Diagnosis To Diva Stories: My Type 1 Diagnosis Was A Scene From A Fellini Movie

Hearing you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes can be difficult. And painful. Still, February’s Divabetic podcast guest, Fran Carpentier, describes her experience like a scene from a Fellini movie. 

The Brooklyn-born media maven was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age fourteen. Fran remembers the weeks before her diagnosis, “having rapid weight loss, unquenchable thirst, and exhaustion. it was bad.”Although her type 1 diabetes diagnosis was life-changing, Fran admits that her Italian mother, Stella, provided some much-needed yet unintended comic relief in the doctor’s office. “Naturally, I was scared and very nervous,” Fran recalls. “However, when the doctor uttered the diagnosis—’Frances has diabetes‘— my mother fainted and collapsed onto the floor.  Her sister, my Aunt Elizabeth, and I had to pick her up. We kept fanning my mom while Dr. Handelsman—a renowned diabetologist of the time—attempted to reassure her about my diagnosis. First, he tried to calm down my mother by telling her that I was fortunate to be diagnosed when I was and not forty years earlier. He went on to explain that the reason I was ‘lucky’ was because today we had insulin; a few decades earlier, I’d be dead. When my mother heard the word ‘dead,’ she collapsed and fainted again.”

The doctor pulled Fran aside and said, “I usually put a newly diagnosed child with juvenile diabetes [which is what type 1 was called in those days] in the hospital for a week.” Back in 1969, which is when Fran was diagnosed, hospitalization for diabetes was pretty typical. Dr. Handelsman continued, “But I can tell that, if I put you in the hospital, I would need at least two beds—one for you, and one for your mother.” 

The good doctor added, “So, instead of sending you to the hospital, my nurse will teach you how to give yourself insulin injections, then I’m going to send you home. Come back tomorrow and we’ll teach you more about how your daily life will be from now on.” 

The Carpentier family’s theatrics continued after they got home from the doctor’s office. “That same evening, my mother’s ten sisters came over to our house to ‘mourn’ me,” says Fran. “To this day, I blame their reaction on the ignorance and fear that was associated with diabetes then. Sadly, a lot of ignorance and fear are still prevalent today.”

If all that extra drama seems almost too much to handle, then you don’t know Fran, who went on to explain, “Later on in bed that first night, I told myself that God must have sent diabetes to me for a reason. Somehow, that outlook served to motivate me in managing my diabetes for the past fifty years.”

She adds, “I think I had enough of a sense of self to not be ashamed of my condition. I spent a lot of time in the early days allaying my parents’ fears.”

For the past fifty years, Fran Carpentier has been an outspoken diabetes advocate, passionate fundraiser, and Divabetic inspiration in her personal and professional life. 

For close to three decades, Fran worked as the Senior Editor at Parade, the national Sunday newspaper magazine that, during her tenure, reached more than 70 million readers every week. Fran had the opportunity to meet celebrities, best-selling authors, thought leaders, leading doctors, and top scientists in diabetes. “As a journalist, I had direct access that got me in front of as many diabetes experts as possible. Then, every November, I would oversee an article on diabetes in the Sunday issue. Our goal was to share with our millions of readers what was new in diabetes and where everyone—including people living with diabetes, their families, their friends, their co-workers—could find hope.” 

In 2006, I met Fran Carpentier for the first time when she attended Divabetic Makeover Your Diabetes national outreach program at Gotham Hall in New York City. At the time, she was still working for Parade. She remembers attending our ‘Glam More, Fear Less’ style event offering one-on-one diabetes education with free makeover services as “the fun and fabulous.” In addition, she says, “The men and women at the Divabetic program had really great energy.”

Hear more of Fran’s funny and fascinating memories of living with type 1 diabetes on Divabetic’s February podcast. 

Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe by Divabetic

We’re celebrating ‘all things Italian’ on Divabetic’s podcast featuring music by Dean Martin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 6 PM EST. 

Our musical inspiration, Dean Martin‘s favorite restaurant, was Da Vinci Ristorante in Beverly Hills. There was even a booth marked Dean Martin Booth adjacent to the small bar.

Eating at an Italian restaurant can be a minefield for anyone with diabetes trying to watch their calories and carbohydrate intake. So many of the items on the menu are smothered in either creamy sauce or gooey cheese, and they’re high in fat, carbs, sodium, and calories.

We thought it would be fun to challenge the Original Divabetic to make a lighter version of a conventional plate of pasta. 

She’s been living with type 2 diabetes for over a decade. Her goal this year is to keep her blood sugars in a target range without feeling deprived every time she sits down to eat. 

She’s sharing her Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe to inspire you to lighten up your menu! Now, that’s Amore! 

Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe By The Original Divabetic

I decided to skip using Prego or another brand of spaghetti sauce. Store-bought spaghetti sauce is a sodium grenade. One cup of spaghetti sauce can have a sodium content of nearly 1,000 mg. 

Instead, I decided to make my own sauce. I roasted red peppers, garlic, tomatoes (seasoned with basil, thyme, and sage), and onions in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.  

Then, I pulsed the mixture in my blender before transferring it to a small pot on the stove to stay warm. This way, the flavors could blend together. 

I swapped out flour-based pasta for zoodles to cut back on the carbohydrates. Zoodles are zucchini noodles or spaghetti-like strands made from spiralized, raw zucchini and other squash. They contain no flour or wheat whatsoever and are very low in calories and carbs. A cup of Zoodles includes 30-40 calories and 5 net grams of carbs. Traditional pasta has 210 calories and 40 net grams of carbs per cup. In addition, zoodles provide a good dose of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium, and a modest fiber intake in every cup.

I put the Zoodles in the oven to roast. But you can also cook your Zoodles in a nonstick skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat, tossing frequently. They will release water and cook quickly, so only heat them for 2–5 minutes for best results to avoid sogginess. Personally, I like to keep them in the oven for as long as possible. Plated and sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on it and went to town! .. So yummy! Sorry, Prego, I’m making my own sauce from now on.

While I was eating, the Zoodles did release the water, but it did not remove any flavor.

Don’t miss Divabetic’s February 2022 podcast featuring music by Dean Martin.  We’re talking about 50 years with type 1 diabetes, alcohol’s effects on blood sugars, and the Spare A Rose campaign with musical inspiration from Dean Martin.  Podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout this podcast, we will be featuring music from The Essential Dean Martin album courtesy of SONY Music.

Join us for Divabetic’s Baking Party with The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Zoom on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST

The Diabetic Pastry Chef prepares a Valentines-themed Sugar-Free Dessert Recipe and shares Expert Baking Tips for using Sugar Substitutes. one lucky participant will win a Divabetic Gift Basket featuring Splenda products, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes‘s Cozy Mystery, PEAK 10 Skin Save My Soles Rescue Cream, and an assortment of Walden Farms Salad Dressings. You must be present on Zoom to participate in our random drawing.

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