Comments on: A Flight I Will NEVER Forget

By: Scott K. Johnson

Scott K. Johnson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:59:53 +0000

Wow. Just wow.

By: Gail

Gail — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:26:48 +0000

There are so many wise comments on this post and I agree with all of you. I’m so sorry Lee-Ann thay you had to endure those idiots. Cheers to you!! I do agree with #14 Bob tho, education is the key, unfortunately even among medical professionals.
I do sometimes travel from Seattle to Minneapolis/St.Paul and if I ever see you there (waiting for breakfast), I’ll flash you my Medic Alert bracelet and we can compare our T1 stories.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:07:38 +0000

Lee Ann, I am sooo sorry you had to sit next to those nincompoops for three hours! Having gotten into a couple of Facebook debates with people about health care reform, and having gotten similarly upset about it, I feel for you. I wish stuff like this didn’t chap my ass so badly, but it does, because it’s about MY LIFE, while these people are bitching about their wallets. We have a national deficit now because my tax dollars paid for a war of which I didn’t approve, but apparently my getting health care (and I have a job and insurance, which doesn’t cover my costs) upsets them because it’ll cost a tiny fraction of what that war does. Good for you and for Michelle in #6 (whose reply I might borrow for the next time someone goes off on me on Facebook) for standing up to these jerks.

And Bob, you do make a great point about educating people, but I have a couple of thoughts on that: firstly, I doubt Lee Ann had much of a chance of getting through to a doctor and a nurse who are clearly, unfortunately, extremely stupid. It’s heartbreaking that not all medical professionals are smart and compassionate, but as an administrator in a multi-specialty medical clinic, and a 21-year Type 1, I can tell you they’re not. Working with some of these people every day, I really wonder how they got their pants on that morning, never mind how they graduated from med school. Secondly, not to pull some sort of diabetes-big-sister crap on you, but give it a couple decades, and you’ll be amazed what you hear come out of people’s (even medical professionals’, even YOUR health care team’s) mouths. And we can use for them the excuse that they don’t know how hard it is when they haven’t experienced it, but I have dozens of non-diabetic friends and loved ones who make it clear to me on a regular basis that they don’t know what I’m going through but they know it’s hard and that they have no right to judge me. That’s called compassion, and just about everyone, working pancreas or not, is capable of that if they try hard enough and just THINK for a second before shooting off their mouths.

By: What Is It About Airplanes And Health Care Reform » RideToRemedy.com - Riding To Cure Diabetes

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:19:49 +0000

[...] care reform and politics seem to be the hot topic of conversation between strangers on airplanes (read Lee Ann’s experience). It’s a weird thing for me. It’s definitely not something that I’d want to bring [...]

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:16:41 +0000

If I may – speaking as a conservative, who also happens to be a T1 – I was diagnosed in May of this year, and I’m on MDI – still in that honeymoon phase apparently as well. I can understand your getting upset with these people. They’re obviously uneducated in the cost/cause of diabetes. However, going off on them is not what’s going to get minds changed. I mean, think about it – for the most part, you folks are years and years ahead of me on diabetes knowledge – I’ve only been diagnosed with it for five months now (today, in fact), but that puts me five months ahead of the people that were on the aircraft with you. What we need to do is educate, not alienate, and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. I’m very open about my T1 – all my co-workers know, and the ones that were initially saying “Oh, I’m so sorry,” now know that it’s not a death sentence, like they thought it was. They’ve learned that it’s something I’m having to adapt to, they’re learning about the cost, the technology (it helps that we’re all geeks on a help desk). They’re learning about the history and the future.

We can’t assume that Joe or Joan Stranger on the street is going to understand about the cost behind the disease. If I were to come up to you and try to talk about replacing a TOBI Duct or a bleed strap, would you have any idea what I was talking about? Unless you used to be a 2A671A, then the answer is probably not. If I got angry with you because you didn’t understand, would that help the situation – no. Again – we need to educate, not alienate. And it’s small steps, not giant leaps. I didn’t go from a 278 average to a 109 average in 1 day. It took a lot of small steps, and a lot of insulin (have I mentioned that I hate needles?) to get there.

If we want to change things, and things do need to change, then we need to always be ready to educate people. Draw them into the fold, engage their hearts and minds – you can’t force compassion – besides, honestly – I don’t want their sympathy or sorrow (see the definition of compassion) – I want their empathy and understanding.

Again – education, not alienation. That’s the only way to get true change to occur.

By: Sajabla

Sajabla — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:22:02 +0000

I’ve had this conversation.

With my father.

Which pisses me off. Because he has been with me at every diabetes education session, at every doctors appointment, until I was about 18.

But talk to him about the left wing health care mumbo jumbo (his words, not mine) and he says if I can’t afford new treatments I can just do what I did 11 years ago.

Thanks, Dad. You try having diabetes for a while.

By: Renee

Renee — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:24:50 +0000

It is RIDICULOUS how ignorant most doctors are about Type 1. Number one reason to not trust ANY doctor but your endo, and even then sometimes it’s iffy….

Good for you for trying to educate! It’s much more than I would have done. Too bad they are so blinded by their “expertise” to learn something from you.

By: Traci

Traci — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:50:10 +0000

Leann,
Glad you had a good trip (once you got down there). I don’t understand people’s theories on this health insurance thing but then I have to remember that they really don’t understand us. I didn’t until I began living with someone with it. And it has been 9 years into our marriage and my husband has finally come to see how much I do on the insurance end of things for his T1. I am constantly battling–for him! It’s not anything he’s ever had to do. And he has now seen how hard it is and how much HCR is needed.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:17:09 +0000

Oh Lee Ann… good for you for giving those a$$holes a what-for. But listen: they’re idiots. And even if all of us T1s worked diligently, 24-7, to educate, enlighten and otherwise try to clean up and rid of the world of its idiots, we would FAIL. For the sake of your own good heart, don’t let ‘people’ like this make you cry or ruin your trips. They’re simply not worth much more than your pity. And while you’re pitying them close your eyes for a sec, take a deep breath, and remember that though you’re alone in that airplane seat at that instant, there are so many around you and behind you, in spirit, that feel differently because they know better — and we are all wishing you a fantastic trip!

By: val

val — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:50:09 +0000

yow, what idiots!!!! Here’s hoping your meet-up out west will provide a more than karma-balancing fantastic time to balance out having to sit next to the f*ckheads. I really feel bad for any of their patients, though!!!!

And Michelle #6, **applause!***