So, I was in work related training class regarding Orthotics and Diabetes a few weeks ago on a very hot Friday morning. The instructor said some things that really got to me, and not in a good way.
Again, this was work related class. (I was recently hired by an ortho and DME company and my job is to work with diabetic senior citizens with orthotic needs- Diabetes Comedy and Advocacy alone does not pay the bills.) but I had to correct his obvious idiocy. Not just because of my ego, but because there were 50 other students in the class and who needed to be armed with education regarding diabetes awareness and facts, not discrimination and fallacy.
I sat on the incident a while before I wrote this post. I needed some space and some time to think about it.
Tell me, do you think I handled it right?
So I'm in said training class that my company sent me to and paid for, and the instructor starts talking about his diabetic patients.
Idiot: "I treat my diabetic Orthotic patients like Crack addicts," he said in a condescending tone.
Idiot:"Instead of crack, they are addicted to sugar, and act like children regarding their health. They are brittle and non compliant."
Work related or not, my hand shot up and I'm sure that steam was coming out of my ears."
Kelly K: " I really don't think that's an appropriate way to treat your diabetic patients, we aren't crack addicts. Maybe your patients are depressed about their diagnoses and at the way the public perceives their disease. You know, putting the BLAME ON THEM."
(ASSHOLE,) I thought to myself.
Idiot: "Well, obviously you respect your self and your disease. Many diabetics don't"
Kelly K "It's obvious many non-diabetics don't respect diabetics and their disease."
Kelly K:"Look, the diabetes community doesn't even use the word brittle anymore. And we don't measure the sugar content of our food, we count carbohydrates, test our blood sugars and measure our insulin appropriately. Nothing is off limits. There's a lot of discrimination regarding diabetes, TALK ABOUT STRESS."
Idiot Instructor: "My own son-in-law, who also wears the pump, didn't respect the disease until he passed out."
Kelly K "Was it from a high or low blood sugar?"
Idiot Instructor: "I'm not really sure."
Kelly K: " There's a big difference between the two. There are many reasons he could have passed out. He could over bolused his insulin, miss calculated his carb intake, his BS could have dropped for no apparent reason, he might be highly insulin sensitive, or he might absorption issues at his infusion site. "
Idiot: "Well, he learned his lesson."
Kelly K: "I think the lesson we all need to learn is that Diabetics need empathy and education, so does anyone dealing with diabetics. Referring to them as "crack addicts" might not be the best approach. "
Idiot: "Thank-you for your input. Now, back to....."
Many students came up to me during the lunch break and started asking me how they should handle their patients with diabetes.
Respect them, listen to what they have to say, and suggest instead of preaching.
You really can catch more flies with honey.
Nobody was asking him anything, and he left to catch up on his emails.
After bitching about my experience all weekend to my friends, (who told me not to mention it at work,) I met with my employer and he asked how I liked the class, the facility, and the different instructors.
I took a deep breath & told him the truth. I said that while I learned a lot, one of the instructors really offended me as a diabetic. He may be an expert in the field of orthotics and Durable Medical Equipment, but he knew absolutely nothing about handling his diabetic patients. And then I mentioned the "crack' comment.
My boss was shocked, but appreciated my honesty.
He recently told me that 4 other employees that he'd sent to training found his "humor" regarding diabetes offensive.
On the positive side, that idiot gave me loads of material for my comedy routine.
I'm speaking at Virtua Hospital and you know I'm going to work that idiot's stupidity into my routine BIG TIME.
The fact that I countered what he said said in a somewhat calm and educated manner taught the other students a lesson that they really needed to learn.
Still, the fact that this guy was teaching really really pissed me off to say the least.
Diabetes Stupidity exists in and out of the work place, and on every level. I may have to hear it, but you know for damn sure I'm going to correct it, no matter where it might occur, or who says it.
I not only owe it to myself, but I also owe it to my clients, and my community.
D-Feast De Résistance
Some might say that we in the DOC are totally obsessed when it comes to food. And I couldn't agree more. We talk about food, we blog about food, devote our facebook statuses to food, and we tweet about food - incessantly.
A few weeks back, Lorraine tweeted a pic of some pork fried rice with the following description: Homemade & bg friendly Chinese pork and veggie fried rice.
Which lead Elizabeth Arnold to tweet: Maybe we should have a d-blog day where we all post our favorite carb-friendly recipes. I know @diabetesalic has an AMAZING soup.
Full disclosure here folks, yours truly is @diabetesalic and Miss Elizabeth Arnold is right, I do have an amazing soup recipe. Correction – I have many fabulous soup recipes, but I digress - because it's really not about me. Back to the tweetersation.“
Elizabeth, Karen and Lorraine,with several other DOC family members adding their “food for thought,” (word on the street is that bacon was mentioned on more than one occasion,) as were cupcakes, Nutella, and peanut butter.
All this led to Elizabeth, Karen, & Lorraine coming up with the ideal for D-Feast Friday -and you’re invited to take part.
What exactly is (and when) is D-Feast Friday?
Basically D-Feast Friday is a chance to get all epicurean crazy and have a good time!
It’s an opportunity to embrace your inner Julia Child or Alton Brown and blog about your “feast de résistance" on Friday, July 23rd
Post your recipe/pics of your D- feast you creating your D-feast & the likes there of.
Nutritional information including; carb counts with defined serving sizes, but also calories, fat and protein would be good too. But if you don't know, no sweat!
If your recipe is low carb, gluten free, low calorie, vegetarian or vegan, let your folks know via your title so that people looking for those types of meals will be able to reference them quickly.
And if you'd rather simply link to a favorite recipe that's already online, no worries - that's totally cool.
According to the D- Feast team, you can link to your D-Feast Friday blog post by visiting Lorraine, Elizabeth or Karen’s blog (URLs highlighted on their names below), and clicking on the button all three blogs will post on the 23rd.
Elizabeth, Idea Master (Pieces of My Life)
Karen, Button & Blog Day Master (Bitter-Sweet Diabetes Blog)
Lorraine, Initial Recipe Tweeter (This is Caleb)
Include the name of your recipe where itasks for “your name.” That title, along with the link to your blog post,
will be listed and accessible to anyone looking for a good recipe. that link for easy reference.
In the immortal words of Julia Childs: “Bon Appetite!”
And in the spirit of Alton Brown-
Embrace your kitchen geek!
Avandia - still on sale!
Avandia is a drug for diabetes which causes heart attacks! GlaxoSmithKline has had to pay $2.4b in compensation to patients it has harmed. According to this report from the mainstream media, the primary concern is the profitability of GSK, now and in the future - and not our health!
This is typical of media reporting; the drugs industry is of paramount concern, the health of patients a secondary matter.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66E11220100715
There is strong evidence that GSK covered up the risks involved in patients taking this drug, as has been found in other drugs, like Vioxx and several others.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66E11220100715
The FDA is the drug regulatory body in the USA tasked with ensuring that patients are protected from dangerous drugs. What is its response? The drug can continue to be sold!
http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/news.php?start=3700&end=3720&view=yes&id=4988#newspost
Well, that's all okay then. Patients win lawsuits against Avandia. Our media is concerned about the profitability of GSK. And the FDA allows a dangerous drug to continue being given to patients!
Does this fill you with confidence about the Conventional Medical Establishment?
You may well ask - who protects us?
This is typical of media reporting; the drugs industry is of paramount concern, the health of patients a secondary matter.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66E11220100715
There is strong evidence that GSK covered up the risks involved in patients taking this drug, as has been found in other drugs, like Vioxx and several others.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66E11220100715
The FDA is the drug regulatory body in the USA tasked with ensuring that patients are protected from dangerous drugs. What is its response? The drug can continue to be sold!
http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/news.php?start=3700&end=3720&view=yes&id=4988#newspost
Well, that's all okay then. Patients win lawsuits against Avandia. Our media is concerned about the profitability of GSK. And the FDA allows a dangerous drug to continue being given to patients!
Does this fill you with confidence about the Conventional Medical Establishment?
You may well ask - who protects us?
