TPiH 029 – Heather Meyer

Sometimes serendipity emerges from disappointment. This week I had made arrangements for another guest – who I still hope to get on the show. But on the scheduled day for recording, illness had struck and she couldn’t make it. So I had to scramble to find someone else to interview. Luckily, I had read this column written by Rep. Heather Meyer, from Overland Park’s 29th House District. And since she works in the building, I had already visited with about making an appearance on That Podcast in Hutch. Heather is a Type 1 diabetic. Many of you know that my son, Mitch (who wrote and performed all the musical bits for this show) also has Type 1 diabetes. We both have very personal experiences with this disease, and we both intimately know how much it affects the lives of patients, and their friends and family. But Heather’s story is layered with an additional complication – she has spent much of her life without health insurance, and thus, the inability to effectively treat this debilitating and life-threatening disease. This has created additional health concerns – which is a common by-product of diabetics who have to ration insulin or fail to properly measure blood sugar levels in an effort to stretch financial resources. This episode is personal to me. Diabetics experience complicated lives that require constant effort and thought – and their lives are made infinitely more difficult when they can’t afford the care they need to stay alive and fully engage daily life.