Diabetes Awareness Month—How About Something Different this Year….Yes?.

November is Diabetes Awareness month thus deemed so by the American Diabetes Association a long time ago and followed by the world.  November 14th is Diabetes Awareness Day–in honor of Frederick Banting who is the youngest Nobel laureate in the area of Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of insulin (he did not do it alone but that is a different story for a different time).

Over the years I have watched as; the blue circle struggles to gain traction as an international symbol of diabetes; various media attempts to capitalize on this time with advertising supplements about diabetes (am I the only one who thinks that EVERY newspaper who has a diabetes supplement during this month should donate SOMETHING to a diabetes cause?); event upon event attempting to educate about diabetes; and so much more?  My question is; “How’s that all going?”

There are still miscommunications and misrepresentations across the board when it comes to diabetes and it seems no matter how hard we all try; each November comes and goes…..and here we are again.  This should not be during one month a year, it should be all year round.  The diabetes advocates try very hard to do this and I am happy they allow me to be part.

I am going to do something different this November, diabetes awareness month.  I’m not going to try to change the world, I’ll leave that to better minds than me.  I’m doing something very simple.  Very, Very simple.

Each day of diabetes awareness month I’m going to send a note or an email to someone who has helped along this pathway; this journey.  Not a blanket thank you across the board…just one person each and every day will get a note or an email that just says, “Hey, thanks.  You made a difference in our lives battling diabetes.”

Want to join me?  It’s not going to be a huge blue circle of umbrellas in central park with press releases, hype, and do this or do that………just a thank you.  I might even use blue paper.

I’m a Diabetesdad.