To fight for the right, without question or pause …
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause …
—–Man of La Mancha
Sometimes, it feels like Don Quixote trying to fight windmills all day with very little results (you can read the story sometime to understand that reference). I was in my fourth bariatric center over the weekend. Each attached to a major hospital. Never with an appointment. I introduce myself. Ask to speak to the Doctor in charge. I now have a new-found feeling for Pharma Sales Reps.
The front desk people try to dismiss me, that’s their job I guess, and I state that I am a writer, and when I ask, “Should I just write that your Doctor has no comment in my article?” That, at least, makes the person find the doctor and ask what to do with me?
I tell them I need only two minutes.
So far, the Doctor has come out each time. So far.
I choose large centers because all of them have advertising budgets. I have heard all of their commercials. Their commercial spots are clearly focused on the T2 market, that is their call–it is their advertising dollars, but they do not specify anything in their spots. My request is simple. Kindly put the words Type 2 in the diabetes spots they run. I do not want to get into a long discussion. I explain why. I probably should try to accomplish more but why make it so complicated. I choose the battle I want to have. On this day, these are my windmills.
Four out of four agree. One doctor literally gasps; “I NEVER even thought about it that way until you said it. That kids with T1 would hear the spot.” I emphasis and drive home the final point. No surgery will make their diabetes ‘go away’. Not yet, anyway. She assures me that their spots will be changed and so will their literature. While there, I hang a few posters in the hospital cafeteria from Get Diabetes Right, might as well get double the effort in one visit.
Last week I’m in my car with the radio on. A commercial plays between songs. It’s a bariatric center commercial. One of MY windmills. I know enough time has not gone by yet, but it has. The diabetes, was replaced with Type 2 diabetes. No one in the car but me……I smile.
You do not have the resources to raise money so you stay away from events, your call. Point taken. But if we agree that there are 2 million people with T1 (depending on what number you want o believe) and add 4 million parents and if each just tried one education attempt a month; 72 million education outreach ‘touch points’ would happen every year. You do not even have to create anything……go to www.GetDiabetesRight.org or the same name on FB and download posters on diabetes education and post them around your neighborhood.
Changing the world is not hard if many do just one thing. One. A lot of a little makes a lot. Period. I see a world with better diabetes education and THAT we can all do. That way people will know a little more about diabetes. Everyone THINKS of these HUGE GRANDIOSO IDEAS…..and yet, we have things right at our fingertips—-and we choose to do nothing. Just don’t do nothing.
This is my quest, to follow that star …
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far …
Better education can be a reality if we get started; I know I’m not dreaming the impossible dream. Join in.
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.