As of lately, there have been a number of topics that I have either heard other bloggers writing about or have come across things that have triggered thoughts and questions. I think one of the biggest topics that have been rattling around this brain is friends (or lack there of) within the Diabetes community. It is funny that I chose this topic to blog about because it seems that others within the community are on the same page (or at least reading the same book.) Now, I must preface this with something. I am not talking about all my friends and acquaintances on the net, I am talking about a live body that you can see, touch and just hang with.

I have been in Kansas now for almost 5 years now and I have a very select group of friends that I get together with now and again shoot the s*&t with. While this is all good, there is another part of my life that is very lacking in this department. I am sure you know what I am talking about: friends with Diabetes. In my 30 years of living in California (prior to moving to Kansas), I have / had a large group of friends but I was never very active or focused on my Diabetes. Because of that, I never bothered to pay attention to what was going on in the Diabetes community. Now, since moving to Kansas and meeting my wife, I have taken a very active role in my Diabetes. Because of this, I realize how much I missed out on while living in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is such a mecca of Diabetes activity. Conferences, conventions focus groups and most of all, people just getting together with others who are dealing with Diabetes like I am. Up to this point, Kansas feels very void of this kind of interaction and people (or at least they keep to themselves.)

I think what gets to me the most is the seeming lack of involvement of the Diabetes population in this area. Granted, there is the ADA in the area and I see for the upcoming walk, that there are individuals out there who do care, it just seems that no one is willing to take the initiative to stir things up and get people meeting, talking and just generally aware that there are many of us out there that are dealing with the same day to day issues that they are.

I guess I am just tired of seeing and hearing about all these great focus group, meeting, conferences and just people with Diabetes, getting together to talk and hang out, regardless of whether they talk about their Diabetes or not. You have these amazing individuals such as Amy Tenderich , Many Hernandez, Allison Blass Gina Capone, Kerri Marrone Sparling, Mollie Singer and Bernard Farrell (just to name a few) in theri area who really make an effort and bring out the best in us Diabetics. Something in them just pulls others with Diabetes to them and bring a focus and awareness to the community to bring them together. Every time I hear about a conference, a meeting, a focus group or just a get together between Diabetics, it give me great pleasure to know that people are not letting the disease control their life; They are making it a part of theirs. At the same time, it makes me a sad, upset and a little bit lonely because I don’t feel that same type of community here. In the back of my mind, it makes me wish, just a little, that I was back living in the Bay Area again.

Now, I am not the type of person that the people I mentioned previously are. They seem to have a calling for this and I commend them for it. I am just another person, who is living with Diabetes and wants to see a sense of ownership of this disease by my community. I know that they are out there. Unfortunately I just don’t feel that there is the desire to make something happen. This is why I feel that I need to do something to at least bring Diabetics  in this community together.

I have seriously thought about trying to start my own focus group and hopefully lite a fire under the ass of the Diabetic community to get together and share their likes, dislikes, experiences and friendships. Like I said before, I am not the type to be the leader of a march or the planner of an event but I am just getting tired of not seeing enough bonding between the community of Diabetics. I feel like I will just end up sitting in the background and watch everything go by if I don’t change something. So, as much as I feel out of my element doing so, I am going to see about trying to get a focus group or some kind og gathering / event. Nothing extravagant, just something so that people can get together, shoot the breeze and talk about things that other people, people who don’t have to live with Diabetes can’t understand. I figure the best way for me to do this is to make an effort to meet as many people at the Walk at the end of this month as possible. See if I can get some interest and hopefully begin to bring the Diabetic community in the Kansas City area out of hibernation.

Now after reading this post back, this was kind of a downer post. I didn’t intend it to be. I guess this was just kind of festering and needing to be brought to the surface. If any of you out there have any suggestions, I am all ears.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Diabetes, Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.