Expo

 This post is by Stacey – read her bio here!

 You may or may not have heard that some of the ACT1 ladies were at the ADA Diabetes Expo that took place at the Jacob Javitz Center in NYC this past Saturday.  This is an event that the ADA holds annually, all over the country to promote education and resources for PWD (people with diabetes).  I felt it was an honor to have a table there and I’m sure the other girls would agree.  There was a huge turnout even though it pretty much petered out around 2:30 instead of 4:00.  There were representatives from companies like Sanofi Aventis, the ADA itself, Animas, OmniPod, Lilly, WaveSense, Emblem Health, Abbott, Divabetic, etc.

Katie, Venus and myself were the available members of ACT1 representing our group.  We had on our table ACT1 business cards, ACT1 pamphlets, support pamphlets and a flyer detailing the different types of diabetes, the importance of seeing an endocrinologist for proper care, the tests used to diagnose diabetes and the management of the different types.  We had many people come and see “Type 1” on our banner and walk away muttering “oh I’m type 2”.  But we did educate some on the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 and how Type 1 is not “the end of the world” or “a disaster” as remarked by some.  We reached out to a few adults with Type 1 and I know I felt a huge sense of accomplishment for that.  I taught one woman a little bit about the pump and was very glad I could offer some insight as a person who uses one.  I had the opportunity to walk around and check out the other booths to see what they had going on.  It seemed as if there were many more large booths this year occupied by big companies.  Abbott was giving away free Freestyle meters but of course I got there too late and there were none left.  However, I did get my hands on free meters from WaveSense, a new company “employing Dynamic Electrochemistry to provide more accurate glucose readings” (per their website).  I especially liked their Jazz meter since if you have a reading within a specified target range; it gives a smiley face with the reading!  I also had the honor of meeting Charlie Kimball … he is a professional race car driver and fellow Type 1.  I was intrigued by how he handles his BG during races and he was great to talk to.  A twitterbetic even stopped by and it was nice to see @kahoffman in real life :) 

Overall it was a great day and I had a fantastic time being involved in an event to raise awareness about both diabetes in general and the void in resources for adults coping with Type 1.  There’s an astounding sense of camaraderie when you to come together with Type 1 cohorts.

Below are pictures from the Expo with part of the ACT1 family