Sugar Surfing at Thrive-abetes! Announcing another AMAZING speaker!!!

No! You won't need a wetsuit!

We have another great speaker lined up for Thrive-abetes. Kevin McMahon will be joining us on Saturday, October 3rd in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. He co-authored the very popular book "Sugar Surfing™ - How to manage type 1 diabetes in a modern world" with his long time friend Stephen W. Ponder, MD CDE, which was published in May of this year.

Kevin began his work in diabetes in 2001 after his daughter, Darby, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. With a technology background in computers, mobile networks and emerging smart phones, advancing diabetes technology was only a matter of time. Kevin is also an advisor to several companies in the field of diabetes and is a regular contributor to respected medical journals. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in the USA. http://kevinlmcmahon.com

When I spoke with Kevin over Skype he said, "I'm very excited to attend and speak at the Thrive-abetes conference because it's by people with diabetes for people with diabetes. It's exactly this approach that has been missing for so long until recently. We're witnessing an explosion of innovation in technology and support thanks to this patient-driven format including my own efforts to modernize diabetes care delivery by enabling the empowered patient."

If you are interested in a sample of Sugar Surfing follow this link for an excerpt.

Register here for Thrive-abetes.

Tickets for Thrive-abetes cost €35 each, or €60 for two tickets (this includes the administration fee from Eventbrite.ie). Lunch and refreshments will be provided to all delegates.

The Power a Diabetes Conference

Last week, I had the HUGE privileged to attend an amazing conference in Orlando Florida. It came about because of a scholarship award from the Diabetes Hands Foundation, through the Diabetes Advocates program. They covered the costs of my travel, registration and lodging while at #MasterLab, which was a fantastic mini-conference before the main event, ChildrenwithDiabetes/FriendsforLife 2015 (cwdffl15)

I covered my own expenses for the Friends for Life (FFL) conference, as I was already there.

I was waiting outside the exhibit hall on the first night of the #cwdffl15 conference. As we waited in.... em, mass (there were way to many people to call it a line) for the official opening of the exhibit hall, my new friend from, MasterLab & FFL, Kim, asked me if I had ever been surrounded by this many people with diabetes?

My new friends for life, Kim and Mona.

There were 2,000 families at FFL. Most of them were standing in the foyer waiting with us. My answer was no!

While it's not possible to have those numbers at Thrive-abetes, I think that having 200 people with type 1 diabetes in one location will be impressive and so powerful.

Come join us!

Register here for Thrive-abetes.

Tickets for Thrive-abetes cost €35 each, or €60 for two tickets (this includes the administration fee from Eventbrite.ie). Lunch and refreshments will be provided to all delegates.

Sponsor Spotlight: Diabetes Ireland Supports Thrive-abetes

Diabetes Ireland have been so supportive of Thrive-abetes since day one and will be one of our exhibitors.

You may have come across their press release in some of the local newspapers (I hope).

Kieran O’Leary, CEO of  Diabetes Ireland said ‘the organisers have been working for the past 18 months to pull this excellent programme together and people with type 1 diabetes should not miss this opportunity to learn more about managing their condition’.

Since 1967, Diabetes Ireland has been the national charity dedicated to helping people with diabetes, providing support, education and motivation to everyone affected by diabetes. Diabetes Ireland also raises public awareness of diabetes and its symptoms and funds research into finding a cure for diabetes.

And a lot of people don't know this, but Diabetes Ireland, or the Irish Diabetic Association as it was known back then, was formed with the purpose to have diabetes included on the Long Term Illness scheme. Having diabetes included on this scheme meant that people with diabetes would no longer have to pay for insulin, or other diabetes medications, blood glucose meters or strips.

As we all know, they succeeded and I will be forever grateful.

Today, Diabetes Ireland offer;

• Patient support over the telephone (lo-call helpline 1850 909 909), their facebook page, website and through local support branches. 
• Support for children with diabetes and their parents through our Sweetpea Kidz Club; children and adolescent adventure activities; family weekends; and parent support groups.
• Advocacy and liaison with: clinics, services, the HSE and the Department of Health and Children.
• Anti-discrimination activity.
• Health promotion initiatives including: schools awareness, workplace awareness, early detection and prevention initiatives and diabetes screening.
• Funding Irish and international research via our subsidiary charity ‘Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance’ - www.diabetesresearch.ie

Registration here for Thrive-abetes.

Tickets for Thrive-abetes cost €35 each, or €60 for two tickets (this includes the administration fee from Eventbrite.ie). Lunch and refreshments will be provided to all delegates.