I'm a bit late with this year's Diabetes Blog Week wrap up, but I wanted to make sure we capped things off. And better late than never, right?This year we had 114 bloggers officially signed up. That makes this year the smallest #DBlogWeek, but we certainly made up for it with extra enthusiasm. There are over 350 wonderful blog posts on last week's link lists. Did you forget to add yours? Or did you fall behind but still want to tackle the prompts? Don’t worry, the lists will remain open until the first weekend in June so you can add your post. After that, the lists will officially close to new entries, but they will remain on-line for future reference.
This wrap up wouldn't be complete without a huge THANK YOU to all of you! I’m so grateful to everyone who blogged, read posts, tweeted, Facebooked, left comments and lurked with us once again for DBlogWeek. You are what make #DBlogWeek happen and I’m more thankful than you know. Honestly, it didn't bother me one bit that our participation was smaller this year, because we are still mighty! And I'm definitely not ruling out the possibility of a Ninth Diabetes Blog Week next year!!
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Today’s topic is More Than Diabetes. Lets wrap up the week by sharing a little more about ourselves, beyond the chronic illness we or our loved ones live with. Share an interest, hobby, passion, something that is YOU. If you want to explore how it relates to or helps with diabetes you can. Or let it be a part of you that is completely separate from diabetes, because there is more to life than just diabetes! (This topic is a suggestion from the 2016 #DBlogWeek survey.)
We’re going to go back to a past 
On to today’s topic, The Blame Game. Having diabetes often makes a visit to the doctor a dreaded experience, as there is invariably bad news of one kind or another. And sometimes the way the doctor talks to you can leave you feeling like you’re at fault. Or maybe you have a fantastic healthcare team, but have experienced blame and judgement from someone else in your life – friend, loved one, complete stranger. Think about a particularly bad instance, how that person talked to you, the words they used and the conversation you had. Now, the game part. Let’s turn this around. If you could turn that person into a puppet, what would you have them say that would leave you feeling empowered and good about yourself? Let’s help teach people how to support us, rather than blame us! (Thank you, 
Today’s topic is The Cost of a Chronic Illness. Insulin and other diabetes medications and supplies can be costly. Here in the US, insurance status and age (as in Medicare eligibility) can impact both the cost and coverage. So today, let’s discuss how cost impacts our diabetes care. Do you have advice to share? For those outside the US, is cost a concern? Are there other factors such as accessibility or education that cause barriers to your diabetes care? (This topic was inspired by suggestions from 
So when I think about the cost of my chronic illness, it isn’t always the dollars I’m thinking of. Instead, it’s less tangible things. Diabetes costs me countless hours of sleep treating middle of the night lows or correcting stubborn overnight highs. I’ve paid with so many tears of frustration when I’ve tried my hardest and things still don’t go well. It costs me guilt when I see the worry in my husband’s eye or hear the panic in his voice when he’s leaving me a second voicemail and I haven’t answered the phone. Diabetes charges a lot in energy and brain power just to keep myself alive. It has repossessed my nights when plans are cancelled because out of range blood sugars have left me too exhausted to go out.
Today’s topic is Diabetes and The Unexpected. Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random. What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one’s, life that you never could have expected? (Thank you, 
Sometimes I think of the Diabetes Online Community (or DOC) as a huge beach, and each of us are the tiny grains of sand that make up our beach. Sometimes we quietly lay there, sometimes we drift in and out with the tides, and sometimes we come together and do something huge. When that happens, I see us as a big beautiful sandcastle.
