Words by Jen Hanson | Photos by the entire community! (Thanks to Blair Ryan, Andres Arriaga, Josiah Hammer, Vanessa Wong, Greg Florian, and Jenny Palu for their contributions of photos!)
Something special happened off the coast of Southern California in late October. After 7 years of breathing fresh air into Type 1 diabetes education in the great white north of Canada, Connected in Motion ventured out to launch our first, full-fledged Slipstream program in the United States. After getting our feet wet with a small pilot Type 1 diabetes program in 2012 (made possible through the support of our wonderful friends at Riding on Insulin and Insulindependence), we decided to just go for it and see what sort of magic could be created in Southern California.
And magic, there was. We had the chance to experience the culmination of a few years of dreaming come to life on beautiful Catalina Island. We saw a Type 1 community flourish and grow. We felt the power of connection and the energy of something… great.
How amazing it felt to watch old friends reunite and new Type 1 community members be welcomed with open arms. We learned to do Type 1 diabetes a little bit differently and practiced living life without limits. Most of all, we formed connections that will carry us through those times when you would just rather NOT do Type 1 diabetes and who will celebrate with us in the little victories that only someone else living with Type 1 diabetes can understand.
As a Type 1 community, we owe a big collective THANK YOU to the many people who made this weekend all that it was.
Thank you to the team at Tandem Diabetes Care who has believed, backed, and supported the Slipstream philosophy (summer camp for adults!) and who have been a true catalyst in building the Type 1 community in Southern California.
Thank you to our friends at CarbDM and Beyond Type 1 who helped spread the word, make connections, and partner in making SoCal Slipstream a success.
Endless gratitude to the SoCal Team that worked so hard over the past year to find our home for the weekend, to hook us up with great speakers and session topics, and to spread love and excitement throughout the Southern California Type 1 community (and beyond!): Blair Ryan, Renee Moreno, and Greg Florian, we couldn’t have done it without you!
How did we get the chance to sail the Catalina Coast? We can’t thank Josiah and Jules enough for making our amazing experiences out on the water possible – sailing from Oceanside to Catalina and back on Jules’ beautiful boat.
And to the speakers who came together to share their own experiences and help us learn a thing or two about breaking down the barriers around being healthy and active with Type 1 diabetes. Thanks to Peter Nerothin for sharing your expertise on Type 1 diabetes and exercise and to Dr Mark Heyman for talking with us about the tough stuff.
Finally, thank you to each and every person who chose to share their weekend with us. We are grateful for your experiences, for your expertise, and for your resilience. We are stoked to see the Type 1 community growing, expanding, and becoming stronger.
Our question now… What’s next? (But, seriously – Have ideas for us? Post a message on our Facebook Page, or send an email to info@connectedinmotion.ca!)
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