With palm trees in our rearview mirrors and most of the laundry now completely caught up, it’s time to reminisce about our time at the happiest place on earth with the happiest people on earth ... Friends for Life Anaheim 2024. Children with Diabetes hosted our fall Friends for Life conference from October 25-27, 2024 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Attendees came from across the country to join almost 300 other Fiffles for a weekend of community and support from the best diabetes family in the world. Grab your Mickey ears and a giant corn dog and let’s recap FFL Anaheim 2024!

FFL Friday

On Friday, attendees from across the country arrived at the Disneyland Hotel for a weekend full of fun as we officially kicked off FFL Anaheim. Registration opened, and guests gathered for the familiar donning of the green and orange wristbands and then picked up their conference programs and t-shirts. This year, our conference t-shirt was black and featured a palm tree as part of the FFL logo! Friends were quickly reunited as we shared heavy appetizers and visited with our generous sponsors and exhibitors in Sleeping Beauty Pavilion (our exhibit hall for the weekend). One of our favorite parts of Friday evening was the CWD-sponsored sticker table in the exhibit hall. We loved meeting with our fellow “green bands,” comparing our insulin pumps and insulin regimens, and sharing our diabetes journeys.

FFL Saturday

FFL Saturday started with the familiar breakfast buffet, where families joined together in the Magic Kingdom ballrooms. Attendees dined together and enjoyed a cup of coffee as they planned out the conference day ahead. Conference volunteers were excited to prepare the youth programming rooms for a day full of excitement, and adult programming rooms were ready for a day of education and learning. We kicked off the conference with an amazing keynote address from Dr. Anne Peters and Olympic Swimmer Gary Hall, Jr. In between conference sessions during our break times, we took the time to run to the exhibit hall and visit with our sponsors and exhibitors to learn more about the latest and greatest in diabetes technology and products that will help us live our best lives with diabetes. During lunch, we gathered on the Adventure Lawn for a picnic with our new best friends for life and filled our camera rolls with memories to last a lifetime. After lunch, we concluded the conference day with more educational programming from our dedicated faculty. On Saturday evening, CWD hosted Scarey-oke! This Halloween-themed karaoke party was fun for all ages and attendees sang and danced the night away to music from across the ages.

FFL Sunday

On Sunday, our youngest Fiffles enjoyed attending youth programming sessions with their peers where they learned about diabetes management techniques consistent with the latest ISPAD guidelines. Adult programming sessions featured sessions on women’s health and diabetes, diabetes and mental health, exercise with TID and so much more. CWD’s Clinical Director Marissa Town featured a new session titled "Table Talks" where attendees could visit with FFL faculty members in 15-minute segments to have deeper conversations about topics covered during the weekend. This session received rave reviews from all who participated in this afternoon session. Leigh Fickling, CWD's Chief Operating Officer, ended the conference day with the closing keynote, "Friends for Life: The Family You Never Knew You Needed." Once official conference sessions ended, it was time for tearful goodbyes and the exchange of contact information from people who started the weekend as strangers but left as family.

THANK YOU!

Children with Diabetes would like to thank our dedicated volunteers who helped to make our conference weekend such a huge success! We couldn’t do it without you and are so thankful for the time and energy that you dedicate to making FFL a magical experience for all who attend. We are so appreciative of our sponsors and exhibitors who truly believe in our mission of providing "care today, until a cure tomorrow." It was so great to spend time with you in California and we can’t wait to see you soon. Thank you to the donors who helped to support our Friends for Life Scholarship Fund. Because of your generosity, we were able to bring 10 families to FFL Anaheim this weekend and welcome them into our circle of friends. Finally, thank you to all of the people who attended FFL Anaheim. You filled our diabetes fuel tanks with love and support and we can’t wait to continue making memories with you in all of the days ahead.

Green and Orange Forever,
Leigh