Passion = Never Giving Up

"Muay Thai Fighter's Stance, careful she
has a wicked right hook"

Hello All you Fabulous People!

Well Summer is drawing to a close, and school will soon be back into full swing with; homework, teachers, taxi service, lunches, diabetes questions and meetings. My house will indeed be cleaner with the offspring away all day but somehow the school routine still makes life equally busy, with the chaotic before school launch sequence, and the after school, squeeze all things into 4 hours before bed sequence; only to get up and do it all over again 5 days a week. I am tired mentally just contemplating the above........

So after the above run on sentence, I suppose I should get to the point post.

I read somewhere that passion and research don't mix as the passion I suspect can cloud or bias the researchers view, and therefore effect the results of the study. 

So as I was walking(Briskly uphill of course) on my treadmill, as this was easier then dragging 5 kids, and 2 dogs through the hood, I got to thinking about the above statement.

Then I pulled out my iPhone, yes I have one too, and watched a 6 part series on Dr R. Bernstein.(Youtube Link) He explains his story and how he has had diabetes for 63 plus years, how he was doing the "run-and-shoot" or "Basal-Bolus" method years ago, and how he paid 650 bucks for one of the first glucometers on the market, apparently the size of a shoe box.  This guy talks about his journey from being an engineer who attempted to sway the medical profession to look at intensive diabetes management as this was working exceedingly well for him, and to his dismay, was turned down every time, being told things like "People will never manage diabetes with a machine" hmmmmmm were they wrong.  He eventually became an MD when he was in his forties to increase his swaying power with in the medical community.

What's my point? Well, he was passionate to share with the medical community what he discovered through passion, and his own desire to improve glucose control, and prevent an early death from diabetes.  A lot of what he was doing to himself 40 years ago has only recently become mainstream.

I personally think passion is crucial to moving forward in all research since passion to me, equals motivation to act, to challenge conventional thinking and ask what can we do different or better. It is like fuel, if you believe strongly about something, this provides the energy to move forward and do something about it.

Even us individuals with Diabetes or caring for a child with D. We are I believe, Scientists, or capable of being scientists. By testing, trialing, and reviewing the results. What worked, what didn't. Being passionate about living well with diabetes.  Reading everything as objectively as possible, and using the best evidence to guide us in how we all manage diabetes. I also believe in asking questions, not just to your doctors, but to your self. There are hundreds. Will I need more insulin at forty, or less, will this Kickboxing class need added pre-carb snack compared to my bike workout, the questions are numerous, and personally provide me with the passion, and motivation to read about the topic, test, trend, experiment and improve my diabetes management. I am still learning. For instance in my twenties I was heavily into Muay Thai Kickboxing, and always assumed I'd need a lot of Carb to cover the workout. But now, 18 years later, I am realizing that it is more anaerobic and therefore, it would seem I almost need no additional carbs. Live and learn.

I guess my message is even though Diabetes sucks, beat it through passion, a passion to learn as much as possible, and keeping an open mind, become your own lab rat, if it isn't working try and try again, what ever you have to do, never give up.  I know it sounds cheesy, and I apologise, but there is truth to this. Only we, those living with it, can change and improve our health.

Cheers!

Trev