Looking for advice .... as always

[SusanOF]

Hey everyone .... hope the weather is better wherever you are ..... no fear of having hypos due to the heat ..... its cold and wet here in Ireland!

I'm looking for a little advice. I am thinking about organising an event for T1's, not to discriminate but T1s in Ireland account for less than 15% and very often we get a little overlooked when it comes to support groups etc. Obviously my aim is not to isolate but to try and target this group specifically.

The advice .... I've never organised anything in my life .... bar my own wedding. I don't know where to start and would benefit immensely from any advice anyone has to offer in this regard.

A good friend of mine recently blogged on separating T1s from T2s within the Irish health system and requested that health professionals clearly distinguish between both. What followed was all out war between T1s and T2s on the site. So I'm nervous to say the least about offending anyone so am looking for the best approaches. Most support/information events are aimed at all types of diabetes and I support these all the time. I just wondered whether it is a good idea to offer an event for T1's?

 

[Caroline]

I'm type 2 on tablets. I am aware treatment for us is different, so yes I think it is a good idea. On this forum we all help each other and some advice (like carb counting) can cross from one to the other.

I think I might start by asking your doctor to put a questionaire in recepetion and ask who is interestead. See how much response there is after a week, then after a couple and take it from there.

 

[Copepod]

Hi SusanOF
I can see the sense of a specific event for people with type 1 diabetes only. While I know the health systems are different between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, transport costs / routes mean that people from Northern Ireland might find it cheaper easier to get to somewhere in RoI than across the water. I spent 6 months working in a Public Health Department in Belfast a few years ago, not long after diagnosis, and had a couple of lifts to Dublin with colleagues attending medical college meetings - much easier than getting to Scotland / Wales / England.
The numbers are so small that your GP might not have any other T1Ds on their list, so might be better to go via hospital clinics.
I suggest the order for doing things is: fix the date, time (morning / afternoon / evening, not precise at this stage) & location (city / town, not precise venue just yet), with consultation with others, taking into account public holidays, major sporting & other events, etc; get a small deposit or as definite to fix numbers, then start looking for a venue suitable to the numbers eg pub with function room, community hall etc; finalise date / time / location with enough notice for people to be able to use advance purchase bus / train / air fares and / or arrange accommodation. Not so different from organising a wedding, really 😉

 

[SusanOF]

Great advice. I'll get going on the planning. Was thinking I might do a survey on the site to try and see whether people would be interested in such an event. Then I will definitely contact the clinics and T1 support groups as you mentioned. I suppose my fear is that I would organise and then not have anyone show up so I really need to address that first.