This weeks’ post is not the typical weekly post my readers (all two of you) would expect, but it most definitely involves my personal journey… 

Friday was a monumental day for me. I had the honor of being a guest speaker at Sharp HealthCare’s Diabetes Conference; I spoke on insulin pumps, CGM’s and on living with type one diabetes. 

As one would expect, I was extremely nervous. The week before the event is when most of my anxiety hit me. I had been channeling my anxious energy into actually creating my presentation, and when that was complete, my mind was free to roam… 

Surprisingly, the event went off without a hitch, aside from my trembling voice the first three minutes of my talk.

Here are my hoorays for the week/event:

• My husband. Once again he knocks it out of the park as my biggest supporter. He understands me well – he understands what went into preparing for this event and what this event meant to me. Because of this, he knew exactly how to support me leading up to it. Having him reach over and hold my clammy hand right before my name was called was probably the most meaningful show of support.
• My friends are uh-maze-ing. The text messages, the photos, the phone calls, the in-person words of encouragement; each of you know who you are. I literally could not have gone into this a sane person without you ladies. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’d also like to mention that my amazing boss remembered me on this very special day as well. 
• I am ecstatic over an opportunity like this. I never imagined having T1 would open as many doors as it has. The professional connections I have made because of how my disease has inspired me are numerous and astounding. I have many hopes that this event will open more doors for me.
• The amount of individuals that approached me after my presentation to provide their comments was alarming to me for a few reasons… I was the last presentation of the day, so the fact that they stopped and waited to speak to me was humbling. The comments received all reminded me of what my husband had been telling me all along – I am the expert. I can and will speak to this disease in ways that most other educators cannot. I live it. I was so worried about impressing the medical staff in the room.
• I hope that I make my fellow T1’s proud. I want to tell people about our life in a way that makes you go… yea, that’s exactly it. I don’t know it all, and I’m learning as I go, but damn, I just know I was put here to share my story and to use it to serve the diabetes community. 

Thank you to all of you. Thank you for letting me know how you feel about this silly little blog. Thank you for hearing my story and my rants. I am humbled in so many ways by all of you.

Til next time,

Kel 

https://www.sharp.com/diabetes-conference/diabetes-conference-speakers.cfm