Mastering Diabetes at the Diabetes Research Institute, Day 1

I flew to Miami a couple of months ago from New York to take a 5 day intensive course in mastering my diabetes at the Diabetes Research Institute - a recognized world leader in cure-focused research. (Want to read more about the DRI visit www.diabetesresearch.org) Yes, I flew to Miami to do this.

Why, you ask?

1. My good pal Gary Kleiman, who I respect highly and also works at the DRI, said it would be a good idea for me to take the class, and could help me to get my blood sugars in better control.
2. In my opinion, the DRI is the #1 place for anything regarding diabetes.
3. I heard from people that participated in this program that it has changed their lives…and so I hoped it would change mine as well.

So, that was pretty much all the inspiration I needed to travel 2hrs and 20 min by plane (I hate flying, but my health was worth a plane ride to Florida!). Plus, I like learning new things about diabetes.

I flew in a day early because the class started at 8 am on a Thursday morning. My mom and sister went with me to provide some moral support – they were my “roomies.”

The next morning came really quickly. I had to take a Metrorail from the hotel, which left me right near where I had to be. I got to the DRI and was super excited to meet my classmates and also the Diabetes Center staff, which included a delightfully sweet Aussie named Kellie Rodriquez, M.S.N., C.P.T who I have been speaking to on the phone for a quite awhile but never met until the class. Also in the group, a funny Brit named Jane Sparrow-Bodenmiller, R.N., C.D.E., C.P.T., and the hilarious Cuban Nutritionist and all-around-stickler, Marta Alfonso.

These three individuals made the whole group feel completely at ease right away, which was good because I was a bit nervous and didn't really know what to expect. The first day was full of introductions about what we would be learning – about diabetes and ourselves – over the next 4 days.

There were nine people in our group, all who have lived with diabetes from 9 months to 30 years. One person came all the way from Panama for the class, which was awesome! We had a husband/wife team as well, along with a mom and son combo. The rest of the group, except for me and the girl from Panama were from the Florida area. All of us bonded pretty quickly which was amazing. I felt a direct connection with these people from the get-go. I have noticed whenever you get people with diabetes together, the D-bond is a strong glue! (Ok, maybe that was a bit corny, but, hey, I tried!)

After intros and lab work, Day 1 consisted of a brief description on what diabetes is, a food lab teaching us all on the basics of carb counting, ratios, how to read food labels, measuring food with and without cups and using the WAG method.

What the heck is the WAG method?

Answer: The Wild Ass Guess Method

I thought this was the funniest saying we learned in the 5 days. We, as people with diabetes, always use this method and I never knew it had a name. And it turns out it’s a perfect name! It can be used in so many ways, but my favorite is "I'm waggin' it" - Classic!