Scott Benner of the Arden’s Day blog and the Juicebox Podcast interviewed me a month ago about my life and lessons of diabetes. The podcast posted today and it’s much better than I hoped. Scott is a stay at home dad to his two children, one of whom has T1D. Arden, his daughter with diabetes, was diagnosed with T1D at the age of two. Scott and his wife had already made the mutual decision when they started their family, that it made more sense for Scott to stay home and look after their children. His wife works a professional job with a pharmaceutical company.
Scott manages his daughter’s diabetes 24/7 with the help of an insulin pump, CGM, the internet, and texts. He’s a devoted father that lovingly looks after his daughter’s health while allowing her to enjoy the spontaneity of childhood. When it comes to his daughter’s blood sugar, he’s on it!
We talk about a variety of issues, including my D-story and what I learned during my career to treat T1D. Scott has a great radio voice that contrasts with my raspy one-vocal chord voice. It’s funny to listen to a recording of yourself as your initial reaction to the sound of your own voice is always, “Is that really me?” I’m very happy with the content.
Scott is about the closest a non-D person can come to being resonant with my attitudes about diabetes. We both have skin in the game but his motivation is the love of his child, one of the most intense loves known to man.
It runs about 60 minutes. I’m interested in your comments.
I think he’s found a good fit in the diabetes online community. Parents of very young T1Ds face daunting and frightening prospects. Scott is doing good work demonstrating a viable way to walk the diabetes tightrope. I imagine he inspires T1D parents.
I’ve often considered hanging my own shingle somewhere on the net but I enjoy hanging out here.
Which is why I’m certain that many of our members would benefit greatly from the connection. We have many Type 3s here. Is there some way interested parents could connect with him? Does he have his own blog somewhere, for instance?
Scott is the author of the Arden’s Day blog. He’s been at it for several years and his Juicebox Podcast has been going for just over a year. There’s a great archive of interviews he’s done. He’s interviewed the Executive VP of Dexcom, Steven Pacelli, TCOYD’s Steve Edelman, Bigfoot CEO, Jeffrey Brewer, and major league baseball player and T1D, Sam Fud.
Part of my motivation for posting my interview is to introduce the community to this corner of the internet. T1D parents will be interested in many of his shows. My appearance is in episode #53. It’s an interesting library of interviews, all free for the listening.
@Terry4 I’ve already listened to the first half while walking the dog this afternoon! Great job so far and I’ll finish the rest of the interview in the morning.
Scott does a great job with his daughter. Occasionally he makes me a little nervous with how comfortable he is in absolutely trusting the CGM, especially as her BG drops in response to pre-bolusing. I dose off my CGM most of the time, but also know that it can be off by + or - 20 points. I do pre-bolus, but can’t let my BG drop too much before eating or else I will go low before the food kicks in. But Arden seems to not have serious lows, so what Scott does is definitely working for her right now.
For those of us who started our diabetes careers before home BG monitoring, it is amazing to hear about Scott interacting with his daughter at school all day with following her CGM, texting back and forth, recommending bolus amounts or sips of juice.
Scott is also a published author, his first book being "Life is Short, Laundry is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad.
Looking forward to the rest of your interview, Terry!
Thank-you, @Laddie. I can understand your nervousness with pre-bolusing and depending solely on the CGM reading. When you and I do it, we have the back up of how we feel. When managing a child, there’s an extra layer of risk. One of the jobs of a parent, however, is to teach your child to become an independent adult. That happens a little bit at a time especially through teachable moments. I’m sure Scott is very aware of these issues.
CGMs are getting better and I think it’s just a matter of time before the FDA grants its blessing to use for dosing and treatment. I think there’ll always be the caveat to fingerstick if in doubt or you feel different than the CGM indicates.
I glad you enjoyed the interview so far. I don’t often get the chance to verbally interact with a skilled and knowledgable interviewer on a topic that I am deeply conversant. It felt good.
Perhaps the most impactful relationships I’ve made are with people living with diabetes - including those who have lived with it for years and years. Is that who you mean by “us,” @David_dns? People having walked the path our children walk or will walk have so much to share and help us understand what our kids feel and what they can expect from the world as they grow.
I just wanted to stop in and say that I am not good at message boards. I post and then get super focused on them. Years ago, in the interest of time and my sanity, I stopped reading them. I do my best to give back on my blog and podcast…
I do want to thank Terry for coming on and for sharing with all of you. I think we all agree that he was fantastic and gracious with his time and story. I loved talking to him and am glad that you all seem to feel the same.
Even with all the data I look at and math I use, there always seems to be the “gut instinct” that shades the ultimate decision. Treating diabetes with insulin is both a science and an art. I think it helps a lot to be throughly steeped in all the geeky numbers and then to color any decision with how you feel. What I’m trying to say is that “winging it” still has its place for me. I’m glad you enjoyed listening to it.
Thank-you, @Scott18. I understand your decision about how you spend your “diabetes time.” Talking with you and listening to almost all of your podcasts made me realize that adult diabetics share a lot with parents of children with diabetes. It’s definitely not a 100% overlap but all the control tactics and analysis is very similar. Thanks for stopping by.
Again, I encourage everyone reading this to look at Scott’s archive of podcasts. It’s a treasure trove of useful info and entertainment. I often listen during my daily walking.
I agree, Lorraine. I was fortunate to stumble into two threads here at TuD that absolutely changed my health for the better: the flatliners club and the TAG (total available glucose) thread. There were several people contributing at that time, much younger than me yet very experienced and curious having grown up with diabetes.
