Guest Post: Mike is the MAN!

Today’s guest post was written by the great Scott Johnson.  Scott and I had a chance to hangout and work together a couple of weekends ago at the TCOYD conference in Des Moines.  He was kind enough to answer my call for guest posts, and even kinder in what he wrote.  Thanks Scott!

Mike, the awesome owner of this space, is away for a while and asked his friends to contribute a few guest posts. I am honored he asked, and I am more than happy to help out. Today, I’m writing on behalf of The Diabetes Collective, a new blog from DiabetesMonitor.com featuring several great contributors.

I had the opportunity to spend quality time with Mike at a recent TCOYD conference in Des Moines, Iowa where we volunteered to help spread information about Diabetes Advocates to those attending the conference. Attendees had traveled from hours and hours away to get the education and information from the conference speakers and exhibit hall booths.

Mike is compassionate, and that compassion was strikingly evident when he would strike up a conversation with visitors at our booth. He has walked in their footsteps, understanding the confusion and isolation diabetes delivers with its diagnosis. People really seemed to tune in to Mike’s message because he was delivering it from his heart.

Surviving the day and learning about Mike

The day was exhausting. It was a challenge for both Mike and I to stay on our feet (those concrete exhibit hall floors are killer), and it was surprisingly hard to be socially active for so long. But, the day gave me a chance to see another side of Mike that I hadn’t yet seen.

Although Mike tries to be casual about his self-care, he actually works very hard on his health. During our time together, I caught glimpses of his determination and hard work, making use of a fitbit, a small electronic activity monitor that helps him gauge his daily activity.

He knows himself very well, which prevents him from overdoing it. Even after all of the walking on Friday and Saturday, I saw the step counter on that little gadget flying faster than I thought possible.

Thank you, Mike, for being such a great partner for our adventure. I hope we have the opportunity to do it again.