Guest Blogger – Laura Ely competes as a member of Team Type 1′s Triathalon team. She works as a Clinical Research Coordinator and Marketing Coordinator for the University of North Carolina Diabetes Care Center Clinical Trial Program and is also a Communication Coordinator for DiabetesSisters, an online diabetes community for women. Laura was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of four.
One amazing woman, Brandy Barnes realized the lack of this support system in the diabetes world and decided to do something about it. She created an online community, DiabetesSisters, that would allow women to connect via the web and share their experiences as a woman with Type 1, Type 2, gestational or pre-diabetes. I was fortunate enough to meet Brandy at a diabetes event and I fell in love with the organization. At the time, I knew how important my girlfriends with diabetes were to me but knew that not everyone shared my fortune. Every woman living with diabetes deserves to have this type of support system to help her live to her fullest potential. Since it began 2 years ago, DiabetesSisters has grown to become a 501c3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and quality of life of women living with or at risk of developing diabetes, and to advocate on their behalf.
DiabetesSisters provides Weekly Blogs from women covering Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes, a Women’s Forum, Diabetes Buddy Program, Nutrition Tip of the Month, a free Medication and Appointment Reminder Program and Monthly Newsletter, just to name a few! DiabetesSisters goes beyond the web to provide women with face-to-face contact through local quarterly gatherings, PODS meetings (Part of DiabetesSisters or mini group meetings) and for the first time ever this May, a Weekend for Women Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina held in conjunction with the TCOYD conference.
If you are a woman living with diabetes or know/care about/love a woman with diabetes, please tell her about DiabetesSisters – a place where she can go to find support from other women living with her disease!
Diabetes Video! To learn about the connection between eye exams and diabetes watch episode #2 of VSP’s EyeFiles starring Bill Nye the Science Guy.
About Team Type 1 and VSP Vision Care
Team Type 1 is a group of athletes living with diabetes. The team includes professional race teams, a triathlon team and a development team. Team Type 1 strives to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. VSP® Vision Care is proud to be their exclusive eyecare and eyewear provider.
