The number of diabetes professionals here and the size of the facilities to accommodate us is hardly all that is huge. The size of the city of Chicago also overwhelmed me. I can hardly believe how many and how high the skyscrapers are -- some higher than any in New York City. The last time I was in Chicago was in 1953, and somehow it seems different now! It is certainly a lot bigger than the place I call home, Boulder, Colorado, a town of fewer than 100,000 people. By comparison, about 3 million people live in the city of Chicago with 8 million in the metro area.

As a journalist, however, I thrive on information, and it’s hard to believe how much information I have to digest at the moment. That is what is most overwhelming to me. Researchers will present almost 400 papers in 50 oral sessions. They will present more than 2,000 papers in total. In addition, more than 1,600 posters will be up for us to study. Some of the hottest news just came out today in abstracts of late-breaking posters, which they have embargoed until Tuesday.

I know several articles will follow here. Stay tuned.