CWD News
Behind the Scenes of CWD & FFL
Despite being a small team, Children with Diabetes (CWD) is a non-profit organization that is able to accomplish many things! For two decades, it was run by only two people, Jeff Hitchcock and Laura Billetdeaux. They worked tirelessly and took few vacations for twenty years to grow CWD into the trusted, global resource that it is today. CWD now consists of six employees, the most it has ever had, and the small but mighty team does a lot to help the mission: Care today, Cure tomorrow. Friends for Life Conferences Most people know CWD for our major events for people […]
Read MoreAutomated Insulin Delivery Systems 2024
Diabetes technologies are changing quickly, so we at CWD want to make sure you have the up-to-date information on what’s available to you in the U.S. For your reference and to help with any decisions you may need to make, we put together this chart of the current Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems for people with diabetes, as well as some helpful information about AID in general. Some Quick Definitions: Basal – Background insulin Bolus – insulin taken for food or correcting a higher than target blood glucose CGM – Continuous Glucose Monitor Open Loop – when the pump is […]
Read MoreSuper Bolus – A Game Changer in Diabetes Care
Most of us are familiar with the Super Bowl, but you may not be familiar with a super bolus. Here is all you need to know about this relatively new concept in diabetes care. What is a super bolus? A super bolus is a 1.5x normal pre-meal dose of insulin and suspension of basal insulin for 2 hours.1 Stopping the basal insulin helps ensure that there is not too much insulin circulating in the bloodstream at once and lowers the risk of low blood sugar from the bolus. Why would you do a super bolus? This is typically done when […]
Read MoreBeing your own Advocate
Diabetes is one of those things in life about which everyone seems to have an opinion, despite how little they know about it. This is often how your self-advocacy journey with diabetes starts. You tell your coworkers or classmates that you have diabetes, and the reactions range from, “my aunt has diabetes and she does keto” to the all too common, “you don’t look like you have diabetes.” Then some of them try to be pushy and tell you what you can and can’t eat. It starts with peers It’s important to make sure people around you know you have […]
Read MoreCWD in the Community
Children with Diabetes (CWD) began as a grassroots organization of families with diabetes looking for information and support. While CWD has grown into an internationally recognized brand, we continue to participate in local events for people and families with diabetes whenever possible, given the value of connecting as a community. We believe community matters. The very foundation of CWD was creating an online community for people with diabetes and their loved ones. Jeff Hitchcock, CWD’s founder, recognized how powerful it was to connect with other parents after attending a family diabetes camp with his daughter. In the early days of […]
Read More2024 Leadership Retreat: Crafting the Future of Friends for Life
The Children with Diabetes team just wrapped up our annual Friends for Life Leadership Retreat Weekend and we can’t wait to share some of our highlights from this very important planning weekend. From planning meetings to visits to our storage units for inventory, this weekend was packed from beginning to end. So, let’s grab our refillable mugs and meet on a cozy chair in the hallway, and recap the Retreat! Each year in January, the CWD Team meets in Orlando to begin the planning process for our annual Friends for Life conferences. Joining us at the retreat are members of […]
Read MoreA Guide to Navigating Diabetes Care without Insurance
One of the harsh realities of life with a chronic condition in the United States is the possibility of losing insurance coverage – or never having it in the first place. Growing up with diabetes, I felt conditioned to prepare myself to have job opportunities that would provide adequate insurance coverage. A young man with Type 1 Diabetes shares a similar sentiment on the Diabetes Link, “Any T1D knows that health insurance is arguably the most important perk when deciding whether or not to take a job.”1 This is the reality of the current systems in the U.S., for better […]
Read MoreInhaled Insulin with Closed Loop Systems
One of the biggest challenges for people with diabetes has been finding ways to get insulin into the body that do not require injections. This has proven to be more difficult than people anticipated, but there is an option for inhaled insulin for adults with diabetes (the studies in children ages 4-18 are still ongoing). Why would I want to inhale insulin? One of the major benefits of inhaled insulin is its rapid onset, meaning it starts working very quickly. Since it is absorbed in the lungs, it gets into the bloodstream within a few minutes as opposed to 15-20 […]
Read MoreLooking Back on 2023
It was quite a busy year here at CWD! We began the year with our annual staff retreat in January where our key leaders met to discuss and plan our upcoming events. The retreat also serves as a time for staff and key volunteers to bond further and discuss the trials and tribulations of living with diabetes. In February, we attended ATTD where we were honored to present our second annual CWD President’s Award to our Friend for Life, Dr. Irl Hirsh. We were fortunate to have Dr. Hirsh be a presenter at our Friends for Life Seattle conference a […]
Read MorePro Tips for Enhancing the Effects of Insulin
When you have diabetes, sometimes it feels like no matter what you do, your insulin is not working how it should. There are many very real reasons why it may not be working – the dose may have been too small, you could be injecting into scar tissue, the insulin could have denatured (gone bad), to name a few. Then there’s insulin resistance, which is happening more and more for people with type 1 diabetes, despite it being a key characteristic of type 2 diabetes. Here are some insulin hacks/tips to help make sure your insulin is working as effectively […]
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