Last week, I had the exciting opportunity to participate in a T1D marketing campaign! I won’t say too much about the brand or product itself, because I don’t want to share more than I’m allowed, but I WILL say that there is some very cool stuff in the works for the diabetes community – and that’s a total understatement.

A couple stills from the shoot…

…I still can’t believe that’s me!

And I also wanted to share what it was like to be on a production set like that! I arrived in Atlanta late on Thursday night, woke up early on Friday, and got myself ready to head over to the shoot for 11 A.M. From there, it was a long blur of a day. I was whisked from wardrobe to hair/makeup to a holding room to one room filled with wicked bright lights and dozens of people to another room with a plain backdrop and just a few people to another room that’s best described as a closet. Actually, that latter room was where I did an audio-only interview, and I felt just like Harry Potter in the fourth book when he was being interviewed by Rita Skeeter in a broom cupboard. Except I wasn’t being grilled by a nosy reporter like he was; on the contrary, my interviewer couldn’t have been friendlier.

This whole process took about seven hours – that’s a pretty long while to be going around from room to room and having to be on my feet for varying lengths of time. But it was so exciting that I didn’t mind one bit.

But I DID mind my blood sugars; at least, as much as I could when I wasn’t having my makeup touched up or staring into a camera, responding to questions. I had no clue how it would fare after several hours on location and minimal physical activity. I was also worried about the food/drink situation: Would I have access to ample snacks and beverages?

Fortunately, that was a total non-issue. The production company had numerous snacks and bottled water in nearly every room on set, on top of a hot lunch. Around one o’clock in the afternoon (five hours after I ate breakfast), I helped myself to a serving of salmon, squash, and green beans. I was impressed with the quality and healthiness of the food, and even more pleased to discover that among the diet drinks was unsweetened iced tea and sparkling water. Score!

This food kept me fueled all throughout the afternoon on set, and I enjoyed steady blood sugars for the duration of the shoot. Rather than stressing about my blood sugar, I was focusing on posing for photos and answering prompts from producers. It really, truly was a one-of-a-kind experience. I feel so lucky to have been invited to partake in this campaign, and even luckier to have met a diverse and welcoming group of individuals (T1D and non-T1D) along the way.

On top of all that, I proved to myself that I CAN do “crazy” and unique things like this without my diabetes getting in the way. It’s more proof that diabetes will never stop me from living a full and extraordinary life.