Diabetics Doing One Drop with Mary Adams

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Whoa! New intro, who dis? Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast, where we're telling the amazing, untold, wacky, weird, and inspiring stories of type 1 diabetics from across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and I wanted to let you know that we now have over 500 years of living with T1D on the podcast, and we're on track to be over 1,000 by the end of the summer, which is pretty exciting. I also wanted to chat about my new email series, Friday T1D Feels, where I send you a personal note, no fancy graphics or anything like that, about what I've been thinking about in the world of type 1 diabetes during that week. If you're into that, just go to diabeticsdoingthings.com and sign up. I'd also like to take a minute to talk about hashtag coverage to control. JDRF is raising awareness around the fact that most of us don't get to pick the insulin pumps we have, just the ones our insurance will cover. Just imagine if your cell phone was like that. Except this isn't a phone, it's what keeps us alive. So let your voice be heard and tell your insurance company that T1Ds and their doctors should decide what kind of pumps they use, not the companies. I'm looking at you, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let's get this right. Okay, enough chatter. Let's get back to the episode. hello and welcome back to another episode of diabetics doing things we are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all across the world and today my very special guest is mary adams mary welcome to the show i'm so excited to have you thanks rob i'm so pumped to be here uh it's great this is our first uh voice conversation but we've been chatting back and forth via email for a while so uh good to finally i guess this is as close as we can get to meeting each other without being in the same area.

[00:01:48] Mary Adams: Yep. For now. For now, this will do.

[00:01:51] Rob Howe: That's right. So, Mary, why don't you tell everyone and give them a little bit of insight as to how you ended up on diabetics doing things, starting, I guess, with diagnosis?

[00:02:03] Mary Adams: Well, I have been diabetic for a little over 20 years now. I just celebrated my 20th anniversary this past March. I was diagnosed in 97. It was either shortly before or after my third grade spring break. So things are a little hazy. But I remember being super, super tired all the time. I had to go to the bathroom all the time to the point that my teachers my third grade teachers had to call up my parents and tell them that they thought I was skipping class because I was asking to go to the bathroom so much isn't that a classic teacher response right Exactly. My parents were like, what? She's in third grade. That's crazy. And I could not get enough water. Oh my God. I was such a fish. And I would just gulp it down. I was spilling it all over myself because I couldn't get enough. um and i remember i remember one night where i wet the bed as a third grader i was way past that point and so my parents were like okay something's something's up um and my mom's a pharmacist and so she she knows about diabetes um she didn't at the time she didn't know everything that she does now, but I mean, she knew the symptoms to a degree. And one of her colleagues, her son had type 1. And she was like, you know what, let's get together. I want you to check my daughter's blood sugar. So we met in a McDonald's parking lot, very apropos, and checked my blood sugar there. It read that, that high, that HI on the screen. And we were like, okay, we're going to the emergency room um hopped in the car sped to the er and i think upon diagnosis i was 8 42

[00:04:22] Rob Howe: oh wow yeah and i want to touch on a little bit i'm sorry for cutting you off i want to touch a little bit on like the like the blood sugar glucose meter of like high i remember the first time i got one of those like i had to look it up and fortunately like i had my little like manual somewhere in my diabetes kit for whatever reason. Either that or I called my parents and had them look it up because it was like 2005, so there was no mobile internet. And it was like, yeah, like your blood sugar is over 500. And it's like, that's the only information it gives you. So it's like, how helpful is this?

[00:05:00] Mary Adams: It's like, okay, so what does that mean? Something probably not good. Yeah, yeah. All those meters was kind of like, okay, well, I don't know what this means, but I think it's not good. I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing. And I remember whenever I took my blood sugar and saw that, I'd be like, Mom, I'm HI. Because for the longest time I didn't understand that that was an abbreviation for high blood sugar. So I was just like, Mom, HI. But, yeah, that was a struggle. That was a struggle, trying to understand that. So I think in that instance I was probably – I think we determined in the McDonald's parking lot that I was around 600. And then once we got to the ER and they told us, then it was kind of like, oh, well, maybe she was more like 800. But, yeah, that's where it all began. It was all uphill from there. I remember my parents being kind of like, what in the world? What has happened? My mom was pretty upset, as I think any parent would be, I would be. And my dad, I just remember being like, okay, we're doing this. Let's get started. He just grabbed the bull by the horns, and that was that. And I think that night we all started practicing injections and we were just shoving all the needles in the oranges and doing it over and over and over again. And in a couple of minutes we were ready to go. And that's the diagnosis story.

[00:06:49] Rob Howe: So, I mean, I think I have a new favorite saying now is like all great diagnosis stories start in McDonald's parking lots.

[00:06:57] Mary Adams: Yes, yes. It's a good one.

[00:07:00] Rob Howe: You mentioned a couple of things in there that I want to touch on. Number one, I think a common thing for people to ask T1Bs who were diagnosed at a young age or even in their teens or around the time, eight years old, like you said, nine years old, third grade, talking about, like, do you remember life before type 1, life before diabetes? And it's just like, yeah, let me go back to all those amazing third grade memories that I have stored in here. Right. So for you, I mean, obviously, you know, the things that stand out are, you know, the teacher, you know, thinking that you're calling your parents and thinking that you were skipping class in the bathroom and things of that nature. But for you, what do you remember, as you said, like your parents were upset and were dealing with all those different emotions that type 1 parents go through? What do you remember about your life changing?

[00:07:57] Mary Adams: I remember my parents, and if they ever hear this, they will kill me, but they know it's true. My parents were always on my case. After that, it was like, what's your blood sugar? What's your blood sugar? Have you checked it? What's your blood sugar? At the time, I was so annoyed. But looking back, they were setting the stone for best practices and managing my diabetes. My parents were the ones who got the ball rolling with that. They listened to every word that came out of the doctor's mouth. And the doctor was like, check before meals, check after meals, check before snacks, check after snacks, check whenever. They were the ones that got up every single night at 2 a.m., at 4 a.m. and we're checking my blood sugar. I remember doing all the sticks every single night, and sometimes my dad would stick my toes so he didn't have to wake me up. I mean, it definitely changed a lot. But I think you're exactly right. I honestly can't remember life without it. But those seven years before, I mean, that was a whole different world. And I can't really remember not ever having diabetes.

[00:09:26] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think, well, because it doesn't go away, right, for now anyway, Okay. That's sort of, I think, the view that people take is like, well, I have to accept that this is part of my life now. So it's hard to sort of think back to those days where you didn't worry about it. also the needs that you had when you were seven, eight years old were very different than, you know, as a young adult or even, you know, as an adult. So I think it's an interesting sort of dichotomy because something that I've talked about, something that I've talked about, I think a lot more recently with other type ones is that, you know, there's a lot of support around around juvenile diabetics for for lack of a better word so young diabetics under the age of 18 and I think that's appropriate because there's a ton of there's a lot more needs there's a lot more stakeholders parents friends teachers things of that nature but then once you kind of get on with your life from there it's not as many resources it's not as big of a topic and yeah so I think you know living in and not and not thinking back to that life before diabetes which is trying to be present is a big part of that.

[00:10:46] Mary Adams: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And it's also, it's one of those things where it's like, well, I mean, it'd be nice just to have a day, right, and have diabetes and maybe sit and reflect on what life might be like without diabetes. But honestly, like, who has the time? And like I said, I mean, that's seven years of my life out of my now 27 years of life. And that's just such a short time that it's not something that I would really think to ponder that much. I mean, granted, I do not have the world's best memory. So that probably plays a role. But, I mean, it's very true. I just don't remember life without it. I do remember it. I remember things changing for my parents. I remember them sitting down and telling my family, my little sisters, what was going on. And my little sisters were too young to understand. But, I mean, things did change. Things changed very rapidly. But, I mean, once we got a hang of things, and, I mean, great, you know, these things change all the time. But once we got the hang of it to a degree, it started to become life. It was just a part of me, a part of who I was and now who I am.

[00:12:21] Rob Howe: And I think that's really strong, right? It becomes a part of who you are. It isn't all of who you are, but just as a part of it.

[00:12:30] Mary Adams: Yeah, totally.

[00:12:32] Rob Howe: But then also, I think, you know, what were those conversations you were having, like, internally or like with yourself as, you know, you were making those decisions? Like, hey, how did it change your outlook at all? Did you feel like you could still, you know, all whatever dreams that you have for your life at eight, seven, eight, nine years old, you know, being an astronaut or a movie star or whatever, did all those seem still attainable for you?

[00:12:59] Mary Adams: Totally. 100%. And I think that was going back to what you said about that support system for kids who are diagnosed. That was huge because it wasn't just my parents who were telling me that. I think every parent wants to tell their child, you know, you can do whatever you want, regardless of the stumbling blocks that are in your way, regardless of the walls you may hit. Any parent wants to tell their kid they can do whatever they set their mind to. But we also had this amazing support system of doctors and nurses, CDEs, family friends who were just kind of like, oh, you're fine. You're totally fine. You got this. And having that way of thinking, I think that totally changed my outlook. I know that I could have, you know, I could have been told otherwise by my doctor. You know, you can't have this. You can't do this. You can't go play sports. You know, you can't do all this stuff. But instead, it was like, no, you're fine. Live your life. Do your thing. Just know this is what's going to happen if you eat that birthday cake. No, this is what's going to happen if you go play soccer for three hours. So it was more of, you know, here are your tools. Here is what you need to know. Here are the facts. You do what you need to do to get everything in check, to get everything in order. And then the rest is up to you. The rest is all you. You can still be an actress. You can still go to the moon. You can do whatever you want. And I really do. I thank my parents. I thank my doctor at the time for kind of putting us on that track and not putting up those walls, not putting up those barriers.

[00:15:06] Rob Howe: Well, I think it's so important. And I think a ton of that stems from, yes, your parents, obviously. And like you said, almost every parent wants their child to live their dream and do whatever they want to do with their life. but also like the doctors are a big part of that I know for me again I talked to a lot of people so I'm I maybe um you know just the repetition of people saying it uh in interviews like there's a lot of negative diagnosis experience I know for me it was yeah it was very positive all my doctors were you know telling me you know very like reassuring my endo my uh my pediatric endocrinologist was amazing I still am friends with him on Facebook and and they that set the foundation and i think that so many people so many people don't have that um for one reason or another either a negative diagnosis experience or a um or either that or they just don't have a great relationship with their endocrinologist or they live in a small town or there's no other type ones around them so they sort of have this skewed view of everything and i think you know if it's just so important right to to develop those relationships and And I think for somebody who maybe is looking for an endo or feels like they don't have that, what would you tell them? How would you tell them to sort of get more involved and to change that sort of message?

[00:16:29] Mary Adams: Ah, go to camp. Go to diabetes camp. It's the best thing ever. That was a whole other support system that I found out about. I think it was probably two years after my diagnosis. this. And, and I actually, I did not, I knew one other person who had type 1 diabetes growing up. Um, and she, I think if I, okay, if I was diagnosed in third grade, she must've been like in 11th grade or maybe 10th grade, something like that. So she was much older than me at the time. Um, she was on a different campus at school, so we weren't interacting at all. Um, so I really, I didn't know anybody I didn't know anybody who had type 1 so it wasn't like something where I could sit down and exchange thoughts or ideas or experiences with anybody until I went to Camp Seale Harris and that was my diabetes camp um that I went to I think maybe I think I went there for like eight years eight summers something like that um and that was that was the end all be all of diabetes for me. It was the greatest thing ever. Everybody there on staff had diabetes. The doctors there, some of them had diabetes. The nurses, they had it or were affected by it in some capacity. I mean, it was just everywhere. And to me, that was the coolest thing in the world because everyone at school, everyone in my hometown knew that I had diabetes. It was very open we talked about it all the time but I couldn't actually share experiences with anyone else so being able to be surrounded by other people um and sharing our stories sitting down in circles and testing our blood sugars and taking shots before we would go to dinner like that was just the coolest thing in the world to me made all the difference well and I think you're not alone

[00:18:33] Rob Howe: right? I think that especially when you're younger, and I was diagnosed when I was 16. So I was too cool to go to diabetes camp. Why would I ever want to do that? I'm so cool. And I know everything. So but I think like that, that sense of community for some people, like, and that's what I love about social media today, like in 2016, 2017, like has evolved so much to be a like diabetes camp on your phone because there's so many people willing to share and there's so many people that are telling their stories and like just talking to each other. So someone who, you know, lived in a small town or maybe only knew one other type 1 or no other type ones can go on there and have that type of experience because community is everything. Like once you, because if you allow yourself to be on an island and like processing, processing those things alone, like these can seem like big uphill challenges, like you said earlier, but um all when there's like a sense of community a sense of other people um I think it becomes much more much easier to just uh go through it I mean I I don't know it's like it's still one day at a time but when you know that there's other people out there that support you and are going through the same things it's just so much more empowering so I love that about diabetes camp and I still you know I now now I go and I talk to kids and I'm like yeah if you're feeling down like you you should go to diabetes camp because there's other, you can meet people that, and I've talked to people on the podcast that are still friends 25 years later with the friends they met at diabetes

[00:20:07] Mary Adams: camp. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, it's just, for me, it was the greatest thing in the world. I, for kids who are newly diagnosed, I mean, they got to go, they got to do it. It's just the greatest thing. But you're right, social media, that has been the coolest thing. I have recently started seeing all the goings on in the online community. And it's just, it's amazing. And so like, I wonder, I wonder, like, you know, what if what if that had been around when I was diagnosed at seven years old? Like, what would that be like as a seven year old when you're when you have diabetes no one else around you does like can you just jump online can you jump on the family computer and just type some stuff in like who would you find what would you find out I think that's probably I mean granted I'm sure you have to have you know all the bright parental flags up and everything like that but how cool would that be for a young diagnosed kid to hop online and find out all this information and realize that he or she is not the only one living with this that it's so like it can be managed um it can be dealt with you're not alone um so i think that to me is the coolest and greatest resource out there um right at your

[00:21:34] Rob Howe: fingertips and and i think that's like that's such a huge message right uh that you can go through it that you can make it and that there are other people um out there that are like currently doing that I think that's like the most fun thing for me about talking to other type ones um what were those things that you as a as you grew up and you you know kind of were going through those difficult decisions as a teen where like where are you going to go to college what you're going to do with your life what do you want what do you like what were those things that you were pushing for um above

[00:22:08] Mary Adams: and beyond your type 1? I think the, maybe the biggest hurdle, the first biggest hurdle, um, would be cheerleading. So that, that was my quote unquote sport. Um, I'm, I'm quite short and I'm not the most athletic so after trying soccer after trying volleyball after trying basketball and failing miserably at all of them I was like okay maybe I could be a cheerleader um so I decided to take that up randomly and I tried out for the team got on the team and then I was like okay what do I do now and what am I supposed to do with all my diabetes stuff because we would have to we had to go cheer on the sidelines at football games and I remember thinking well I didn't plan this out very well because I don't know what I'm supposed to do now I don't know like how do I check my blood sugar out on the out on the football field and where do I even put my stuff um so that was probably well from what I can remember um hurdle number one and that was absolutely nothing it was so easy i mean i just was like okay well i'm gonna take my meter and my sugar tabs um my extra pump site uh anything else i might need out there with me and i just threw it into a gym bag and then whenever i needed to take a break which was probably every 20 minutes to check my blood sugar i would just run over to the gate or the fence and

[00:23:56] Rob Howe: do what I needed to do and that was that. Um, and I mean, at first, right, like those things seem like huge hurdles to overcome, right? Like they, they always seem much bigger. And then, you know, when you get down to it, um, you, it's really not that big of a deal. So it's like, um, you know, when you, when you're, you're always like, those challenges are always so big before you face them. Right. And then it's just like, Oh yeah, like I don't have a place to put my stuff. Now I don't want to inconvenience my coach. And you just like kind of invent these situations in your mind. Um, and, and so it's like, you know, as a type 1, I think especially like I read an article the other day talking about, um, you know, student disability at colleges, um, and like universities that offer, you know, aid to people who need, um, you know, may need emergency service or may need extra care. And I think the biggest thing for me is that, because I know in that situation, I was like, well, I don't need help. I managed this on my own. I was very proud of that. But at the same time, having those resources and taking a little bit of extra treatment is also okay.

[00:25:15] Mary Adams: Yes, 100%. And I totally took advantage of that. I had never even heard of the Students and Disabilities Act, nor did I think that I could ever take advantage of something like that. But when I was told that I could, I was like, oh, my God, this is awesome. And it really did help because I remember in college, in chemistry tests, and I remember one in particular where I just, like, flatlined low. And I just, I remember being in the middle of the test and being like, oh my god, why can't I read these questions? Like clearly I shouldn't be, at the time I was a nursing major, and I was like clearly I shouldn't be a nurse. I can't even understand these questions. And then I was like, oh wait a second, I'm just slow. And so because I took advantage of that Student Disabilities Act, I had extra time to take a test in case something like that did come up. And so I excused myself from the room, shoved glucose gel and glucose tabs in my mouth, and then I was able to take the test later on. But oh my God, things like that, I would say totally take advantage. Because you never know what's going to come up. And it's always nice to have that padding.

[00:26:40] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I mean, you know, it's just like being proactive. I equate, um, I wasn't a boy scout, but I equate being type 1, a successful type 1 to being a boy scout, like be prepared for any situation. Right. Um, and also carry a backpack. I don't know, like, but yes, um, like having that padding, you may never need it, but because you talked about it up, up, up ahead of time, you set that frame. It's like, Hey, I may need this someday. or, you know, and you have that, like, open up that conversation, I think it allows you to be successful in those situations, right? I was trying to think the other day, and I didn't have a meter close by, and I was like, man, like, why can I not, like, land on what's going on here? I swear I can do this. And yeah, I mean, when I left and went and go track down my meter, and I tested, I was like, okay, yeah, like 59, that'll probably, you know, that's not the lowest that I am even, you know on a regular basis sometimes but you know on on that particular day like my brain just couldn't process it it was just having a tough time I was like you know what yeah I could use

[00:27:44] Mary Adams: a pass for the last half hour yep yep exactly I love it love it when those kind of lows happen where you're like what is wrong with me why is nothing clicking in my head and you're like oh yeah oh yeah there's that thing called a low love it when this happens yeah and I think that's

[00:28:06] Rob Howe: you know that that's another thing is like as a there's this this idea that I think people make bigger in their minds as well other type type 1 diabetics may bigger in their minds of the idea of being a perfect diabetic and having to you know feel bad and like guilting yourself about you know just living your life and some days being different what what is that what's that lens like for you when you look at yourself and you say hey like I'm able to treat a low or I'm able to treat a high. And that's just because of one thing or another, I can maybe dial in the causation. But the important thing is that I don't stick to it too much and that I really allow myself to obviously treat the situation but not be so harsh with yourself.

[00:28:51] Mary Adams: Yeah. That's something that has really popped up for me recently where I have to remind myself not to be too hard on myself um i i think and i feel like any person who is diagnosed when they're younger um whether it be when they're five years old whether it be when they're 20 years old um up until i think the young adult point a lot of people just don't have a full understanding of what it is they're really dealing with. I most certainly didn't. Even though I had it, you know, from the age of seven, and even though that took up so much of my life, when I got to college, I still did not understand what I was doing. I didn't totally understand how I might possibly be compromising my body. given certain situations. And thankfully, I mean, I never, I don't think I've ever been in DKA. I mean, the stories that I hear about it, I don't think I've been in it. But I think back now to being in college and just thinking, like, what was that doing? Like, how did I handle my diabetes? And maybe my body was still growing. maybe I was still going through growth spurts, but I definitely did not manage it well. It definitely did not. Whereas now, if I don't manage my blood sugar, I see those repercussions immediately. And that's when I think this kind of very harsh, judging, type A personality jumps in. And I don't consider myself type A or a harsh critic by any means. But in the last few years, it's kind of like I'm starting to see my body changing and how, you know, if I stay above 250 for longer than an hour at a time, I feel it. Um, when I was younger, I don't remember feeling that. Um, and I think, I think that's my body changing, but it's, it's because, because these new feelings are starting to show up. That's where, like what you're talking about, that, that kind of type a harsh critic is kicking in and it's like, oh my God, I have to, I have to handle this or I'm really going to hurt myself. Um, bad things are really going to start to happen. But I started to also notice that when this happened, it was kind of becoming all-consuming and I was getting way too concerned with it so I mean it's a fine line between trying to trying to figure out you know how can I how can I manage my diabetes well and how can I also take a step back and let my let myself, you know, just kind of, kind of deal with itself. Um, it's a super fine line.

[00:32:25] Rob Howe: It is. And I think I'm dealing with very similar, uh, like you almost echoed my sentiment word for word. Like when I was younger, I used to be able to have, I could have a high or I could, I could operate, you know, at 200 and be okay. Um, even if I didn't have like, or I had to wait for a bolus or whatever the case may be, or I couldn't get it down for a little while. But now I just like my body is like, whoa, hold up. Something's wrong. And I don't know if that's just like, I've been, you know, much more balanced and taking care of myself, but, um, it's, it's tough. Cause you're like, oh, even this morning I was telling my girlfriend, I was like, I, I, this morning by 9am, it was already a day. Like, well, at least I had a good workout this morning because I had a high blood sugar. I couldn't get it to come down. I was changing my site. It was just, it was all bad. And I felt so terrible. I was like, wow, just mail it in for the day. It's done. But, you know, at the same time, like having to bounce back and be like, okay, like I'm coming back now. Got to get some stuff done today. And then, you know, going, coming back to all the way back around to something you said before is like when you were in college, like going, kind of living your life as well as being a type 1, which is something I know that parents worry about. and also is a hot button for teens. How did you balance being a type 1 with being a regular college kid?

[00:33:51] Mary Adams: To be honest, it was just kind of a part of everything. I made sure, first and foremost, that everyone who was ever around me knew that I had diabetes. That was first and foremost because I knew that I was going to be in situations. eat, consuming lots of alcohol, where I might be at risk of having a really wacky blood sugar, either high or low. And so I just, I was like, y'all have to know I'm diabetic. This is what X blood sugar means. This is what Y blood sugar means. And this is what you do. And I mean, all of my friends knew how to put in a site all of my friends knew how to use a glucagon everybody knew um what diabetes was what type 1 was and what to do in all these situations but other than that i mean i just i did everything else that everybody else did um and i think that was something that kind of that goes back to my parents where it was kind of like they wanted to make sure that that I was living a normal life. And I think for the most part, I was able to do that, which is pretty cool.

[00:35:15] Rob Howe: It is. And it's like, what a victory that is. I think sometimes we, you talked earlier about, you know, not being type A by nature, but type 1 sort of making you that, like every day is a victory, like living a normal life. Yes. That is something to be excited about and grateful for, because like you said, you've never been in DKA. I haven't either, thankfully, knock on wood. But like every day without having to go through that is something to be grateful for. Yeah, definitely. I was talking with someone the other day, like there are more type ones that there have ever been right now, like today, because less than a hundred years ago, you just died, you know, like this, and there was no awareness and there was no way to treat it. And so now, like, how far we've come since 1920, it's just amazing. And I think even in the last 10 years, in the last 12 years since I've had Type 1, like, the technology, like, there really is, hasn't been a better time to be Type 1 than right now. And that's encouraging.

[00:36:16] Mary Adams: Yeah, it is. And that's so funny you say that. I was thinking about that, like, two days ago, how the number just keeps rising. And it's like, well, is it really rising? Or is it that just people back then didn't know they had diabetes and they just died? I mean, and obviously, I think it definitely is rising. But think about all those people back then. I mean, they just, you have diabetes, and that was a death sentence. And now it's like, no, we got this. I mean, it's just a little problem. But we'll deal with it. We can deal with it. And we just move right along.

[00:36:57] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think like allowing yourself to step back and look at that situation as a whole and say, oh, like this really is like today. Most type ones make this look relatively easy, make type 1 look relatively good. It's easy to forget that 100 years ago it was a death sentence and that it was very, very difficult for people to even 40 years ago to to treat on a daily basis. and there's all these amazing developments in technology and all these awesome companies that are getting into the space to try to solve the problem and make it easier but that still doesn't negate the fact that it's a difficult struggle.

[00:37:39] Mary Adams: Yeah, and it's still there. I mean, as far as we know, it'll always be there. And when you were diagnosed, what did your doctor tell you in terms of there being some sort of a cure?

[00:37:54] Rob Howe: uh they gave me the 20 year the 20 year talk they said uh you know within 20 years there'll be some sort of cure so they're they got eight years left on their guarantee or my money back

[00:38:06] Mary Adams: nice nice you hold them to that yeah i will i got in this lifetime so much more uh open-ended there Yes, yes. And it's funny because going online and reading other people's experiences, you know, there are people who have had diabetes for 60 years and they heard the same thing. And so it's kind of like, well, I can look at it as that's a bunch of hogwash, or I look at it as, I mean, we are making progress. Just look around. There has been so much progress made, including the Diabetes Online community. Like that right there, that's huge progress, I think. So even if we don't see a cure in our lifetime, we're seeing so much happen already where we're able to take better care of ourselves and therefore live better and longer lives that that in and of itself is just I mean that's it's awesome

[00:39:10] Rob Howe: it's awesome it is and I am super encouraged by it um my life gets easier on a you know day-to-day basis because of that and because of you know awesome technology and awareness um and yet there's still so much work to do. And I'm, you know, I'm glad that there are so many awesome people who are taking on that challenge. Never been a part of a more inclusive community than we have for type 1 diabetes. And I want to focus on that because I want to make sure we use our time effectively here. You get to see behind the scenes a little bit of that. So why don't you tell us a little bit about not necessarily one drop as a company, but more, more as your involvement and how you found out and like the types of work and interactions you guys have with type ones

[00:39:55] Mary Adams: yeah well so i previously was working in the music industry um which i loved um but with our growing health care situation um i was kind of like okay i need to change something um because I need to be able to see my doctor more times than I currently can under my current health plan. And I need to be testing my blood sugar more than just eight times a day, but I don't have enough money to get more test strips. So, and this is also the more adult version of myself speaking. So this happened within the last two years or so where I started to realize, you know what, I really do need to take my diabetes into my own hands. I really do need to take better control of this. I need to handle this. And so I really started checking out what was going on online and just doing some of my own research. And I came across OneDrop, the app. and that was just kind of like my first bat at regaining some of that control that I had when I was living under my parents' roof when I was a kid and they were very vigilant. I downloaded the app so that I could track my blood sugars, make sure that I was checking myself on a regular basis and detect trends, I had noticed that I was doing a lot of things that seemingly would make my blood sugar go low, and instead I was going high, or vice versa. And I was getting super, super frustrated. And so I wanted to start tracking things and instead of waiting to see my endo every three months, make the changes myself. Kind of be a little experimental. Um, and so I started heavily, uh, tracking stuff in the app and was able to rearrange my basal settings on my pump. That helped a lot. And then I was like, I really, really like this app. I want to see what they're doing because I will be a part of this. and I checked out their job openings saw that there was one and I was like hey y'all can I be a part of this I love what y'all are doing I love your message that you're trying to help others with diabetes take matters into their own hands and that's how it all began Now I'm at OneDrop doing marketing, communications, customer experience, customer support. I mean, we're a startup. We are a very small company. So there are many, many, many hats to be worn. um but we we are trying so hard to really help the lives of both type 1 and type 2 diabetics um we want to change this we want to change the game totally and it's just it's so invigorating to be surrounded by other people with diabetes on a daily basis um i had been at other places where people had diabetes, but no one really talked about it. It wasn't really discussed openly. And being in this setting, I mean, it really is a blessing because everyone is aware of what diabetes is. People in the office can tell when you're going low, and they may not have diabetes. They may have diabetes. People always have glucose tabs if you are going low.

[00:44:11] Rob Howe: that's a great benefit

[00:44:14] Mary Adams: people have we have extra insulin I mean it's just it's great it's great to be surrounded by other people on a day in day out basis and then on top of that it's just it's amazing because everyone here I would say almost half the team has type 1 and so we're serious about this it's like we hate this thing and we want to do everything that we can to change it because what i mean what we're doing right now is awesome but we gotta dump this thing out so um we're just we're trying everything that we can to make that ball move um to get things going we're really excited about it well and you guys

[00:45:01] Rob Howe: are doing a great job and you talked about being like a startup and being a small company um but with like a distinct goal. And I, I, I identify with that right now as well. I just started my own company at the beginning of this year. So, um, I understand what that's like to be in that group and have that mission and say, Hey, like, you know, come what may, we're trying to the best we can, like you said, whatever hacks we can use to get to the next phase, to get to the next level of accomplishing our goal we're going to do. Um, and I just love that there are companies like that that are popping up, um, with the, uh, with the goal of making life easier and better for type 1 diabetics. I think that's super strong and it's something that hasn't, you know, it's a trend that I really like, you know, it's something that hasn't been in the forefront until the last few years. So, um, I'm just really glad that that is a topic of conversation for people who, um, don't necessarily have diabetes, but are, you know, identifying the need for so many people, um, and can find something that's, uh, you know, cool, like one drop where it's, it's a cool product. It's great design, which is also lacking in the diabetic community, which I talk about on some other episodes as well. Like, it's fun. It's cool. It's good to use. And also, it makes so much sense from a cost standpoint. Like you said, like you needed to test your blood sugar more, and you needed an easy option to do that. And you found it. Yeah, it's huge. It's enormous.

[00:46:27] Mary Adams: I love my Dexcom but oh my god those beeps they go off sometimes in the middle of the night over and over again and so now it's like okay I don't have to wear my Dexcom instead I just check my blood sugar incessantly and it's wonderful I mean no one's there to stop me and tell me no you can only check eight times a day it's radical it is amazing because you hear all these stories about people who who are dying literally because they cannot check their blood sugar, because they cannot give themselves insulin. And so we're like, well, F that. We are going to do something about this. Test strips cost so little. Let's stop jacking up these prices. Give these people test strips so that they can take care of themselves and live.

[00:47:16] Rob Howe: Yeah, let's be clear. Knowing your blood sugar is not optional. It's not something that you just can get by without doing.

[00:47:22] Mary Adams: no absolutely not so we we want to change that i mean that's that's that's it we're changing it um and it really it's so amazing to see all this stuff it's not i mean it's not just us if you like um are you familiar with OpenAPS that's another one out there i mean it's all these like all the diy grassroots movements that are going on are so phenomenal because it's kind of like We're not going to sit around and wait for all these other people, corporations, to tell us when we can and cannot do things that need to be done. We're going to take matters into our own hands, and we're going to live better lives. It really is phenomenal to see this amazing tribe of people coming forth and changing the game.

[00:48:14] Rob Howe: It is. And I think now even the work that companies like OneDrop and others have done in the last few years in today's like political, especially around health care environment and climate, like those voices are becoming more powerful and more amplified. And talking about diabetes, type 1 diabetes is more than just a preexisting condition. It's an ongoing condition and something that needs to be treated and needs to fall under some sort of treatment. And I know, you know, without diverting this to, you know, healthcare and political discussion, but, you know, like, you know, we are passionate about that because we know people who are affected. We ourselves are affected by it on a daily, hourly, minute basis. And that's super, super important. So I love the work you guys are doing. I'll have to say I love the work you guys are doing and keep it up.

[00:49:06] Mary Adams: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're super pumped about it.

[00:49:11] Rob Howe: So, uh, kind of as we sort of wrap up here, um, I want to, I want to ask, and I think you, you answered this a little bit towards the beginning of the interview, but somebody that you look up, you looked up to, um, in your moments where, you know, you were struggling with your diabetes or as you were, you know, um, you know, pushing yourself to, to sort of overcome a low moment. Who, who was that person for you?

[00:49:38] Mary Adams: Oh gosh. Oh, man. Well, the first person that comes to mind, and this is hilarious. It's all coming full circle. So in fourth grade, I was diagnosed in third grade. In fourth grade, the Miss America winner was Nicole Johnson. So I get, or maybe that, yeah, yeah, that was when I was in fourth grade. and we had to at school write letters to our heroes we had to write three letters and one of the letters that I wrote was to Nicole Johnson because I thought she was the coolest thing in the world she had gone on stage done her done her thing um won the Miss America title which I watched with my mom and my godmother every single year um and she had diabetes and I was like oh my god if she can be Miss America and she has diabetes then I can do anything um very good logic as a fourth grader so I wrote her my hero letter and she wrote back and I got to meet her and it was the greatest thing ever and 2019 years later um she is now um part of the OneDrop team in a different capacity. She's not right here on the field with us, but she's part of OneDrop, so it's all kind of coming full circle. But she was definitely, I think, right after I was diagnosed, the end-all be-all for me. And that's when I was like, well, yeah, if she can do that, I can do anything too.

[00:51:30] Rob Howe: Did you have a fangirl moment when you got to meet her? Did that happen?

[00:51:35] Mary Adams: oh my god yes of course of course I was I was freaking out I I don't remember a lot but I remember like being really really excited and like like getting the like the sweaty nervous all that going on I was so excited and I got to try on her crown I mean it was like it was the greatest day ever that's like

[00:51:59] Rob Howe: the full experience that's fantastic yes yes so yeah so I I know I don't know if we're gonna be able to get a better answer than that uh for sort of my closer that I always ask but um for if you were gonna if you in a passing moment uh you're about to jump on a plane you run into somebody who's struggling with their type 1 or has recently been diagnosed like what's the one thing you tell them you've got like one minute before they're shutting the door to the plane What are you telling them?

[00:52:27] Mary Adams: I actually kind of just did this the other day. I ran into a girl at the grocery store and she was like, I just, I randomly heard her say under her breath, I hate diabetes. I hate having diabetes. This is hell. And we were in the dairy section and I said, oh, you have diabetes? And I think I caught her by surprise. But she said yes. we had a quick chat. I showed her the yogurt that she should eat so that she doesn't have blood sugar spikes. And I was like, do low carb, do low carb. It's the best. So I think that would be it. If I only had a couple of minutes that say, or a couple of seconds that say, go low carb. It's all about, it's the carbs. And then plain door shut.

[00:53:22] Rob Howe: I just can't stop thinking. is like when they go low, we go low carb. It's just like that's the way, that's how we do it. I love it.

[00:53:29] Mary Adams: Yes, yes. And not to be confused with no carb. Because, I mean, hey, I love me some pasta. I love my bread. I love carbs. But if we're trying to get a handle on our blood sugars here, it's the carbs. It's all about going low carb.

[00:53:48] Rob Howe: I love it. Yeah. Well, Mary, thank you so much for coming on the show. So it was a fantastic interview, and you're just a delightful person. Every interaction with you that I've had has been awesome. So just give yourself a pat on the back. Keep doing your awesome work for One Drop. It's much appreciated.

[00:54:06] Mary Adams: Well, thank you so much, Rob. I love what you're doing. Thank you for spreading the word. We need this. We need voices like this. So thank you.

[00:54:16] Rob Howe: If our listeners want to connect with you, where are you on social media? what's the best place?

[00:54:24] Mary Adams: I'm on Twitter, OneDropMEA. And then my personal Instagram, Mary E.R. Adams.

[00:54:36] Rob Howe: Awesome. Well, I will include links to that in the show notes so that if anybody wants to get in touch or really enjoys your interview, that they can do that. Awesome. Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly emails and behind-the-scenes content. And if you or someone you know has an amazing story to share, send an email to rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com.