HealthCentral is thrilled to welcome Kerri Morrone Sparling, diabetes patient advocate and blogger at SixUntilMe.com, to its team of health experts! Kerri, who has been blogging about her diabetes since 2005, will write about her life with type 1 on HealthCentral’s MyDiabetesCentral.com. An expert in social media and its patient influence, Kerri is a frequent speaker at Health 2.0 and new media conferences, and will be bringing diabetes lifestyle advice (and her great personality and humor!) to MyDiabetesCentral.com. For more on Kerri, check out the interview below and her biography.
At what age were you diagnosed?
Just before second grade in 1986. I was seven years old.
What’s your first memory of diabetes?
My first memory is of being in the hospital just after my diagnosis. For some reason, the doctors came in at 1 in the morning to draw blood while I was sleeping, mostly because I had such a fear of needles. I clearly remember waking up and having that band around my arm, and the nurse looming with a needle. I don’t know what made them think that their midnight vampirism would cure that fear … 
How did you learn to manage your diabetes? Who taught you?
My mother was my primary diabetes caregiver, but both of my parents were active in my care. I learned to manage my diabetes from my mother’s guidance, and also from my peer-to-peer experiences at the Clara Barton Camp in Massachusetts, where ever camper had type 1 diabetes, just like me!
Do you have many diabetic friends?
Before I started blogging, I didn’t know any other people with diabetes except for a boy I met through the Joslin Clinic. But now, after four and a half years of blogging at SixUntilMe.com, I know hundreds of people who are living with diabetes, and I have many close friends who are also diabetic. The diabetes community is tremendously supportive!
How does writing about diabetes help you manage it?
Writing about diabetes helps me manage the emotional side of my disease, and that’s a huge part of life with diabetes. Blogging is like free therapy, only I’m speaking to hundreds of other people who know exactly where I’m coming from, so it’s also like a free support group. The camaraderie and friendship I’ve found in the diabetes community is priceless, and I feel lucky to have them as part of my support network.
What’s your favorite food?
I love fresh fruit. Kiwis, blackberries, and raspberries top my list!
A huge welcome from HealthCentral, Kerri!!!
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