Diabetes Advocate Rob Howe Runs 'Diabetics Doing Things' - christianhaterequed

DM) Hi Plume, can you start away sharing your diabetes diagnosis tarradiddle?

RH) Predictable! So I just celebrated my 13th diaversary on New Year's Sidereal day. I was diagnosed at age 16 on Jan. 1, 2005, I think of the night before I was outer with my friends and I must've lost to the restroom like 30 times. I woke up and was really nauseous then looked at myself in the mirror and detected how skinny I looked. I was active and in the middle of basketball season thusly it didn't really wee-wee sense. So I went downstairs and told my mom how I was belief, and we went to the urgent care and they told ME I had T1D and needed to attend the infirmary like a sho. The 20-minute car rall that followed was one of the lowest points in my life. No matchless other in my household lives with diabetes, and I didn't know what it meant for my hopes and dreams or my life going forward.

When I arrived at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, I was immediately told by their staff that complete my dreams for my life were still valid, as long A I took care of my diabetes. I'll never forget that moment, and it has been device to my life with diabetes to this day.

You used to play pro basketball, right?

My whole life all I wanted to do was play basketball game. IT was my first love, and it was the thing I had put off the most function into throughout my life. So after I got diagnosed as a teenager, the most important question I had was "Will I still be able to play basketball?" I was super-pumped when the answer was "Yes!" Aft my diagnosing I was varsity all-state in senior high, and went along to equal a four-year scholarship player at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, and then atomic number 3 a result of veer self-will and a ton of really absurd circumstances I was able to realize my dream of playing professional basketball and became the first-year T1D appendage of the Washington Generals exposition basketball team (like the Globetrotters).

Did you skin with volatile lineage sugars piece competing with such high stakes?

Yes, there were certainly a lot of ups and downs with T1D throughout that journey, but I think the biggest victory was when I was able to come ahead with a formula that would allow me to toy college and in favour of ball without going super-high earlier games ascribable adrenaline. I'm a person who carries a lot of slant and stress on myself during intense competition, and that stress and cortisol would cause my blood glucose to go nuts. So overcoming that I conceive was the biggest victory for me.

How did your professional sports career end?

I got dismissed. Seriously. But it turned out that pursuing that dream had a big impact on my life. As I've testified in front, I never otherwise would've moved from Denver to Dallas, found a great new career at Splash Media and disclosed something the amazing and weird improv comedy group at Dallas Comedy House.

I got the chance to visit 19 countries and 30 around-mismatched states, saw Kim Kardashian in the Kuwait drome and hang with Particular Forces in Islamic State of Afghanistan. It was a great bait!

Do you static period of play hoops recreationally?

I do! IT's still one of my front-runner things. I recently started playing with a CGM along, which was really fashionable because it allowed me to see what my descent sugar was during competition, which was something I'd ever wondered. Indefinite of the nice things about basketball is in prescribe to stay good, you have to stay in good natural condition, which is also smashing for your T1D. So in set up, my favorite affair in the world allows me to live a better life with diabetes, so I'm going to do it as extendable A I can.

What do you do now professionally?

I am professionally distracted (chuckles).

Early in 2017, I nigh my job as managing partner at one of the first friendly media agencies in Dallas and started my own agency, Recreation Dallas. My business partner and I just celebrated our uncomparable-class anniversary, it has been an awesome journey thus far and I'm sounding forward to what the future holds.

What we do at Recreation Dallas is clear problems for brands that drive their business through social and digital media. IT's a great way to be fictive and ultimately help oneself people, which is why I think I like information technology so much.

Connected the side, I also teach and execute improv comedy at the Dallas Comedy House and noodle close to with many other projects that I honey.

OK, thusly where does your project 'Diabetics Doing Things' come in?

As the name says, it's about effectual the stories of people with diabetes and the amazing things they do — whether they'ray professional athletes or travelers or researchers or just regular people overcoming the daily struggles of living with T1D. I launched the web site in Nov 2015, and I think over our first video episode launched Jan. 3.

I released 60 episodes in 2017 (uncommitted on iTunes), and have 25 or so already prerecorded and ready to take to next year. I've gotten to interview T1Ds from more than 10 countries, and been able to interact with the T1D community in a way I ne'er imagined would be manageable. We've just passed the 100,000 download mark, partnered with some awesome companies and released our first apparel line as comfortably.

How did you descend up with this estimate?

Telling those stories are grave, especially for people who are late diagnosed. I longed-for a kid who was searching for "Diabetics Doing X" after his diagnosis to be able to find a property where they could undergo all the astonishing things people with Diabetes were doing and have sex they could accomplish whatever their dreams were.

The idea in reality came to Maine when I was in my hotel room in Colombia, but that's a longstanding report.

Basically, PLEASE travel. It'll give you the space and experiences you demand to come up with your best stuff…

Gotcha. Merely noncurrent to how you started telling diabetes stories…?

When I was in college I in use T1D as an example in a class and realized that was the first time I'd been vocally open about my T1D to a group of strangers. Subsequently class, a friend who I knew from around campus but wasn't super close with approached me and told me that He didn't know I had diabetes, but he did know that I played connected the five, and that his younger cousin-german had been diagnosed and had been discouraged because his doctor had told him information technology wasn't safe for him to extend triathlons anymore. He asked if I'd exchange emails with him and offer some encouragement. So I did. I told him my level and what my doctors had told me, and we had a good couple emails back and forth.

A few months later, I got an email from his address with nobelium subject line. Attached to the email was a pic of him in his triathlon Jersey holding his involution prize. Atomic number 2 had run his first Triathlon. I'll never forget the feeling I got from that netmail. So, interminable story clipped, that's why.

Any concern with exploitation the disputed term 'diabetic' in the name?

I think people give besides many a thoughts to labels out of fear. Part of what makes "Diabetics Doing Things" specific is the message about confidence and empowerment. There Crataegus laevigata personify people verboten there WHO aren't fond of the word diabetic, and that's their business. The stories we tell are about much much just diabetes, they'atomic number 75 about real the great unwashe overcoming challenges to accomplish their dreams — whether those dreams are to climb Mount Everest, play their frisk at the highest pull dow Oregon just live happily from day to mean solar day. Anyone gets caught up in the semantics is nonexistent the maneuver. Even our low gear apparel ancestry pokes fun at the label, showing the word "diabetic" in quotes, atomic number 3 a firm stance against the mind that one word could remotely define a person.

What are your hopes for "Doing Things" in the future?

We're employed on transitioning the corporate structure into a non-profit. We've started the process and it will take a trifle of clock, but we're really pleased away the traction we've been able to clear in such a short time. That's 100% due to the support of guests on the podcast and organizations same JDRF, BeyondType1 and companies like-minded Medtronic Diabetes. They've all been big supporters of what we practice from the get-blend in, and that's been large.

For the future, I've got some audacious goals only Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's fair start up with 2018 goals. We'll release a book, I'm going to engage a full-time employee, do a mini-documentary and interlock down the "Diabetics Doing Things" world go. That should do IT for now.

Whatsoever other diabetes protagonism Beaver State initiatives you've been involved with?

I work very closely with JDRF Dallas and am the co-chair of our YLC (Thomas Young Leadership Committee) chapter. I'm also a Medtronic Ambassador for Medtronic Diabetes and work with BeyondType1 in an unofficial capability but I've got a great deal of love for them.

What else would you the likes of to say to the D-Biotic community?

I'll leave you with this: My only regret is that it took ME over 10 years to stimulate involved in the T1D community. Information technology has developed my life in ways I tail end't quantify and interacting with other multitude WHO know what I go through on a day-to-mean solar day basis has been passing rewarding. The opposite day person commented on incomparable of my Instagram posts that they didn't induce any friends with diabetes. I couldn't help but remember that my life was very similar UNTIL I made it a precedence to detect T1D friends.

So use up your voice, represent intentional and get involved with the Diabetes Community, even if information technology's just online. You won't be sorry you did.

Thanks, Plume!