Diabetics Doing Acting and Advocacy with Anita Nicole Brown

[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 with me this afternoon is Miss Anita Nicole Brown calling from Chicago, I believe, correct? Yes. That's awesome. Good. I was, I, for some reason, just put your bio down, uh, right before I said it. So I was like, well, I got to go with my gut here. Definitely Chicago.

[00:01:56] Anita Nicole Brown: Born and raised. Yes.

[00:01:58] Rob Howe: Well, uh, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Uh, we're really, really excited to hear your story. Um, and for those, uh, for those listeners who may not be familiar with you already, uh, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you found yourself qualified to come on Diabetics Doing Things?

[00:02:16] Anita Nicole Brown: Hey, see, I'm still, I'm still, I'm still, I'm still, I'm still, I'm still, I'm still

[00:02:18] Rob Howe: questioning that last part, but, um, well, and by, and I guess that's only my like joking way

[00:02:24] Anita Nicole Brown: of saying like, Hey, like what's your diagnosis story? Um, I guess my story is like, I don't know, similar to most people. Um, when I was diagnosed, it was actually interesting. Um, over the summer before my senior year of high school, I was super active. I was swimming, I was playing tennis. I was playing badminton. I was bike riding. I was just doing everything I possibly could because that was summer to me. That was the time where you don't have to worry about school and all that other boring crap. But I'd lost so much weight in the course of a week, like literally dropped a little more than 10 pounds in one week. But my mom was like, well, she's so active. Let's just wait until her senior year starts. And if she doesn't pick the weight back up, then we'll go to her doctor and we'll figure out what's going on. My senior year started in September. And then by November, I still hadn't regained any of the weight I'd lost over the summer. And I was eating like crazy, like five Big Macs and I was still hungry. So my mom was like, okay, something's wrong, something's up. So with our senior year, we always have our doctor's appointments that we have to do for the year. I went to Catholic school, so we had to have them in. And I remember I made my appointment and my mom was running late. And I told my mom, mommy, I just want to get this over with. Can you just get here when you can so we can get this done with? And my mom went, when my mom finally showed up, my doctor saw me and he's like, well, what's going on? What brings her in? And my mom's like, it's just her annual checkup. But I'm a little worried because she's lost so much weight over the summer. And once summer ended, she has yet to pick it back up. So I'm trying to figure out what's going on. And so the doctor looks at me and then he looks at my charts. And I guess he saw there was like a steady decline in my weight from eighth grade all the way up until my senior year of high school. So he started asking those questions that you know, aren't random questions. You know, they're specific questions that he's asking them for. And I remember just looking at him answering all the questions. He's like, well, is she always eating a lot and I'm just looking at him and my mom's like, yeah, you know, he's like, what about her thirst? Does she have an okay thirst or has it increased or what's going on? My mom's like, you know what, come to think about it, she's drinking so much water, but again, she's so active. That's just all I attributed it to. So then he's like, is she able to sleep through the night or is she always getting up and going to the bathroom? And my mom looks at me and I'm like, I'm going to the bathroom at least five times in one night. So I'm never sleeping solid it throughout the night. Then he starts asking about a numbness and tingling in the arms and legs. He starts asking about the blurred vision. He starts asking like a lot of specific questions. And most of my answers were yes. And so he actually said, well, we think she might have diabetes. Now, granted, at the time I was diagnosed, the only diabetes we ever heard about was type 2. So the first thing out my mom's mouth was, look at her. There's no way she can have diabetes. Look how thin she is. How is that possible? And that's when my doctor was like, well, you know, there are actually two different kinds of diabetes. And I'm like, I'm sorry, what? No, there's not. No one's ever told me this. So no, there's not two different kinds of diabetes. So he said, well, we're just going to run some blood work. We're going to see, we're going to make sure, just have her blood tested now and we'll let you know. So when I got the blood work done, came home, stopped and picked up something to eat. I was sitting on the sofa with my stepdad when my mom was preparing dinner and the phone rang and it was the doctor and all I remember was my mom yelled out to my stepdad mark call a cab we got to take Anita to the emergency room and I'm like why are y'all taking me to the emergency room I feel fine what the heck is going on and no one's answering me they're just putting my coat on and putting me in the cab and rushing me off to the ER and I'm just like seriously I feel fine why are you guys freaking out like this? And when we, while we were, when we got close to the hospital, my mom said, well, Anita does have diabetes. She actually has type 1 diabetes. So we're going to figure out what we have to do now that we know. And I just broke down crying. I was crying so hard because one, it was like being introduced to a new disease that I had never heard anything about. So I was scared because I didn't know, like, was I going to live or did this mean I had a couple of like, what did this mean? And then when I got to the hospital, the doctors explained everything to me. And my glucose levels were actually over a thousand

[00:07:04] Rob Howe: when I got diagnosed. Oh, wow. So it is, I mean, you were, you know, literally in DKA.

[00:07:10] Anita Nicole Brown: Pretty much and had no idea. My doctors were like, it was such a good thing. I didn't cancel that doctor's appointment because I could have gone home that day and slipped into a diabetic coma. So, you know, if you believe in God or whatever, somebody was looking out for me that day because I was like, no, mommy, I want to keep this appointment. Let's just keep this appointment and get this stuff over with. And yeah, shortly after being diagnosed, I got hit with diabetic nerve damage in my legs and feet, lost the ability to walk for about a year. But luckily, it went away. Don't know how. Luckily, it went away. That's all I can say. Well, wait, because I want

[00:07:52] Rob Howe: to focus on this a little bit because, I mean, some big changes went, right? Like you went from being very, very active and really, you know, a lot of people experience a lot of like energy depletion when they like are undergoing the symptoms of type 1. So you were still like doing all your activities in spite of that. Just doing everything. And then, so then let's, let's talk. So diabetic nerve damage. So shortly after you were diagnosed, lost the ability to walk. Yeah. Um, and so I don't know, what, what were you going through during that time? Like what kind of like, that's a, that's such a huge, like a thing that we all, all we obviously like take for granted as, as you know, people who, who have like working limbs, you know, like, but what, was that like? What, you know, as a, you know, a teenager to have come down?

[00:08:43] Anita Nicole Brown: It was depressive. Um, because you know, like I, I can't take bath ever since I was little, this is TMI, but anytime I'm in the bathtub, I always end up with a UTI. So my doctors have actually refrained me from taking baths, but considering I could barely stand and walk, How am I supposed to take a shower? You know what I mean? So having to have your brothers help you in and out of the shower and things like that, I don't care what age you are. That's just an embarrassing time. You know what I mean? So I had to count on my family to help me out with daily things like I got to go to the bathroom. Can someone help me? I got it. You know, I got to take a shower. Can someone help me? It was just what happened. Like I was just playing tennis and badminton and doing all of this stuff and over the summer. And now here we are in November, December, January. And almost all of that just disappeared in a blink of an eye. And it was it was depressive. I felt like I was such a burden on the whole family because anything I had to do, I needed help with now, which was never the case before.

[00:09:55] Rob Howe: And for somebody that's so sort of independent and headstrong and young, what, I mean, what did that do, A, to your, you know, but outside of, you know, just that sort of depressing down feeling, how did that change your day to day? And then, you know, you talked about, you know, putting a strain on your relationship with your family. Like, what is your relationship with your family when you guys think about those times?

[00:10:22] Anita Nicole Brown: um we don't really think about the bad times um mainly because a lot like my brothers had a hard time seeing their sister that way same thing with my little sister and same thing with my dad um I watched my mom's hair start falling out because she was so stressed and so worried she ended up taking off so much time from work she was worried that she wasn't going to have a job by the time she got ready to come back. So when I say I felt like a burden, I felt like a freaking burden, like everything was my fault. My family's no longer around as much as they once were. And it's my fault. You know, if I hadn't have had this disease, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, you know, so it was just, it was so difficult, but I'm kind of hardheaded and stubborn. And so I remember, especially with the nerve damage, when my doctors told me it's a possibility, it may never go away. I saw that as a challenge, like, oh, so this could be my daily life. Yeah, I'm not I'm not comfortable with that. I'm not OK with that, you know. And that was one of the things that I tried my best to focus on, like try my best to. any little gains celebrated and treated like it's the biggest gain in the world. You know what I mean? Like I did everything possible. Like I only missed about three to five months of my senior year of high school, but I was still doing all my assignments. When I could go to school, I was still in school. My school worked it out where some days I'd only have to go to school for the first half of the day. And then I was allowed to go home. And then some days I'd only go to school for the second half and then I was allowed to go home. You know, like I'm just a really stubborn person. I'm not going to let someone or something else tell me that I can or I can't accomplish or do anything. And I think that was my blessing at the time. You know, I refuse to let it define me and tell me I'm not going to do anything.

[00:12:35] Rob Howe: and I think that's such a huge part of any type of success is celebrating small wins and I think it's something that as diabetics we have to be better about you know I think we're really we have really sharp edges when we talk to ourselves about the bad things that go wrong you know and sometimes you know that's no one's fault it's just a you know different reaction but we don't do a good job on the other end of like you know waking up with a solid blood sugar or giving the right amount of insulin for a meal and having no reaction, right? So that's just a mindset that sets you up to be able to come what may. You're going to be able to either overcome it or handle whatever is thrown at you.

[00:13:17] Anita Nicole Brown: And that's the important thing. Like even when I have like hypoglycemic episodes where I'm non-responsive in the morning, but if I wake up, as soon as I'm conscious, I'm getting dressed and I'm ready to go finish out the rest of my day. like I don't have the rest of the day to sit here and be like man this shouldn't have happened I wish it no no no no no I woke up I'm still breathing I'm still functioning I let's go and do something like we need to figure out what I'm gonna do with what's left of my day because I beat it this far every day I wake up whether my levels are good or bad I woke up this morning

[00:13:50] Rob Howe: so I still have a purpose I still have something to do oh I I love that because I had my first ever hypoglycemic episode probably about four months ago, maybe five. Um, I was on a different medication that was kind of making my blood sugar weird. And, uh, anyway, I woke up and I, it was pretty early in the morning and my girlfriend was talking to me and I was just speaking nonsense, gibberish. I was like, not conscious a hundred percent. And I guess I was kind of being rude too. And I didn't, I don't even remember. And then I, when I kind of snapped out of it, she was, you know, a little bit shaken up. But I was just like, Oh, man, I'm like behind the gun. I got to get I got to get my stuff done. I got to just get to get to my thing. And it kind of like she, she was like, Wait, aren't you gonna be worried about what's happening? And I think, you know, at that point, I had to slow down a little bit and figure out what what had gone wrong. But yeah, that's funny. It's like, you know what, we're just used to those things, like sometimes not knowing why things happen. And you just got to hurdle it and keep rolling.

[00:14:50] Anita Nicole Brown: I think that's the best way. I say there's everyone always tells me, like, how come I don't talk about the negatives of the bad or whatever? And I'm like, because it's already too much of it out there. Like just being diagnosed with almost anything. It's so much negativity already addressed with that. So why don't we try and find that beauty, those small little beautiful moments, and put those out there, promote those, celebrate those, and let other people celebrate those. Because those are the moments that are going to give you the drive to keep going. They're going to give you the drive that want to make more of those moments happen again. So instead of just staying focused on that negative of this disease, why not say, ah, did you see? You see, look, I got a perfect 130 today and I was eating everything, but it's still perfect. You know, like, why don't we celebrate those little moments? Because those are the moments that will make us want to keep getting them. And then by celebrating those little moments, it'll bring more positivity into our lives and it'll help. It'll it'll just be a continuous effect. You know, we'll keep bringing that positivity towards us. And then by celebrating it, it's what other people are going to recognize and they're going to start celebrating it, too.

[00:16:08] Rob Howe: A hundred percent. Like I can't I think people hear so much negativity, they don't even know it's negative anymore. Oh, I just think it's regular. And I think, you know, what a dramatic shift that, you know, only, you know, and I'm a huge believer in the power of positive thinking and like being relentless about not letting it go. And, you know, I've seen the results of that in my own life. For you, like, you know, you're in that moment. And I want to come back to this. Like, you're celebrating those small wins. You're staying positive. when did you start to really know that things were turning for turning your way that you were

[00:16:48] Anita Nicole Brown: going to be able to walk again I didn't actually um as I was like because I never I'd I'd still get around with the help of my brothers and stuff so you know I would move my legs off slowly but they were still with me, you know, but I want to say it was, it was the community around me as well. Like I'm on public transportation. I don't drive. And I didn't drive when I was in high school or anything either. And I remember when I had a cane and everything to walk with and help myself get around as I'm still like, I just refuse to sit still, you know? So even though I may only be able to walk like 10 steps and then I'm totally winded, I'm still going to walk. You know what I mean? And I remember bus drivers that would see me trying to catch the bus and they would sit there and wait, you know, and like, it would take me about 10 minutes to cross the street. So to know that the bus drivers were just waiting and I'd get to the bus stop and I'd look and they'd be like, no, no, no, come on. It's okay. Just take your time. We got all the time in the world for you. Like, it was that that was what that told me that I'm doing something, you know, don't, don't be afraid to just let them see you and still be as strong as you can be, you know. And that's what, that's what helped me even more, like, seeing my community reach out to me, seeing my school work with me, so I didn't have to stay behind a year because of this illness that I got. I actually graduated salutatorian of my class, you know, even though I'm battling this disease and everything else that came with it. My school worked around my availability to help me still accomplish everything that I needed to do. And I think that's what made it the most important to me. That's what told me, you got this and you're going to do this because so many other people were there for me. They were cheering me on, not like, oh, yay, go Anita, but in their own way. Like, what do you need us to do so you can accomplish this? You know, and that's what,

[00:18:57] Rob Howe: that's what gave me my motivation and my drive. The power of community is, I can't, I'm continually amazed by it. I think in even small doses of, you know, just little small wins of kindness and gratitude and just willingness to help each other. I recently read, and I'm a huge fan of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss, which is a fantastic book and would highly recommend it to you or anyone. It's essentially like it's all of Tim Ferriss's podcast guests, but like his interviews are distilled into these little steps. It's very cool. But anyway, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote the introduction and he talks about standing on the shoulders of giants and how he only is where he has only got where he is and where he has been from the power of other people and the people around him. And I thought that was really powerful from somebody who you would see as you could easily say would be a person who did it on their own or whatever the case may be. But people around you, you know, you got to be, that's why you got to be careful who you surround yourself with, right? Because it can be easy to go the other direction. And so for you, you know, being celebrated and having that, you know, and to be, you know, take those small wins and ride it to being salutatorian of your high school. I mean, like, right, that right there writes it, The story writes itself, right? Like that's what an amazing tale of perseverance and, you know, optimism and just belief. So from there, I mean, like, you know, you've already overcome, you know, the worst that life has thrown at you, right? So now, you know, how do we get from the salutatorian walking up onto the stage to today?

[00:20:47] Anita Nicole Brown: um i i say still being stubborn um i went through college and again i think that when i started my freshman year like literally i graduated high school june 4th the day before my birthday and i think i started college i actually started it in the summer so i graduated june 4th of 99 and I started college, I want to say around June 10th of 99. Like I just, I'm going to keep going. Like this is where I need to go. This is what I need to do. So I just kept focused and kept going. And I remember when I walked in, it was my first time walking without an assisted device with me, no cane, no anyone else helping me, nothing like that. And that for me was like, oh my God, I get to walk into college for the first day, register for classes, and I'm walking on my own. Like, I don't need help. Granted, I was walking slower than a snail, but the point was I was walking. So I was doing it all by myself, you know. I didn't let my mom take me to school. Like, she wanted to either hop in a cab and drop me off or because she worked downtown as well. And she wanted to come halfway. And I was like, no, I'm going to do this. I got to do this. This is an important step for me. And that's what I did. And that was, for me, that was another accomplishment. Like, yeah, it was a small one. But for me, it meant so much to just be able to do that part and do it without all the assistance that I was needing as I was finishing my senior year. You know, I, I guess graduated from that to being able to go to college by myself and set up my classes and register for my classes and, you know, do all of that on my own. And that, to me, was another accomplishment, something else that I was going to be proud of.

[00:22:44] Rob Howe: Right. And I think, you know, of course, that's going to that's going to serve you. I mean, no matter what you're doing, right, that stubbornness is and being true to who you are and being open about the struggles that are are there for you. And but also celebrating the fact that you're able to overcome those. I think that's the and I want to dive in a little bit deeper to, you know, some of the challenges that you come up with today. But I think a good and what I've always liked about some of the messaging and sort of the theme behind all the things you put out on social media, especially is like openness and acceptance of yourself and of your type 1 and the challenges that you that you deal with. So it's clear now, like meeting you and talking with you, that that really is, you know, who you are and fuels you. So how do you apply that to day-to-day life? And especially as an actress and somebody that works in show business, what are those challenges that come on a daily basis that you have to be open and overcome and be stubborn with?

[00:23:52] Anita Nicole Brown: It actually didn't always start out that way. I was still doing my injections in the bathroom so no one could see me and things like that, even while I was in college. and I think it was more along the lines because there was so much I was still learning about this disease and literally diagnosed November 12th of 98 and then I'm in school June of 99 and I'm still I went through nerve damage I had a blurred vision I had you know so like I'm still adjusting to everything and learning everything so I think part of that was I didn't want to answer questions I didn't know the answer to and so to avoid those questions i was hiding you know what i mean so it was like well i don't know how to answer any question that someone would say well why are you doing that and what will that do and how does that help you like i'm still figuring out how does this help me and how will this help me and how do you know so i think i was more along i i don't know how to answer it so instead of having to face that i'm just gonna avoid it you know oh i i relate

[00:24:56] Rob Howe: I relate 100%. Like I think I had to go through and now I'm watching my parents' dog right now and he is trying to get famous. Hey. No, I relate to that because I think for a long time I took the easy way out for myself and I avoided some of those conversations because it was simple. It was like I didn't really want to explain it. It wasn't something that I felt made a difference or it was more just an inconvenience. And that was the way I looked at it. And so I think, you know, since getting more involved in starting diabetics, doing things, I've changed the way that I look at that. I'd use it as an opportunity for education and change my relationship with those conversations, which makes it makes a big difference. And also, like we have nothing to hide. Right. So. And that all, I think, comes from ourselves. We project that on ourselves. And it's pretty unfair most of the time. So. So, yeah, I want to make sure that we kind of get back to this because I also went through a phase when I was playing basketball where there was a chance that if some of these teams that I was trying to play for knew that I was the type 1, they would go away because they didn't want to deal with it or didn't want to have to worry about insurance. But I still wanted to make it, so I had to hide it. Yeah. Yeah. So it sounds like that is something similar, that you have something similar.

[00:26:23] Anita Nicole Brown: And it is. And I think like I started doing pageants. And so I was in and out of L.A. all the time. And I think one of the things that made me realize I had to change it. I mean, the modeling world is the most vicious world ever. Like if you have any insecurities, that is not an industry you ever want to get into, period, because they will rip you apart. but by being in that world I gain I gain the confidence in just me just me my body type how I am and how it operates I gained that confidence but then I also realized they're not going to know anything if I'm not willing to share and how else who else other than a type 1 diabetic can share information about this disease. Who else? You know, like, yes, we have the doctors that are still practicing and learning everything about this. But the only people who really, really know about it are the ones who deal with it every day. And if we're so quiet about this, we can't be offended about the ignorance and the ill-educated that is all related to this disease. it's like you know what okay maybe I gotta start opening my mouth because if I say silent I'm assisting in that ignorance I'm assisting in that ill-educated and if I don't want that coming back to me then I'm the one who has to do something to stop it and that's when I started I was like you know what screw it everything is gonna be related to me and my diabetes and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it. And that was when it started. So I was like, nope, we're doing it. This is how we're doing it. And you're just going to like it or go away. Yeah. And I think,

[00:28:12] Rob Howe: you know, recognizing that, you know, the silence is part of, you know, projecting that ignorance on, on the rest of the community that, I mean, that's a realization that we all have to make in our own way. You know, it's like, you're not ready to make that until you're ready type of thing. Right. um yeah and and i love that you know and you can hear the passion in your in your voice like so how since you've made that decision um how have things been different for you

[00:28:41] Anita Nicole Brown: it's still been it's still been a double-edged sword um i sometimes i go on auditions i actually plan my auditions around where my insulin pump will be now and i try and make sure every audition it's usually on on my arm so it's within clear viewing range because I don't want them to say they didn't know you know what I mean and some auditions especially when it's an independent company they'll look at me and be like um yeah she was good but she's a diabetic we don't know if we can afford to cover her being on one of our productions but then I also have some companies that are like, that's pretty badass. I actually, I'm enjoying, you know what? We would be honored to have you on. So it's still a toss up, whether or not they'll accept it or not. But now at least I put it out there. I let them see it. I let them experience it and understand it and also see that even with my insulin pump on my arm, it doesn't take away from what I can bring to any production possible. You know, my acting, I believe, is very good. And I've had productions not even realize the pump was on my arm until after I stopped performing. And that's the whole point. You didn't recognize it until I was no longer in character. So shouldn't that tell you I can deliver whatever character you want me to deliver? Like, shouldn't that be something that's more important? But, you know, some productions are like, you know what? Yes, that is more important. And then some production are just like, yeah, but the cost of having you here. we don't know if we like that so i just gotta go with it right yeah and but at least i think you

[00:30:24] Rob Howe: know like on the merits of your performance like you're not you're not leaving anything in doubt from a diabetes perspective like you said you're not going to give them the chance

[00:30:33] Anita Nicole Brown: to say they didn't know exactly because i i think everyone should know um there's been some productions like um there was a production i was on where i made sure i had to hide my insulin pump and it had nothing to do with the fact that i was a diabetes but it was a time piece so it was back in the 80s my insulin pump didn't exist in the 80s so by default i couldn't have it showing you know what i mean right so that that had absolutely nothing to do with me being a diabetic nothing at all it had to do more with my pump was not in existence until 2000 something and considering we're shooting it as the 1980s production that pump can't be seen anywhere you know what i mean and that i have to accept that i have to acknowledge and be okay with but i finished another production um it's actually called pieces of david and the writer and the director um i'm sure you see that my pumps are always decorated with something amazing from Pump Peelz so he went on their website and found an actual skin that he wanted me to use on my insulin pump throughout the

[00:31:44] Rob Howe: entire duration of filming oh that's really cool yeah and that and big shout out to Pump Peelz by

[00:31:50] Anita Nicole Brown: the way and emily emblem they're fantastic yes but that made me feel so good because he he actually He said, I'm curious, where do you get your skins from? And I'm like, oh, I get them from this site. And I sent him the site. And he sent me the link back. He goes, this would be perfect for the film. And I'm like, oh, wait, so my pump is going to be synced. Oh, oh, okay. So I was just like, how cool. Like, he's picking the skin that he wants to be used for the film and everything. And that was such an honor for me. I don't think I've ever felt that great about anything than I was with that one.

[00:32:27] Rob Howe: How supportive, right? And really getting behind your actors and really owning that part of the production. That's fantastic.

[00:32:37] Anita Nicole Brown: Yeah, that made me feel really great. So there's another film, like Crisis Function Awakening. And I've worked with the writer and the director quite a few times in the past. And when I got put on an insulin pump, this is an action film. And I do have boxing training and hand-to-hand combat. But my worry was if we're going to do a fight scene, I need to know so I know the placement of my insulin pump. You know what I mean? So it's just out of the way of accidentally being knocked off of my body. And he's like, oh, wait, what's an insulin pump? Like he knew me when I was still on injections. and when he realized I was on an insulin pump he actually decided to make the character in the film a type 1 diabetic which I thought was really cool so there were some instances in the film that actually happened in real life like my insulin pump deactivated so I had to resort to injections until I got to go home and put a new pump on but in the scene he's like he stopped filming he goes don't you have to do your injection now I was like oh yeah thanks a lot he He goes, just grab the insulin and get it and we'll still shoot the scene while you're injecting your insulin. And I'm like, for real? And he's like, your character's a diabetic. Why wouldn't you do that? And that was like, oh, my God, this is so freaking cool. So it's slowly starting to change. And that makes me feel like that means people want to see this. Someone wants to see this. If someone wants to see that, yes, I can be kicking butt one day and then coming home and testing my glucose levels and eating and doing all of that at the same time. That's something that tells me there's still hope that being different is not a bad thing. You know what I mean?

[00:34:26] Rob Howe: Boom. Just put that on repeat, right? Being different is not a bad thing. um like as you're you know as you're you know kind of living your life with diabetes and going through um you know looking towards the future down the line after all of your you know victories that you've had in your life uh what else are you hopeful for what's your um you know what do you what what do you look at on the horizon and say yeah this is cool i'm really excited for this

[00:34:56] Anita Nicole Brown: um i wanted i wanted to be out there um i went like i wanted to get to the point where people see someone testing their glucose levels and they're just like oh cool what were your levels oh that was awesome that's great you know because they understand what the ranges should be but they also understand it changes per person per diabetic you know i want that to be common knowledge common acceptance. You know what I mean? I get sick of people saying, are you sure you should be eating that? Don't you have to worry about this? Like, no, no, no, no, sweetie. Let me, I know what I'm doing for me per my recommendations and per my doctor's recommendations. So you should be able to come to me and be like, oh, wow, those are great numbers. I'm very impressed with them. You know what I mean? Like I want it where I guess since diabetics are always trying to be

[00:35:44] Rob Howe: normal. I want it so that this is the new normal. Right. Oh man. I think, you know, and with so many people, as we look at like the numbers and projections for like numbers of type 2 diabetes, it's not that out of the, you know, out of place to say, you know, yeah, maybe every person will know what you're doing with your blood sugar or, you know, we'll want to know what your numbers are and use that as a conversation starter. Yeah. Which is, you know, not something that you would ever really, like, hope for, right, is that many people to have it. But, again, I really love that idea that, like, you know, not having to explain, not having to hide, and people knowing that people with type 1 are capable of anything that they want to be capable of. Yeah. And sort of just eliminating that, you know, mystery or lack of awareness.

[00:36:34] Anita Nicole Brown: Yeah, that's my, I'm like, see, the way I feel, no one who's ever been successful has ever been normal. So I think I'm right where I need to be. But I know a lot, especially a lot of us, we want to be normal. So why don't we do something to make this the new normal? You know, show people that this is what we got to do every day of our lives. It doesn't take away from who we are. It doesn't take away from what we can or cannot accomplish. It's just a part of us. And this is our normal. And by default, this is a normal you're going to have to understand and accept.

[00:37:12] Rob Howe: And it is. And I think when you take a stance like that, especially advocating for yourself, it's pretty amazing the response that most people have. Like, um, it's when you start to, you know, it's that fear that holds you back and that doubt that you put on yourself, um, that really messes you up and like makes you think that you shouldn't say things like that. You shouldn't advocate for yourself. Um, and I think once you, you know, overcome those things, um, and all it takes is one time. And I think then you feel like, Oh, I've been doing this wrong. I need to be doing it like this. um in in terms of and i know um you know we really you've had a couple sound bites on here that are just like you know might as well turn them into a poster and nail them to the wall um i i always ask this question on on the podcast sort of as like the sort of the bow on on top of a of a great interview um if you so say you're you know this is this is the context Like say you're in an airport and you have like 30 seconds before you have to jump on the gate to get on the plane and they're going to take off and you can't miss this flight. Whatever is on the other end, you can't miss it. But you run into somebody who is struggling with their diabetes or at least maybe recently diagnosed. What is the one thing in that 30 seconds that you tell them and leave them with just before you whisk off towards the gate?

[00:38:45] Anita Nicole Brown: I just tell them, I tell them you're not alone. I tell them you have a whole community around you if you want to accept that. And I tell them if they ever need to talk, I'm here. Like, I am here. I'm a phone call, Instagram, Facebook, whatever you need. However you want to talk to me, I'm here. And that's what I would leave them with.

[00:39:07] Rob Howe: And that's so huge, right? Like, because there are so many people out there that feel alone. I think we've all had those moments where, you know, you feel like you're the only person that's going through this. And I think now more than ever, and this is one of the reasons why I believe now is the best time to be a type 1, if there ever is such a thing, because there's so many people that you have access to that you can reach out to. And it didn't used to be that way. No.

[00:39:32] Anita Nicole Brown: And that's what baffles me, because I remember when I was the only person in my high school who had type 1 diabetes. So, yeah, I understand I'm alone. And social media wasn't the way it is now where I could have reached out to someone else and things like that, you know. So I didn't have that. So now that it is here, we do have access to it. Take advantage of it. Don't sit there and feel like you're the only one going through it because I can promise you, you're not. Everything you're adjusting with, learning how to deal with, like trying to accept, someone else went through that. A couple of million people went through that and they could help you. It's just you got to be willing to reach out and ask for help.

[00:40:19] Rob Howe: And so many people are willing to help. Yes. Once you ask, and I think like literally the only reason this podcast is successful is because other people have been willing to help. Because, you know, that's literally the foundation of it. And I'm just blown away sometimes. It's like, I've gotten better because of this at asking for help. And that's not always an easy thing because, you know, for some reason, some of us have this complex where we want to try to do it ourselves or we feel like asking for help is wrong and weak. Right. And I think that's so backwards and we can just do so much better than that. And it's interesting. Like, again, it's one of those things that you can't really make somebody see. They just have to find out at the right time. You know, whenever it's their time, it'll be their time. But, yeah, I would so encourage people to get involved, to speak up, to ask for help. Those things have made a huge difference for me and many others, and I would encourage anybody to do them.

[00:41:26] Anita Nicole Brown: That's actually what helped me. Like when people tell me I'm an inspiration, I tell them it's actually the other way around. You know, from my photo shoots to being on set to everything that I do about type 1, it's because I'm inspired by them. I'm inspired by the stories they tell. A friend of mine had a story and she told me how one of her friends was going to a wedding. And she was a part of the wedding and she was trying to figure out how to hide her insulin pump. And she said the exact words was because no one wants to see this hideous thing on me. And that hurt me so much because I'm like, who said it was hideous? No one said it was hideous. I don't consider my insulin pump and devices hideous. I consider them a beautiful accessory, something that helps complement me. And so my recent photo shoots where I'm covered in all my diabetic supplies was because of that, you know, so it's like you guys inspire me and tell me what I need to do, how I need to show there is a beauty in our world of diabetes. You know, there's even a sexiness in our world of diabetes. Like, we're sexy as all hell. I don't care what y'all say. We are. And we need to start accepting it and learning that it's beautiful. What we do every day, how we manage to overcome so much, that's actually the beauty in it. Why can't we accept that and see it?

[00:43:02] Rob Howe: And I think, you know, it's just a, it starts with the conversations that we have with ourselves. Like you said, you know, this hideous thing. what if one day it wasn't hideous and you just decided that. Right. And most people, it's like the detective's curse, right? It's just sitting right in front of your nose and you can't see it. And when people cross that, it's amazing to see the transformations that they go through. And I look forward for, if there's somebody out there that's been struggling with how they feel about it, I look forward to the day where they can change that conversation for themselves.

[00:43:37] Anita Nicole Brown: I think that's why I said I want it to be the new norm. Like, if we're trying so hard to be normal, why don't we make this the new normal? That'll be an awesome thing for me.

[00:43:48] Rob Howe: I'm all for it. In the spirit of, you know, you said, hey, reach out anytime. For our listeners who want to get in touch with you, what's the best way for them to do that?

[00:44:02] Anita Nicole Brown: um email i'm i'm attached to my phone unfortunately so email is one of the best ways i have anita nicole brown at gmail.com or anita n brown at comcast.net and then there's instagram there's twitter there's facebook and it's all anita nicole brown so you should be able to find me no matter what. And yeah, I don't care how you reach out to me. If you want to talk or whatever, complain, whatever, like I'm here and I will do whatever I can to either listen or if you're asking for advice, give what advice I can to help you. You know, that's kind of what I've been doing this whole time. Like, shockingly enough, so many messages that I get on a daily basis are just wow and I want to keep doing that I want to keep telling people I'm still here you know every battle you go through trust me I probably went through it today or I'm going to go through it next week and you know so like let's learn how to just be there and help each other

[00:45:14] Rob Howe: and yeah I mean any time of day reach out right like uh I think it means it means a lot to have those people out there who are willing to help. And I'll definitely include links to your various social media and email addresses in the show notes. So anybody that didn't want to rewind and go back and find those, they will be able to click them in the notes. So I got your back on that.

[00:45:42] Anita Nicole Brown: Yay!

[00:45:43] Rob Howe: Anita, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. What an amazing and powerful story you have. And I really appreciate you giving your time to share that with us.

[00:45:54] Anita Nicole Brown: Thank you for letting me come on. I was so honored. I was like, yay! I was doing the happy dance and everything.

[00:46:02] Rob Howe: Well, good. I'm really, like you said, all the work that you do and all the positive message that you spread, it was a no-brainer, and I'm super happy that we were able to get it done.

[00:46:16] Anita Nicole Brown: Thank you so much. I love what you do. I hope you never, ever, ever stop.