Diabetics Doing Strange Diagnosis Stories with Kayla Chorley

[00:00:01] Rob Howe: Welcome, everyone. It's me, Rob Howe, and this is the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. I just wanted to toss out some gratitude your way because your continued support is the reason we've been able to get these amazing guests on the podcast. But we're always taking recommendations, so if there's someone you're dying to hear from but I haven't found a way to interview yet, let me know on Instagram or send me an email. I can think of a few, but I won't mention them by name just yet. Also, a word on the street is that our friends at Beyond Type 1 have launched the Beyond Type 1 Power Up campaign. They're inspiring people to get charged up all October long by supporting programs and initiatives that change what it means to live with Type 1. I love Beyond Type 1. I think that their perspective on the Type 1 lifestyle is super refreshing, and so I'd encourage you guys to check it out. So, how do I power up? I think it starts with the way I treat my body. I do my best to put the best things in my body, whether that's food, exercise, vitamins, or insulin to keep my blood sugars on track, but mostly just to feel good. Throw a little daily meditation on top of that and you got yourself a Rob Howe power-up cocktail. But the biggest thing for me is getting to interact with other type 1s. Your comments, emails, and messages fill my cup. And there's no better community than the type 1 community. I have so much in common with each and every one of you. So, in a way, you're my power-up. Be sure to check out the Beyond Type 1 Power Up campaign and share your power up with me. I'm dying to hear it. All right, let's get back to the episode so we can get back to the real good stuff. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all around the world. And my very special guest today is Kayla Chorley calling from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

[00:01:46] Kayla Chorley: Hey.

[00:01:47] Rob Howe: Welcome to the show.

[00:01:50] Kayla Chorley: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[00:01:52] Rob Howe: Well, really excited to hear your story and talk a little bit about what you do. And you and I got introduced via Instagram. I think you reached out and we chatted briefly and kind of exchanged stories. And I'm really excited to kind of find a little bit of like the lighthearted and humor side of some of the effects of diabetes. Because oftentimes, you know, it's hard when you're in those moments to find something to kind of laugh about or find humor in.

[00:02:20] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's all about being positive and having a positive outlook.

[00:02:24] Rob Howe: Well, I'm super, super excited. So let's just get started right from the beginning. So how is it that you ended up on Diabetics Doing Things? Let's start at the diagnosis story.

[00:02:34] Kayla Chorley: Sure. So I was diagnosed when I was 12 years old. And in Canada, we start junior high at that age. So I was just entering a new school, grade seven, and I remember feeling really sick. And so I'd always tell my mom that I was really sick, couldn't go to school. And I'm a really anxious person. And so she just assumed that I was kind of making it up. And so I would tell her, I'd be like, Mom, I'm not feeling well. I don't think I can go to school. And she'd be like, Oh, you're just nervous. Like, don't worry, you'll make new friends kind of thing. And then she'd send me to school. So for several months, I went to school, just wasn't feeling well. I couldn't see the board anymore I was tired all the time I was a size zero and I kept losing weight so that was that was pretty impressive and I was really thirsty all the time and I just had all the symptoms of diabetes so one day I went to my mom again and I said mom I can't go to school and she she kind of called my bluff and she's like well fine then we'll take you to the hospital and I was actually really excited she said that, believe it or not, because I had felt so terrible

[00:03:48] Rob Howe: for so long. Right. So she took me. And before before you keep going, that's that's a that's a tough call to make. Right. And, you know, you put yourself in your mom's shoes and you, you know, as a parent, it's kind of tough because some of the symptoms don't sound, you know, on their own, don't sound so, so serious. Right. But then, you know, a few months go by and you're all of a sudden and not able to see the board, and you've lost a lot of weight, and you just feel awful.

[00:04:14] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. And I like to joke around a lot with my parents. So I'm sure my mom at one point was like, okay, you're just joking. So finally, she took me to the hospital. And at triage, they took my blood sugar. And the male nurse was like, oh, no, you're not diabetic. You're fine. And my mom was like, oh, thank goodness, because she has all the symptoms of diabetes. Um, so eventually they, they got us to move to the children's wards. We had to walk down this long hallway and I completely lost my vision. So I was walking and all of a sudden I couldn't see anything. And so I said to my mom, I was like, mom, I can't see anything. And again, she thought I was joking and it was like, Kayla, stop joking around. And I was like, no, seriously, I can't see anything. Um, and so I ended up passing out and I passed out in front of these automatic doors and I was blocking the sensor and all of the nurses and doctors were on the other side so they couldn't get to me. They were looking at my mom like what's going on and my mom was freaking out. She's running around with her arms in the air and then out of nowhere this priest showed up and walked over to me and like picked me up and moved me out of the way and my mom was like panic. She's like, Oh my gosh, don't take her with you. Like keep her here. And he moved me out of the way of the automatic doors. And then I just remember waking up in a hospital bed. And then they were like, Oh, no, actually, you do have diabetes. So that's that's kind of how it all went down.

[00:05:49] Rob Howe: What a story. And like, high stakes are just like, you know, that a priest was involved, picking you up, taking you through the automatic doors. So, and you may not have the answer to this, but they tested your blood sugar when you got to the hospital and they determined that you didn't have diabetes. Was there just a misread or was it a, what was the, was it just not maybe high enough to register? What was the, did you ever get an answer on that?

[00:06:18] Kayla Chorley: I didn't, but I just, I believe it just wasn't high enough to register at that time. So it wasn't like alarming. Um, and then later that day, because when you sit and triage for a long time, I imagine my blood sugar probably just rose because I drank a lot of sugary drinks and things while I was sitting there. And then it probably led to me passing out eventually.

[00:06:42] Rob Howe: Wow and yeah I mean what a what a tricky thing you know like uh that you you think that you have all these symptoms right and you know your mom's probably you've been researching or asking questions and then uh you know you don't get the reading that you were expecting and then you know so you go ahead and have some sugary drinks like a normal kid and then all of a sudden

[00:07:00] Kayla Chorley: you're passed out in the hospital yeah so it was kind of funny because it was almost like hey There are hidden cameras here. You guys told me I wasn't diabetic, but now I am. And actually, a few weeks before that, I had gotten some blood work done because I was feeling sick. So I went to my family doctor. They did some blood work. And then almost simultaneously, as the doctor was telling me at the hospital that I have diabetes, my family doctor called my mom's cell phone and said, get Kayla to the hospital. She has diabetes. So it was this kind of weird timing.

[00:07:40] Rob Howe: That is strange. And I think important to know, right? Like, you know, you're not, the timing is not always convenient, right? There's not always a smooth transition to a diagnosis. Absolutely. So what happened next? You know, you're in seventh grade. I imagine you were able to see the board. That's one of the things I remember about my diagnosis is that I just felt so much better after I got some insulin. So what was life like going through junior high on into high school for you from there?

[00:08:11] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, actually, I didn't find the transition that terrible. I miss more school because when you get diagnosed here at the U of A, what they do is they give you weeks of training. So you miss about a month of school to get kind of trained on how to be diabetic. so then when I returned to school I kind of earned some street cred because all of a sudden whenever I'd go to a party or something I'd like pull out a needle and everyone would be like what this is hardcore so so definitely earned me some street cred no but in all honesty I didn't find it too bad of a transition it was more my friends that were upset because they were worried about me But in the scheme of things, I always told them it could be much worse. So I wasn't too worried about it.

[00:09:05] Rob Howe: So with them and with your friends, what kind of conversations did you have with them as they were either worrying or had questions? What were those like?

[00:09:15] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, so it was all kind of about educating them and kind of giving them a heads up of what to expect and how they can help me if I do need help. and that kind of eased their worries a little bit. For the most part, like a lot of my friends didn't even realize that I was diagnosed with diabetes because the transition was fairly good. But those that were really concerned had grown up with me for a long time and they just thought my life was going to be so different. And I said to them, you know, I can still do everything I used to do. I can still play sports. I can still hang out with you guys. life's not that much different. I just have this added piece that I have to kind of take care of

[00:09:59] Rob Howe: on top of it. Well, and I think that's so important. And I'm sure this came as a part of your, your training. And I think you mentioned that the U of A, I'm at University of Alberta, I assume. Yeah, yeah. So like during that education time, you know, shortly after diagnosis, it sounds like Like you got a really positive outlook from your doctors and a positive prognosis on what your dreams and what could happen with your life from the start.

[00:10:28] Kayla Chorley: Absolutely. My team of doctors was fantastic. They were always super supportive. My doctor still tells me every time I go to see him that the next time I see him, there's going to be a cure. And just they're very, very upbeat and they're super, super positive about the outlook of the disease.

[00:10:48] Rob Howe: And I think you mentioned via email in our email conversation about one of your doctors is sort of on the forefront of some stem cell research involving diabetes.

[00:11:02] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, so my doctor is Dr. Ryan and he's part of the islet transplant research team. And so he's been working for a long time to kind of work on how that would look and how it works. And so he was part of the first kind of trial run of doing stem cells and seeing how that worked. And they found some success with it. Now they're kind of tweaking it to see how they can make it better.

[00:11:28] Rob Howe: That's very cool. And, you know, I talk to a lot of type ones, obviously. And I think something that has come up a number of times in my conversations is the positive outlook or the pessimistic outlook of the of the cure conversation. Because as you said, you mentioned your doctor every time you go, he said the next time you come back, there's going to be a cure, which hasn't happened. Right. So what is that? Is there and I think because I'm an overly positive person, I believe in the power of positive thinking. I'm a huge advocate for that and being relentlessly positive. What's that like for you? Was there ever a time when you were like, I'm really frustrated about because I know that there's not going to be a cure next time I come back?

[00:12:13] Kayla Chorley: You know what? No, because I know how hard he's working on things. And I know that he truly, truly believes in his mind that there's going to be a cure. And so it kind of rubs off on me. He's actually quite a funny guy. He's very serious. and so my goal whenever I go in there is to try and make them laugh or at least smile but the conversation is always positive and I can't speak enough about how important that is and how different my life would be had that not been the conversation.

[00:12:47] Rob Howe: And I think that's framing around that type of positive reinforcement and I think often back to my time at Children's Hospital where, you know, my doctors are very similar to yours, like very positive, very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, made it very clear to me that my life didn't have to change because of my type 1 other than taking care of myself, that everything that I wanted for myself was still very much within reach and very valid. Some type 1s at diagnosis don't get that and I think struggle. I think you could almost like look at a direct correlation between, you know, what are the conversations like around diagnosis and the success of that type 1 immediately following until they until that sort of conversation gets reframed. So for you, you know, that had to make a huge difference. Right. So that and like in the way that you view your diabetes and the relationship that you have with it. So what are those conversations that you have with yourself? Like when you have a, you know, when you have a day where you're struggling with your blood sugar or when you're, you know, get hung up on a number, are you able to then go back and talk to yourself a little bit more gently and in that relationship with your diabetes sort of just understand that, you know, being positive is the key to you, you know, finding some sort of success?

[00:14:09] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. I think the important thing as a diabetic is to not expect perfection. and I always talk to my doctor about this because I always bug him when I go in there and I'm like why can't I just eat the same thing do the same thing every day and then just have perfect blood sugars and we joke about this but the big thing is not to get hung up on on that perfectionism attitude right and so when I'm when I'm having a bad day or when my numbers aren't perfect that's kind of how I kind of talk myself down and remind myself. Perfectionism will never kind of happen with a disease like diabetes. So you kind of got to let that go and just do whatever you can to make yourself feel better that day.

[00:14:55] Rob Howe: And like what are those, you know, when, how do you remind yourself of those things? Like I've been on a big sort of mindfulness and diabetes thought process lately and looking for like triggers for years and for myself. And a big one for me recently has been, you know, just reminding myself to be thankful and grateful that I'm able to check my blood sugar and know what it is and be able to treat it with insulin and have technology. So, you know, being alive with type 1 at this point in time. Are there any things like that? Any particular conversations or things that you like to remind yourself of in those conversations?

[00:15:36] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. A big thing for me is perspective. Kind of like you were saying, we're very lucky to have the technology we have and to have the opportunity to know our blood sugars and things like that. And we're very lucky that it's a disease that's manageable, right, for the most part. Sure, it has its ups and downs and all sorts of things like that. But for the most part, we're able to take care of ourselves. And that's a gift in itself, right? So being able to kind of put it in perspective that things could always be much worse than they are.

[00:16:14] Rob Howe: I 100% agree. It's kind of like I joke with people sometimes by thinking, you know, If I had to pick any chronic illness with no cure, you know, hard not to choose diabetes sometimes, you know, when you think about how it could be worse. So for you, I know that you are you're a teacher as well and you are a psychologist. So tell us a little bit about how your, you know, your, did your, did your diabetes have any sort of influence on, on what you do and kind of your life from a professional standpoint?

[00:16:55] Kayla Chorley: Well, somewhat. Yeah. My, my teaching degree, my major is actually in biological sciences. So once I got my diagnosis, I was really fascinated with how the body works and what happens when it doesn't work in our case. So I found that really interesting. And I always use it as a learning opportunity for my students. So it's really funny because at my school, whenever there's the discussion of diabetes, all the teachers kind of like pimp me out. So they'll grab me and they'll be like, oh, Ms. Chorley is going to talk about her diabetes and all sorts of things like that. So it's kind of a neat opportunity to use it as like a real life learning example for students. so I do that a lot in terms of psychology it's really interesting because when I was first diagnosed I was assigned a counselor so at the U of A anyone who's diagnosed with diabetes has to see a counselor for at least a month or two and so it's really funny because whenever we would meet with this counselor me and my family my blood sugar would always go low and so we used to joke that it was just so boring that my blood sugar would go low but now looking back I found it really really helpful and and so my work as a psychologist that's kind of my goal is to help those with chronic illnesses learn those positive psychology skills so that they can see their disease from a positive outlook and I want to first of all I

[00:18:34] Rob Howe: I love that that's the mission behind it because I think it's so acceptance of a disease, especially a chronic illness where there's no immediate cure and you have to actively manage it on a daily basis, are very exhausting. And so finding that acceptance is a huge piece of just really self-love and self-forgiveness. But backing up a little bit, when you get pimped out every so often by your teachers and peers to talk to people about type 1. Do you know how do those conversations go? I mean, and I think that, you know, as type ones, we are always subject to a little bit of like inquisitive curiosity from our non-diabetic peers, because I think that, you know, awareness generally is low unless you know someone with type 1 or even type 2 or, you know, have a family member or you have it because, you know, if you don't think about it, sort of just out of sight, out of mind. um so how are those conversations um you know with your with with those people and with students um what are the questions that you get and you know how do you feel about being able to spread

[00:19:43] Kayla Chorley: awareness like that yeah um so i i i love it i think it's a great opportunity to to kind of get our message out there and to to let people know that type 1 is not the end of the world and that we're we're just really regular people so i always start the conversation with my students of what do you think someone with a disease looks like or what do you expect them to act like? And it's a funny conversation because a lot of them are like, oh, well, they can't do things or, oh, they got to take medicine all the time and they have to stay in bed. And so it's really interesting to see what they expect from someone with a disease versus what it actually is. And a lot of my students don't even know I have diabetes until that moment. so the other day for example I have an insulin pump and I pulled it out to give myself some insulin and I had a student be like put your cell phone away and I was like oh no this is not my cell phone although they really should make one that's both a cell phone and a pump that would be helpful

[00:20:51] Rob Howe: oh man I've been thinking that for years like my cell phone is cool I can play videos on it I can access the internet when I'm on the plane and my insulin pump has a game boy screen

[00:21:02] Kayla Chorley: why can't I do that? Exactly and I sometimes I'll joke with them I'll put it up to my ear and I'll be like yeah this cable in my leg is actually connected to the phone so but it's a funny conversation because like I said they they expect something different than what they see and so a lot of their questions have to do with management they always want to know the highs and the lows Like what's the worst scenario I've ever been in? What to expect with someone who has diabetes? How to help them? Those are the questions I usually get. And then they love to know more about how much does it cost? Because that's always an interesting conversation for them too.

[00:21:45] Rob Howe: Well, I think it is because I think, you know, especially, you know, lately in the U.S. There's a great organization called T1 International that talks about fights for insulin reform globally and fighting the cost of managing type 1 in other countries. And something that always comes up with my international guests is the difference between medical costs and access to things in the U.S. versus Canada or the U.K. or Australia. because I think we all have, you know, we all have mixed messages of what we think it is. You know, everyone's like, yeah, it's just free healthcare for everything. Everything, you know, everything's free. And it's not quite that simple. So for you, you know, talk a little bit about, you know, treatment in Canada with, you know, in healthcare. What's, what is that? Because I think a lot of type ones that listen to the podcast want to know what it's like to be type 1 somewhere else.

[00:22:41] Kayla Chorley: yeah so in Alberta we we have it pretty good I gotta say we do have public health care so that's really helpful I also have really good benefits through school so I usually don't have to pay too much just recently the government made the insulin pump and all of its supplies reimbursable so Anyone who takes training to go on the pump will receive a refund for the pump and any of its supplies every month. That's really helpful. Up until that point, it was benefits that would cover my insulin pump and all of my stuff, but now I don't even need to worry about that. Really, really helpful here in Alberta.

[00:23:30] Rob Howe: Well, and I think, you know, that's important to know, right? Because we need to know what our, you know, brothers and sisters with type 1 are going through throughout the world. And also, you know, what works and what we need to be talking to our, you know, insurance companies, what we need to be talking to our congressmen and women about here in the U.S. specifically. And then also, you know, what we can do to help people in, you know, countries that don't have those types of resources across the world. And I think that's why I had a conversation with Elizabeth Rowley from T1 International. So that's why it's kind of top of mind for me right now. So big shout out to her. And if you want to check out T1 International and help out with some of the initiatives that they have globally, I would encourage you to do so. And that's not just for you, but for our listeners. But yeah, I think it's just been something that's on my mind. And, you know, I have a big love for Canada. I love almost everything Canadian because everyone I've ever met has been so just delightful. And on foreign policy, everyone Canadian is so great. And I think, you know, it goes to show what can happen when you treat your people with chronic illnesses, you know, with that type of love and give them that type of access. I think it's fantastic.

[00:24:50] Kayla Chorley: Well, on behalf of Canada, thank you for the comments.

[00:24:55] Rob Howe: Is that an official Canadian thank you?

[00:24:59] Kayla Chorley: I feel like Justin Trudeau would support that, but I don't know. Yeah.

[00:25:04] Rob Howe: And what's not to like about him, right?

[00:25:06] Kayla Chorley: Well, exactly.

[00:25:09] Rob Howe: So I want to talk a little bit about your raising money for cancer research, because you did so in a very unique way, in a way that maybe somebody who thinks of someone with a chronic illness may not immediately come to mind as a way to raise money.

[00:25:29] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. So a fellow teacher of mine about three years ago was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. And he has a large family. He had four children under the age of five when he was diagnosed. And so I felt this need to support him. And one of the ways that he was really hoping to raise money for cancer research was through something called the Ride to Conquer Cancer. And so it's a 230-kilometer bike ride. And I should mention that when I signed up to do it, I had no idea it was that long. So I thought it was going to be like a leisurely bike ride, like 20 kilometers, no, 230 kilometers over two days. So that was, that was exciting. And yeah, a lot of my friends were concerned about me being able to do it. I know my parents were, were a little bit nervous and they're like, how are you going to test your blood sugar? How are you going to carry all your food? But in all honesty, it was really smooth. Every check stop, I checked my blood sugar, I had a snack. And in all honesty, my blood sugar was

[00:26:40] Rob Howe: never better. So it worked out. And, and you know, what a, what a case, right? Because sometimes, you know, it's just another day, another day with type 1, right? You, you think you, just when you think you're going to have some crazy reaction, you go through and everything's perfect and just smooth sailing. And when you're on the other end of things, like when you're like, oh yeah, I've eaten this a hundred times. This is perfect. I know exactly the dosage and I've had a normal day. And then something, you know, who knows what will happen and you have a crazy reaction Or you go to the therapist and your blood sugar plummets.

[00:27:13] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, diabetes is an interesting roller coaster for sure.

[00:27:19] Rob Howe: And kind of with that in mind, what are some things that A, you're hopeful for going forward? And B, what do you think about when you think of the future of diabetes? and people who, you know, because you're talking to students, you know, what would you tell someone, one of your students, who, you know, heard you talk about diabetes and then was either diagnosed or knew someone close to them that was diagnosed years later?

[00:27:51] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, so I'm really hopeful that there will be a cure. I truly believe in my heart that we're on the right track, we're doing the right things, we're getting there slowly but surely. So I do hope that in our lifetime we will see something. In terms of my students, I have had students come up to me after and be like, oh, I know someone with diabetes or my sister has diabetes and she's having a really hard time. And my advice to them is always take it day by day. Right. And and to kind of relax and let your let your body do some of the talking. Right. So sometimes we get hung up, like I said before, on those perfect numbers. and in all honesty, numbers are important, but they're not the be-end-end-all. So it's really important to be easy on yourself, to take it one step at a time and to just be hopeful in all honesty. Keep that hope alive. Don't lose sight of your goals because you're still able to accomplish whatever you want, even with diabetes.

[00:28:53] Rob Howe: And that's so true, right? And like, I think that we need to be better about celebrating even the small wins that we have in our diabetes lives, diabetic lives, diabetes lives. Because, you know, you might not have a huge mountain to overcome every day or, you know, even every every once in a while. But it's still like every day waking up with a with a blood sugar that's in range or, you know, being able to eat a piece of cheesecake if you really want to, you know, and celebrating that. that like, you know, we're living, you know, just living day to day and these sort of normal adventures that we go, that we walk through in our lives are a reason to be happy and a reason to, you know, feel validated about our walk with type 1.

[00:29:41] Kayla Chorley: Absolutely. And, and as I was saying, like, we really should support each other and use our uniqueness as a, as a way of, of bringing awareness to the disease, right? So I always tell my friends or people that I run into that say they know someone with diabetes, I say to encourage them to be open about it. The more open we can be about the disease, the more people

[00:30:04] Rob Howe: understand it. Oh, and I mean, for me personally, since I've been more open about the disease, like I've, the amount of people that I've encountered, the, um, has been amazing. Like I've met some of my favorite people either online or actually face to face, like, um, that are some of my like closest friends now and i and also my like from a biological like from purely from a health standpoint i've lowered my a1c like 1.3 points like i went from 7.4 which is a little bit higher than i would have liked to now like 6.1 uh right in that range that i like so it's interesting and like really nothing changed except a little heightened awareness a little bit more you know public facing um you know honesty about you know where i am with with the disease and what I deal with. And my current goal is there's a guy in my building I saw with a pump, but I haven't been able to get his attention yet because he's like across the room. So I'm trying to be like, hey, I want to run into that guy and just be like, yo, I know what you're doing.

[00:31:00] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, there you go. Ask him about his phone or his pager. Those are the two common ones.

[00:31:04] Rob Howe: Hey, I see you also carry a pager.

[00:31:08] Kayla Chorley: Yeah. It's actually funny you say that because I have a friend that I met a few years ago and And we didn't realize each other had diabetes until recently. So we had hung out for like two or three years before we realized we were both diabetics. So it's funny how sometimes we can get really good at not showing our disease. But I completely agree with you that by being open about it, it's actually been kind of freeing. And I've met some really cool people through that too.

[00:31:44] Rob Howe: well you know and and that's a big part of like living day-to-day with with type 1 right you got to give your you know you got to be free you got to be open and that takes a little bit of the pressure i think of living um of living day-to-day yeah i i couldn't agree more so and this is kind of this is kind of my my general question uh and we've probably talked we talked about it a little already and I really love your just general outlook on life with type 1 and the power of positive thinking and being open and being hopeful and excited. But if you were in an airport and you ran into someone who was either recently diagnosed or was struggling with diabetes and they were calling you to get on the plane, you had like 30 seconds, and you can only tell them one thing, or you're going to miss the flight. And for the sake of this question, you can't miss the flight. That's the only rule. What's the one thing you tell them?

[00:32:48] Kayla Chorley: Don't give up. Just don't give up. Yeah, keep working at it. Don't give up. You got this. You're stronger than you think. and yeah keep on going day by day every day it's a new fight but you got it yeah i i couldn't agree

[00:33:08] Rob Howe: more i um and i identify with that like you know my self-talk this week i had a i man i so a few months ago i ate this chicken sandwich this is this is my only this is my story i'm like taking over your interview right now um i had this chicken sandwich and it totally i thought i gave the right amount of insulin. I thought I did everything right. And it totally wrecked my entire afternoon. Like it sent me my blood sugar just going crazy. And, and for the last few months, because it's at this restaurant right by my office. And for the last few months, I was like, you know what, I'm not gonna have that sandwich. Like, you know, I was kind of like avoiding it. So today I went back and I had it again. And I was like, you know what, I'm dialing up my insulin, like I'm totally ready to go. I've tested before, like I'm right on. And it still got me today. So So, you know, like, gosh, I was on a roller coaster today. So I was, like, talking to myself. I was like, you know what? We can do this. We're going to get back down to our, you know, workable number. I didn't go as high as I did last time. So it's a little bit of an improvement. So, you know, maybe in a few months I'll go have it again, and I'll really knock it out of the park.

[00:34:17] Kayla Chorley: Those chicken sandwiches, I tell you.

[00:34:19] Rob Howe: Gosh, you never know what, like, that's my mortal enemy now. Like, I will not be conquered by this sandwich. I am bigger than this sandwich. I promise you that. That's awesome. Kayla, thank you so much for coming on the show and for taking your time and really sharing that super positive message and outlook that you have. It's so refreshing, and it's just very, very glad that we're able to share this interview with the diabetic community.

[00:34:49] Kayla Chorley: Well, thank you very much for having me. I really appreciate it. And just keep up what you're doing. I fully support you and your mission. So keep it up.

[00:34:57] Rob Howe: Well, thank you so much. I'm going to keep doing it because you know what? These conversations I didn't used to get to have. And they're so great. And I love them. And I love to be able to share them and have that opportunity. So I'm going to keep doing it.

[00:35:12] Kayla Chorley: Awesome. And please keep us updated about the chicken sandwich situation.

[00:35:16] Rob Howe: Yeah, I will. I am intrigued. Yeah, there's going to be more to come on this sandwich. You never know where inspiration is going to come from, but you have an enemy, Woolworth Chicken Sandwich. I will defeat you. There you go. For our listeners who want to get in touch with you, where can they find you online?

[00:35:37] Kayla Chorley: Yeah, so Instagram is probably the best place. my Instagram handle is insta so I-N-S-T-A K-K-A-Y dot one four so 14

[00:35:53] Rob Howe: fantastic well I'll definitely include a link to that in the show notes so that people can kind of get in touch with you if they need to and chat about their own type 1 journey as well awesome thank you you are welcome and thank you so much again and we'll be in touch soon. 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.