http://idf.org/O_is_for_OUTRAGE
I did not have the pleasure and opportunity to hear Jean Claude Mbanya, President of the International Diabetes Federation at the Roche Diabetes Summit. I did, however, watch the video of his speech, thanks to the Diabetes Hands Foundation’s UStream channel. The video is something that you should watch. Now. It will give you a different perspective on diabetes, and it certainly made me quite thankful for the diabetes supplies that I AM able to obtain … specifically insulin, but also my pump + supplies, CGM + supplies, and glucometer, test strips, and lancets. I am lucky that I live in a place where insulin is available, and where I don’t have to worry that once I obtain said insulin, it will spoil because of refrigeration issues.
I know that we, in the DOC, often write about insurance issues… the problems that we are having qualifying for a continuous glucose monitor, problems with pump supplies, and problems with enough test strips to test as many times a day as we’d like. Yes, those are real problems, and problems that deserve attention. But think, you or your child is diagnosed with diabetes, and you don’t have access to INSULIN, just because of where you live. Can we really just sit, knowing that insulin, which was discovered 90 years ago, is STILL unavailable to so many who need it??? Personally, I was not just outraged and angry, but this touched me and hurt me in my heart and soul in a way that is, well, extremely difficult to describe in words. Young children who are so innocent, don’t understand political and economic situations, diagnosed with diabetes and have no access to insulin. It is just sickening, and a punch in the gut.
So, the O is for Outrage Postcard Campaign is sponsored by the IDF to try to get President Barack Obama to attend the UN Summit on Global Health Issues in September. There are three different “postcards” on the campaign site with messages already written, or you can choose to write your own, and the IDF will print and send the postcards to President Obama on August 31st. PLEASE, take a few minutes to go to the O is for Outrage site, and send a postcard to President Obama. We need to do something to help ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, has access to the insulin and medications that they need to keep them safe.
And… with that, I’m off to the Oley Foundation annual conference for a few days, and then to the beach with my family for a long weekend. Hopefully, I’ll find some time to blog, but there may be some gaps.
~ Aliza
http://idf.org/O_is_for_OUTRAGE