Victor Garber has Type 1 Diabetes and a new show on the CW

Legends of Tomorrow, Titanic, The Flash, Alais, Legally Blond, Godspell; the man's IMDB page is a mile long!

Victor Garber stopped by the Juicebox Podcast to talk about his life with type 1 diabetes, his new show on The CW (a spinoff of The Flash called 'Legends of Tomorrow') and a diabetes charity that he supports called 'Beyond Type 1'.

You can listen now with the inline player above, on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app - search for Juicebox Podcast. Please don't forget to subscribe!

Set your DVRs ~ Don't miss Victor on the series premier of 'Legends of Tomorrow', January 21st on The CW.

Its not often that someone is this willing to speak so open and honestly about their life with diabetes. I'm genuinely grateful for Victor's willingness to be transparent about his journey with type 1. It doesn't matter if you are a person living with the disease or someone just hoping to hear about his work on Legends... Victor Garber's kindness and desire for people to learn from his life overflow in this episode - I think you'll love hearing what he had to say, I certainly loved speaking with him!

"Whatever happens, I'll just make it work... because that's what i do." - Victor Garber

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Show Notes

Learn more about the OmniPod tubeless insulin pump. When you try a free demo pump you are supporting the Juicebox Podcast. Thank you!

Victor is on Instagram

Take a moment to learn more about BeyondType1.org, check out their website.

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes today!

Listen to the Juicebox Podcast online

Watch the trailer featuring Victor as one half of Firestorm!

Dexcom CGM on American Idol (Video)

Dexcom CGM citing on American Idol!

Not sure how many folks are still hanging with American Idol in what feels like it's 900th season but if you were watching last night - you would have seen the Dexcom CGM make an appearance.

A musician named Adam Lasher was asked, "Is that your phone" when judge Keith Urban notices something clipped to his guitar strap, Adam responded by saying, "no I'm diabetic... it's my robotic pancreas you could say". It seemed to me that Adam was trying to explain what his CGM was without going into a long description when he called it a 'robotic pancreas' but then he does a very good job of describing what his CGM does, though he never calls it by name. The judges go on to say that Robotic Pancreas would make a great band name.

After the chatting is finished Adam plays an original song. Oh and by the way... he's Carlos Santana's nephew. Enough of my describing something that you can just watch, get clicking and see for yourself. Spoilers, Adam makes it to the next round so maybe we'll be seeing more of his Dexcom CGM on television again. 

Don't miss my new podcast interview with Adam!

Facebook was abuzz with parents talking about how great it was for their kids to see someone on TV using the diabetes tech that they do, I wonder if Adam knows how many children and parents he made happy tonight by not hiding his Dex? Thanks Adam!

Adam Lasher - Audition - American Idol 2015

Pretty cool seeing the Dex on American Idol, can't wait to show Arden!

Adam Lasher is on Twitter @AdamLasher.

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A1c Countdown: It's Endo Time

Endo time...

Only 24 hours before the American Diabetes Association announced their new A1c guidelines for children 19 years old and under, Arden was in her Endocrinologist office for her quarterly appointment. We missed her previously scheduled appointment in April because of an illness. At that time the Doc told us, "Arden's A1cs have been good for the last year and a half... let's just get back together in June". 

Skipping a quarterly appointment made me feel strange but the three months seemed to fly by and before I could wonder what happened to the time, it was June and I was signing Arden out of school just like we have every three months for the past 8 years. It was Endo time. I found myself thinking about those numbers as I drove to the office.

"Diagnosed in August of 2006... first Endo appointment was in early September..."

Then I counted off the months. "October, November, December... December of 2006 was her second visit. Then four in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 - we just skipped April of 2014, so this is maybe, Arden's 32nd visit to her Endocrinologist. 

This thought made my heart heavy until I remembered my recent trip to the Dominican Republic, and I was quickly reminded that there is an entire planet full of people living with diabetes and most of them can only wish that they were able to visit a doctor. I adjusted my thinking and instead of the number 32 feeling like an albatross, it started to feel like a life preserver.

I walked into Arden's 32nd Endo appointment with a fresh set of eyes. Arden however, was not in the same mindset - she was preoccupied, unusually nervous and she seemed just a bit unsettled. When I asked her why she said, "I think I get a blood draw today... I really don't want to do that". A few minutes after we got into the waiting room a nurse called our name and we were off. These visits have their own pattern. Height, weight, blood pressure and other vitals happen in a room thats no bigger than a walk in closet, then we head down the hall for a hemoglobin A1c test and blood draw when necessary. The nurse started with Arden's A1c, loaded the sample into the machine and then ushered us to an exam room, "No orders for a blood draw in the computer", she said. Arden was relieved but confused, "I always get a blood test in the summer", she told me as the nurse left the exam room. Then she smiled as if she had gotten away with something big. About a month ago Arden experienced serious and sudden needle anxiety while at a dentist appointment, this was new for her, and I never imagined that it would translate to her Endo appointments because while she doesn't enjoy the blood draws, she has never resisted them or been afraid.

After the nurse left the exam room we chatted about softball for a minute (Arden's 9 year old All Star team had just won their tournament the day before) and then I snuck back to the phlebotomists room to get an early peek at her A1c result.

Arden's A1c has been steadily improving for the past two years but this was our first experience with skipping a quarterly appointment and I was irrationally concerned that would mean an increase from Arden's last result of 6.7. When I arrived in the room, it was empty and there was about one minute left in the process... just enough time to get my phone out of my pocket. 

Watch the ten second video before you read on - trust me.

My heart did a backflip when "6.2" appeared on the screen, a back flip. In July of 2009 Arden's A1c went from 8.5 to 8 when we switched from shots to the OmniPod insulin pump. In October of 2012 I blogged about the factors that I believed helped get us to her new best of 7.5. I remember just hoping for 7.4 in June of 2013 when Arden's A1c made a serious leap to 6.5. We stayed steady for some time around 6.7, and to be honest, staying steady felt like a bigger accomplishment than achieving a decrease. The decreases come as you make adjustments but who knows if they are anomalous... steady is, well, steady... it's balance, it's relief. I love steady!

That said, I'd be lying if I told you that 6.2 didn't make me wonder what a number that began with five would feel like... 

Oh, and we did need to get blood drawn on this day, but that's a whole other story...

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Arden does not experience significant or frequent lows. Achieving a desirable A1c under those conditions is not healthy nor an indication of health. Steady is much better than fluctuations that "trick" you into feeling good at A1c time. Please remember to read my discloser, it will remind you that I have no medical training and this site is not meant to replace your doctor because my words are not meant to be advice. Arden's Day is just a blog.

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Why can't we use it?

Can you share this video? Help seniors ask Medicare to stop taking their CGMs away when they reach the age of sixty-five. 

Very moving to hear these folks talk about living life with and without the device. 

Arden's Day has been redesigned!

Over the past few months I've been feeling like Arden's Day was looking a little dated... so I changed things up.

For the most part everything is the same, all of the content, pages and links remain (Except for one, I'll talk about that in a second), they are just organized and look a little different.

Now when you log onto ArdensDay.com you will be taken to a home page instead of directly to the blog. I've freshened some of the images, choose some new design elements and generally brought the blog up to today's standards for interactive community blogging. For example, you are now able to 'Like' blog post and user comments - give it a try!

At the present time, this new platform does not support a bulletin board. For that reason the 'Ask Me Anything' portion of the site could not be migrated, I'm hoping that this feature will return soon. Until then, feel free to ask question in blog comments or by using the "Contact" link located at the bottom of each page. Have fun!

Below is a quick video that walks you through some of the changes, I hope you love them!

Arden's Day has a new look! 12-19-13

There is also a new app on the Arden's Day Facebook page that allows you to browse Arden's Day from Facebook. Fancy! You can check it out and follow at this link.