Diabetics Doing Incredible Support and Community Building with Marie Diaz

[00:00:08] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015, and we have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories, and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening, and if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email. at rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com. 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 I am really excited for today's guest and I'll tell you why. Back when we first started this podcast and it was basically not much more than an idea and my guests, I was really selling people hard on coming on this show. I was like, trust me, it's going to be great. It's going to be a thing. There's just nobody's been on it yet. One of the first people to ever like share that they were listening to the podcast and interact with us on Instagram on a regular basis was Marie Diaz, Miss Nerds Can Fight. And I'm so excited that she's here on the show today.

[00:01:34] Marie Diaz: Hello. I'm so happy to be here.

[00:01:36] Rob Howe: Yeah, I'm just super, super pumped that we were able to make this happen. And, you know, your perspective being so involved in many different ways in the Type 1 community is going to be awesome. So I can't wait to nerd out with you. But for those of us who may not know your story Beyond just your Nerds Can Fight profile And your very mysterious life that you live Please just give us a little background on who you are And how you came to join the type 1 diabetes family

[00:02:08] Marie Diaz: Yeah, okay, so I am 22 And I have been coming to UT for the past 4 years I am graduating on Saturday And I was diagnosed when I was 4 so it's been a long journey with diabetes hook them horns yeah Texas gang yeah um

[00:02:30] Rob Howe: so you know for you obviously like you probably don't even remember life without diabetes right I do not and even if you did like you know nobody nobody's like yeah I really wish for those days when I didn't do anything on my own right right yeah um do you remember like you know especially with like with your family and stuff like growing up do you remember anything that was how did you guys approach it anything stand out to you or do you guys talk about that back in the day

[00:02:59] Marie Diaz: at all yeah and so I've kind of been asking them about recently as well um I will just dive in um I guess since I was four I only remember like bits and pieces but my parents said that I had like a couple rounds of strep throat and all the usual symptoms. And then I was just getting really, really irritated with simple things like even playing with Legos or Barbies and like a mix of being lethargic and angry all the time, I guess. So just throwing trumps. And so they realized something was pretty wrong. And my mom was in PA school and my dad was in nursing school. And I think they were pretty smart to figure it out and use my grandmother's glucometer to test my blood sugar. And of course it said, hi. So they rushed me to the hospital that night.

[00:03:49] Rob Howe: So, so a little bit of self-diagnosis, I'm sure like they were like, Hey, what could this be? I wonder how, as a couple, what that's like with like somebody so important, like your child and you're just like, Hey, it could be this. It could be this. Oh, Hey, let's grab the glucometer. So your grandma had type 2 diabetes I'm just gonna guess yeah yeah she did almost rarely ever do grandmas ever have type 1 it's a I'm sure I'm sure there are plenty of amazing type 1 grandmas out there but whenever anyone says that it's almost never type 1 right right um that's crazy what what else you mentioned that you've been talking to them more recently why is that your parents I

[00:04:30] Marie Diaz: mean oh sort of leading up to the podcast I was like tell me everything you know about my diagnosis go. So I got some cool stories from them. What did they say? What was the one that stands out? Yeah, my mom said that, of course, after my diagnosis, she was pretty crazy about keeping my blood sugars under control. But obviously, as we all know, that's sometimes impossible, and especially right after diagnosis. So she said she was calling the nurses like, every day, like, what do I do? This is what happened, you know, like a very scientific approach and one of the nurses that had been there the night I was diagnosed was kind of like you know what you can do your best but sometimes the sugar fairy just gives you a little extra or takes some away and you can't let it like ruin your entire day and I thought that was just so

[00:05:19] Rob Howe: funny like the sugar fairy what god that sugar fairy still trying to figure out exactly how

[00:05:25] Marie Diaz: much to pay her on daily basis right not exactly like the tooth fairy gives you money yeah it's

[00:05:32] Rob Howe: more like takes your money, takes your money and makes you go to the pharmacy all the time. You know, for you, like, do you remember, you know, and the sugar fairy is a good example. I think like, as you're growing up, it's interesting that somebody would position diabetes like that to an adult. But it's amazing how, how, you know, there's so much science involved in type 1 diabetes, but like logic almost doesn't belong sometimes. Like, you know, your mom as a, you know, you said she was in PA school. She's obviously involved in medicine. She's like, yeah, let me just do exactly the same thing or let me control this and we'll be fine. And it's weird. And I think a lot of people, but especially parents, when they have that realization that kind of like come to that, that peak of like, oh man, like this is not going to be as easy as I thought it was. Do you remember kind of dealing with that with her,

[00:06:27] Marie Diaz: even as you got older? Yeah, of course. And I think that was, it was super great because there's a lot of freedom with that. Like knowing that you can give yourself, you know, the same thing every day or eat the same thing and you're not going to get the same results. Um, there's freedom in that, but I think that was largely how we managed my blood sugars. Um, yeah, when I was younger and it probably wasn't until college where I learned like, Oh, lower carbs, um, can help, you know, the variability and yeah that I really delve into like approaching exercise like with a routine and just more scientifically so in that respect it's kind of the opposite well and I want to dig

[00:07:08] Rob Howe: into that a little bit too because I'm not going to let you undersell yourself here uh you're super involved in type 1 run uh you're also a vegan if I'm not mistaken or at least have a largely plant-based diet, right? All of those things, people ask questions about all the time in the online diabetes community. So I'd love to just talk about your choices that you've made that have led you to those and what you've found from that. Obviously, let's start with exercise and type 1 run. First of all, tell us about type 1 run and the awesome organization that it is. And I think now, I feel like I see now more than ever more people across the country getting involved. So give it a little plug.

[00:07:51] Marie Diaz: Oh, my goodness. Okay. I am not qualified. Yeah. So Type 1 Run was based out of California and is this huge nonprofit that Beyond Type 1 has just absorbed. And it's basically just sort of like giving the resources and help to people all around the world that want to create their own running groups and sort of sets them up for, you know, like their own diabetes community. in that area and their motto is like no one's left behind. And so it's just really go at the pace you want and it's all free, you know, and people can do races together and it's amazing. So I started the Austin chapter and that's been really fun. Just meeting up with a couple of new faces, um, almost every weekend and running a couple of miles with them. Yeah.

[00:08:39] Rob Howe: And like, you know, I feel like every Saturday I'll get on Instagram and cause we have, uh, Jordan runs our Dallas chapter of Type 1 Run. And I haven't been in town when they're doing an event, and I think she's traveling right now. But I feel like each of these local chapters, especially since Beyond Type 1 has sort of made it a little bit more public and absorbed or merged with Type 1 Run, that people are getting out. And that's how they're meeting other people with diabetes for the first time.

[00:09:08] Marie Diaz: Yeah. Oh, my. It's so exciting. and we had a girl in town come run. I met her at another JDRF event in town and her name is Brooke and she's amazing. And she came and she was like, hey, I'm kind of training for a half marathon. Do you guys want to run like six miles? And I was like, of course. And I asked other people that were going to come to the run and they were like, sure. And it turned out to be like the longest run she had ever done post-diagnosis. Like that's amazing. That's a huge thing to celebrate.

[00:09:36] Rob Howe: And like what a cool thing to be a part of.

[00:09:38] Marie Diaz: Right.

[00:09:40] Rob Howe: what's that like i mean for you i mean let's back up a little bit before we go on to the vegan and plant-based question um you're very involved in diabetes right both locally in austin and texas and you know internationally on the on a scale of like jeremy robertson stayed at my house last week um who's the awesome human uh and he's like oh yeah he's like uh marie he's like She has a weird Instagram name, I think. She went to Australia like a year ago. And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's her. And like people know you. Everywhere I go, people know you.

[00:10:20] Marie Diaz: It's always a shock, like just hearing that. I'm like, what? He knows who I am? So funny.

[00:10:25] Rob Howe: Well, but I mean, I think it speaks a lot to your willingness to like be outgoing and like be involved. And, you know, you're sort of giving, you're a giver. and you're a community, like a figurehead in the community. I don't know any other way to say it. You're an influencer to the influencers.

[00:10:44] Marie Diaz: So many kind words, I can't handle it.

[00:10:46] Rob Howe: When did you, what made you get more involved with that? Was that something that sort of came second nature to you or was that a conscious decision you made or did it just sort of happen?

[00:10:58] Marie Diaz: Like Instagram or?

[00:10:59] Rob Howe: Yeah, maybe not even just like Instagram, but like the just like the emotions and feelings behind it like being outgoing about type 1 and

[00:11:07] Marie Diaz: your diabetes oh wow yeah I don't think it was conscious um well that was a weird sentence um yeah no I didn't think about it I think like as you say that I went to diabetes camp in San Antonio for like 13 years starting when I was seven when we moved here and just I think that really shaped all of my views about diabetes and how to live with it and just have a lot of fun and we had a lot of siblings there you know or like like children of counselors and doctors there that didn't have type 1 and so just being able to mix with them and just really feel normal you know that was a huge part of it so I think being able to reach out and give any input at all and encourage

[00:11:50] Rob Howe: people is just so exciting for me. Well, it is. And I think, you know, the community, you really don't know what you're going to get out of it until you, you know, put yourself out there. Of course. And, you know, I can, I know that personally from experience, right? I had no idea what I was going to get out of the community until I, you know, just started digging and discovered all this awesome stuff. And I think like people underestimate that in general, like how good advocacy or like community is for you for yourself like you're giving back to other people but you know the you know equity you build up with yourself it's worth every ounce of effort

[00:12:32] Marie Diaz: times 10 it's pretty awesome yeah of course and I think that's such a buzzword right like community I'm like join community find community but it probably starts with like one person you look up to, you know, in your, I mean, online or locally and goes from there. So. Yeah. And I think it

[00:12:50] Rob Howe: stops being a buzzword when you really deliver on it. Right. Whether that's one person face to face or, or a hundred thousand people online, whatever the case is. Right. Um, okay. Back to the plant based question to your vegan question. When did that start? Yeah. So I studied abroad in Australia

[00:13:11] Marie Diaz: and became like real life friends with Amy McKinnon, who's pretty popular in the community, plant-based runner, qualified for Boston, where Boston is incredible. And she really was my mentor with that. And I was skeptical. She was sort of like just educating me in different regards. But I was like, you know what? I don't know if all this hype about plants and a plant-based diet and increased insulin sensitivity is real, but I will try it. And it's been magical. I eat all the

[00:13:44] Rob Howe: fruit and yeah, so good. All the fruits. It's interesting, right? Like, uh, you mentioned low carb and you know, how it keeps the variability down. Um, and you know, those big swings, uh, are fewer and farther between at times. Um, oh yeah. And for a couple of years, I think I was,

[00:14:06] Marie Diaz: I don't know if trapped is the right word, but I think I trapped myself into this little box of thing that I had to do pretty low carb for my whole life to, you know, be like emotionally stable with blood sugars and stuff. But yeah, that's why it's been super amazing just transitioning to a

[00:14:22] Rob Howe: plant-based diet. Well, and Amy came on the show. I haven't released her episode yet, but she's been, she's been on the show and we've talked about sort of her approach to nutrition and exercise and sort of the holistic uh you know 360 degree view you know that's an interesting thing like you meet somebody a stranger almost or you know somebody that you know you know by association in a foreign country and and then she basically you know opened you up to this whole new world of plant-based uh you know diets what take us through that was it just like you know you met her and you and and you get you were in Australia and that experience was great and you just you know found momentum there or how did that

[00:15:05] Marie Diaz: or was it difficult at first um well I think I'm I'm like a fangirl of sorts right so I think part of the reason I went to Sydney was Amy and other people on Instagram right that are in Sydney and just like thriving and also managing their blood sugar as well so I had reached out to her after like moving there and I mean yeah that was great and she was just incredible like ran with me you know, even though she's like the flash and can run super fast, she just like stayed with me and encouraged me and took me out to eat. And that was when I saw that it's like a very doable thing. And there's not a lot of, you know, I think you think of a vegan diet and like a lot of sacrifice and cutting things out. But really, I have found so many more veggies and good, good foods.

[00:15:51] Rob Howe: It's funny, you mentioned that you're a fangirl of sorts. You're like a professional fangirl. I think don't, don't undersell yourself. And it's like, that's a skill too. I don't know if you know that, uh, just being like as positive and supportive as you are, that is a, uh, you know, a thing that is admirable. And I think we could all do a little bit more to be like you in that regard. Uh, yeah, I know I'm making you hyperventilate by talking, by giving you compliments. But really though, what makes you so connectable to everybody? Because everybody knows you. What is it about you? Is it your, I mean, I obviously know because I know you. I'll just give you an example. We had our event in Dallas, our type 1 Nation event, and I brought Laura and Libby and Lauren and Gretchen and, you know, some others up here to Dallas to talk. And, you know, basically, you know, big people, big people from the Instagram community around type 1. And you drove up here from Austin, which is not like I don't make that drive very often. It's not close. Let's not let's be honest. It's not very close. and you just like came up here, burned the ships and just came in and you're like, I'm going to go to this. Of course. And then you did the same thing in San Antonio, which is a little bit closer for you from Austin. But you're just that committed. That's who you are.

[00:17:24] Marie Diaz: Yes, question mark. Yeah, those are just so inspiring to me too. But I mean, yeah, I had to come. There was no other option.

[00:17:34] Rob Howe: yeah and i think like i don't know like people let's let's talk a little bit out let's let's put it in a framework of another person so we don't have to talk about you necessarily but those you know what would you say to somebody who's afraid of or is talking themselves out of doing things like that like being more involved or seeing someone that they you know follow or know or really like and you know making excuses to not do things or feeling self-conscious about going alone

[00:18:05] Marie Diaz: to a diabetes event or something like that oh my goodness um I think that brings up the topic of comfort zones right because I think yeah I mean you're talking about how outgoing I am but I'm like super shy and I don't talk and I hyperventilate around people that I admire but um yeah I think I don't know I mean it's just about making the leap I really really don't know um

[00:18:33] Rob Howe: no it is but I and I think you know yeah I am talking about how going you are but I also I think it's authentic too so it's not you know you're oh right so I think I think that

[00:18:45] Marie Diaz: would be in my advice though if you if right like if somebody's not really feeling it like there are people in Austin that I am constantly reaching out to that I have like mutual friends with um and I'm like come on like come to type 1 run you know or just like get coffee with me and then they just like don't really respond and it's like oh maybe they don't really want type 1 friends um and I mean of course there are those people but oh my gosh I don't know I think just looking at like all of our lives and everybody on this podcast like so much more enriching to just

[00:19:14] Rob Howe: I don't know bond with each other yeah I mean I uh I don't even know I'm trying to think of like it wasn't that long ago that I didn't really have any type 1 friends and now I do and I just like my life is better like that's the end of the story that's just but I think I think I'm sure you agree and feel the same way but and I'm not sure because I didn't go to diabetes camp I was much too cool that's my that's my joke I always tell like I was way too cool and I knew everything already so I didn't need to go um but and so you know there are people that did and made friends early and so got like kind of a head start on the rest of us um but you know for for somebody out there who doesn't know or is like you know afraid or doesn't want type 1 friends what would you give advice to them or would you just you know we talked about comfort zones but what what would you tell a person like that because i think we've all been there

[00:20:16] Marie Diaz: I think I hit on it a little bit earlier like just find that one person that you probably think you could be like real life friends with and reach out to them if it's online or whether it's you know they live down the street because that's like I said where it starts and I mean I think like people have said on this podcast too like you your parents and your family and other friends can try like their hardest but they're never going to really understand the struggles or like the emotional toll that this disease takes on us. And it's okay to like fully admit that and realize that and ask for help and seek out those friendships.

[00:20:53] Rob Howe: And how would you say like your life has been different or like the decisions that you've made by being more outgoing or, you know, connecting with people on Instagram, you know, how much, give me, give me an example of like when you knew that was the right thing to do, like maybe the first time you were like, wow, this is insane.

[00:21:13] Marie Diaz: actually okay yeah this was like recently but i actually have this little message i got from this guy steve on instagram can i can i read it yeah of course oh my gosh it's amazing um okay i had posted about like having a rough day blood sugar wise and he was like hey i'm sorry you had a rough day if it's any consolation i just wanted you to know that your long distance running with type 1 inspired me to get back into skateboard skateboarding excuse me which i pretty much gave up on the last few years because it always threw my sugars out of whack when I saw your posts and stories about being able to run miles and still have control of your diabetes it made me realize that I was letting my diabetes take something from me that I loved I even volunteered at a charity this Saturday that helps special needs children experience skateboarding I probably never would have done it had I run had I sorry done it had I hadn't have run into you on Instagram anyways I apologize for the lengthy post hope you have a good day tomorrow and that was the moment where I think like I just, right, like I'm outgoing and I'm enthusiastic, but it's like, I hope people see it as genuine. Like I just care about people's lives and how they're managing the disease and life in general. And so seeing that, just me posting about, you know, going running outside one day, like helps him like that. That's incredible. Like I can't even wrap my mind around

[00:22:27] Rob Howe: it. Wow. Shout out Steve, by the way. Yeah. Um, I think you, I think we underestimate the power of being vulnerable and open. Um, you know, even in simple things like just like, Hey, I'm going for a run or Hey, I'm letting you into my life. And today, Hey, so I'm struggling with something. Um, people care, which is weird to say, like, you know, cause on the internet, That people are like, you know, mostly people, the things people say are negative or at least the media wants us to believe that they're all negative or all of the stories are about people saying negative things. But, you know, the positive stuff is just like that, you know, seemingly just like a regular guy. And, you know, he was wrestling with skateboarding in his head and, you know, it was a big part of his life before. and you know because you were doing something even so simple as hey posting about a run there you have it like and you got that amazing connection out of it so i think it's like when you're open and you're vulnerable and you leave yourself open to those types of opportunities

[00:23:35] Marie Diaz: you never know what'll come back right yeah that's wild um

[00:23:43] Rob Howe: we are still going skydiving at some point we got to figure that out let's uh you you spent a pretty good amount of time with Erik Douds who has not been on this podcast yet but he and i were chatting about it the other day um and i think i you know when i think of like all of my face-to-face diabetes interactions of this year uh whether it's type 1 nation in dallas or austin and you know joining with joining up with Eric here in Dallas and just kind of having lunch and meeting all these different people like your name always keeps popping up like you're you're super involved um like how do you do it what is uh you know what's your I don't even know if secret sauce is the right word what's like what's the mojo that Marie brings give me the like talk about yourself like you're not you and you're like yeah the thing about Marie is this impossible to do

[00:24:40] Marie Diaz: oh my goodness no I have no words I think I mean yeah I guess to be real like it's impossible to like fake it um like I there was no there's no way to keep up with I feel like the amount of people I do um if I like genuinely didn't care about them. And so that really just fuels it, I think. Um, and seeing all of the incredible stuff Eric has done with his like original website, diabetes abroad, like he was just posting about how, you know, he spent time in Africa and would hike everywhere. And I just sort of wanted to contribute to that, um, and support him in that. And so that turned into him staying with me for like a good week. And that was amazing. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's insane. Just like the,

[00:25:27] Rob Howe: the fringe connections that turn into like real friendships, you know?

[00:25:31] Marie Diaz: Right, right. It was such a good time. We were like, what? This is the first time we've met? Also, what?

[00:25:39] Rob Howe: I had like a pretty rough day last week. It was just like very drained. I was very tired. And I was thinking back, I was like, man, like what was a really good day like recently? And I thought about the first day before the summit in Dallas where like everybody came to dinner and we were all drinking wine and we were all just laughing and we all knew each other but we had never all met before i think only like two of us had met before and so it was just this like really weird moment of hey like i feel like we're all best friends uh and like laughing and like and it was such a weird like strange collection of i don't know i kind of feel like you know when people talk about how stars combust and like may and like form you know it's like all these elements are in the like in the area moving at the right speed at the right temperature and then it's like boom something happens and i felt like that uh going into dallas uh dallas type 1 nation with JDRF it was just a moment where we all kind of knew each other we all knew what we were all about but then when we all got in the same room it was just it couldn't have been better yeah and you made that happen so

[00:26:52] Marie Diaz: thank you again um yeah and you mentioned like me making the drive so I was driving like almost four hours by myself from Austin to Dallas and I was I mean really almost hyperventilating like I know I've been saying that a lot but I think my blood sugar was like above 240 the entire time and I was just thinking about like meeting you and meeting Laura and Libby and Lauren and I was just like this I'm gonna die like I'm going to collapse um and even like didn't sleep the night after like we did the day before the summit like i was like okay i can't sleep i'm way too excited and that like doesn't happen like i sleep all the time so it was wild i understand what you're

[00:27:29] Rob Howe: saying yeah and i mean i think that's so healthy to be able to have that look back and be like man what a day that was what an experience yeah uh you you talked about like you know you mentioned your blood sugars were high when you were kind of up here i know now you are part of the looping community if i'm not mistaken yes yes talk a little bit about that because i feel like you're a person who's been very in charge and very proactive with your own control anyway so take us through the the whole loop thing i think i want to i want to get we've had i've had some people on the podcast talking about it before but uh somebody who's actively made the switch

[00:28:07] Marie Diaz: right right so yeah for those that don't know looping is like an open source code that people have collaborated on for like over a decade and um so your pump your old medtronic is hooked up to your phone which is talking to your dexcom which is talking to this little radio frequency converter called a RileyLink and it will adjust your basals itself and you can bolus from your phone and your watch and all those good things so i don't even remember how i heard about loop probably just the community somehow um and over a year ago actually like before study abroad i was like i'm gonna do it. Then I bought all of the equipment and then just didn't go through with it. I was like, that's a big change. I'm not going to do it. So really James, the co-founder of type 1 Run and then Eric Dowds, they were the final push for me to really jump into the loop world completely.

[00:29:00] Rob Howe: And it has been amazing. So what's the biggest change do you think? I mean, because I think you're a person, like I said, who is pretty in charge of your own numbers and very on top of it. I am not looping, but I'm on the hybrid closed loop system from Medtronic. So I've been in that adjustment phase. What's been the biggest surprise for you? What's been your

[00:29:24] Marie Diaz: favorite part? Right. Probably it might be the same for you, just like it takes a lot of the mental work away. I don't have to check my Dexcom like every five seconds and see if I'm trending up or trending down and you know act on that like it's already it's taking that away and it for me and that's been that's been so good yeah I was running out applies for it um because I haven't gotten a prescription for it yet and um I had to use my Omnipod like two days ago I think I hit 400 like every day and I was like wow I'm messing this up and it was just like realizing how much loop is doing so automation is very very very cool it is cool and i think based on the amount

[00:30:05] Rob Howe: of technology that's out there both you know open source from people who have just been doing an amazing job hacking basically and coding and then also on the you know like fda approved side all of the changes that are coming in the next year or two um it's a good time to you know the automation is in a place where it's available there's it can make decisions and it's reliable enough to, you know, take some of that thinking away. I love it. I, today was my first day and I think almost four weeks that I didn't wear my CGM cause it ran out last night and I just didn't have time to charge it today and all this other excuses that I'm making. But, and you know, my sugars were fine today, but I was like, you know what? I haven't had to think about this in

[00:30:50] Marie Diaz: like three weeks and that is nice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm very, very excited for like injectable glucagon right so that it could be really taking even more of that away we wouldn't need to

[00:31:02] Rob Howe: eat every time we're low honestly the 7-eleven uh below my office would probably go out of business because i buy orange juice there on a song on such regular basis um so when injectable glucagon comes out just go short on 7-eleven because their stock's gonna crumble from my one orange juice every other day. Um, for you, like, um, I had this really good question. Okay. Yeah, there it is. Uh, you interact with diabetes a lot. You are in type 1 run, you follow every and interact with every, you know, diabetes, Instagram account, um, from A to Z that I'm aware of. And, and then you also have type 1 and you're looping and you're trying all these things. Do you ever experience any like burnout or is that just kind of like the opposite it just fuels you because you know

[00:31:57] Marie Diaz: you're doing the things that you're supposed to be doing oh man a little bit of both and I think I had burnout the first time um this semester but I think that was largely in regards to just like this transition of graduating and you know like becoming an adult in air quotes um but But, yeah, there's a mix of it. Yeah, like diabetes all the time. And so I think originally that's why when I was younger and I just didn't really understand how to not, like I guess how to get off the roller coaster. That's kind of why I was like, oh, I'm not going to work in diabetes. You know, I'm not going to have a job that's full time like that. But, yeah, at the same time, there's so many encouraging people that will give back, right? There are friendships that I've forged and they are reaching out the same amount. And that's really good.

[00:32:50] Rob Howe: Yeah, it is. And I think, you know, again, you know, burnout is such a tough thing because it's different for everybody. Yeah. And, you know, that's the other thing is like type 1 diabetes is the same, but we're all different.

[00:33:05] Marie Diaz: Yeah, I like, yeah, really until this semester, like the past five or six months, I didn't know what those sentences meant. I was like, you know, no, I'm sure if people did some of the same stuff, it would work the same way. but I have fully realized that that is wrong.

[00:33:20] Rob Howe: What changed it? Was it just like exposure to more stories? Was it just talking to other people? Because that's not a small thing to like, I feel like it's so rare, maybe not for you, but it's so rare for people these days to like have their perspective changed.

[00:33:36] Marie Diaz: Right, yeah, I think a big part of that was looping, right? Like I have been with Omnipod for the past 10 years and I'm very loyal. So I think realizing that something else works and also right, like becoming plant based, it'll be like almost a year. Like both of those are huge changes. And just seeing that other things work in life to manage your blood sugars. It was like, I know this on a cognitive level, but it's working like I'm still living.

[00:34:03] Rob Howe: Yeah. Oh, and like that. I was talking to a family in San Antonio who were having a tough time with their son who was like 18 or 19. And, you know, he had been having a rough time managing his type 1. And, you know, it's life's hard when you're young and you plan ahead because you really don't have any idea what's going to happen. Right. So things weren't kind of going the way that he wanted. And, you know, he had never planned on getting type 1 and all these things. And, you know, you can find yourself in a little bit of a spiral there if you don't celebrate those like, hey, I'm still alive. Like I'm doing fine moments. And I told him, I was like, hey, you know, every morning that the ambulance doesn't wake you guys up and like have to take him to the hospital and give him a shot of glue gun like that. You guys should like notice that and celebrate it and be like, hey, that's good. We should do that again.

[00:34:57] Marie Diaz: Oh, yeah. Definitely celebrating like the little victories.

[00:35:00] Rob Howe: Yeah. Yeah, like, and I mean, just, it's kind of hokey, but it's like being relentlessly positive. And how important that is to, you know, a life, a well balanced life thriving with type 1. You've got to do that. Otherwise, you're going to find yourself just super miserable and being a little bit too hard on yourself.

[00:35:21] Marie Diaz: Oh, right. And that totally includes like finding your outlets where you can get your anger and all of those negative emotions out.

[00:35:27] Rob Howe: Yeah, what are those for you?

[00:35:29] Marie Diaz: Running, definitely.

[00:35:32] Rob Howe: um yeah yeah running yeah I want to know I mean you just like you're in your head right that's

[00:35:39] Marie Diaz: just you running and right yeah yeah and I think I think a lot of people like might not enjoy running because they will go out there and go like really hard or just like pretty fast paced you know but I am just I take it slow and I just like go until I really can't anymore I mean not really because people do like ultra marathons, you know, but, um, right. You're just like crazy run and run. And yeah, that's why I love like, I guess, running distance and yeah, you just like, I think, I don't know, it feels good, but you also, it's a good reminder of like how small you are.

[00:36:16] Rob Howe: Yeah. I mean, we, you know, everything seems so important, right? Yeah. Um, and we're just blips. what uh you've traveled a lot and i know you know specifically to to australia is that something that sort of came to you as well in your travels you're like oh man

[00:36:36] Marie Diaz: this is bigger than just me oh yeah yeah for sure um yeah that was probably like in addition to like looping and becoming vegan i think the whole study abroad journey itself sounds like so cliche when anyone talks about it and I originally did not want to do that um and so yeah I mean the whole journey I think there was like somehow I don't know I got in my head that like you have like I'm like super responsible with like my blood sugar management and super independent right like since moving to college but that took it definitely like a step further when Sydney is like 17 hours ahead of my parents and I couldn't call them you know every

[00:37:19] Rob Howe: minute that they needed them or yeah yeah it really is like uh you know back to that comfort zone conversation is like are you ready to be almost isolated and have to make decisions for yourself back to that like air quotes adulting yeah yeah it's important it really is um and i think you know i would challenge somebody with who's you know has type 1 there's going to be plenty of reasons in your life where you can't or do things or like don't feel like doing things because of your you know because you had a rough blood sugar day or whatever the case is but like challenging yourself and really going out where you're the only person you can rely on is a great exercise and I think it's paid a lot paid off a lot for me right yeah and I'll bring that back

[00:38:11] Marie Diaz: to running like I had signed up for a marathon last year and I just didn't train for it because honestly, I haven't trained for the half marathons I run. I just like go out and run, you know, a couple of times a week and that's my training. But then really time caught up with me and just ended up, um, not doing it. And so that was like a wake up call, but also realizing that like doing a full marathon will mean that I am solely dependent on myself to like get out there and train. And it'll be even more management with my blood sugars to figure that out.

[00:38:44] Rob Howe: yeah and i think you know part of that process is learning about your body too and learning about your diabetes just so you know okay well if i've got to do this type of strenuous work this is what's going to happen yeah and also everybody's difference you know just following along with like even a quarter of the people who ran on the beyond type runs beyond type 1 marathon team last year for new york city like everybody's blood sugars were different. Everybody reacted to training in a different way. Um, and that was kind of cool to

[00:39:16] Marie Diaz: see too. Yeah. Yeah. I'm actually running on the team for this year. So there's 21 of us and I'm super, super excited to see what that will look like for all of us during training. Uh, what's,

[00:39:29] Rob Howe: what do you, I mean, is this your first marathon? Yeah. So like New York city marathon, it's like, I don't know if you listened to Ross Baker's episode, but he's like, yeah, I ran the New York City Marathon. And then the next year I ran in the North Carolina one. And it was like, it was like, you go to the Olympics. And then the next day is like, it's just a regular race.

[00:39:48] Marie Diaz: Yeah, exactly. I've been thinking about that. I'm like, okay, no marathon will probably ever be that

[00:39:52] Rob Howe: great. Yeah. And you're going to be like with beyond type 1 and these other type ones, it's going to be like the best thing. Robin is Robin Arzon running again. Is that just going to be her regular like, no, I don't think so. Okay. Well, she, we were talking about ultra marathoners, all those those people are nuts but i respect them because like they have to be so crazy to just do like 100 mile races yeah yeah anyway i i got off topic but uh i think what are you you know crossing the finish line in new york city what's going to be going through your mind

[00:40:25] Marie Diaz: oh my goodness i have no idea i think oh probably just like joy and thankfulness for everybody on that team and yeah it'll be a journey getting there um yeah I recently I was asking like type 1 run was doing like a live stream so it was just James and Craig asking or answering questions and I was kind of beginning to ask things that I never thought of just sort of like do you carry extra syringes you know even though you're on a pump and James was talking about how like if you're on the Medtronic to put two sites in so that if one rips out you'll have another and I was like, I've never thought of that. Like, I really hope that I will finish this race, you know? So.

[00:41:07] Rob Howe: That's so smart.

[00:41:08] Marie Diaz: Can't imagine what that'll be like.

[00:41:12] Rob Howe: Yeah. I mean, and again, kind of going back to there's no teacher like experience, but then, you know, you can just kind of hack with someone telling you, hey, giving you a tip, giving you, you know, a fresh perspective, just something that you couldn't have thought of on your own necessarily or may not have ahead of time to make a decision with it.

[00:41:34] Marie Diaz: Yeah, for sure.

[00:41:36] Rob Howe: All right, let's shift gears just a little bit into sort of a, I'm just going to put you on the spot lightning round and let's have a little bit of fun. How, what was the first, do you remember the first podcast you listened to of mine, First Diabetics Doing Things episode?

[00:41:53] Marie Diaz: I listened to them in order. However, I remember Laura's like most avidly.

[00:41:57] Rob Howe: Yeah. so I think Laura was like

[00:42:00] Marie Diaz: episode 13

[00:42:02] Rob Howe: yeah and alright well good to know that you listen to them in order that you're not a that you're like not a savage that you're a person of high character that starts at one who's your favorite now you gotta say like which one's your favorite episode and why and you can say Laura if you want but yeah I want you to pick oh man this really hit home with me Maybe I'm pimping you out now. This is my show. I can do what I want.

[00:42:32] Marie Diaz: For real. Oh, Libby is so encouraging. Like, I don't know how you can be that encouraging and empowering and just a badass. So I would say hers just full of so much wisdom.

[00:42:45] Rob Howe: Yeah, I mean, without a doubt. It's just like, and I think, you know, finding those moments where you're like, oh my gosh, this like hits home with me and it really resonates. I find that with her all the time

[00:42:57] Marie Diaz: yeah at the same time like I think when I was listening to them in order and like coming across Laura's right like I'm listening to them on the train in Sydney like I had like an hour commute to like another campus like twice a week I was like probably sobbing on the train like listening to her story and how excited like parents at that original conference that she spoke about you're just my type like hearing people's response and how excited they were that was just like ah

[00:43:22] Rob Howe: you're just my type too is something that's like it's something that you like everybody's story i mean and this on my podcast a little bit as well like everybody's story starts about the same but from there like they're all so unique and they all have their own different things that you pull out of them and i think that's what i find when i because i think laura posts like four photos for almost every person uh and just the things that you pick up from some of the individual stories that people tell, like people really like dig deep and like take time and care with those questions. And it's really nice to just see somebody, even that, you know, and then you never know, you know, what they're going through.

[00:44:04] Marie Diaz: Right. Yeah.

[00:44:08] Rob Howe: Okay. What else? I just, I'm trying to think of, I want to put you on the spot a couple of times, Just like see if you actually do hyperventilate.

[00:44:21] Marie Diaz: I'm like panicking. I have my phone ready. I'm like, what do I need to look up? Whose profile? What podcast?

[00:44:26] Rob Howe: All right. You're locked in a room. You have to, you have a gun with one bullet. You have to kill Derek Thieler or Nick Jonas. Which one do you kill? Or else it's like a Saw situation where like you don't get out. Everybody dies if you don't make the decision.

[00:44:46] Marie Diaz: Right, right.

[00:44:46] Rob Howe: shoot myself um yeah no i mean don't answer that i'm just i'm just on the spot okay also i've been watching evil genius on netflix and it's just a show about a crazy evil mastermind

[00:45:02] Marie Diaz: bank robbery highly recommend no yeah i've seen it no it's the most insane thing i've ever seen everybody listening to this right now needs to go watch it yeah stop listening to my i sat my

[00:45:12] Rob Howe: parents down last night and we watched two episodes well and it's like this happened in 2003 now this podcast is now all about this show but um i think like like i was just in middle school or like high school when this was happening and i'm like man this doesn't seem like that long ago and then you see all the photos of people and you're like wow what is happening we have it's It's like proof of human evolution, just like the last 15 years.

[00:45:41] Marie Diaz: So true, except like my best friend, he's studying abroad in Spain, and he just texted me that he hates the direction and production of Evil Genius. And I was like, don't talk to me ever again, really.

[00:45:51] Rob Howe: Yeah, don't talk to me or my son ever again. Yeah. That was my life. What's something that you, I mean, you listen to a lot of these podcasts. what's uh i'm sure in some way what's what's a question that you knowing that you'd be on this podcast one day what what is the question that you would want me to ask

[00:46:14] Marie Diaz: you oh no

[00:46:25] Rob Howe: i don't have anything okay that's fair we'll come back to it um and i think too like i mean what what are the what's a moment that surprised you of somebody that you either heard on the podcast or read a post on social media and you're like wow that really resonated with me anything that stands out

[00:46:54] Marie Diaz: Internally screaming Because I don't know It's okay

[00:46:57] Rob Howe: These are tough questions that I've totally ambushed you with So don't even worry about it

[00:47:02] Marie Diaz: I will keep thinking

[00:47:04] Rob Howe: Yeah, it's fine Because I think too You know We are all figuring this out On our own And everybody's timing is different It's interesting, like new diabetes accounts pop up all the time, like five to six a day. Right. Because and I see like part of it is like, hey, this person is new to the community and they're going to post about this and this will last for a couple of weeks. But then also I'm just like, oh, what an opportunity now that these people who didn't, you know, used to not have any more to turn. And now they can come on here and they can be open about what's going on with their lives. and like how that for like that moment it's like that's special because

[00:47:49] Marie Diaz: we used to not be that way yeah my mind is blown i'm still thinking about these questions

[00:47:56] Rob Howe: no it's okay um i think too like okay i'm just gonna ask you my like my i'm sure you've thought about this a bunch of times like my airport question that i ask on every podcast i ask every guest at the end if anyone ever makes it to the end of my podcast which i'm not even sure that they ever do but um you know you're on you're in the airport and you have 30 seconds to tell somebody one thing before you jump on the plane and get whisked away to wherever you're going what's what's your answer and which ones would you think about like if you were like hey if i had would you answer it the same way every time or are there multiple things or things that

[00:48:35] Marie Diaz: you've thought about over you know the years yeah no way and i think in i think in real life i'm just so shy i'd be like okay hi nice meeting you bye um but yeah when eric and then pass out yeah when uh when eric was here he was just joking about how like every endo needs to take a list of accounts i follow and recommend to newly diagnosed people so i'll have to type 1 of those up no but oh I don't know I mean I feel like honestly I would direct them towards your page and Laura's page and these page because I mean there's just so many years of wisdom with this disease in those and they will take what they want from it I mean yeah

[00:49:25] Rob Howe: yeah and I think you know part of that too is they should probably have like a curated Marie Diaz list of, you know, how to get started on the internet with type with diabetes. And, you know, it's amazing how many I've had like multiple conversations with people like, well, how do we print pamphlets and like tell people where to go look? And, you know, a, it's not that simple, but, um, you know, B like that needs to exist. Like that is a, that's a real value. That's like a real thing. So please print out a pamphlet and hand out your, hand out.

[00:49:57] Marie Diaz: I think that would be super, hopefully super effective. Actually, I was at, I was on campus and we were like, we have a college diabetes network chapter here. And I like sat down with one girl and I was just kind of like, you know, asking her the general questions like, oh, are you on a pump? And I mean, she was pretty shy, but, and I'm shy, so I don't know what I was doing, you know, but I was just one of those questions and there was like, oh, are you on Instagram? And it just really didn't go over well. She was like, no. And I was like, okay, okay, cool. So, um, what are you, yeah. Tell me your diagnosis story. You know, I was just like, I don't know what to do now.

[00:50:32] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I mean, that's, that's always tough for me too, because it's like, Hey, if you're not on Instagram, then I can't, you know, I might not be the one to help you, but that's okay too.

[00:50:41] Marie Diaz: Yeah. Like looks at my watch. Gotta go. Nevermind.

[00:50:43] Rob Howe: It's like immediately like just disappears. I just, my shoes are left there and there's like smoke coming out of them. I just disappeared. Um, yeah. I mean, I think, and I think when I asked kids too, I was like, hey, do your parents let you guys be on Instagram? Because, like, that's a big part of it too. And I would understand, like, if parents were like, no, I don't want my kids looking at butts yet. So I don't need to be on Instagram. Which, you know, is a total weird thing. Weird things happen on Instagram for sure. And, I mean, yeah, everybody, but it's just kind of back to everybody's journey is different. did you think any more on those questions are you going to leave Derek Thieler alive or kill

[00:51:29] Marie Diaz: Nick Jonas what's the deal don't answer I haven't yeah I'm not going to do it I'm not going to do

[00:51:35] Rob Howe: it this will be online forever yeah this is this yeah don't ever don't ever run for office

[00:51:41] Marie Diaz: answer that question I'd never kill anyone no of course um and I think I think the question you asked something that resonated with me was um your episode with um Samuel in travel nursing yeah Sam um good no yeah Sam Ford I was just saying his name yeah yeah um I mean I hadn't thought about so much that he said right like that people go into DKA because they're rationing insulin and I mean just like oh that resonated with me so much because like I said I I think like I had pretty easily turned away the idea of like working with diabetes in my entire life um like professionally I guess and just hearing that it was sort of like oh I'm in a completely different stage of managing this disease and being involved in community and I would love to to work with people like that so you know really shifted my perspective I think

[00:52:43] Rob Howe: that was his episode was one of the more surprising for me because like going into it I was like yeah we're going to talk about traveling nursing and like just his perspective is so like enlightened on you know and so important of what he was doing for people in

[00:52:55] Marie Diaz: you know rural areas right and and yeah and just the whole topic of like reaching out to people that aren't online at all apparently there those people exist um right yeah yeah uh so what what

[00:53:09] Rob Howe: are you going to do now that you have kind of given put aside that idea of not working in diabetes somehow professionally. What's, uh, what is, what is Marie's like dream of, uh, what is the ideal scenario of you involved in diabetes professionally look like? And if you don't know, that's okay.

[00:53:30] Marie Diaz: That's a good question. I think, I think a couple of years ago, honestly, like just the idea of having a diabetes camp myself, like I love, love, love the one I went to. However, a lot could be improved you know we were like in the texas heat like dying um every summer and so i i mean that would be that would be incredible right and like a especially like in a location where they really don't have access to those kinds of resources and yeah yeah i mean it's just it's one of those

[00:54:00] Rob Howe: things where if you get outside your comfort zone again and like be willing to hear what's going on you know you never know what you might learn right I think sometimes I'm like in this

[00:54:13] Marie Diaz: I have this false idea that I'm doing things because I'm in the community and interacting with people a lot but I mean really listening to your show and like actually listening to people that are doing things you know like it's it's like wow what am I doing you know and so I think that's really what encouraged me to apply for Beyond Type Run and so I'm really really excited to do that

[00:54:33] Rob Howe: it's gonna be so killer i can't wait to follow it yeah i think the team announcement is next week oh man so this is like this is breaking news any other uh do you know who else is on the team

[00:54:45] Marie Diaz: i probably can't share that yeah no um do you know patrick i don't know how to say his last name votruba he's from arizona like a trail runner ultramarathoner i think we have been following each other like on strava for the longest time and i'm so excited to meet him i he was diagnosed in his 30s or 40s and oh wow just kept running and his little fun fact we we kind of got to see each other's like bios um his little fun fact was like all of his post-diagnosis race times were faster than pre i was like what that's superhuman that's super dope yeah well i am pumped

[00:55:23] Rob Howe: to see that i can't wait to see the announcement it's gonna be super cool yeah um marie any closing thoughts that you have um anything that you've just been dying to yell from a you know marginally

[00:55:37] Marie Diaz: medium-sized diabetes mountaintop oh probably a lot of things i don't know no i don't know just

[00:55:45] Rob Howe: thank you so much for all that you do oh well you are welcome and i'm gonna keep doing it uh because you know this it's my favorite thing yeah i'm glad i will see you when we skydive yes we are going to skydive. So, um, just keep your Instagram stories, uh, fine tuned this summer to Dallas, Texas. Cause at some point, uh, we're going to jump out of a plane of like five of us. It'd be great. Um, Marie, thank you for coming on this show. Thank you for supporting this podcast. Thank you for being the first ever diabetics doing things, super fan and for driving to places to see me, you know, to see me speak and to connect with other people with diabetes for going and grabbing tacos and listening to Drake after conferences and for just being an all around all star superstar person. I'm really grateful for you. Yeah. Thank you so, so, so much. All right. Uh, follower nerds can fight on Instagram. If you don't follow her already, you're missing out. Um, Marie, thanks. We're going to stay in touch.