Katie Decker shares her wisdom 

 

Transforming management through recreation

 

 I just listened to a great podcast on “Transforming Diabetes” where type 1 patient and health counselor Katie Decker has some great stuff to say. 

Mature beyond her years, Katie’s been living with diabetes and celiac disease for 7 years. She’s made several changes in her life since her diagnosis: she went back to school for health counseling, while still working as an architect, she moved from Los Angeles to Portland, she has grown closer to her family, and diabetes has changed her, her values and how she lives. 

Katie is calm, clear, centered and shares her thoughts about living with diabetes from a productive, constructive, energizing place; a place where we also have a responsibility to strive for our best, maintain balance and ask for support.  

Katie also made me aware of an intriguing organization,InsulinDependence (ID), that is attempting to revolutionize diabetes management by building self-confidence and adaptive management strategies in young people through adventure travel and recreation. The organization also offers leadership training, community and more. ID has an interesting history, an outgrowth of  an experiential diabetes education expedition Peter Nerothin took type 1 youths on in the mountains of Peru in 2005.  

I also like Katie’s idea that we all live on what she calls “primary” and “secondary foods.” Primary foods are those that nourish our spirit like: friends, family, mindfulness, work and hobbies we love. For Katie it’s her love of art. Secondary foods are those we put on our plate. What’s key is when our primary foods aren’t nourishing us we tend to make poor choices in our secondary foods. No doubt in my book.

Tune in to Katie’s interview. So much good information from this young old soul.