Thursday, August 2, 2012

Unlikely Advocate . . .

So . . . . a bout of writers block and my recent trip to Indy for the Roche Social Media Summit have caused a bit of an unintended blog hiatus.  When you add in the fact that I had another bad low last night it may not be surprising that I’m feeling fairly scattered today.  (Luckily Pete was with me last night so it wasn’t quite as scary as last time, but I need to figure out what is going on with these nasty lows.)

advocateIn any case, while I attempt to get my act together over here, my latest post is up on the Medtronic Loop blog.  This month I’m talking about advocacy, and how starting my blog led me down an unexpected path in which I’ve found my voice and learned to use it to try to make a difference.  I’ve been extremely nervous at times because I’ve always been pretty shy, but I’ve found that ignoring the fears and doubts and pushing myself to do things outside of my comfort zone has been unbelievably rewarding!  You can check it out here:

Has your involvement in the DOC lead you down an unexpected path that you are happy to have explored?

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

6 comments:

  1. Yes, it has! When my husband was diagnosed, we were both scared and lost as to what we had to do. We started on the path to wellness (there are a lot of wayward paths that branch off...) and have learned a lot. But for me one of the biggest things was starting to write about it. It has been such a great experience. I have "met" so many other great people both in the DOC and in the writing community. Diabetes kicked us not only into getting healthier but also got me to start writing.

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  2. I'm glad Pete was home with you for the low last night. i hate them. i read your article in The Loop. it is great. i too, was the shy girl, but the DOC has certainly given me my voice. like you, i started to write to feel connected with others going through the same things. but i have found that i want to "get out there" and really "tell it like it is" to anyone who will listen and even some who won't. i am expanding my advocacy efforts, but i'll tell every one about that later in a post!

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    1. Yay, Kim, can't wait to hear how you are expanding your advocacy!! :)

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  3. Great post on the Loop! And sorry about the scary low - they're scary from the outside. I can only imagine from the inside.

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  4. Great post, Karen! (On here and on the Loop!) You've heard my "story" by now .. but I was dx 20 years ago this year and until finding the DOC in March of this year, I thought I was the only person living "this" life ... and obviously that couldn't be further from the truth!! The DOC helped me not only realize I'm not alone, but it has made me feel more accountable. I've never been in as good of D control as I have been since "meeting" all of you!! :D I started my blog as an outlet for myself.... but it's taken on a life of it's own. And what I want more than anything is to BE one of the advocates - like you and so many others from the DOC have been able to do. Whether it's attending events, speaking, writing, whatever it takes.. that's where my passion lies. And I never even knew that path as an option before :)

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  5. Your abilities and balance offer steps toward improvement for everyone who reads them! Thanks!!

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