#RIPEatYourMeter

The past week has been a wild emotional roller coaster ride and it all peaked within the last 24 hours. 

At our #OzDOC tweetchat, we remembered a valued member of the group and a dear friend of mine – Tony (@EatYourMeter). We learned of his passing late last week and that didn’t quite sink in until last night. The coordinator of the group, Kim, moderated a beautiful chat to remember him.

Tony lived with type 2 diabetes and was always happy to share his perspective. Even when he felt that the tweetchat topic wasn’t relevant to him, he’d be there for moral support. He came with an open mind and willingness to learn and share his point of view in a respectful way.

As we shared our favourite memories of him, I’m blown away by the power of online peer support. He’s had such a positive impact on our lives in various ways and mostly not even diabetes related. Yet, I’ve only met him in person once, almost a year ago now at the Run Melbourne and #OzDOC 3rd birthday event.

It goes to show the impact one person can have on a community. I will dearly miss his random comic strip tweets or kookaburra picture tweets to me. He knew how much I adored those laughing birds. It made me even more emotional when I found out he would mention me when he heard them.

To my dear friend Tony, I hope you’re finally resting now and at peace. #OzDOC will be a bit emptier without you but your presence will always be remembered. I’ll always be reminded of you when I see a laughing bird and think it’s you laughing at me for being a derp as usual.