Immediately following the airing of The Oprah Show episode on Diabetes: America's Silent Killer, I received a heart-wrenching email from a worried mom of a young son with type 1; reading her words and bearing witness to how sensationalized misinformation impacts not only those of us with all types of diabetes, but the ones who love and care for us, as well, elicited quite a few emotions from me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read the email, so grateful that she reached out to me on behalf of her little boy, panicked, confused and fearful after the irresponsible way Dr. Oz & Oprah chose to feature the fate of those with diabetes--particularly the jarring segment with Lauren, the type 1 double amputee.

As a well-informed mom and advocate for her son, she realized that by Lauren and the Great Oz stating her amputations were due to eating sugar and carbs when she was younger thinking she'd "just take more insulin and that would take care of it" implies that the damage was done when she was young and caught up with her despite self-correction and management and wondered about further implications of that, knowing that that's the same thing we do now:  supply insulin in proportion to carb intake and bolusing for correction with our carb to insulin ratios. 

My heart broke for this mom imagining her little boy without limbs or hope for a future filled with all the things parents dream for their kids: happiness, health, peace-of-mind, grandkids. And while I admit my response is impassioned and a tad overwrought, I felt it important to share it with you today, in case anyone else affected by diabetes is listening. Here's my reply:

Dear Mom of T1,

Thanks for reaching out. Dr. Oz's segment with the double amputee was very misleading and unfair. The show was disappointing and did an awful job of addressing type 1 diabetes; in essence, glossing over type 1's in order to make their sensationalized point about type 2's.

I grew up with diabetes in the 80's. We followed a strict food plan of exchanges that was higher carb and lower fat and mostly wrong based on what we know now about carbs. We had lesser quality insulin and my first blood-sugar testing kit only offered  a general idea of where my sugar was based on color (color-coded--I remember a lot of 180's and 240's). And I was growing and changing all the rest of it. 

All I can say is this: Your son will be alright.

He has a mom who takes the time to write such emails and do her research and is pro-active in advocating for him. He has a pump and already knows the deal about carbs and insulin. My parents were far less engaged and we lived in the age of two shots a day no matter what. I've had t1 for 21 years--I do not take perfect care of my diabetes and high school and college saw a lot of rebellion from me in terms of wise choices--many times not choosing the best for myself. My A1C tends to hover around 7, though has been higher many times throughout the years. I only recently started using an insulin pump. I test a lot and bolus accordingly, but I do not follow a super low-carb diet. I have lived in rural India for 3 months (no running water), Taiwan for 2 years, Germany for 1.5 years and traveled to China, Europe and all over--all with diabetes.