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Relationships

Psychosocial

A Good Day to Die

My brother-in-law, George Klotz, died today after a long illness. He and my little sister, Liz, had been married for 55 years.

George died from prostate cancer, and he had been legally blind for years. Liz had to take ever greater responsibility for him. Until today, when everything changed for her.

George fought hard for his life. But on adequate pain medication he died peacefully today. George lived in Chino, California, and as a veteran will be buried in Riverside National Cemetery. I will fly there for the funeral.

The family knew this was coming. And so, all day today I have been thinking about that famous statement, “This is a good day to die.”

Used in numerous books, movies, albums, and song tracks, this statement still raised questions in my mind. Who said it and why? What does it mean?

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Diabetes Testing

Roche’s Social Media Summit

Roche Diabetes Care this week took a bold and potentially dangerous step into the unknown. This leading manufacturer of blood glucose meters invited 29 of us who write about diabetes to what they called the “Social Media Summit.” During the past 14 years that I have specialized in writing about diabetes no other diabetes company had ever reached out to us.

When my invitation first arrived, I didn’t recognize the term “social media.” I now understand it to mean bloggers and other patient advocates, like me, who write about diabetes.

On Wednesday and Thursday we met with top company executives at Roche’s North American headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Luc Vierstrate, Roche’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Roche Diabetes Care North America, kicked off the event over dinner Wednesday. Roche executives turned out in force, probably outnumbering those of us who write about diabetes. At dinner I sat between the medical director and the vice president of sales, each of whom have type 1 diabetes. Continue Reading

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