DSMA August Blog Carnival - Fighting Our Cause

Unfortunately not all PWD out there are able to access the supplies and medical devices they need. Insulin, pumps, strips etc cost a heck of a lot to fund each month and although I'm lucky that I don't have to pay for my supplies at the moment, I'm very aware of how fortunate I am.

So what can we do?

In my opinion the first step is education. When I was diagnosed with D I couldn't name a single person in the spotlight with the condition, it wasn't until a year later I discovered that a famous Olympian athlete and a certain member of a well-known American boyband also have D.

In the UK we don't have adverts for D on the TV (saw them in FL this year and was like OMG a D advert - got a bit excited..). D only gets mentioned here in a bad way especially in the press (particularly for T2 PWD), we don't have a famous face proving that these stories are total bull. It's sad that you have to have a famous face for people to take notice, but unfortunately that's what we need...

I try to educate people whenever I can, proving that I CAN eat what I want in moderation and that you don't get Diabetes by eating too much sugar. If that one person spreads what they know on to another person then that's another person beating the D myths. Educating people would hopefully lead to more fundraising for PWD who don't have the same access to insulin and supplies. Silent advocacy with awesome D-Tees is another way that I try and use. Ducking Fiabetes being a fave of mine :D Not everyone with D fits the stereotype! Plus we have the BEST sense of humour ;D

What can the DOC do offline? How can we be heard?

By shouting it from the rooftops! Continue educating people and raising awareness either by wearing a Tee, blogging, Tweeting or Vlogging. Prove people's ignorant pre-conceived idea's of D wrong.

Stand up and fight for our cause. A change is coming.

This post is my August entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2011/august-dsma-blog-carnival