Saturday, December 3, 2011

My D-Brother

Any time we PWD get the chance to make in-real-life connections with those we know and love from online, there is cause for celebration.

So I was giddy when I found out that my friend Bradford was coming to Dallas for the White Rock Marathon weekend events on behalf of Team Type 1.

Bradford is like my online brother. We're both admins on TuDiabetes. We use the same insulin, the same pump, and we used the same CGMS until we both switched to a different CGMS. We even both got the new iPhone together (sadly, insurance doesn't consider that durable medical equipment). When one of us comments in a discussion thread on TuDiabetes, the other usually comes in with a vote of support to back up whatever suggestion or theory the first has made.

The similarities pretty much stop there though.

I'm in awe of the way he manages his health so that he can participate in the athletic events he does. The man just ran a 5K this weekend in under 20 minutes.

To put that in perspective, at the rate I'm waddling lately, it takes me 20 minutes to walk up and down my street.

I have always had trouble motivating myself to be more active. I've used diabetes (low blood sugars, in particular) as an excuse as to why I am not more athletic. But when I hear Bradford talking about half Ironmans and bicycling, I realize that I let my fears about blood sugar management get in the way of having a healthier active lifestyle for far too long and that plenty of people are out there doing impressive physical feats. It can be done. And I should figure out what works for me. That's part of Team Type 1's message.

I stumbled all over myself, like a hyper teenaged sister, to actually get to sit down to dinner and chat it up with Bradford and his teammate, but I'm so glad to have made the connection. To have one more online relationship with more than just a profile image and hundreds of typed words to its credit.

So thanks for meeting up with my family and me, Bradford. We loved getting to meet you. And, though I'm sure it was never your intention, we were all inspired by you and your teammate to try to be more active.

Especially the 22-month-old. I mean, she has been running around the house full speed ever since. I'm just sure it's your fault.

2 comments:

  1. AWESOME!!! I'm mostly happy that you met, but also a little bit jealous :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay! Now I feel like a major loser for having my Bradford meet post still in draft form! Must get on that! So glad you guys got to meet! Yay!

    ReplyDelete