Athlete T1D Panel 2016: When an idea became a reality

Sometimes the best ideas come to us when we are dashing from one place to the next. Recently, Hot Hubs was driving me to the airport when he had this crazy idea he shared with me. It went something like this:

“Hey, Mere, I have this crazy idea…..what if we pulled together some type one diabetic athletes who have overcome many odds, and had a coffee chat of sorts?” 

After a few moments of chatting back and forth about how we would put something like this together, and where we would host this and so forth, it came to me! A few phone calls later, and some brain storming, the first ever T1D Panel was formed!

What is a T1D panel you ask? What if you could reach many to encourage and inspire? What if you had a panel of four incredible athletes of different ages, a leading endocrinologist, and a leading scientist all together on one platform, to impart wisdom, knowledge and share in how the diabetic athletes  have overcome many obstacles to reach their dreams? What if it was set up so that it was moderated by a local television news reporter? Put all of those things together in a room on a stage, and you get the T1D Panel.

The athletes sitting on the panel all have incredible stories and testimonies on how they have overcome many obstacles to reach their dreams and goals all the while balancing type one diabetes. I refer to our life like this:

“We are living on a balance beam. Luke is always on that balance beam, balancing his diabetes, trying to keep from going too far to the right and too far to the left.  The goal is to stay in the middle.” 

For most everyone, making the choice to get out of bed in the morning, dress yourself for a morning run, and head out the door, it’s really that simple. But for a diabetic athlete, it’s not that simple. Everything a diabetic athlete does rises and falls on where their blood sugar levels are at that time. Planning for a race, a competition, a game, really anything, it has to be well thought out. Depending on where ones sugar levels are, that has to be tweaked. There is so much to do in preparing for athletic activities like this, and the four panelists that have been chosen to speak, all have overcome many hurdles in their quest for the finish line!

Wether you’re a runner, triathlete, mountain climber, basketball player, football player, dancer, snow boarder, etc. and you’re living with diabetes, I want you to know that you can do ALL things, whatever it is! I cannot tell you how many stories we have heard over the last 18 months where other T1D families have asked

“How does Luke do what he does?”  or “Wow, I wish my child could do things like they used to before their diagnosis.” 

The T1D Panel was formed to inspire, encourage and impart a wealth of knowledge about how these athletes have overcome their challenges. The most exciting part about the panel is the wide range of athletes and their ages. Paul Finelli, with Florida Hospital, along with the American Diabetes Association Central Florida, have done an outstanding job of putting our idea into reality. We are hoping the event will be available for live streaming, and we are also hoping it will be recorded so we can share it later.

Here’s the exciting part. The T1D Panel Team:

Chris Clark, UltraMan Triathlete

Lauren Adams, Boston Marathoner

Luke Rosser, USA Triathlon Age Group National Champion

Ralph Hopkins, Athlete & US Attorney General

Will Cross, Mountain Climber

Moderator: Sonni Abatta 

As soon as I get a link for live streaming, I will share it here! The panel is set to take place on Sunday, October 23rd @ 4:00 pm.

“Be active and make healthy choices. Never stop giving up on your dreams and keep reaching for the stars.”  – Luke Rosser

Take 5

Take 5…. Seriously…. when you are grocery shopping take 5 minutes or less to read the labels of ingredients on the item(s) you are purchasing. I realize not everyone is going to be freakish as I am about organic, but I recently stumbled upon some new information I want to pass along. Since I pretty much have my “list” of frequently purchased items down to fine science, I don’t have to read every label, every-time.  BUT…. and you knew there was a BUT coming, I recently had to purchase sour cream, and was shocked at what I saw on the label. I won’t mention the brand, however I will say it was a brand of a very well-known grocery store chain. Sour cream should pretty much be milk & cream, and not a whole lot of other additives. The generic grocery store brand of sour cream had a list, several lines long, of not just added ingredients but chemicals as well. I was speechless to say the least. My local super market doesn’t carry “organic sour cream” so I was forced at this time to buy the regular version. *Insert  “Would you like some CHEESE with your whine”? * Here is what I found out.

Just so you don’t think I’m rambling just to hear myself ramble, the proof is in the pudding! Here is a snapshot of the carton of  Daisy Sour Cream:

Notice the ingredients are simply “Cultured Cream, Skim Milk, and Vitamin A Palminate”.

And here are the ingredients of the generic store brand sour cream:

 Cultured Cream, contains less than 1% of: Whey Protein Concentrate, Food Starch-Modified, Sodium Phosphate, Maltodextrin, Cultured Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Gellan Gum, carrageenan, Guar Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Sorbate (to preserve freshness).

WOW, shocking huh? I don’t have a snapshot of the generic brand, but I also didn’t want to throw them under the bus either, so you’ll have to trust me on this. Do the research and READ YOUR LABELS! It’s always better to buy organic, however if you cannot than at the very least, read the labels. I would rather put natural, real food into my body instead of added junk that are not necessary.

This was just an example of many. I have stumbled across other products like this one many times. I was only going to save .30 cents if I bought the generic store brand, which is not a huge savings. I am saving more money by buying better products, less chemicals and additives in the long run as my health is a stake. I feel we all need to be made  more aware of what’s going into our bodies than not. I am thrifty, but not at the expense of my long-term health.

Just some food for thought!