ATLANTA, Ga., May 10, 2019 --Global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, announced Friday its extended commitment to Team Novo Nordisk through 2020. The commitment will take the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team through its eighth season, making it the longest-running continued title sponsorship for any current US-registered UCI professional team, including all World Tour, Professional Continental, and Continental squads.
“Sponsorship is challenging for any team and we are honored to now have the longest-running title sponsor of any current American-registered professional team,” said Phil Southerland, CEO and Co-Founder of Team Novo Nordisk. “We believe this is a testament to our mission, the multi-faceted approach we’ve taken through successes at races, global media exposure across endemic and non-endemic outlets, an unmatched social media presence and extensive community activities."
Team Novo Nordisk’s partnership with the Danish pharmaceutical company began in December 2012 based on the shared goals to inspire, educate and empower people around the world affected by diabetes. Before Team Novo Nordisk, the squad raced as Team Type 1 for five seasons with a mix of riders with and without type 1 diabetes.
“We are thankful to Novo Nordisk for this ongoing opportunity and look forward to the future. Over the past seven years, we have grown together with a long-term vision of identifying and developing athletes with type 1 diabetes. This partnership has allowed us not only to help them grow into amazing bike racers but also to be heroes for every person with diabetes around the world,” said Southerland. “In the first half of 2019, we have showcased our Changing Diabetes jersey aggressively at World Tour races by wearing the Intermediate Spring jersey for four consecutive days at the UAE Tour and placing a historic four riders in the breakaway at the iconic Milan-San Remo.”
Team Novo Nordisk is part of the Novo Nordisk’s Changing Diabetes initiative, a global commitment to improving conditions for the 425 million people living with diabetes today and those at risk of developing diabetes.
“We are proud to continue the partnership, Team Novo Nordisk is truly showcasing that when managed well, diabetes does not have to hold you back,” said Camilla Sylvest, Executive Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Corporate Affairs at Novo Nordisk.
Racing on the International Cycling Union (UCI) Professional Continental Tour, the team aims to increase awareness of diabetes with the world’s passionate cycling fans while also bringing a new audience to cycling through the extensive diabetes community.
With title sponsorship secured through 2020, Southerland emphasized that the team’s objectives remain focused on investing and developing athletes with type 1 diabetes.
“As Team Novo Nordisk and Novo Nordisk approach the 100thanniversary since the discovery of insulin as dedicated partners, I am proud to continue changing diabetes together. We keep setting the bar higher and are driven to see how far our athletes can take this dream. We are determined to change the world one individual at a time.”
Since its launch, Team Novo Nordisk has built one of the largest fan bases in both professional cycling and diabetes. As of May 2019, the team has more than 8.4 million fans across its social media platforms.
“We are grateful for our millions of fans who follow our athletes daily along with the growing interest from physicians and journalists,” said Southerland. “Last year, we reached nearly four billion people through the media, and we are extremely motivated to keep growing this number. Together with Novo Nordisk, we are truly changing diabetes.”


About Team Novo Nordisk
Team Novo Nordisk is a global all-diabetes sports team of cyclists spearheaded by the world’s first all-diabetes UCI Professional Continental cycling team. In 2012, Phil Southerland, co-founder and CEO of the team, and global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, came together to create Team Novo Nordisk, based on a shared vision to inspire, educate and empower people around the world affected by diabetes. For more information, go to www.teamnovonordisk.com. 
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 95 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat obesity, haemophilia, growth disorders and other serious chronic diseases. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 43,200 people in 80 countries and markets its products in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

For the past couple of months I have been looking in to the glycemic index diet.  For people living with diabetes we are taught to go off of the carbohydrates in a food to determine the amount of insulin that we need.  Each person living with diabetes carb ratios are different.  For example for breakfast my carb ratio is 18 grams of carbohydrate equal one unit of insulin.  Using this morning as my example, I had a bowl of Chex which had 36 grams of carbohydrate which equals 2.0 units of insulin.  Easy enough, it also helps that I can enter the number of carbs I'm eating and my amazing insulin pump does the math for me.  Now comes the curve ball, not all carbohydrates are the same.  The carbohydrates in a regular soda are far different then those of a bowl of pasta.  Soda carbohydrates are "garbage" carbs, they act quickly and are gone in about 30 minutes.  Carbohydrates in pasta are released a lot slower, the carbohydrates in pasta kick in a couple hours after one consumes pasta.  As diabetics it takes a little while to figure out how each food reacts and how to cover it with insulin, if you then throw in being active it makes the process a little trickier.  That's why I believe that a person living with diabetes should receive some kind of medal for having an A1C under 7.0 for a set amount of time.

Back to the glycemic index, if you click here, you can read about the glycemic index and how it works.  Basically the glycemic index would make sure that I stick to my healthy diet and that it may help controlling my blood sugars a little easier.  The problem is finding the glycemic value of a food.  The website that explained the glycemic index has a very handy search feature, type in any food and the site will show you the glycemic index.  What I have yet to figure out is how to use the glycemic index to figure out the amount of insulin I would need to cover a food or meal.  Then I found the Insulin Index and now my brain hurts!!!  Obviously when I decided to write about the glycemic index I didn't think it would involve so much.  For those living with diabetes I will be in contact with my favorite diabetes friend, she is amazing and a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist, and a Certified Diabetes Educator so she will probably know a lot more about the subject than I.  For those without diabetes I suggest using the glycemic index so you have more information on the food that is entering your body.  Also, I promise that this subject will be covered again and when I do that post will come with answers for people living with diabetes.

The questions and answers below are answered honestly and are done so to give everyone an idea of who I am as a person living with diabetes.  Most of these questions have been asked by other people, I just have never shared them publicly.

1) When your blood sugar is above your set range, what is the best way your friends and family could support you? 

When my blood sugar is out of range I become very unhappy, I have no motivation and want to be left alone.  The best thing for someone to do to make me feel better is to act normally.  Talking about anything but my blood sugar will do just fine, I have taken insulin to fix my blood sugar the last thing I would like to talk about is my blood sugar.

2) If you didn't have diabetes what kind of person would you be?

I would not be anything like the person you see in front of you today.  Diabetes is the reason I work so hard at work, cycling and being the best boyfriend that I can.  Without diabetes I feel that I would have nothing to prove to anyone.  This is just me but I feel that I have to prove myself because of my diabetes.  If I didn't have diabetes I would be fifty pounds heavier, not working out, and not have the job I have today.  With diabetes I feel that I have to prove myself, I feel that when people hear that I have diabetes they automatically assume that I can't do what someone living without diabetes can do.

3) Other than Kate and family, what one person has been your support on a daily basis?

This is a tough question but honestly the members of Team Novo Nordisk are my support specifically Stephen England.  All of the team members are great and are always supporting me and my dreams.  Seeing a post on social media liked by a team member makes my day.  These men and women are role models for me and to see that I help them in some way is great.  Stephen England goes that extra mile though, to be able to contact him whenever I have a running question or any running diabetes question is great.  

4)  What would you tell a person just diagnosed with diabetes?

This is easy to say but is true, everything may seem very tough right now but trust me when I say things will get better and easier.  Taking insulin, testing your blood sugar, and your diet are all things that are very tough to do right now, I understand that.  Go back to the first time you had your permit to drive a car, you didn't know what to do or what to expect.  Driving on the highway was never a thought but you kept working at it and now you have no trouble driving.  The same goes for diabetes, you're scared of all the change and what it will do to your life.  If you expect the best you will be just fine.  A lot of people are living amazing lives with diabetes there is no reason that you can't.  Take it day by day and enjoy the ride.

5) Can you eat ice cream and other high sugar desserts or foods?

Yes I can, as long as I take the appropriate amount of insulin to cover the food that I just ate.  Personally I use high sugar foods as a reward.  I will use my A1C as the way to reward myself, if my A1c is below a certain number I will get ice cream if it is not I don't get to enjoy a sundae.  I don't want to miss out on a sundae!!  I'm human I love brownies, ice cream, cake and any dessert you can think of.  The athlete in me helps me stay away from these foods as well, but if my A1C is where I want it you can bet that I will have a sundae in front of me that night!!

Sometimes it is the kind of low blood sugars that cause the most interesting situations.  When my blood sugar is around 70 I feel low but my brain disappears and makes the low seem a lot worse than it actually is.  For instance I have forgot my phone password, atm code and what I'm doing before when my blood sugar is around 70.

With an amazing baby boy in the house those things now happen without a low blood sugar.  All jokes aside I have been trying to keep my blood sugar above 100 so that I'm the best I can be when I'm home and helping Kate or caring for D on my own.  On Friday one of those freak kind of low blood sugars happened.  Kate and other family members were home so it was okay but I'm still pissed about what happened.

D was in need of a bottle and we are mixing so preparing a bottle takes a little thought but has been done a seven year old so it isn't that difficult.  I told Kate I would put the bottle together so that she could feed him.  After a few minutes she came in to the kitchen to find me scratching my head and angry.  I tried to explain to her what was going but I was quickly sent to the penalty box aka the dinner table to fix the low.  I grabbed my fruit snacks and sat at the table where our five year old son asked if I was taking medicine to feel better.  I laughed and explained that daddy need the sugar to feel better.

Kate and I have a tremendous system in place for the children and for my diabetes.  As always I wish this would never happen but I love that I have pieces in place to make it okay when it does happen.  

Yesterday I spoke about how great my insulin pump was during the birth of our son.  If I lived a sedentary life an insulin pump would be perfect for me.  Thankfully I can't sit still, in fact I will often find something to clean or wash when I do have down time.  Don't get me wrong I have my lazy moments but for the most part I have to be doing something.

From a job that has me on my feet from eight to twelve hours a day to a love for trail running and road cycling I love being on the go.  For a longtime I would make the appropriate adjustments on my insulin pump so that I could go for a run or be on the bike.  Now time is at a premium and the ability to schedule a run or bike ride is harder to come bye.  If I can find an hour to ride or go for a run then I need to just go and not have to suspend my pump and wait an hour.

Yesterday just after 1pm my blood sugar was at 140, the little guy was asleep and I had some time to go for a run.  I had no insulin on board and decided a half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some water would be all I needed to make sure my blood sugar stayed in range while I went running.  I would of course bring a snack with me just in case but I  could just go and not think.  

This setup isn't for everyone, it is important that you do what works for you.  Right now what works best for me is to be on injections.  It gives me a lot more freedom and my A1C stays the same, for me it is a win win.  

Before I start talking about myself and the work I had to do during the birth of our amazing son I have to say that Kate is the real hero here.  After a nearly forty-five hour labor she deserves all of the credit!!

I must say that I thought I had control of my diabetes before the birth of our son and I do.  Nothing prepared me for the adrenaline rush of childbirth however.  I learned that adrenaline is not nice to those that live with diabetes, I had known this before but my mind went to other places while in the labor room.  I also made some rookie mistakes, my blood sugar shot up to 300 three times while Kate was in different stages of delivery.  Each time I took a little bit of insulin and when our baby was not born my blood sugar would crash and I would have a low of about 60 that would need attention.  

What I learned was that I can go almost two days without food and my blood sugar would be fine.  I owe that to accomplishment to my insulin pump.  Paired with my CGM the insulin pump did all of the work and kept me in range.  I overreacted when I saw my blood sugar start climbing but for the most part I was hanging out in my normal range while waiting for the little guy to enter the world.

A special thank you to a close friend for all of the help and suggestions before, during, and after the birth of our son.  Your words of wisdom helped so much.  A note to anyone living with diabetes that is helping their wife, always have a snack bag with you!!  The last thing you want to worry about is a low or high blood sugar during the birth of a son or daughter.

Twenty-eight years ago I was brought to Westerly Hospital by my father so that they could figure out what was wrong with me.  I had been urinating a lot, sleeping more than I ever did, and had an attitude.  My mother knew something was up and had my father bring me in, an hour later I was being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and in an ambulance that would bring me to Rhode Island hospital.  

My life with diabetes is nothing special, I unintentionally tried to kill myself because I didn't care, I didn't test my blood sugar and did whatever I wanted.  This went on for fifteen years, how I survived I don't know.  A freak blood clot and a cycling team would save my life and teach me how to dream.  In that time I also learned that I love diabetes, it makes me a better person and athlete.  

Twenty-eight years is all well and good but today I found myself leaving Rhode Island Hospital yet again.  This time I had the biggest smile on my face as Kate and I put "Coconut" in to the car to head home for the first time.  I don't know how this all happened on the same day but it is amazing.  I mean it has been a long few days but when our hospital room looked right at the building where I stayed for a week when I was diagnosed with diabetes I knew something special was happening.  I could even see the basketball hoop that my brother and I played at as my parents probably sat inside crying as their sons diabetes diagnosis had changed their world.

Twenty-eight years later Kate I have had our world changed and are so in love with this amazing baby boy.  With that said I'm not sure how often I will be sitting down to write but I will do my best.  I have a good long post planned that will detail the entire week.  Having a CGM and a pump was the best thing for childbirth.

Thank you in advance for all the well wishes, everyone is doing well.  

 My Grandfather loved The Price is Right, as a child I loved to be with my grandfather around lunchtime so I could have a bologna and cheese sandwich, chips, whole milk and watch The Price is Right.  I was a child of five or six but loved the games on the show, little did I know one of those games would be my life.  The Range Game is the game that anyone living with diabetes "plays" everyday.  

Diabetes management is all about keeping your blood sugar in a set range.  When our blood sugar is in that range we are at our best, we don't win a new car like on The Price is Right but we win at life.  If our blood sugar is below that set range we get angry and need something to get our blood sugar back in range.  When our blood sugar is above the set range we again get angry and people think we are a little crazy, just like on the show.  

Last night I learned just how difficult it is to stay in that range.  After a very refreshing hour long bike ride my blood sugar was in range.  I felt as though I won that new car (or bike) on The Price is right.  I was having my post ride protein snack and had taken my insulin to cover my snack and the time my pump was in a temp basal.  That is when the range game really begins, for me the bike ride is like bidding on a prize to get to play the range game (if you're not a Price is Right fan I have lost you!!)  An hour after my ride I was starting to lose at the range game, I was that guy that was above the price of the car.

Over time my blood sugar came back in to range.  The whole point of this totally random and weird post is that you need to have fun when it comes to blood sugar management.  If you're not having fun then it is very unlikely that you will enjoy living with diabetes.  For me relating blood sugar management to a childhood memory makes me smile and makes me love my diabetes.  I remember sitting with my grandfather watching the Price is Right and I know the he would love that I related his favorite game show to blood sugar management.  “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson

Just over eight years ago when I first started to ride a road bike I had a lot of difficulty with my blood sugar falling out of range while riding.  I had no idea that I needed to set a temporary basal or that I would need to eat up to twenty grams of carbohydrates every twenty minutes.  Luckily I was able to connect with some of the best road cyclists with diabetes to help me control my diabetes while doing physical activities.

One member of my support team has been simply amazing, Delaine Wright has always been the one that I turn to when I have any questions or concerns when it comes to cycling or running.  Eight years ago when just after my surgery I sat down with Delaine and her husband to learn about diabetes.  At that time I had no clue about insulin pumps or how to cover any food that I would eat.  Her support in the months after my surgery were amazing, Delaine is the one who taught me all about my Medtronic insulin pump.  I can't imagine where  I would be without the help that Delaine provided.

As I started to become an athlete living with diabetes, Dealine told me that I needed to buy the Diabetic Athlete's Handbook written by Sheri R. Colberg.  Delaine spoke about how the book was a great guide for any athletic sport that I would do.  When I purchased the book  I was amazed at all of the information, the book talks about aerobic and anaerobic exercise and how each effect ones blood sugar.  I felt that I had earned a PhD in diabetes management after reading the first few chapters, I learned how to hydrate and how to eat to be a successful athlete with diabetes.  Since reading the book I have been in control of my diabetes while running or cycling, yes I have had a number of blood sugars out of range but those have been caused by not following instructions that the book has given.  The Diabetic Athlete's Handbook is a must for anyone with diabetes!!  It doesn't matter if you walk for fun or if you ride your bike across the country, this book helps with all of it.  

The Diabetic Athlete's Handbook can be purchase on Amazon by clicking this link

This afternoon as I spoke with a good friend about music while running, we got in to the importance of music while racing.  It is no secret that if you do listen to music while running it impacts how you run.  As I'm writing I'm listening to Sam Hunt on Pandora, Take Your Time is playing and if I was running I would be smiling and running at a faster pace than usual.  However if a dance club techno song was on I would be running with a lot of anger slower because I hate techno and it wouldn't be motivating me.  

I listen to a lot of motivational speeches while running, this helps me in longer races and gives me that little kick in the ass when everything hurts.  That is great for me but might not work for anyone else.  What my friend and I came up with is asking you the reader of this blog to give me your favorite song while running.  In fact this has worked in the past when a good friend, fellow trail runner and athlete with diabetes, Brandon Baker suggested a song.  That song is still on my playlist and brings a smile to my face.  If you don't know the name Brandon Baker look it up, great man!!!

I ask that you comment on this blog, on my Facebook page, or twitter feed what song is your favorite.  My hope is to get at least 25 songs from 25 people.  Those 25 songs will be put in a playlist and used when I run my half marathon in June.  Share your story about life with diabetes and why the song means so much to you!!  That way I have a connection to the song when I hear it while running!!

It amazes me when people ask about my diabetes and do it in a very sincere manner. When that person is your boss it means even more. Having many bosses that won’t take the time to learn or don’t care has been the norm for me. I’ve been questioned on why I’m not working and drinking juice. I’ve tried explaining that I can ride a bike or run for hours and that’s easier than a “normal” day.

Today for the the first time in my life a boss took the time to learn about me and my diabetes. It was a very ordinary question about my pump and he was caught off guard when I explained that using a pump makes running and cycling a little more difficult but that it is great at keeping my A1C where I want it to be. He asked why which made my day, I explained that a two hour bike ride takes four hours with a pump. I won’t go into the details but he understood and respected my explanation. We then talked about his knowledge of diabetes and that he took the time to learn a lot about diabetes because his daughters best friend had type 1 and that he wanted her to be safe when she came over to visit his daugheter.

We live in a world that is fast paced and many people don’t take the time to care. Today made me proud to work where I do. I’d rather have a job I enjoy and have people that care than a job where I’m just a person and not understood.

Sometimes we don't get to choose when we get to take a week off from training.  I had one of those unplanned weeks off for the past six days, thanks to a fun little GI tract infection.  To keep it short and simple I have never been so cold in my life and spent a lot of time sleeping.  The rest you can put together for yourself, we all know what comes with any illness.  The interesting part of illness was how quickly Kate and I reacted.  Having a wife that is an athletic trainer and that knows you better than you know yourself is huge.  As soon as everything started I was told to get fluids and get checked.  We have learned from past experiences and know what needs to happen.

The thing is we know what needs to happen but we can't control what happens at the ER.  Having a wife that is eight months pregnant and heading to the ER at 3am meant I was flying solo.  No problem, I fully trust everyone at a hospital and believe I will be in good hands.  That was not the case, the nurse started to lecture me about my diabetes and how my blood sugar is high because my body is fighting an infection.  I know all this and cut her off, I explained my profession and diabetes history and how I probably know more about my body than I should.  Well that set the tone, I demanded a bag of fluids and a flu swab.  That was done and the doctor would come in and said that the flu swab was negative and that the cold will run its course and I'll be good.  

That was on Wednesday, Monday I would return to a walk in clinic that is run by a much better hospital and one that Kate worked at.  I should've done that in the first place but figured an ER would be better than a walk in.  Anyway they ran every imaginable test on me that they could.  From a hydration test to a swab for strep, it was all done and done with professionalism.  They did a number of blood sugar tests, urine and blood tests.  This time as I left I was given medication and in twenty four hours have gotten a lot better.

I will be back to running this weekend while in NYC for some family fun.  As always make sure to speak up when you are seeing any medical professional.  Living with diabetes teaches us more about our health than a lot of people.  know about us.

Team Novo Nordisk will start the 2019 season tomorrow in the Tour de Rwanda. Team Novo Nordisk is coming off a very focused and demanding team camp in Altea, Spain towards the end of January. Phil Southerland the teams CEO and cofounder was kind enough to sit down for a phone interview as camp came to a close and share his thoughts about the team and camp. “Camp has been very demanding for the riders this year, we have very high expectations going into this season and wanted to test the team. Everyone is very fit, that just shows the dedication and work the riders have put in during the off season.” The Tour of Rwanda will show how strong the team is, starting the season with a very difficult stage race will challenge the team and show the fans of Team Novo Nordisk how the early part of 2019 will play out.  If the team performs like they did last year at the Tour de Rwanda the 2019 version should be very exciting.

Fans of Team Novo Nordisk have a new reason to get excited for each and every race as Team Novo Nordisk will be dedicating the stage or single day race they are competing in to one of the fans of Team Novo Nordisk. Phil Southerland shared in the excitement of the dedication “Our fans mean so much to us. They are why we fight so hard to change diabetes. They are our motivation and this is our way to say thank you to the millions of fans that support us.”  Dedicating the race to a fan of the team will personalize the race for team members.  From photos of the fan to initials on team apparel the fan of the race will be with each and every team member as they race to change diabetes.  To learn more about the "Fan of the Race" and enter to be the fan of the race please click here

One major part of the Team Novo Nordisk that you may not see while they're racing against cyclists in the world is that each team member will be wearing a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM).  This technology is so helpful to the cyclist as well as the team as both can see the riders blood sugar before, during and after the days stage.  This will help team doctors keep the riders closer to their best blood sugars that will help them perform their best.  As CGM technology has gotten better the blood sugar accuracy has increased.  As a cyclist myself I see this improvement in technology on a daily basis as my blood sugars on my CGM are almost in sync with my actual blood sugar.  Just five short years ago my blood sugar might be at 130 and my CGM might read 180.  Technology within diabetes is always changing and as it continues to grow it will not only help Team Novo Nordisk but each and every person living with diabetes.

One Team Novo Nordisk rider that is a personal favorite of mine is Sam Brand.  Sam also was kind enough to sit down with me while at camp and talk diabetes and cycling.  One spot where Sam and I are similar on the bike is when it comes to time trials.  A time trial is a true guts race and if you are willing to put it all on the line and suffer you will succeed.  Sam improved in every race that he competed in last season and had a great season when it came to the time trial.  "My cycling journey really began just two years ago, before that I competed in triathlons.  I learned so much from the development team, the team helped me learn how to race at the highest level."  In fact last year was Sam's first full season as a pro and the fans have taken to him.  Sams hard work and honesty make him a rider that anyone can relate too.  If he has a bad day on the bike, he will not make excuses, you will get the real reason why he struggled and you will also see a side of Sam that intimidates riders.  He will get angry and say that tomorrow is a new day and that he will do all that he can do do better.  That is Sam and Team Novo Nordisk, never settling and always fighting to be better.

The 2019 season will be a very special season for Team Novo Nordisk and their fans.  One quote from Phil Southerland that still has me puzzled is what he said before the end of our interview, "The game is about to change, stay tuned"  I have done all that I can to try and figure out what Phil meant but I have had no luck so far.  All I can is that for years Team Novo Nordisk has been changing diabetes, they are inspiring, educating and empowering those affected by diabetes.  Every day Team Novo Nordisk challenges me to be a better person living with diabetes.  If they can race against the best in the world then whatever challenge I have during my day is nothing.  Team Novo Nordisk will be traveling the globe racing against the best in the world and that's great but it is the moments before and after each race that mean the most to me.  It is at those times that the team does all that it can for the diabetes community.  If you can go see the team race, before or after the race find the team bus or tent and go talk to the riders and staff.  It will change your life and it will change their life.  We are all a part of Team Novo Nordisk!!

This past weekend Kate and I headed to the hospital to get a tour of where our little guy will be born. Now this hour long tour of everything that we could think of while welcoming our baby was covered. Does that take away some of my nerves? It does but how is this going to happen? No one has that answer but it could be the middle of the night, while we are at work or when we are out to eat dinner, time will tell.

Before we even began our tour Kate and I were thinking alike, we saw a bistro, smiled at each other and said that will come in handy. It’s the unspoken diabetes part of our marriage. What wasn’t said was that I’m not leaving the birth of our son to fix my blood sugar. As we headed to the birthing floor we were both very happy to see a vending machine. Another blood sugar fix if needed.

The thing is I don’t want to worry about myself while our son is being born. The odds are my blood sugar will be on the higher end because of adrenaline but again I have no idea. My pump and cgm will be working to keep me in range as always. I will also have my own bag packed just in case my blood sugar dips below my range.

The best thing is that I have a great diabetes community helping me. From a surprising heart to heart conversation about diabetes and being the husband during child birth too emails I have been so thankful for all of the help and can’t wait for the joy of our son.

Ryan,

When you were diagnosed with diabetes and sat in Rhode Island hospital you feared for your life. You sat there terrified of a disease that you and your family knew nothing about. For the first time in your life you saw your father crying because he was so scared. You sat in a hospital room for a week and saw your mother cry each and everyday. You learned about a disease that could be managed but would probably never be cured. With the diabetes diagnosis came a lot of fear and rightfully so. I'm here to tell you that it turned out just fine and has been one of the best things that has ever happened in your life.

I'm here to tell you that it won't always be easy. In fact you will have ten years of your life wasted because of your dislike for diabetes. The good news is you have nobody but yourself to blame for not taking care of yourself. You saw your parents cry when you were diagnosed but what you didn't see were them crying when you stopped caring for yourself. Later in life you will be mad at them for not helping you but you were to immature to realize that they were trying to help but you turned them and everyone else away.

You will fail a lot before you realize that the key to life with diabetes is taking responsibility for the choices you make. It is also how you view our life. People will make you feel like you don't matter and try to make you feel useless but you will keep fighting and doing amazing with diabetes.

Once you have control of your diabetes and of your life you will do amazing things. You will motivate people with your ability to share your story. You will be a role model for people that you never meet. You will have dreams that you will reach but you will always want more. You will be an inspiration for pro athletes. Diabetes will give you the opportunity to ride your bike in Europe. I'm here to tell you that if you truly want something than do it. Don't be afraid, you have the talent and are more powerful than you will ever know.

Diabetes is your life and I know that sounds scary but it is the best gift you have ever received. I don't know why you have diabetes but you are better because of it. It will teach you to love life and the people in your life that truly love you. It will make you the most amazing father because you have been through so much in life. That will give you a gift. Don't ever forget that you can do anything.