Paper short abstract:

Patients with diabetes type 1 manage their disease through humans and non-humans that have to attune constantly to the fluctuation of their blood sugar. I will focus on how dogs are transformed into instruments that become trustful and lovable sensory machines capable of detecting hypoglycemia.

Paper long abstract:

Patients with diabetes type 1 have to manage their disease through humans and non-humans that have to attune constantly to the fluctuation of their blood sugar to avoid hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. The disease is totally unpredictable (the blood sugar can change from one minute to the next). It is individualized (what works for one body doesn't work for another one), it is invisible (no physical or intellectual stigmas are attached to it), and paradoxically it is omnipresent (the person who has the disease has to calculate, adjust, and think about it constantly to survive). In my presentation, I will reflect on the delicate balance that plays between attunement and friction between patients and their surroundings. I will especially focus on how dogs are transformed into instruments that become trustful and lovable sensory machines capable of detecting hypoglycemia.