YOU CAN DO THIS PROJECT

Announcing: Friends For Life 2013 Conference

youcandothisproject — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:18:00 +0000

The You Can Do This Project will once again be present in the exhibit hall at the Friends For Life conference in Orlando, FL!

This table is made possible by the volunteered help of one of our Advisory Team members, Sara (Kim will not be at this year’s conference, as she’ll be 8 months pregnant at that time), and others whose time and efforts will make this possible. Our table cost has been covered by a generous donor who asked to remain anonymous, and we are truly grateful!

We are excited at the chance to introduce You Can Do This as a resource to the families, teens, kids, and adults living with diabetes who will be attending this year’s conference. If that’s you, please make sure to stop by and say “hi”!

Spotted: You Can Do This Project Bumper Sticker!

youcandothisproject — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:37:02 +0000

Earlier this week, we added a new item to our Zazzle store: a bumper sticker. And look! Someone is rocking it already!

We appreciate your support, whether that’s through word-of-mouth, blog posts, links in your blogroll, our button on your website, Tweets and Facebook posts, making a video of your own, or any other form. You’re what makes our community strong and supportive!

“We Can Do This”: Vol. 3

youcandothisproject — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:56:58 +0000

This is the third episode of “We Can Do This” – a series of group videos where people with diabetes come together around a common topic and share their diagnosis stories, lessons learned, and advice for others. Launched in 2012, the first video showcased five people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults, while the second featured three people who live with diabetes-related anxiety.

Something that many people living with diabetes (of any type) face is the persistence of stereotypes and stigmas. You may have faced some of these inaccurate, and sometimes offensive, comments yourself – that people with diabetes “can’t eat candy”; that all you have to do is just take your medication and it all just works out; that type 1 only happens to kids (and they somehow magically will outgrow it); that type 2 diabetes is somehow “earned” due to obesity or laziness.

The truth is that type 2 diabetes exists on a large spectrum, and there is still much to learn about why and how it occurs, and in whom. Not every person diagnosed with type 2 diabetes fits the stereotypes, and we’d like to introduce you to a few: Phyllisa, Rachel, Joe, and Sue.

Announcing: Level Life Promotion

youcandothisproject — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:45:29 +0000

If you took a good look at some of our pictures from the Friends For Life conference (or if you were there in person!) back in July, you may have noticed the vendor next to our booth.

image credit: Chris

That booth was for Level Life Glucose Gels, and the proximity meant that we got the chance to get to know Ethan Lewis, CEO and founder of Level Foods, during the conference! Ethan really liked what we were doing and was enthusiastic about finding a way to work with the You Can Do This Project, and we’re very happy to announce that they’ll be supporting our growing community:

Beginning today, everyone who submits a new video to the You Can Do This Project will receive a free Level Life Starter Kit!

And you know what’s even cooler? It’s not just for the month of November. Level has offered to continue this promotion for as long as we want it. Wow!

We are grateful to the folks at Level Foods for supporting the You Can Do This community!

Here are a few more details on this promotion:

Each person who submits an approved video (meaning, the video meets the criteria outlined on our “How To Participate” page) will receive a kit. If you create a group video, each person in that video is eligible for a free Level Life Starter Kit, too!
Each person who qualifies and wants the free Level Life Starter Kit must provide us with their first and last name, email address, mailing address, and phone number. (FedEx requires phone numbers.) We will pass that information onto the folks at Level Foods, and they will ship you the kit. You’ll find a new field, just for this purpose, when you submit your video on the “How To Participate” page.
Each kit contains glucose gels, a “Keep Moving Forward” guidebook, and a coupon for future Level purchases.

Now’s the time – make your video and show others living with diabetes that they are not alone in their struggles!

Video: Cherise

youcandothisproject — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:54:55 +0000

Contributor: Cherise; @SweeterCherise/@DiabetesSocMed

Connection: Adult with LADA/type 1 diabetes

Quote: “No matter what anyone says; no matter what a number may read: you are better than diabetes. Do not let diabetes steal your joy.”

Video: Emily

youcandothisproject — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:08:56 +0000

Contributor: Emily; http://aimingforaverage-a1c.blogspot.com/

Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes

Quote: “A lot of people sympathize with me when they hear that I have to inject myself with a huge needle every three days when I change my infusion site. I guess it’s easy for non-diabetics to sympathize with the physical pain, because that’s something they can understand or have experienced themselves, but what they can’t understand is the other kinds of pain that come with this disease: the loneliness of feeling like you’re the only one having to deal with it, the anger and self-pity that comes when you’re wondering, ‘Why me?’, and the frustration and disappointment when your A1C comes back too high.”

Recap: TCOYD Des Moines

youcandothisproject — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:25:47 +0000

The You Can Do This Project was at the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes conference in Des Moines, IA two weeks ago, with Kim, Rachel, Sara, Jess, and Courtney staffing our table in the conference’s health fair. Rachel is providing a recap of the events with her post below, and you’ll also see some of the advice we gathered in the video (thank you to Sara for editing!) below. Take it away, Rachel!

TCOYD registration and plane ticket confirmations for Des Moines were already sitting in the e-mail inbox with the promise of finally being able to hear Drs. Edelman and Polonsky speak. Then came the news of the You Can Do This Project booth and the request from Kim to work it once she knew of the confirmations in the e-mail inbox.

Having been part of the YCDT advisory team for awhile, I had not seen the in-person buzz that Friends For Life or the JDRF Omaha walk created. I knew that the target audience would be different – more people like me with type 2 and possibly more people with significant complications. I also knew that there would be more people like my mother, who only uses the dial-up connection for e-mail and nothing else.

However, I also believed that we could still reach people who needed the boost of the YCDT project and we could still reach people who already embodied the principles of the YCDT project, possibly being able to help others by telling their stories.

And then there was a big question – what would the healthcare professionals attending the conference think of the project?

Away I went into the experience, thinking that if one person came away from the table thinking that they can do life with diabetes, it would be so worth the travel and the waking up early to help set up the booth. All of the notions about the target audience were correct – more people with type 2, more people with significant complications, and even more people than I imagined without an internet connection or even a computer.

Yet I know that at least a few people with whom I spoke walked away with more hope than when they walked to the table, not to mention a few who were ready to tell their inspiring stories through the hope board. That was so worth the waking up early.

Having certified diabetes educators walk away with fliers to spread the word about YCDT to their patients, with both immediate positive feedback and at least one follow-up email about a new opportunity to spread the project’s message? That was so worth the travel, even if I would have gone to Des Moines for TCOYD anyways.

“We Can Do This”: Vol. 2

youcandothisproject — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:56:34 +0000

(For those who live with anxiety, even talking or reading about anxiety can be a trigger, so please proceed with caution before watching the video below.)

You may remember the “We Can Do This” video from this past April, in which five people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults shared their diagnosis stories, lessons learned and advice for others who may be going through the same thing.

Keeping in line with that format, Vol. 2 gives a glimpse into the life of people who live with both anxiety and diabetes (or care for someone with diabetes). People already living with diabetes are about 20 percent more likely than those without diabetes to have an anxiety condition at some point in their lifetime, and it’s a topic that many are uncomfortable talking about.

And because the You Can Do This Project centers around the idea of opening up about the tough stuff – that’s exactly what Kate, Alexis, and Hallie did.

To connect with others with diabetes and anxiety, check out the new community “Anxious You Anxious Me” on Facebook and Twitter. You may also email Alexis directly at Anxietyyouanxietyme@gmail.com.

Blog: Colleen

youcandothisproject — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 03:27:44 +0000

Contributor: Colleen; http://dmeanderings.wordpress.com

Connection: Person with type 1/LADA diabetes

Blog post: http://dmeanderings.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/you-can-do-this/

“Finding out you have Type 1 (LADA) Diabetes at the [...] age of 54 (one month before the 55th b’day) really, really stunk. Yes, I cried. Then I cried again at the grocery store trying to read those teeny, tiny nutrition labels. Then I cried again when I tried to eat some awful, cardboardy, “low carb” bread.

It’s been one hell of a struggle. It’s been a whole lot of learning.

But I am doing this because I can do this.

And yes, I still cry sometimes, just not as often…”

Video: Bill

youcandothisproject — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:57:42 +0000

Contributor: Bill; www.1HappyDiabetic.com

Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes

Standout Quote: ”The real challenge about diabetes is living with it; trying to put diabetes in your front view, not have it in your back view. Who wants to think about their diabetes all day long? Maybe a simple way to do it is to think about it at specific times, so we’re making our management more predictable.”