Six Until Me
Encyclopedia
Six Until Me is a diabetes blog about the life of patient opinion leader
Patient opinion leader
Patient Opinion Leaders Internet and social groups are becoming widely popular for gaining and spreading knowledge about various aspects of science, day-to-day activities, entertainment and medicine...

 Kerri Morrone Sparling and her experiences with type 1 diabetes. Started in May 2005, Six Until Me is an example of a Health 2.0
Health 2.0
Health 2.0 are terms representing the possibilities between health care, eHealth and Web 2.0, and has come into use after a recent spate of articles in newspapers, and by Physicians and Medical Librarians...

 and ePatient
E-Patient
e-Patients are health consumers who use the Internet to gather information about a medical condition of particular interest to them, and who use electronic communication tools in coping with medical conditions...

 website. Its main audience is people living with diabetes, their caregivers, and others living with chronic illnesses.

Updated Monday through Friday, the blog is written primarily by Sparling, with contributions from guest bloggers within the diabetes community. SUM also regularly features videos by Sparling, dealing with specific experiences about a life with diabetes. The website does not offer medical advice. Instead it speaks about personal diabetes experiences, telling readers to consult with their medical team before making any changes to their regimen.

About Kerri Sparling

Kerri Sparling (nee Kerri Morrone) was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1986. She currently uses an Animas insulin pump, a glucose meter, and a Dexcom
Dexcom
DexCom, Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management. It operates internationally with headquarters in California, United States.- History :...

 continuous glucose monitoring device to manage her diabetes. Married in 2008 to screenwriter Chris Sparling
Chris Sparling
Chris Sparling is an American screenwriter, director, and actor from Providence, RI. He is married to Kerri Morrone Sparling, author of the diabetes blog Six Until Me.-Career:...

 (writer of Buried
Buried (film)
Buried is a 2010 Spanish thriller film directed by Rodrigo Cortés. It stars Ryan Reynolds, and was written by Chris Sparling.The film revolves around Iraq-based American truck driver Paul Conroy , who, after being attacked, finds himself buried alive in a wooden coffin, with only a lighter, flask,...

), Sparling gave birth to their daughter in April 2010. She started the blog Six Until Me because she felt alone with the disease and wanted to connect with a broader diabetes community.

Kerri is a contributing columnist at dLife
DLife
dLife is the first integrated media network for people living with diabetes, their families, and those at risk of developing diabetes. dLife was established to address the overwhelming consumer need for real, practical solutions to the 24/7 challenge of managing diabetes vs. episodic clinical...

 with Generation D, at the diabetes online magazine diaTribe, edited by Kelly Close
Kelly Close
Kelly L. Close is an American writer, speaker, and advocate for people with diabetes.Close was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 18. She received a BA in English and Economics from Amherst College in 1990 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1995...

, on the Animas website with "Life Uninterrupted" , and HealthCentral. She is also a speaker at health and digital media conferences such as BlogHer
BlogHer
BlogHer refers to a group blog and online community, and to an annual blogging conference for women. Three of the 2005 conference organizers, , , and , began a company, Blogher LLC, which in 2006 also began a blog ad network...

, Blog World Expo and e-Patient Connections. Kerri also serves as an advisor to the Diabetes Hands Foundation
Diabetes Hands Foundation
The Diabetes Hands Foundation , founded in 2008, is a Berkeley, CA-based 501 non-profit organization that runs diabetes-centric online communities, serving people affected by diabetes either personally or through others. DHF also promotes diabetes awareness. It has two social networks that reach...

.

Awards

Six Until Me was voted Best Patient Blog in 2008 by Medgaget and was nominated again in 2009. The blog also won a Gold Dosie for Best Patient or Caregiver Blog in 2010.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK