About the Artist

Laura Jacobsen is a pediatric endocrinologist and physician scientist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She enjoys many forms of art, including drawing and crochet; however, the image on the cover of this issue of Diabetes Care is a simple photograph taken at diabetes camp. Laura recalls how “in the middle of a busy day of camp activities, we took a step back to capture the friendship and body art that these former campers—turned volunteers—share.”

Laura’s path toward a career in pediatric endocrinology began at diabetes camp. Having no prior experience or personal connection to type 1 diabetes, she volunteered at the Florida Camp for Children and Youth with Diabetes (also called the Florida Diabetes Camp) during her sophomore year of college, and then “off [she] went to medical school, residency, and fellowship,” her goal set and determination unwavering. Now a practicing pediatric endocrinologist and type 1 diabetes researcher, Laura has been a volunteer camp doctor at the Florida Diabetes Camp ever since. It is her personal goal to “strive each day to bring equitable, patient-centered, precision-directed care to those living with diabetes.”

In continuous operation since its founding in 1970, the Florida Camp for Children and Youth with Diabetes hosts over 400 youth with type 1 diabetes, ages 5–18 years, through multiple summer camp sessions, and an additional 500 youth and their families/friends in weekend sessions, every year all over the state of Florida. The campers and families/friends come from diverse backgrounds and all get an equal opportunity to attend Florida Diabetes Camp, Laura explains. “We’re grateful to have generous philanthropists and a camp executive team skilled at fundraising.”

The children and adolescents who attend diabetes camp go from potentially being the only student with type 1 diabetes in their entire school to being 1 of 150 kids at camp with type 1 diabetes, which is a lifechanging experience. Campers learn self-management skills from medical staff and their peers as well as counselors and recreation staff, many of whom also have type 1 diabetes and offer a unique perspective, adding incredible value to typical camp activities by imparting not only practical knowledge but also a positive outlook toward the future. Florida Diabetes Camp counselors and staff are volunteers and come from across the U.S. every year to participate. Many are former campers and also undergraduate and health profession students. Training the next generation in the care of those with type 1 diabetes is vital and a major mission of the program.

The Florida Diabetes Camp was founded by Dr. Arlan Rosenbloom, emeritus professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida and a giant in the field of pediatric endocrinology and type 1 diabetes. Laura, like many others, reports feeling particularly fortunate to have been mentored by Dr. Rosenbloom and committed to carrying on the tradition he started.

“See you at the waterfront!”

Learn more about Florida Diabetes Camp at floridadiabetescamp.org and other invaluable organizations with the same goal at the Diabetes Education and Camping Association (diabetescamps.org/find-a-camp) and the American Diabetes Association (diabetes.org/get-involved/camp).

On the Cover: “Find Your People at Diabetes Camp”

This photograph, taken in the summer of 2019, depicts five individuals with type 1 diabetes who volunteer their time as camp counselors and recreation staff at the Florida Diabetes Camp: Madison Belluccia, Sierra Cook, Katie Logsdon, Yudibeth Marrero, and Sarah Roberts.

From left to right, their tattoos depict the following: GPS coordinates (degrees/minutes/seconds) to the main site of the Florida Diabetes Camp summer program, a location less than 49 ft (15 m) above sea level, making water-based activities a must; the words “type one” in script; “Type 1 Diabetic” in block font located in an area that can also serve as a medical alert; the symbols I>ΛV, meaning “I am greater than my highs and lows,” referring to continuous glucose monitor arrows that point up for rising glucose levels (highs) and down for falling glucose levels (lows); and the molecular formula for insulin aspart (C257H383N65O77S6), highlighting the fusion of type 1 diabetes and science.

Each person living with diabetes is following a unique path marked by the challenges and triumphs of the disease, and while diabetes does not define a life, it is part of an identity that has the ability to bind us together in the common challenges, individual resilience, and shared wins.

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