Back from the ADA conference after whirlwind few days in San Diego which basically involved 19-hour days sandwiched between the first day (and 8-hour meeting) and the final day (a couple of short meetings before heading to the airport to fly home). Unsurprisingly, I slept most of the way home.

There were some absolute standouts of the meeting and here they are in super quick dot points. Some I’ll write about in more detail when I’ve finished hugging my family and infusing Melbourne coffee back into my exhausted body.

PR Fail

The ADA’s PR machine needs attention after the completely misjudged way they dealt with objections to their misplaced and archaic ‘photo ban’. It became the story of the first few days of the meeting and they really will need to reconsider what they do next year. (More on this another time, but here is a good summary from Medscape.)

Innovation away from the conference

While the conference is always full of late-breaking research and an exhibition hall of diabetes technology, the satellite events are often where the real innovation is at! On Friday afternoon, I went to the Diabetes Mine DData-Exchange event and was lucky to see and hear some of the latest and most innovative tech advances happening in diabetes, including lots in the DIY/#WeAreNotWaiting world.

Mostly, the room was full of those who knew what was going on in this space, so there really were only a few people who were surprised that there are many walking around with their own DIY kits, (which always makes me chuckle, especially if it’s a HCP having their mind blown by something PWD have known about and been doing for a while…)

(A bit of a watch this space from me as I am about to embark on my own build, which is slightly terrifying. The only thing giving me any confidence is that I have these two Wonder Women to call on if (when) I am completely lost!)

Wonder Women! Dana Lewis and Melissa Lee and their magical machines.

More at #Ddata17

Life for a Child

The IDF Life for a Child update, annually held at the start of the meeting, was, in equal measure, enlightening and despairing.

In this video, hear from Life for a Child Education Director, Angie Middlehurst, who recently visited the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka and met some young people benefitting from the Program.

If you would like to consider helping Life for a Child, it costs only $1 per day to provide full diabetes care for a child. That’s right, one dollar a day. If you can, please do donate.

 

With Life for a Child’s Education Director, Angie and Health Systems Reform Specialist, Emma.

 

Who has a meeting at 5.30am?

Anyone who believes these meetings are junkets would reconsider the first time they need to be dressed, coherent, communicative and respectable for a 5.30 session. That’s 5.30am. And on the Saturday morning of the conference, I found myself in a room with a lot of other people (also foolishly awake at that time), to listen to the latest in CGM studies.

Thankfully, the session was super interesting with a lot of very valuable information being shared. (I really would have been pissed if I got up and it was a waste of time…)

Dr Steven Edelman from TCOYD was, as always, enlightening and added a most important ‘personal touch’ as he shared some of his own experiences of CGM. And some brilliantly relevant sound bites to remind the audience that while they may be focused on the machines and the algorithms and the clinical outcomes, this is about people living with diabetes.

Trying to tweet everything Dr Steven Edelman was saying…

Diabetes Hands Foundation wake

The news about the closure of the Diabetes Hands Foundation, and the move of its forums to Beyond Type 1 was met with sadness, but also a lot of optimism. Innovators in the online community, DHF was the first online diabetes network I ever felt a part of. It spoke to me, but mostly, it was inclusive. That’s what happens when you have people like Manny Hernandez, and later Melissa Lee, at the helm, and a team around you of people like Mila, Corrina, Emily and Mike.

DHF founder, Manny Hernandez.

We farewelled the DHF at a wake in a bar on 5th Ave in San Diego on Saturday evening and the love and gratitude for DHF was overwhelming. Melissa asked us to recall DHF’s Word in Your Hand campaign as a tribute to Manny and DHF.

My word on my hand… We can always use more of this.

I’m honoured to have been a part of it.

Language

Oh yeah, there was a language session at #2017ADA and I have PLENTY to say about it. Maybe next week….

Sex, Insulin and Rock ‘n’ Roll

The team from Insulet threw an event on Sunday night way up in the sky, overlooking Petco Ballpark, home to the San Diego Padres, and we were presented with a panel of diabetes advocates prepared to talk about anything and everything. Brilliant in the way it was candid, unashamedly open and, possibly for some, confronting. Well done to the panel members who really were prepared to answer every question with personal insight and experience. This format really should be rolled-out as widely as possible to as many people as possible to help breakdown any embarrassment, or idea that there are taboo topics in diabetes.

Children with Diabetes

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the annual CWD-ISPAD dinner on Monday night and speak with a number of healthcare professionals working to improve the lives of children living with diabetes.

Jeff Hitchcock, founder of CWD, is a personal friend now. I guess that’s what happens after you attend a Friends for Life conference and are welcomed into the family. FFL Orlando is taking palce in three weeks and my family’s time at FFL remains one of the most overwhelming and positive experiences of my life with diabetes.

I caught up with Jeff a few times throughout the conference to speak about the organisation’s work. He gave me a CWD medallion, which is now firmly wedged in my wallet as a reminder of not only my FFL experience, but also value of Children with Diabetes.

diaTribe

I could complain about my 19-hour days, but then I think about Kelly Close from diaTribe and then feel sheepish for even suggesting that I’m working hard! On the final night of the conference, diaTribe hosted three events and I attended the later two: Musings Under the Moon and Musings After Hours.

These events bring together leaders in diabetes technology and innovation and digital health and offer an opportunity to ask questions and challenge (and be challenged!) in a far less formal situation that the official ADA conference. For me, this is where I learn the most as the speakers are prompted by hosts Kelly and Adam Browne to really reflect on where we are going in diabetes innovation. My only misgiving about these events is that there are not enough people attending. That’s not to say that the spaces were not packed to the brim – they absolutely were. But I do wonder if  perhaps it’s the people who really need to hear the realities of diabetes technology are not in the room…

MedAngel

I meet Amin from MedAngel as part of my time with the European Roche Blogger Group. Amin has created an easy-to-use sensor and app to help people with diabetes ensure insulin is kept at the right temperature. More about this another day, but in the meantime (after I’ve been using my sensor for a while), you can read about it here.

Learning all about MedAngel, with Amin.

Take aways

ADA is a very large conference. There is a lot going on, there are a lot of people around and I always leave with a lot to think about. Over the next few days…weeks…I’ll start to gain some clarity about a lot of what I saw, heard and learnt. It’s always the way after a big meeting like this one.

Someone asked me if I enjoyed the meeting and I suggested that was probably the wrong word to use. It was very worthwhile. I learnt plenty. I was able to catch up with advocates in the space who continue to push boundaries and lead the way in insisting that all work in the diabetes space is ‘person-centred’. People with diabetes are expected at this conference and seeing us as just being there – rather than having to fight for our place – inspires me to keep working better and harder.

Disclosures

I attended the ADA Scientific Sessions as part of my role at Diabetes Australia who covered my expenses, except for my first two nights’ accommodation which were covered by the International Diabetes Foundation so I could participate in meetings for the World Diabetes Congress where I am Deputy Lead for the Living with Diabetes Stream.