me off at all my appointments and picks me up after his work is done. I used to love walking and riding my bike but the continuing inflammation from RA plus OA too in my left knee, doesn’t allow me to pedal painlessly for years now.

Terrie, I am sorry to hear about your inflammation, but I’m gad you are using a power wheelchair. I think one or both of us may need one ourselves in the future. I have dizziness that prevents me from riding a bicycle, but I workout at a gym, and choose my machines very carefully. A trainer helps me.