
Vanessa Messenger, product lead at Google and children’s book author, shares about Teddy Talks: A Paws-itive Story about Type 1 Diabetes!
Teddy the T1 Dog, the star of Teddy Talks, is Vanessa’s dog in real life…but real-life Teddy doesn’t have T1D. Vanessa came up with Teddy Talks as a way to introduce type 1 diabetes to children in an accessible, easy-to-understand way.
Meet Vanessa Messenger

Vanessa Messenger is a Mom, a Product Lead at Google, and since she’s been a Type 1 Diabetic since 2010…she’s also a full-time pancreas! With her background in Psychology and Broadcast Communications, she’s always been impassioned by creating a connection with people through Storytelling.
After receiving so much support and encouragement from the deep rooted community of “diabuddies,” she was determined to help create that same sense of belonging and connection for T1D kids through Teddy Talks.
Connect with Vanessa on Instagram @teddythet1dog or on her website, Messenger Publishing Books.
Wins & Fails
Jessie’s Win: She got 100% on her math homework for a solid week! She’s finally getting the hang of things.
Colleen’s Win: I always am happy when a new sensor session starts with in-range blood sugars, and that happened today, even with a set change. So it was nice to have everything align at once.
Tip of the Week
Plan out your projects, including everything needed to get them done. Jessie likes marking them off by the due date. Even though it turns into a pretty big list, for her it goes fast.
Now It's Your Turn...
Have you ever seen a children’s book about Type 1 Diabetes? If not, definitely check out Vanessa’s book! (affiliate link)
Mentioned in This Episode
- Support the blog & podcast by buying us a coffee through Ko-fi!
- Diabetes Youth Services in Ohio
Community & Social
- Join us in the Half-Dead Pancreas Club, our private Discord community for people with T1D.
- Follow us on Instagram @thisistype1pod, @jj_crystalkat, & @type1ravenclaw
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Credits
Our music is by Joseph McDade. Check out his website here!