True Champions Diabetes: Let's Get Started with Diabetes Awareness!
Diabetes advocates share their stories of living with diabetes and explain why diabetes awareness is an important step to educating the public.
In this episode of True Champions, diabetes advocates share their stories of living with diabetes and explain why diabetes awareness is an important step to educating the public.
Duration: 4:45. Last Updated On: Dec. 13, 2017, 4:29 p.m.
- 00:00 [MUSIC]
- 00:15 I'm Manny Hernandez.
- 00:17 I am a son.
- 00:19 I am a husband, and a father I am from Venezuela.
- 00:22 >> I am a graduate student, and a rock climber.
- 00:23 >> I'm Ginger, and I am an advocate.
- 00:25 I am a volunteer.
- 00:25 I am all of these things.
- 00:27 And, I'm living with diabetes.
- 00:28 >> [CROSSTALK].
- 00:33 >> Diabetes definitely doesn't limit me.
- 00:35 Today, we're in New York.
- 00:37 We are right we're, right now we're in Central Park.
- 00:40 There's a lot of activities that are gonna be going on.
- 00:42 It's a very special grassroots community event.
- 00:45 Where people living with all these conditions are coming together to,
- 00:49 you know, raise their voices, be heard.
- 00:52 >> Gosh, there's so many misconceptions.
- 00:54 Like, oh, you don't look like you have diabetes.
- 00:55 >> Yeah. >> Like, what does that mean?
- 00:57 >> You're not that fat.
- 00:57 >> You know? >> You have diabetes?
- 00:59 >> Yeah, there's.
- 01:00 >> Thanks. >> So, just by speaking up,
- 01:02 whether it's through Facebook, or Twitter, or in a community on a line.
- 01:06 Can really help to dispel those myths.
- 01:08 >> Being an advocate is something as small as telling somebody what you know
- 01:12 about the disease or the condition.
- 01:15 It's sharing your knowledge because most people don't know what diabetes is.
- 01:20 >> It's about so
- 01:21 much more than just checking your blood sugar and avoiding sugar.
- 01:24 It's a constant balancing act 24/7 of exercise, food, insulin, life.
- 01:31 >> Emotions.
- 01:32 >> Emotions. >> Emotions.
- 01:33 >> Like, when you're laughing and oh God.
- 01:34 >> When you're part of a community of people who live with diabetes whether it
- 01:38 is online like TuDiabetes or in a support group in your neighborhood.
- 01:43 You are exposed to the experiences of all these people.
- 01:46 And that is very important, because it does not substitute medical care.
- 01:50 It complements it in a way that is very powerful.
- 01:54 You're doing yourself a disservice as a patient by not joining some kind of group,
- 01:59 online or offline, and participating, learning from others.
- 02:02 Sharing your experience.
- 02:03 You have a lot to teach, you have a lot to share with others, maybe from your
- 02:06 mistakes, maybe from your problems, you know a lot of people can learn from that.
- 02:10 [MUSIC]
- 02:14 >> To be an advocate for people with diabetes,
- 02:16 you need to be able to speak up and just share that you have diabetes.
- 02:19 And, there's so many different ways to support people, you don't have to
- 02:23 create a big community like TuDiabetes, you don't have to blog you can just be
- 02:27 there on Twitter and read other people's blogs and comment on other people's work.
- 02:31 >> Well, it's great for
- 02:32 people who are old, people who are young, people who are married with kids.
- 02:37 I mean, you can be as little involved or as, as largely involved as you want.
- 02:42 >> We do what we do to help others, to make it possible for
- 02:46 others to have what I felt several years ago when I was in the same room and
- 02:52 was able to connect and not feel alone.
- 02:56 And I was surrounded by other people like myself.
- 03:00 The hardest thing about living with diabetes is that it doesn't go away.
- 03:05 Realizing that that is what a chronic condition means, it can be really tough.
- 03:10 So taking it one day at a time kinda helps deal with it.
- 03:14 [MUSIC]
- 03:17 Anyone who has diabetes who is watching this should, you know,
- 03:21 start by taking a hard look at what they're doing with their life.
- 03:26 Don't be afraid.
- 03:26 This is not the end.
- 03:27 It's the start of a new opportunity.
- 03:30 You can take a new take, look at life and do things differently.
- 03:34 Step outside of yourself, and maybe,
- 03:37 maybe you join an online community like True Diabetes.
- 03:40 But, the power of taking that step is you can participate in
- 03:43 the conversation, share your story, ask questions.
- 03:48 You know, don't be shy.
- 03:50 I mean, like, you will learn.
- 03:51 You will get so much, and you will be able to eventually become one in the community,
- 03:57 one who helps others.
- 03:58 And that feels so great.
- 04:01 I am optimistic about the future.
- 04:04 I just think that a lot of the future is in our hands as well.
- 04:08 That's why we all should be advocates.
- 04:10 There is more awareness about diabetes than there was several years ago.
- 04:14 There is better understanding today than there was several, about years ago.
- 04:18 Still not enough.
- 04:18 So, there's a lot more to be done.
- 04:21 [MUSIC]
- 04:25 >> I wanna be a part of their future.
- 04:27 >> Pursue your dreams.
- 04:28 [INAUDIBLE] they, they're gonna be there for you, but only if you looked for them.
- 04:34 >> If I wanna make changes happen.
- 04:36 >> Let's get started.
- 04:37 [MUSIC]
