What makes it all worthwhile?

It's rather humbling to have to go back to the drawing board.

I've been posting a daily Diabetes Mythbuster on my whiteboard at work every day for a few days now. I scored a couple of questions and at least one quizzical look on the first day, but that glimmer of interest died quickly.

Perhaps I'm being too subtle. Perhaps I'm just impatient. Perhaps people think I'm just as crazy as the cat lady who lives down the street from them.

But that won't stop me. I'll continue my little advocacy project (because I am stubborn like a dog with a bone) and cook up some new ideas. (Hmm, here's an idea - food cupcakes might get their attention!)

I will make myself heard. It's just a matter of figuring out a way to be seen as a passionate colleague with some interesting stuff to share (and maybe some cupcakes).

Maybe just one person will learn something or maybe the information I share will help just one person. That's all it will take to make it all worthwhile.

And if they think I'm like that crazy cat lady, that's okay. I can live with that.

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.

                                                                          ~ Winston Churchill

The diabetes puzzle

Continuing my Diabetes Mythbuster mission, today's message is that there is more than just the "bad kind" and the kind everyone's grandmother has. 

I'm no doctor of course, so if you would like more information, there are some great real sources out there.

Check out the Diabetes.co.uk website which has some great information about all of the types.

However, who knew there were so many types - Types 1, 1.5, 2, 3, LADA, Gestational, MODY, Insipidis and more(!) And certainly, with this in mind, one can appreciate the puzzle that our doctors and specialists have to sort out when patients come to them with a host of symptoms.

Let 'em eat cake

Sometimes I feel like a minnow in a big pond of bloodsuckers (okay, admittedly it was a rough week at the office). I work for a government agency, where I have only a small voice, but what I do have is a huge whiteboard and I'm not afraid to share my message on it.

So I thought I'd try to get the message out to my colleagues about World Diabetes Day, and along the way, dispel some of the myths that are rampant about diabetes. I knew that my whiteboard would be the perfect venue for the cause.

Then, Friday morning, the very first day of my new mission, not just one, but two(!) friends at work brought me cake! Which is so awesome because it means they were listening to me when I told them that I could eat anything I wanted.

Jamie and her whiteboard
Day 1 of her diabetes advocacy mission

Diabetes Mythbuster #1:  Let 'em eat cake!! People with Type 1 Diabetes can eat what we like. We just choose what we want to eat and when to eat it. (Insert poorly drawn cake here) Can I eat this? Heck yes!! 

So my very first day of diabetes advocacy was a hit with the perfect myth to bust, and might I suggest for the rest of them who don't want to listen to this minnow - let 'em eat cupcakes!!

On your mark, get ready...

I'm back and I'm giving this blogging thing a go once again.

I haven't been blogging for the better part of a couple of years now; so instead of boring my good readers with the ins and outs of what's happened in the meantime, I'm going to hold my breath and jump in the deep end - sink or swim. 

For those of you who are discovering my little space here in this very crowded web, why have I called my blog Flying Furballs? To me, this idea captures the very essence of the randomness of this blog. You never know what is lurking just beneath the couch... and for the very brave in my home, you're sure to find some furballs. 

They say, write what you're passionate about - so here's my list in no particular order:

• Family and 'fur-people'
• Life and everyday challenges that come along with said life
• Diabetes Online Community (a.k.a. the DOC)
• Advocacy - especially Diabetes and accessibility
• Snippets and pure randomness - things that just amuse me (you'll find a lot of this)
• Cupcakes (little bit of bolus-worthy nirvana)

So here we go!

"Sometimes," said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
                                                                                                                      A.A. Milne