This past weekend I had one of the most amazing experiences ever. I attended my first ever TCOYD – Taking Control of Your Diabetes conference in Providence, RI. It was my first time to Rhode Island and the trip via Amtrak wasn’t bad at all.
Tina and I got there the day before since it began pretty early on Saturday and I’m glad we did that since we got to see some of the city. Or at least what’s around the conference center 🙂 We enjoyed a dinner up at Federal Hill after walking what seemed like forever to pick a restaurant. Since every other one was Italian cuisine, that’s what we went with. And it was a very nice place.
We got up early on Saturday morning, watched the news for a bit since the big story was reflecting on the 9th anniversary of 9/11 and then we headed to the conference. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first area we saw was the Health Fair which had many vendors of diabetes supplies setting up. It kind of reminded me of the ADA Expo in Jacob Javitz Center here in NY. But then we went in for the opening session. And listened to Dr. Steve Edelman give his presentation. And laughed. A lot. And so much of it hit home. This man’s presentation was probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. The following presentation was just as good and it made me so glad that I made the trip. I’ll be honest that I didn’t really learn much that I didn’t already know. But there is something so comforting, so reassuring to hear others who are living with diabetes talk about loving your life with diabetes and the quote of the day “Live first be diabetic second”. Also the guest speaker during lunch was has such a moving story that it made me want to go out and move mountains!
I didn’t get to score any free goodies from any of the vendors since I pretty much have every latest gadget that’s out there but it was still nice to walk around and take a look at things and have a friendly talk with the Animas reps. What did make this day even better was the company I had throughout the event. I got to hang out with some pretty great people (beside Tina) like Kerri, Ashley & her cool dad, Karen & P, Bernard, Faye & Mr. Sugar Bump, Val & her hubby, Kelly and not to mention Charlie Kimball.
It was such a rewarding experience and am so glad I had the opportunity to go. I would highly recommend experiencing what TCOYD has to offer to any of you reading. And I am SO excited because I just found out today that they will be holding a conference in Albany, NY next year. I’ve marked my calendar already! 🙂
The Girl with the Portable Pancreas 
I enjoyed reading everyone’s tweets! Love the picture. TCOYD is awesome. I like how everything is split up and the classes are awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience:)
So glad that you enjoyed your weekend in Providence. I think that one day you should be a presenter—maybe in Albany..? You’re amazing!!!
It was SO great to finally meet you and spend the day hanging out!
HAHAHA Mr. Sugar Bump! He got a kick out of that 😛
Can’t wait til we all do this again…it was such a fun weekend!
Don’t know if I’m more jealous of the TCOYD or visiting Providence. I’m a sucker for New England and must put Providence on my list for next trip out that way.
Cool. I really love the idea of laughing. A lot at TCOYD.
All the best.
I love that you had such a great experience. Hopefully next year they will have one in S.F.
It really was an awesome day, wasn’t it. (Although they needed bigger lunch tables so our whole crew could sit together.) I’ve been stuck trying to write my post because how do you describe such a wonderful experience? You did it perfectly though. I’m planning to head up to Albany for the next one too!!
This is a great post! We are so glad that we could come to Providence and host this conference for everyone. It is stories like yours that make us continue what we do and LOVE what we do! Hope to see you in Albany!