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The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.
Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes.
Learn more at BlueCircleHealth.org
It can be hard asking for help,
especially when that help is
offered by a team or a program
that's new or claiming to do things
differently, like Blue Circle Health.
So what is it really like
to be part of the program?
Well, my name is Scott Johnson, and
today we're having a conversation with
Keshia Cannon-Peak, a former participant
about her journey with T1D, how she
came to discover Blue Circle Health
and her experience as a participant.
But before we continue, I do need
to remind you quickly that we're
not providing any medical advice
and for personalized guidance, we're
always going to encourage you to talk
with your personal healthcare team.
I'm excited to welcome Keshia
Cannon-Peak to the show.
Keshia lives in the Delaware area and was
diagnosed with type one diabetes in 1984.
She went through the Blue Circle
Health program about a year ago
and frequently participates in
our ongoing community events.
Keshia, thanks so much
for joining me today.
You're welcome, Scott.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, of course.
So I'd like to just get to know
you a little bit better and help
our listeners get to know you.
You and I have both lived with type
one diabetes for a long time, but tell
me a little bit about your diagnosis,
what was going on in your life?
What do you remember from back then?
What I remember is being
an 11-year-old little girl.
Playing outside.
It was, it was in the summertime.
It was really hot and
I was thirsty all day.
Mm-hmm.
Um, to the point where I was just
drinking like gallons of water.
So I'm, my God, it's really, really,
it's gotta be, it can't be this
hot, but it felt extremely hot,
continuing to play outside later on.
Came home to normal, eat dinner.
Um, get ready for bed.
And I remember waking up in the middle
of the night and I was extremely thirsty.
So I kept continuing to drink
water to the point where water just
doesn't seem like it was getting it.
So I started drinking orange juice.
I end up drinking a whole gallon of
orange juice in the middle of the night
and I'm like, my mother is gonna kill me.
They're gonna wake up in the morning and
there's not gonna be any orange juice.
When I woke up, I woke up with my
parents both telling me to get up,
'cause I guess they felt or heard
me continuing to go to the bathroom.
My mother woke me up and I can
remember her like screaming,
and I'm like, what happened?
And she's like, go get
yourself together, get dressed.
I went in the bathroom
and I could see my face.
I was like gray.
I was pale.
Mm.
Then I remember.
Going to the hospital.
And that was really it.
I remember waking up and when I woke up,
there were doctors surrounding me, my
parents were there, my grandparents were
there, my aunts, my uncles were there.
And I'm like, what is going on?
I'm waking up like nothing even happened.
Um, so that's when they started explaining
to me what hap what was going on.
So that's when it all began.
So I had to get educated.
At that point in the eighties, it wasn't,
to me it wasn't a lot of knowledge.
Yeah.
I didn't know what an endocrinologist was.
I didn't know what diabetes was.
Um, I just, you know, it was
just foreign information to me.
I remember.
Teenage years, it was tough.
Um, blood sugars were always high.
Then you had to check your
blood sugar like every hour.
It seemed like at that point, going
through puberty was tough because of
different spikes in blood sugar levels.
Trying to get your friends
to understand what it was.
Without being afraid.
I remember having, and she's my best
friend today, a friend that would
always walk with me to the nurse's
station, uh, or the nurse's office when
I had to check my blood sugar and take
multiple injections during the day.
But it, childhood was good.
It was just the, the highs and the
lows and just trying to fit in and
just try not to, everyone to work.
You know, balance around
what Keshia needs.
Like at home we ate the same time,
but when I wanted to go out with my
friends, you know, when you get older
and as a teenager it's like, well,
I can't eat right now and then if I
do have to eat, I don't wanna pull
out my syringe to take my insulin.
So just not being embarrassed about
it was, was kind of, was tough.
Did you know anyone else with diabetes
as you were, as you were growing up?
No one at all.
And And what was that like?
Did that feel at all strange, different?
Did you feel isolated or was it
just kind of the way things were?
I felt isolated, but I had supportive
friends, so they knew what was going on.
They just didn't know
the details around it.
Everyone was supportive.
It was just again.
If I wanted to go to the
movies, I couldn't just eat
the popcorn or drink the sodas.
I had to be motto, I had to drink
a diet Coke, the candy, I couldn't.
I could, but I knew
what would've happened.
So I'd be like, I'm fine.
I'm good.
I don't, I don't want it.
But I did feel isolated.
I didn't think it was just me.
It wasn't my friends.
It was me feeling like I was a burden
sometimes because we couldn't do certain
activities because they would think about.
What I couldn't do.
It sounds like you had a really
supportive group of people around
you, and I think that's so important.
I did, yes.
Tell me a little bit about your
healthcare team as you were growing up.
What did that look like for you?
I had a great healthcare team.
The only thing in Delaware
is Delaware small.
We had two endocrinologists
in the state of Delaware.
There was one who dealt with children, and
there was another who dealt with adults.
So I had a chance to build a rapport
with my one doctor until I turned
18, and then they just would pass
the torch to the other doctor.
So I didn't have a lot of doctors.
So the knowledge that I got were
only from two doctors and some
nurses that worked with them.
Uh, very great team.
It's just.
I think because of the limitation,
the education around it, the knowledge
I had to go and research myself.
Mm-hmm.
Um, because they were
always extremely busy.
What about as you grew
into your adult years?
Are you, I mean, are you still seeing that
same endocrinologist or has that changed?
What does it look like for you today?
Actually he retired three years ago.
Okay.
So, um, I was working with
a new endocrinologist.
They were working together in
the same office, so he like
passed the torch on to her.
Um, so it was been pretty, it's really
been really good education-wise.
They have their own educators there,
but again, Delaware's small and it's
limited on the amount of endocrinology
chronologists that we have here.
I took advantage of everything
that I could 'cause I'm always
curious and wanna know more.
Um, so my healthcare is set up
where I see the endocrinologist
and then six months from there
I'll see the nurse practitioner.
Hmm.
Both of them are really good.
So I'm never without seeing
a doctor within a year.
Yeah.
In between their times.
If I need help with adjustments
to my insulin pump or CGM, the
nurse educator is there in between.
They have a good portal to communicate.
Um, I'm blessed to have
a really good team.
Yeah, it sounds like it.
That's fantastic.
Yeah.
You mentioned earlier doing a lot of
research on your own, like you'd hear
about something and do some research.
Uh, tell me a little bit about that.
Where would you find information?
Are you, are you looking around on the
internet communities of, of other people
living with T1D that you would learn from?
What did that look like
earlier?
Maybe over the last.
10 years, 15 years, a lot of,
uh, research on the internet.
Just the why behind
diabetes, how it's changed.
Mm-hmm.
Mainly how, how technology has changed.
Um, it's changed a lot.
And then the most important part I think
would be just again, with social media
now, that's pretty much how I found a lot
of all the different new insulin pumps
mm-hmm.
That are out here.
The CGMs, I found Blue Circle Health.
On, um, just, you know, browsing
on social media and realizing
it's a lot of people with type one
diabetes that I was not aware of.
The only time I would hear about it is
if a celebrity or athlete would have it.
Yeah.
But other than that, anyone in my
community, I don't know of any.
How did that feel to you, kind
of recognizing that there was
this whole world of other people
living with T1D out there?
It felt really good.
It felt like I'm not here alone.
There are people like me.
I just wish I could just have a
conversation and a conversation that
they understood what I was referring to.
'cause I speak to people
all the time about it.
I try to educate as much as I can if
someone asks, or parents that are dealing
that have children with type one diabetes.
Yeah.
Uh,
just being able just to be that voice.
So whenever I was able to or have
a platform, I would talk about it.
I was never shy about it.
Um, 'cause I think education.
Around it is needed.
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you for, for being so open
and sharing your story because I
think too that all of us have, have
a story to tell around our diabetes.
Uh, and, and that story, you know,
my story may not resonate with
someone, but your story might, and
so I think it's important that.
That many of us share our stories.
Mm-hmm.
As you were growing up, um, or, or just
kind of living your adult life, were there
parts of T1D that maybe felt harder than
others, or, or maybe even still feel hard?
I think one part is just always
kept in the back of my mind.
When I was diagnosed, I was
told that my life expectancy
wasn't going to be that long.
That's not true, but just.
Navigating through that and
just living life to the fullest.
Um, I think one of the most
difficult times was when I
was ready to have a child.
Mm-hmm.
Um, you, you've gotta really keep
those blood sugars under control.
It's a whole nother, um, yeah.
Yeah.
And I had my daughter, so
everything she was, she's wonderful.
She's, she was fine, but
it was a lot of work.
It was a lot of, a lot of work.
Yeah.
How old is your daughter?
How long ago did you
navigate that pregnancy?
Um, she'll be 21 in September.
Amazing.
Wow.
And, and I think that's
remarkable too because mm-hmm.
21 years ago we didn't, we
also didn't have as many tools
to keep the blood sugars, um,
no.
You know, as managed as we did.
So that's really, really amazing.
Yeah, it was tough.
I had my insulin pump.
I was still doing injections, all
these things to keep your blood sugar.
'cause I was told at that time
they had to be extremely low
to help avoid complications.
Um, so.
She was a preemie, but we got
her, I got her hair healthy.
Amazing, amazing.
Oh, that's such a great story.
What, um, what are you using
to manage your diabetes now?
Are you on a pump?
Your CGM?
Tell us some of the details
around your, your setup.
I,
right now I use a tandem T Slim pump and
I have use a Dexcom G seven as my CGM.
I love them together.
Yeah.
I, um.
Switched to the tandem pump
about six years ago was the
best thing I could have done.
Prior to that, I was using
another pump in the past.
Um, and I've been using the insulin
pump therapy since 1996, so, wow.
Yeah, it's been a long time.
Tell me a little bit about
what was going on in your.
In your life when you
found Blue Circle Health?
You mentioned finding us or
seeing us, uh, on social media.
So what was going on with me was I was
searching for MDI and for those who
don't know what MDI, that's multiple
deli injections, I was getting tired
of being hooked up to a. All this
tubing constantly being attached to it.
Blood sugars were just getting real crazy.
They were just up and down.
Um, even though I was doing what
I thought I would do, so I was
navigating who else is doing MDI?
So when I put the search in, a couple
of people who were on social media
came up and then there was this, um,
one young lady, I don't remember her
name, and I think I did see a Blue
Circle Health Heart where they liked it.
And I clicked on it.
I'm like Blue Circle Health,
because I clicked on the button
and I'm like, I'm reading about
it and I'm like, this is not real.
So I go out on a website
and I'm like, really?
There's something that's geared
around type one diabetes and
some of the staff are, you know,
diabetics as well, and I'm like.
I don't know.
So I went on the main website and
I'm like, it might be, I dunno.
So I filled out the information
and immediately I got a response
back to my email and I'm like,
okay, maybe we're onto something.
So then I got a phone call and
I'm like, it's a live person.
So.
Immediately I got enrolled.
It was a couple questions that were
asked, and the enrollment specialist
was amazing and we're having
conversations and coming and I'm
like, my insulin pump starts beeping.
And I'm like, I'm so sorry.
I'm like, it's loud.
She was like, oh, what
kind of pump do you have?
And I'm like, oh, this is really rare.
So we talked about that and then I got
signed up and the rest was history.
That's amazing.
Yeah.
Did you, did you, um, I'm
smiling from ear to ear for those
who are, are just listening.
Um, did you have any concerns
or questions about how.
You would interact with, you know,
you, you're, you're starting to engage
with this Blue Circle health team.
Mm-hmm.
But you also have to navigate
and maintain a relationship with
your existing healthcare team.
Yes.
Uh, tell me, tell me what
was going through your head
around that aspect of it?
I thought that at first I'm like,
how do I tell my endocrinologist
I'm working with someone else?
Um, do I need to tell them?
And of course I do, you know,
because this is another.
It's dealing with my diabetes.
But once I started talking to more
individuals at Blue Circle Health
and getting the education around it,
blue Circle Health works directly
with the My doctors as well.
Like they're sending notes behind the
scenes and no one's stepping on toes.
It's just that extra, um.
Security and just another
person to talk to.
So after I realized it was a good
to go, I, I was, I was okay with it.
And, and did you, did you see
your current healthcare team at
any time while you were enrolled?
And did they, like, did, did
the topic come up at all?
I did.
The topic came up and at that time, I
guess I was maybe four months in and
my blood sugars were like amazing.
So she's like, I don't know what
you're doing, but it's working.
And I'm like, I'm working
with Blue Circle Health.
And she was like, I did see
some notes in your chart.
I was gonna ask you about it.
Um, and.
She's like, my numbers, even since
then, since I started and even now
have been six and like 6.2 or below.
Wow.
Not that they were extremely high before
they were in the sevens, and I always
wanted to get 'em in that six range.
But because I learned how to navigate,
how to do things differently and speaking
to the educators that you all have, um.
Because I have type one diabetes, there
are tools that they were giving me to
really navigate through it and being
educated at my visits, understanding what
the charts mean, asking the questions,
why recommending what I should change as
far as a basal rate and things like that.
So I learned that from Blue Circle Health.
Was there a moment where you thought like,
boy, this is, this is really different.
This is something special?
Yes.
I probably felt that way
after my second visit.
With the educator and then the
endocrinologist that I was working
with, it was like, there are people
out here like me and they're making
a difference, and I'm seeing, well,
maybe, I don't know, like it was
like a aha moment for me, like I.
I'm in from the corporate world and
my education is around business.
But, um, when I was in, when I, when
I enrolled in college, I had behavior
science and psychology degrees.
Nothing to do with business.
I never knew why I was doing it.
I just always wanted to, you know,
understand people's behaviors because
dealing with diabetes, anxiety
is there, it's always been there.
Yes, people would never know
that I'm dealing with anxiety,
but because it comes so natural.
Constantly looking at your insulin pump
or constantly looking at your watch.
You see that maybe this is not normal.
If someone is like, am I boring you?
I'm like, no, I'm just
looking at my blood sugar.
I'm sorry.
I'm just looking at my blood sugar.
That's all.
It's so funny.
I, 'cause I have the same
experience where I'm mm-hmm.
You know, I'm talking to somebody and I'm
curious about what my blood sugar's doing.
I really wanna look at my display on
my watch, but then I'm worried that
they'll, they'll think I'm, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
That's so funny.
Yeah.
Um, moving from.
Your typical clinical experience, you
know where you're going in mm-hmm.
Um, and seeing someone every six
months and all of a sudden you've got
Blue Circle Health where you can have
appointments almost as frequently as
you need to, which can also be a lot.
Did you,
mm-hmm.
Did you experience any challenges
in, in that transition?
Was it hard for you to make appointments
or what did that look like for you?
It was great for me to make appointments.
I, because again, I always
wanted to know more about it.
Every time I talked to someone there,
it was, I learned something new.
I learned the little things as far as
talking to an educator while my blood
sugar was dropping, I was drinking
apple juice, but I was drinking
the big eight ounce apple juice.
I didn't know there was a four ounce.
So an educator there told me,
Hey, won't you just go and try it?
It's the four ounce, it's 15 grams.
And I'm like, it was a game changer.
Now in my car, there's apple juice boxes.
They're not used, but they're just,
it's just having that comfort zone.
Little things like that,
that made a a big difference.
So I wanted to come more.
I wanted to come every week.
Other week if I could.
'cause I was learning, but I'm
like, you can't be selfish.
There's other people that
need the service too.
You have a busy life.
Was it ever, you know, overwhelming
or disruptive to your life?
My appointments were
after work in the evening.
I remember having appointments
as late as seven o'clock my time.
Wow.
You don't get that anywhere.
Especially, you know, in a office.
Well, let's take a quick break here.
Okay.
We've covered a lot of ground and we've
got more to talk about in a minute.
Before we dive back in, I want to tell you
about the D box by touched by type one.
There's no sponsorship here.
This is not a paid plug or an ad. In fact.
They don't even know that I'm doing this.
I just wanna make sure that you
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The Dbox is a free starter kit full of
resources and supportive tools for anyone
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It's available in both
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Head over to touched by type one.org to
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maybe share this information with someone
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And the dbox is just one of many
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So be sure to check out everything
else that they're working on.
Welcome back.
Well, Keshia, when you think about.
Where you were before joining Blue
Circle Health, what feels most different
about how you live with T1D today?
I think what I've learned that it's okay
to say you need help, that it's okay to
say you're not having a good day, and
it's okay to be overwhelmed sometimes
because living with I feel, well, for me,
living with type one diabetes is just.
It's an assignment and a task
in itself outside of everyday
things that you have to deal with.
Um, so I just give myself grace on days
when I just don't feel like, you know,
here I go, I gotta change my, um, infusion
set, or I have to do change my CGM.
It's, and it's okay to be
not okay with that day.
You, you get it done, but it's just.
It can be tough some days, but I find
it easier to navigate 'cause I know
that I'm not doing this by myself.
Um, there's others out
here and I'm not alone.
There's a big community
of type one diabetics.
Yeah, I wanna ask a little bit more.
You mentioned something that kind of
piqued my interest around it's okay
to ask for help and, and I imagine, at
least in my experience growing up with
T1D, not knowing many other people with
T1D around me, I felt very much like.
Um, like I had to do it all myself, right?
Mm-hmm.
It was, um, they, they,
I didn't know who to ask.
I also felt a, a certain kind of
way about not almost admitting
that I needed help with something.
Mm-hmm.
Did you, did you experience that as
you were, as you were growing up?
And what helped you get over that?
Um.
Hesitancy to, to ask for help.
I think for my mother, my
mother was always supportive.
Um, she always, she taught me not to let
it stop me again, like my grandmother
to do things that I need to do.
But it's okay.
There's days when you're
not gonna be okay.
When you don't feel well,
it's okay not to feel well.
It's okay not to push yourself
because everyone sees.
You outside of, outside of home or in a
work environment, um, totally different.
They see a different person,
but behind closed doors.
You worry.
You worry about if your
blood sugar is gonna be low.
People don't understand when we
go to sleep, the biggest fear
is, my gosh, if is it gonna drop?
Am I gonna wake up?
Right?
So those are the type of things that
others don't think that you don't think
about because it's so natural for you.
Um mm-hmm.
But just knowing it's okay,
it's okay not to be okay.
And just try to push yourself
as much as you can, and.
Rely on family and friends, um, and of
course Blue Circle and things just to help
you support through those days when it's.
Kind of tough.
Yeah.
I, I love to hear that your
family was so supportive.
I think that's such an important
part of, of living well with T1D.
And of course, you know,
not every, not every family
situation, uh, is, is like that.
Um, but it sure does seem
to make things easier.
I also had a very supportive, uh,
family too, and so it just, it
kinda warms my heart when I hear
about your mom and your grandmother.
Mm-hmm.
Just helping you really
deal with that so well,
yes.
Yes.
Were there any big turning
points or aha moments?
You mentioned the, the game
changing smaller apple juice.
Um, any, does anything else come to mind?
What comes to mind for me is, again, if
I back, uh, me having education around
behavior health, um, behavior sciences,
once in the middle of being enrolled in
Blue Circle Health and realizing that.
It's a need for people to talk about, you
know, that they need someone to talk to.
Not always fix their
problems, but just to talk.
Um, I've re-enrolled back in
school and I'm working on my mental
health, um, clinical licensing,
so I wanna be able to help others
with diabetes and chronic diseases.
Um, it's needed and I just
wanna be able to help.
That's, that's so amazing.
And I would say that is
a pretty big, uh, yes.
Turning point, uh, aha moment.
Um, mm-hmm.
It's very, very exciting.
Do you feel like your relationship
with, with your diabetes itself changed?
I mean, it sounds to me like you've had
a really healthy, positive relationship
with diabetes, but did you, did you,
do you think it feels different now?
It does feel different.
I think now that this, at the age
that I am now, that realizing that I.
Overcame the obstacles that they state.
I wouldn't, wouldn't happen now.
And it's just time to em, embrace
it, uh, get more under keep, continue
to be, educate myself around it.
Be open to all of this new technology.
'cause for a while I was
just so set in my own ways.
Um, but it's so many
opportunities and so many.
There's so much out here.
Even education around it is so different.
Now.
It's a part of me, but I'm also still
always open to learn more about it.
I wanna ask about something specific
to the Blue Circle Health Program,
and for any listeners who are not
maybe familiar with Blue Circle Health
that we have a six month program.
We hope throughout this that
we're teaching and empowering you.
We hope that you'll be able to use the
tools and resources you gain during
the program long beyond and that
you'll continue to stay connected.
Tell me a little bit about
what that's been like for you.
It's been really good.
Um, it's, I, I keep the, I have
flyers, I keep flyers on me.
I pass them out.
I, I've explained the program to my
endocrinologist, um, even my dentist.
Um, about a couple months ago
I went to the dentist and was
getting just a typical, um, teeth
cleaning, and she came into.
The dentist came in to check my teeth and.
My pump started making noises and
we both, she wraps, she goes to
her side and I'm going on my side.
Come to find out we both
have the same insulin pump.
What?
And yeah.
And I'm like, you have to.
She was like,
wow.
She stops in the middle of it.
She's like, this whole time I
didn't, she's like, I know your
chart says type one diabetes.
But I didn't, I never really, I
didn't get a chance to really,
you know, really talk about it.
And I'm like, yeah.
And we were talking about our pumps.
So I'm like, well, I got these
flyers in the, in the car.
I'll bring them back up
after my appointment.
And I'm like, we need some
education around dentistry as well.
So I try to just pass out the
flyers here in Delaware, tell as
many people as I can about it.
Um, and yeah.
That's amazing.
Thank you so much for being such a,
a great advocate for us and I, I love
that story of, you know, bumping into
your, your dentist who also has T1D.
Yeah.
Uhhuh.
That's
what, a small world.
Yes.
What about some of the ways
that you approach living with
diabetes now that are different?
I'm definitely more aware
of, I'm more set on now.
I've got to the six
range right now that I'm.
My sixth range is my A1C,
which is amazing, by the way.
Thank you.
That's no small feat.
Thank you.
Yeah,
thank you.
So now it's like, what else can I do?
And uh, my endocrinologist and
also the endocrinologist there
is like, we don't want it too
lo Keshia, don't get too right.
Don't get too out.
So I'm like, okay.
Okay.
So just really just understanding
the numbers behind it.
Being open to other medications
that can help with diabetes.
Not just, you know, 'cause there's
different medic medications that
could be used now, um, along the
side because with age comes different
things, other things that can happen
that you need to balance out with.
Mm-hmm.
Do you feel more confident in
advocating for yourself now with
like, providers, insurance and,
and even people in your life?
It, it, you come across as someone who's.
Would, I would say never
struggled with that.
As you're growing up, and thanks in
part to the, the wonderful influence
of your grandmother and mother.
Mm-hmm.
But do you feel more confident today?
I do, but I've always, I've,
I've never not struggled.
I've never not struggled.
I may appear that I have never
struggled, but I have struggled.
Um, and I think probably be
just the, I just being patient.
And even when it's time to get a
prescription and you need a prior
authorization, just understand it's
gonna, you're gonna be on the phone.
Yeah, you're gonna be on
the phone for a while.
You just have to be patient.
And not everybody
understands the importance.
'cause we go into a
defensive mode immediately.
Yes, we need our medication.
We need our medicine to live.
And not that people don't care, but they
don't understand what it feels like.
To be told we can't get this
prescription filled, but this is a
prescription that's keeping me alive.
Yeah.
And they're telling you, you have to
go through this channel, that channel,
I don't have time for channels.
I need my medicine.
Mm-hmm.
So learning to navigate and having the
patience and stepping back and saying,
maybe I can educate this person and let
them understand this is type one diabetes.
I need my medication.
Um, and just don it in a way where.
They can understand why I
am so, um, why I need it.
Um, yeah, and just learning how to
advocate for myself and showing others
how to advocate for themselves as well.
That's really great because
there's a skill there, you know?
Yes.
You mentioned that we get defensive,
but if you approach that conversation
in the wrong way, the, the person on the
other end of the line, they also can get
defensive and then it can spiral into
a very unproductive conversation, so,
right.
Mm-hmm.
You have, uh, you've always been a part
of the, the community events that we have.
You show up at webinars and group
sessions and and things like that.
Yeah.
Why does that feel important to you
to, to stay connected to the people
in the community around your T1D?
I think because there's
always something I can learn.
And then this meeting new people and
just getting contacts with people and
just being around like-minded people
that understand that get it, just being
in that moment for that hour around some
people that are like you is just amazing.
Yeah.
Uh, well, it's always put, it's
always great to see you, uh, showing
up at, at those events, so thank you
for all the, I know it's not easy.
We're all busy and it takes time to
mm-hmm.
To do that.
For someone who's listening
who might feel isolated with.
With T1D, what would you
want them to know about.
Finding other people who understand,
just be open.
Don't be afraid to talk
about type one diabetes.
Don't be ashamed to
show your insulin pump.
Don't be ashamed to show your CGM Um,
social media, um, is not for everyone,
but there are some platforms that are
good that you can go on and get some
information and just start building
that rapport with others who maybe,
you know, that has type one diabetes.
And just to be open to.
Questions.
Um, and even raising your hand.
Yeah.
Talk to your endocrinologist, your
doctors, they definitely can help as well.
Yeah, I love that.
How do you carry forward some of
the lessons that you've learned
about managing T1D without feeling
that pressure to be perfect?
I just live in a moment, moment.
If I think anything differently,
it, it, it can become overwhelming.
Um
mm-hmm.
That took a long time for me
to get to that point in life.
'cause some things are
just outta your control.
If I do everything I can possibly do and
my blood sugar still wanna act crazy,
as I say, I can't do anything else.
But to be patient and you know, just stay
on top of it, just stay in the moment.
I try not to think too far in advance
because it could be low now, it could
be high tomorrow, it could be high
today, it could be low tomorrow,
and it will drive you insane if you
keep looking too far in advance.
Yeah.
I think that's a very wise approach.
Yes.
What would you say to someone
who's thinking about reaching out
to Blue Circle Health, or maybe
just starting to to work with us?
Do you have any thoughts or advice?
It's real.
It's not fake.
Everyone is supportive.
It's just amazing to know so many
people that are in the profession,
doctors, nurses, educators that
live with type one diabetes as well.
It's, it's just a great feeling
to know that you can talk to
them and they understand how
you feel because they live it.
Not only can they educate you, but they
can also give you tips that work for them.
Every tip doesn't work for everyone, but.
At least you could just try it.
Yeah.
I think trying, you know,
living with diabetes, it's very
much an experiment, you know?
Yes.
You have to try something and see
if it works and make adjustments.
Yeah.
Very well said.
Mm-hmm.
Well, Keshia, we've covered a lot today,
and as we wrap up here, if, if someone
just takes one or two things from our
conversation, what do you hope that is?
That you're not alone?
There is a type one, uh, t, a type
one diabetic community out here.
Not to get frustrated, stay
educated, and just, just live
well and do the best you can do.
Well, Keshia, thank you so
much for talking with me today.
I really appreciate it.
Oh, thank you for having me.
I appreciate you.
This episode's another great
reminder that you don't have to do
diabetes alone, even if you've been
managing diabetes for a long time.
Support, connection and community really
do matter and are out there for you.
If nothing else, I hope you'll
give yourself permission to
ask for help if you need it.
And as Keshia mentioned, give
yourself grace on those days
when you need that as well.
And then be sure to tune
in for our next episode.
Until then,
keep living well with T1D.