'Getting To Know You' - Day 1 Medtronic Diabetes Community Exchange

Very early this morning I excitedly began my journey to Barcelona, to meet with delegates from all over Europe, to participate in the Medtronic Diabetes Community Exchange.

Flying Over the Pyrenees on the Way to Barcelona


This event differed from events that I've enjoyed before, as not everyone at the event had diabetes themselves. Many did, and were a mixture of people on insulin pumps and those who injected. But there were also parents of people with diabetes, and healthcare professionals such as diabetes doctors. However, this just added to the warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere that I encountered as soon as I arrived in Barcelona.


Wales and Ireland Meet in Barcelona

We began the event with a lunch together (always a good place to start) which got us all chatting about where we'd travelled from. Representing the UK, I joined people from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and the list goes on. The 'official' start of the event began with a great icebreaker activity. Which gave each of us the opportunity to speak to every person in the room. It was lovely to meet so many 'new' races, often realising that we were already friends within the online community already!


Swedish Blogger Diabetesia Helps Create the # for the Event

We spent the remainder of the afternoon hearing about the campaign that Medtronic have planned for WDD 2016, which is called HypoHero and is all about raising awareness and providing education/ resources on hypos. Also it's about sharing the results of a survey that Medtronic conducted amongst people living all around Europe with type 1, gathering their thoughts on hypos to make cool infographics for the Hypo Heroes website.




We then had some free time to explore a little of the local area, before having dinner at a restaurant on the beach, which overlooked the sea and revealed the stunning Barcelona skyline. This was another lovely opportunity to get to know the other delegates and the lovely Medtronic team. Then it was back to the hotel after dinner, to my room with panoramic views across the harbour.


Dinner With  Friends


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My blog takes you through a daily look at sport, diabetes and everything in between. As an athlete that lives with type 1 diabetes I want to let you into news, views and all that is important to both of my passions.




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