Sunday, April 14, 2013

Unsung Heroes

Today's Prompt: Spread the Love. Thank a few of your fellow Health Activists for what they have done. Call them out by name or twitter handle. Share your love.

This is one of those "I don't wanna leave anyone out" kind of prompts, but it would be unrealistic for me to just roll out a blog roll for you when there are SO many amazing activists and writers in the DOC (Diabetes Online Community). You can go down any list of patient opinion leaders/torchbearers/etc, and for almost all of the names, I'll nod my head and say mm-hmm and oh-yeah and she's fabulous. Then I'll think of 20 or 30 more who should have been included.

But there are health activists you probably don't know who deserve a little bit of spotlight and I want to make sure they know that what they are doing truly matters.

Alison Zettle and Suzanne Hunter.

Unless you're in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex, you don't know these ladies. They are the brains and sass behind Type One Family Network - a support organization blossoming across Texas with Facebook forums, family campouts, Parents Nights Out, resources, and a very active membership. Any time of the day or night, someone is usually awake at TOFN and ready to lend a suggestion or word of support to a weary parent.

I am on the board of directors of this organization and I am so proud of the work they are doing. Alison meets with hospitals across the state to get the word out about what we offer families of young type 1s. It's exactly the kind of local support organization that my parents would have loved to have had at their disposal 20+ years ago. It's the social side that JDRF has always been lacking.

So, ladies, you inspire me with what you are doing for your sons and for so many other families and I want the online community to know more about you. Our website is still under construction and we operate mostly via Facebook at the moment, but we already cater to hundreds of families across north Texas and are growing daily.
If you are interested in learning more about TOFN as a parent or caregiver of a child with diabetes in Texas, please send an email to: info@typeonefamilynetwork.org.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like an awesome group! Thanks for letting us know about them.

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