Our recent beach vacation will be fondly remembered for a nice diabetes breakthrough for Benny and a bone-headed move by me. We rent a place with a full kitchen and laundry and instead of schlepping full size containers of coffee and detergent we just pour a week's worth into zip-locs. Since I'm approaching old age, I also took a few days…
I recently wrote about the trouble we have getting Benny's inset to stay on during long periods in the water. Beach trips and waterparks are a huge headache because he hasn't liked the idea of putting anything over or under the inset to help it stay put. (An inset is how an insulin pump connects to the body.…
Interesting lesson in trade-offs last weekend at Carowinds. We always have fun there, but taking a child with type 1 diabetes to an amusement park – with a water park – means you have to plan a little bit more. It also means more supplies. In addition to the backup stuff I always bring, I threw extra insets,…
I can throw a ball. Really. I play a mean game of catch with my family and I was on a softball team for several years as a kid. But after yesterday, none of that matters. Sigh. This summer WBT's been giving away tickets to sit in our suite and see the Charlotte Knights (you can enter for the August…
I've spent the last two weekends with a bunch of complete strangers, poking my nose into their refrigerators and running around outside with their kids. Sounds weird, I know, but I'm having a blast. It's for a great new project you'll be hearing more about. I'm hosting Health Crisis in Carolina, a reality-style show that focuses on three families who…
The USO of North Carolina's annual golf outing is always inspiring. You're surrounded by active and retired military who spend their time trying to thank us for supporting them. Of course, it's the other way around. The USO partners with and supports many other organizations that help our troops. Purple Heart Homes is one of the best. Started…
When people ask me how Benny is doing, I usually keep my response positive. You can't really know what it's like to live with type 1 diabetes until you have to. I try to educate without alarming; I certainly don't want anyone to think Benny can't do something or is limited is any way. But diabetes is hard. It…
We were excited to receive the Animas Ping last week, but Benny didn't want to set it up. At first I was puzzled. Every night I'd say, "Let's set up your new pump and get started!" and he would find some reason to put it off. "I'm too tired,"he said. Or, "I want to keep playing." Finally, I…
We've started a new feature on WBT – taking part of the show on the road every couple of weeks. We set up at a coffee shop and buy everyone's first cup. We also talk about the news of the day. Today's topic was about last weekend's violence in uptown Charlotte: What do you…
I'm a huge fan of social media. Last year I was quoted in USA Today talking about why. One thing I told the reporter is that, for me, Twitter is a way to connect with people I haven't met, but with whom I have much in common (as opposed to Facebook, which is a great way to reconnect with people I…