Dr Ashley Ng

November is always a month of chaos in the diabetes community. With World Diabetes Day on November 14th, everyone is keen to get a diabetes event happening somewhere close to the dates. Now as we reach the end of November, my body is screaming at me to slow down while my mind is racing towards the Christmas panic. Then suddenly 2024 will be over. Yikes. There were some key events in November I was very lucky to be a part of, which I wanted to write down and share.

Kellion Victory Medal Award Ceremony

The Kellion Victory Medal Award events always hold a special place in my heart. They celebrate those who have been living with diabetes for 50 years and more. To me, this is a celebration of hope, innovation, research, resilience and love. I was honoured to ask to MC the event and stupidly talked myself into a bundle of nerves in the lead up to and on the day. I got a few laughs so I considered my job done. But I won’t be quitting my day job to be a comedian anytime soon.

ACADI Partnering Summit

Listening to diabetes research updates always leaves me in awe. There are some seriously smart brains working in this space. It’s somewhat comforting to hear all the advances within medical science that are occuring, as I know that if any problems are detected, there is hope for successful treatment. What’s even more exciting though, is the increasing inclusion of people living with diabetes as part of the research team. Without the lived experience input, the developed “solution” might not actually matter.

YpsoConnex

YpsoMed held their very first YpsoConnex in Sydney, where I was very lucky to score an invite. They paid for our flights and accomodation and in return, we gave them very juicy lived experience feedback about everything related to CamAPS Fx. This included our onboarding experience with the pump, the training, things we would like to see change, things we would like to learn. There was a strong call for advanced training and how we can use the features of CamAPS Fx more effectively. While I was (apparently) the very first person in Australia to get the YpsoPump 7 years ago, I was the newest in the room to CamAPS Fx, purely due to my stubborness to get an Android phone and inability to trust the algorithim to do its thing. So I learned many many new tricks and tips and got to meet some great new people within the community – something that I feel like I haven’t done in a while.

ATTD-Asia

To round off diabetes month, I scraped the bottom of my funding barrel and managed to attend the inaugural ATTD-Asia in Singapore, while bringing the family along to meet my grandmother and extended relatives. It was chaos and exhausting but it was well worth it. I did have an e-poster to present in some work I did with UTS but they were pretty well hidden that I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone even noticed it. The conference was small and mighty as it allowed for some quality networking. Hearing what our neighbouring countries and healthcare systems were doing was extremely insightful. They also had a fantastic lived experience presence with DeDOC and Children With Diabetes. One of my highlights was definitely the reception dinner hosted by Children With Diabetes. They kindly allowed me to bring my two cherubs along, with a whole kids table set up just for them. They had the best time.

All in all, November was a pretty special and busy month. I was constantly reminded about the importance of collaboration between the various stakeholders. You can’t change the world as a lone wolf. It was great to be grounded by my peers and aiming for the stars by my mentors and those who inspire me. All the while, remembering who the most important people are in my life and to slow down once in a while.