From the Ferry Building in San Francisco

Happy World Diabetes Day!

Yesterday evening 100 people gathered just outside the Ferry Building to raise awareness of issues of importance to the diabetes world and to keep diabetes firmly in the public spotlight.  At the same time in cities around globe, thousands of others gathered to commemorate WDD by lighting buildings in the color of the blue circle symbol for diabetes.  The mood was festive as we lit candles, shined flash lights and passed out blue glow sticks and looked up in amazement at the steeple of the Ferry Building illuminated in shining blue color.

I admit to not quite understanding what the hype is all about.  I tried to find the important parts of this new International Diabetes Federation, World Health Organization and United Nations sanctioned and official world health day.  I read everything but I seemed to always end up in the same place….then what?   People I talked with who actually live with diabetes everyday seemed less than excited about an official world health day.  I was not even sure why I put on a blue shirt as I got ready to head downtown to the Embarcadero Saturday afternoon.  But I knew I should wear blue because I suggested it to others after I read it in the official What To Do manual.  The manual told me how to dress but it did not ever tell me what I really wanted to know.  What I wanted to know is how does lighting a building in blue have anything to do with raising awareness of the serious impact of diabetes on our communities?  There I said it.

I remember the day I joined the San Francisco WDD unofficial planning committee and asked Kelly Close and Alisa Bekins of diaTribe and Manny Hernandez of TuDiabetes, “how do I get a building lighted in blue?”  Turns out, that was the easy part.  As with everything, it is not what you know, it is who you know.  Later as we began to talk about the event that would mark the occasion of the lighting of the official building or monument on the UN’s sanctioned world health day I remember thinking, ” that’s it?”  No marching band?  No glad-handing politicians speaking to crowds with microphone? Silent auction?  Prizes?  An official panel discussion?  Just a meet up and make a little noise?

Of course I was running late.  Late and somewhat apprehensive about what to expect.  Let’s face it.  It is a chilly Saturday evening at 5:30pm.  Who is going to be standing in a park across the street from the Ferry Building to “celebrate” World Diabetes Day?  I was just happy that Patrick McKowen from JDRF agreed to join me by giving up a couple hours of his Saturday night.  Patrick and I manage JDRF marketing and communications.  Thanks Patrick.

When I saw the Ferry Building for the first time, I was a bit relieved. It really was illuminated in blue.  Wow, we did it!  We really did it.  Its Blue.  Now what?

Then I start to see familiar faces.   The fine people of Equity Marketing Solutions are an impressive group.  It is because of them, for example, that we have this blog as a communication tool.  Everyday, Equity Marketing Solutions provide Patrick and me with advanced website optimization and strategy development.  They do so because of a personal connection to type 1 diabetes.  They want JDRF be successful and to cure diabetes.  Christine and Melissa drove all the way from Santa Cruz to join the lighting of the Ferry Building.  They touched my heart.  Thank you ladies sincerely for making the effort, again.  Then they are off to make the journey back to Santa Cruz but just seeing them ignites my excitement.

Then I see Manny and meet Kelly and Alisa for the first time.  Now I am starting to have fun.  I am pleased to see Charles Renfroe from Johnson & Johnson.  Charles greets me warmly.  Johnson & Johnson and JDRF sponsor the lighting of Ferry Building. I say hello to some old friends and meet some new people. Manny said that he was very pleased with the number of people that came out.  I was not there last year but I got the sense that tonight’s crowd was much bigger than the size of the crowd that gathered in 2008 at the San Francisco City Hall illuminated in blue.  Some of the organizers begin to speak briefly to the WDD crowd.  I am not sure anyone could hear what they were saying but as they speak I look out into the crowd and for the first time I see that people are happy.

Really happy.  Everyone is smiling.  People are saying thank you.  People had been saying thank you all evening.  I just say thank you right back.  I am so happy that people came out.  Happy to have 100 people to scream and shout and look up at the beautiful blue steeple on top of the Ferry Building.

Suddenly there it was.  Just do something; anything that feels right to you and that shows others that diabetes is a terrible disease and that people struggle everyday to keep their glucose within a small range of numbers considered normal.  I am really excited now because I had been feeling that maybe I didn’t do enough!  To the WDD crowd on Saturday night, we did it all.  One hundred people joined together, if for only an hour, by a common cause.

Now I am feeling ten feet tall.  Suddenly, I can not wait until the first person asks me, “so how was your weekend?”  “What did you do this weekend?”  Because when they ask, I will say that I raised awareness of diabetes  because many people I care about live with type 1 diabetes and that is not okay with me.

The last person I saw before heading home was Lisa Shenson.  Lisa was on her way home but she had the biggest smile on her face.  We were too far away to be conversant but she yelled “thank you for doing this!”  I could see sincerely in her eyes and this made my night. Lisa does so much for others and fights tirelessly for the rights of children living with diabetes in school.

If this celebration pleased Lisa, then I am one happy guy.  This morning Lisa sent me an email and included some of her photos.  Some of the photos in this blog are from Lisa Shenson.  Thanks Lisa.

I think Lisa’s email best summed up the evening.  Lisa wrote, “Tonight’s lighting of the SF Ferry Building in honor of World Diabetes Day 2009 was magical…for those of you who weren’t able to make it, we missed you! It was a warm gathering of the diabetes community that included some Bravebuddies families, JDRF, ADA, Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine.com, Manny Hernandez of TuDiabetes.com, Kelly Close of DiaTribe.us …and me! Hope to see you next go ’round… -Lisa Shenson, Diabetes Parent & Advocate.

It was a magical night.  It may seem inappropriate way to acknowledge a disease awareness designated day but how else to end but Happy World Diabetes Day everyone.

So that is what I did for World Diabetes Day. What about you? What did you do to raise awareness of diabetes on World Diabetes Day or on any day?

Tagged as: education, prevention, World Diabetes Day