Hello My name is Richelleng. I am 14 years old and I’ve had diabetes for 6 years. This was my second year at the Friends For Life® Conference. My first time attending was in 2017. I remember learning a lot, but personally I feel that this year was an even better experience because I am older and able to take in much more information compared to 2 years ago. I really enjoyed the convention because I learned lots of things about my diabetes. I had sessions that were very informative and also fun in a way so that the kids could have fun and learn important facts to keep themselves healthy.
I really love that there are new advances in diabetes every year, for example at the convention I learned about different insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). The sessions provided great information for people who are interested in either starting an insulin pump or people who are interested in switching to a new pump and want to know the benefits of each insulin pump. It was also great for my family because they learned a lot. My older sister, for example, got to try on an Omnipod and got to see what it was like to have diabetes for a day. I enjoyed this because I am the only person with diabetes in my family, but at Friends for Life my family also gets to experience different aspects of what having diabetes is like. They also learned about a long-term CGM by Senseonics, which we all found very interesting. I have been interested in trying a CGM, so it was nice to learn about and see many of the options that are available to help make managing my diabetes easier.
I also had an eye screening where I was able to see behind my eye with a very precise exam. My mom and dad attended a separate sessions for parents of kids with diabetes and they had a great time being able to share common experiences with other parents. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Susan Weiner, a diabetes educator who is a very kind person to my whole family and me. My family and I appreciated being able to attend Friends for Life again because of the AADE Foundation.