So I’m playing catch up with Day 1 of Diabetes Blog Week.  And hoping I’ll stay caught up the rest of the week.  Stay tuned for that.

Day 1’s topic was “Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you. (Thanks go out to Kim of Texting my Pancreas for inspiring this topic.)”

While every aspect of living with diabetes or caring for a loved one with diabetes means a lot to me; access to supplies, mental health, peer support, proper education, etc.  Nothing gets my blood boiling quite like test strip inaccuracy.  I’ve blogged about this a number of times and luckily we had the opportunity to raise our concerns to the FDA recently.  But the seriousness of this issue just boggles my mind in 2014.  When I was first diagnosed, like many other people with T1D, I didn’t even have a blood glucose meter.  And while I appreciate the ease in which I can have my pick of glucose meters today, none of that should matter if the results I get day in and day out are not completely accurate.  While I love a color screen or a nice back light or a quick five second reading or an app that automatically uploads readings, none of those things are as important to me as accuracy.  We dose ourselves with a medication that can be lethal if not administered correctly based on those results!

My ultimate goal living with diabetes is to do the best I can and stay as healthy as I can be.  And while access to supplies, my mental health from peer support and proper education will certainly help me do that, none of that will matter if my blood sugar readings aren’t accurate.