December 22, 2009

To Everyone Who Has Served As A Volunteer for DiabetesSisters in 2009:

I want to express my sincere thanks for your help in the growth the organization has experienced this year.  Everyone who helped--from sending out emails to serving as a weekly blogger to organizing a meeting to serving on a Planning Committee to researching an important decision for the organization--should be proud of the hard work put in to the organization.  Each and every person who contributed is a part of the organization’s history!  In ten years from now, when DiabetesSisters is known worldwide for serving millions of women with diabetes, you will be proud to say that you helped get the organization off the ground!  When your best friend’s granddaughter is diagnosed with diabetes in 30 years from now (assuming there is no cure by then!), you will be excited to tell her about DiabetesSisters and how beneficial it is to attend the Weekend for Women Conference!    I am so proud of the diverse group of women (and men!) who have become a part of the core of this growing organization. Yes, the future has a lot in store for women with diabetes and the organization as a whole!     There is one common factor I have noticed among those volunteers who have served the longest and been the most satisfied in their volunteer role:  No matter what task they are performing for the organization, they have kept the focus on the mission of the organization and they have reminded themselves that the work they are doing (even if it is putting stamps on envelopes) is going to help women with diabetes in the long-term!  In today’s self-focused world, that kind of volunteer is hard to find!   I invite you to join me next week for a fun-filled, roller-coaster ride look back at the peaks and valleys DiabetesSisters experienced in 2009!  From the approval of our 501(c)3 nonprofit status in January 2009 to the Press Release announcing the Weekend for Women Conference hosted by DiabetesSisters and TCOYD on May 22-23, 2010, it is an intriguing story with many details that I am sure you were unaware of!

Personal Update:  I am glad to tell you that my dad underwent a biopsy at Duke University on Monday and we now have a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  However, it is not like the Hodgkin’s he had back in 1993 because it is much more aggressive.  So, he will start chemotherapy on Monday (after Christmas)!  Please pray with me that the form of chemo the doctors have chosen is going to completely eradicate the cancer and we can move on… As far as jobs go, there is really no update on that front.  L    From the thyroid perspective, I am still not sleeping well at night, but I have started taking Tylenol PM and it has helped tremendously!  My blood sugars are still a bit out of range, but my doc told me that my thyroid level being too high can slow my metabolism down and cause my blood sugars to be high.  Hopefully, this will correct itself in time.