[IPp] Great Article on Creator of CWD
I'm sure most of you have seen this already but I wanted to pass this article
on. Mr. Hitchock is to be credited for so much in my life in caring for my son &
his type 1 diabetes. He is a true hero & inspiration!
Rachel
https://www.type1tools.com/community/perspective.cfm
Six years after her diagnosis, Jeff launched CWD and today it is an active
resource for children and their families in more than 140 countries around the
world.
Tell us about Marissa.
Marissa is a normal 16 year old high school junior, active in school and the
CWD community. Diabetes is an important part of her life, but it doesnt define
her.
How did you and Brenda face the challenge of raising a young family, three
children, with your eldest having diabetes?
Ive always felt that managing diabetes is 90% information and 10% insulin.
Properly informed, weve been able to ensure that diabetes fits into our life,
not the other way around.
CWD: From Jeffs Home to Yours
Operating from the Hitchcock den, with 14 servers in the basement
Assisted by numerous healthcare volunteers (from endocrinologists, nurses, and
psychiatrists to dieticians, exercise physicians, researchers)
Logs about 15,000 visitors each day
Averages about 9 million hits per month
Thousands of families participate, from more than 140 countries
Site includes web logs, chat rooms, information, research, and events
Among the resources available to you when Marissa was diagnosed, which were
helpful? Lacking?
Our healthcare support group helped us cope with diabetes managementhow to
properly administer insulin, gauge doses, learn the basics of nutrition,
etc.but how to actually live, as a family, with diabetes? There was nothing. I
searched online for information and support and found that there was a vast hole
when it came to diabetes and family support.
When you started CWD, Marissa was eight years old. Why then?
It was the summer of 95 and I had just been laid off work. For some time Id
had this idea to create an online resource for kids with diabetes, and this
seemed the right moment. I cleaned out my desk and on my way home, I picked up a
book at Borders, set up a modem connection and by 5:00 that evening, CWD was up
and running. It was a by the seat of your pants business planin fact, had I
gone through the formal process of creating a business plan, CWD would probably
still be just a dream. Eventually, I cashed in my 401k and devoted my time to
the project.
How do you define this project of yours?
CWD is a resource for families. It helps childrenand their parents and
sibsunderstand that theyre not alone. The information we provide is in the
context of real life. We provide guidance, support and information that they can
use at the most basic levels of everyday life by answering simple questions,
like:
How can we work things out so that my daughter can go to a sleepover?
How do we prevent our son from having soccer game lows?
How do we make sure our childs life focus ISNT just diabetes?
So since 1995, CWD has been your fulltime work and passion?
Not exactly. The first several years CWD was like a fourth child. It was one
more thing to focus on during the day and it wasnt easy to fit it all in. It
took a lot of time and I missed a lot of soccer games. But were proud of our
work. Its been a challenging process and Ive lost a lot of weight and money
over it! But, since July of 1995, I havent missed a single one of CWDs Sunday
e-newsletters.
In the end, you have to remember our missionto promote understanding of the
care and treatment of children with diabetes, at home, at school or daycare,
until theres a cure. This site is all about our kids, our families and living
well with diabetes.
How has diabetes changed your family?
Its made us make choices. Some people put their familys life on hold when a
child is diagnosed. Some choose not to have any more children or never to go
out. When Marissa was newly diagnosed, she shared a room with a cystic fibrosis
patient. This put life in diabetes into perspective for us from the start. Every
family faces difficulty. Diabetes IS frightening, but when diabetes presented us
this fork in the road; we decided to go the way of a full life, for the entire
family. And once we chose this path, we wanted to help others make that same
decision.
Tell us about the impact of CWD on children with diabetes and their families.
Heres a good example of what I mean when I talk about families living with
diabetes.
In June of 2000, families from CWD parent groups (we have several virtual
support groups online) wanted to go on vacation together. This started with
three families, then five, then 10 and the first gathering that summer in
Orlando boasted 110 families!
The next year we had our first real conference with more than 300 families in
attendance. This summer were anticipating 15001800 participants.
Imagine an event where, as a family, you are welcomed into camaraderie unlike
any other; a place where your child can try any kind of insulin pump; where you
can visit, up-close, with the best minds in the field; and where 500 kids are
testing their blood before breakfast! Its spectacular.
If youre not a family without a child with Type 1 diabetes, you cant explain
what this means. If you are, you dont need an explanation.
Speaking of families, how has yours responded to CWD?
Well, nothings perfect, so of course thereve been a few complaints. I spend
way too much time in front of the computer and our vacations have become
diabetes-focused conferences. But for my family and me, CWD has been a wonderful
experience for us. And continues to be.
What is the hardest part of your business?
Anything that is work drives you nuts and even more when its work at home. I
wake up and I check email. I head to bed and I check email. I walk by the den
and I check email.
How will you measure success?
We hope that when our daughter describes herself to others that diabetes isnt
on the top of her list. Or, maybe it doesnt make the list at all.
Rachel - email @ redacted
www.picturetrail.com/jracheln
"A skeleton walks into a bar and says, "Give me a beer and a mop."
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