Contributor: Crystal Bowersox; singer-songwriter and runner-up on the ninth season of American Idol. crystalbowersox.com
Connection: Adult living with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “I’m really enjoying my life, and my health. I just wanted to make this video to let everyone know that you can achieve your dreams.”
Contributor: Shannon; @ShanMarengo
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes and PCOS
Quote: “I wish I’d had the opportunity to have tools like this – friends, online tools available when I first had that horrible conversation with that doctor [when I was first diagnosed with diabetes] who told me I would never have a child, because it was a very hopeless feeling. But now I know that I can, and I have.”
Contributor: Kim; @txtngmypancreas
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes; creator of the You Can Do This Project
Quote: “If you’re having a tough time living with diabetes, I totally get that. But I also want you to know that even when it gets super tough, you can bounce back from that. Talk to people – you won’t want to, because you won’t think they’ll ‘get it’, but you need to. I wish I had.”
Contributor: Crystal, http://randomlycapitalized.wordpress.com
Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes
Blog post: http://randomlycapitalized.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/you-can-do-this/
“Mostly what I learned, because it’s in my face way too often, is how Hard it is to receive “assistance” for a single, white female, 30s, educated, employed. Heck, add in the unemployed and it still doesn’t matter. Again, no advice needed, I’ve been there, read it, looked it up, looked into it.
If any Any of you have questions about either unemployment, looking for work or living withOut insurance, never hesitate to ask, comment, tweet or email me. Never. I am an open book. If I can help, I will. That is a promise.
I, a pre-existing chronic of twenty six years, educated and unemployed, uninsured and lacking self confidence, lonely, depressed, scared at times single thirty two year old female, Can Do This because I have. And so can you.”
Contributor: Kerri; www.sixuntilme.com
Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes
Standout Quote: “We can do this; I know that we can. We can master this monster; we can draft up a plan. Or just fumble through days we’re unsure how to weather; the point is – we’re in this, and we’re in this together.”
Contributor: Vic Kinnunen; insulindependence.org
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “For about 30 years, I lived in a situation where I really didn’t know any other diabetics. I didn’t want to know any other diabetics, or acknowledge the fact that I had diabetes. But, in the last five years I’ve found that there’s a huge community of diabetics, and it’s a resource that you can definitely leverage.”
Contributor: Joe; Children With Diabetes
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “For me, the most difficult thing to come to terms with has been dealing with feelings of anger, rage, and frustration. I used to think that if I had those feelings, I was doing something wrong. It took me a long time and a lot of work to come to the realization and understanding that feelings are just a guide, and not a sign of whether I’m doing well or not.”
Contributor: Kate; tenaciouslysweet.com
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “Things are going to really suck at times, and things are going to be really exhausting and overwhelming at times. But I know that there’s all of you out there who’ve got my back, and I know that when you reach to me, I’ve got your back too, and I know exactly what you’re talking about. […] Knowing that you guys are out there; knowing that there’s a world of people with diabetes and it’s not just me going to these 92 doctor appointments, is pretty frigging awesome.”
YOU CAN DO THIS PROJECT 