Our Diabetes Online Community (DOC) has had a lot to keep our brains busy this past month, from varying views on insulin pricing efforts and recognizing disparities in diabetes care, to all the diabetes-themed love in the air with Valentine’s Day.
Here’s our monthly roundup of diabetes-related social media posts that caught our eye throughout February 2022, in no particular order.
Generosity was on display in the DOC with the annual #SpareARose effort, which took a new turn in 2022 as it expanded to reach more people with diabetes beyond just children in need of insulin. The program has raised over $400,000 since it started in 2013, and it’s now raising money for the global charity Insulin For Life, which helps adults as well children in need worldwide.
Marking Black History Month in February, we appreciated Beyond Type 1’s coverage discussing why this is so very important to the Diabetes Community — especially during pandemic times, when nonwhite communities are often impacted so much more on the healthcare front.
Being a Black woman with type 1 diabetes is the topic of this post at T1D Exchange, delving into the history of decolonization and representation within the Diabetes Community, and how important grassroots efforts like Mutual Aid Diabetes can be for those who need help in different ways.
As news headlines alert us to Russia invading Ukraine and all the resulting chaos, thoughts within our D-Community are of course turning to those who live with diabetes in that part of the world. The International Diabetes Federation is sharing resources to help people with diabetes in Ukraine, as is D-supply company Type One Style. And our community’s grassroots #SpareARose is helping to raise money through March (at least) to send help to Ukraine. It’s all important, as many are raising concerns like this one echoed by DOC’er Cate Wedding in a recent Tweet:
Our advocate friend Renza Scibilia in Australia shares some insight about being featured in an article with the title “Living a Life of Advocacy,” and feeling a heaviness about all she’s involved with. Yet she experiences awe in seeing what our community does to make a difference in the world.
Another advocate friend Riva Greenberg marked her 50th “diaversary” since being diagnosed with T1D, and she wrote on her Diabetes Stories blog how significant that is, as so many more people are reaching that milestone these days compared to what we once saw. She is grateful for the life she’s been given, and for being recognized by the Joslin Medalist program. We echo her gratitude, not only to those who’ve played a part in bettering this diabetes world for us all, but to Riva in particular for all she’s done and continues to do.
The diaTribe Foundation is tacking diabetes stigma, with a new campaign aptly named “dStigmatize,” which talks about this issue and features stories of those who’ve experienced this, along with resources that people with diabetes can use to combat stigma in their own lives.
As February marked Valentine’s Day and also Heart Month, we couldn’t help but smile when seeing this creativity in a Facebook diabetes group that just speaks to how much diabetes touches our lives and hearts in different ways.
A post titled “That ‘Thing’ on my Arm” cannot fail to bring to mind images of our various diabetes gadgets and the people out in the world who point or ask about them. Molly Johannes at Hugging the Cactus blog shares a view of this topic, and all the reactions we’ve collectively experienced. Yes, people with diabetes wear gadgets on our bodies. Deal with it.
There is a new diabetes chat initiative that’s been set up by three DOC folks spread out across the United Kingdom and United States. It uses a new feature on Twitter called “Spaces,” to host online peer meeting by and for people with diabetes. A weekly guest answers questions from the hosts and those listening in, and there’s an open mic chat time as well. You can find it at #DiabetesChat on Twitter.
ICYMI, there’s a new documentary coming on the insulin pricing crisis in America. It’s called “Pay or Die,” and is actually being produced by comedian Sarah Silverman! See the new teaser video for more info. Very cool, and we look forward to seeing this once it’s ready in late 2022 or early 2023.
That’s not the only “diabetes on the screen” news, as actor Noah Averbach-Katz recently unveiled that he’s working on a creative movie project in which he will play a featured character living with T1D. The basic plot: It’s an apocalypse and he is trying to find insulin. No kidding! An initial Kickstarter campaign raised more than the requested $25,000 in no time, so hopefully we’ll see this project move forward before too long. [btw: DiabetesMine loved talking with him after his role on Star Trek: Discovery back in 2020.]
Speaking of diabetes art, this incredible online gallery by the Life for a Child (LFAC) group showcases so many compelling and powerful pieces of art from across the globe that make the heart swell. Be sure to check it out!
*We share our favorites each month, and would love to include yours, too. Please ping us via email or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.*
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Current Version
Feb 28, 2022
By
Mike Hoskins
Edited By
Mike Hoskins
Copy Edited By
Sofia Santamarina
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