Behind the man of mystery, just who is Robert Rummel-Hudson?
There's not a lot of mystery, actually. I'm pretty much the same person in the real world as I am online. I try to keep my online voice as true to myself as I can, so what you read is pretty much what you get. I say 'um' more in person.

What Internet/writing projects are you involved in?
Well, my online projects include my fairly recent blog, My Beloved Monster & Me and my journal, Darn Tootin' (and don't forget the hyphen unless you're looking for porn!), along with all its predecessors going back to 1996. I occasionally contribute to a blog for special needs parents, Postcards from Holland, although it can get a little sweet and 'gosh, turn that frown upside down!' for my tastes. Offline, I am writing a book about raising a special needs daughter. It's called Schuyler's Monster, and is currently being shopped to publishers. I'm represented by the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.

Why did you decide to publish your writing on the Internet?
Originally, the web was a small enough place that I didn't expect my writing to get much attention. I had to learn html for a job, and so I started writing little essays and snotty observations about my hometown. Ten years later, I'm still at it. Perhaps it never occurred to me to stop, since I knew my work was being read.

You share your most private thoughts, fears, and hopes with thousands--mostly strangers to you--on the WWW. What is the best part of this? What is the hardest?
The best part is definitely the people I meet, some of whom become close real-world friends, others who have similar stories to share. Without my Internet writing, I never would have met other parents who deal with my daughter's disorder, for example. It's a rare enough disease that the chances of ever meeting someone who'd even heard of it, much less knew someone with it, were astronomical. Because I write about it, I hear from other parents all the time.

The worst part is definitely the ugliness that random people can throw my way. It's easy, frighteningly easy, for people to adopt a veil of anonymity and become cruel and crass. The facelessness of the Internet allows for that mob mentality to become an individual quality, and it can be tough to read sometimes. I'm getting better at ignoring it.

Are you ever reluctant to be so open, or do you think it's a quality more people should have?
There are aspects of my life that I don't discuss much, mostly in regards to my marriage. I do think I'm pretty open about most things, though. I don't regret it very often, I'm happy to say.

You have become a fierce advocate for education regarding Congenital Bilateral Perisylvian Syndrome, which your beautiful daughter has been diagnosed with. Do you think you will apply the same level of advocacy to educating people--and yourself-- about diabetes?
I'd like to, although I am still so new to this that I'm more of a cautionary tale than a source of information concerning diabetes. With CBPS, it's hard to find that information, and there is very little advocacy out there. So I'm not sure what the best role I can play here should be. Sometimes I'll experience something related to my diabetes, and I'll think 'Should I write about this?' That's new for me. I recently made the mistake of eating a big bowl of cantaloupe, thinking 'Hey, healthy eating, right?' Well, you probably instantly think 'Wrong!', but I learned the hard way. So in some respects, like when I write about my feet hurting or whatever, I am less of an advocate and more of a public display of helplessness. Will that change as I get this under control? I suspect it will.

On that note, can we expect Rob-fashioned humorous diabetes T-shirts anytime soon?
Heh, I'm not sure my dark sense of humor would suit a lot of diabetics, although maybe I'm wrong. I keep waiting for someone to ask me about my medic alert bracelet so I can tell them I have mad cow disease, but I have been sadly denied that pleasure so far.

Would you like to share a story about the fearless Schuyler?
A reader sent her a promotional movie poster the other day, for King Kong. Schuyler LOVES King Kong, she identifies with him completely. It started with this little Kong figure I had in our first apartment, when she was a baby, and it has continued straight through to the new movie. In her mind, Kong is her friend, ready to kick the crap out of her enemies. I hung the poster in her room today, and when she came home, she was transfixed, just saying 'wow' over and over. When she went to bed, she wished him goodnight. I wish I had just half of her courage. It doesn't even occur to her to be afraid.

When were you diagnosed with diabetes, and did you suspect you may have had it before the diagnosis?
Oh, absolutely. My father died at an early age from heart disease aggravated by his poorly-treated diabetes. I always assumed he had Type I since he was taking insulin shots for as long as I can remember, but when I was diagnosed in February and called my mother, she told me that he was actually Type II. I don't think he was typical -- he was skinny and didn't smoke, for example -- so I always assumed that for him it was more genetic than anything else. I'd been having problems with my feet and my vision for the last few months, so I had a pretty good idea when I went in what my doctor was going to say.

What is the most difficult aspect of living with diabetes? Has anything positive come from the experience?
For me, the dietary changes have been hard since I enjoyed eating badly way too much, but I think the hardest part has been the fatigue and the change in my pace. I joked on my blog that I was shuffling around like Verbal Kint (from the movie The Usual Suspects), but the truth is that I really have had some adjustments to deal with. I feel like this has all happened so quickly, and accepting the new limitations on my lifestyle has been sort of rough.

I think that once I have my blood sugar under control and start feeling better, I'm going to have a much healthier lifestyle and won't mind the new diet. I'm also exercising, which I had never ever done in my life, and that has given me a lot of energy I didn't have before. So that's sort of a positive thing in progress. Also, I get to accessorize with fashionable medic alert bracelets. I have one that's leather and makes me look like a hipster. Well, I keep telling myself that, anyway.

What advice would you give to people recently diagnosed with the disease, and what would you tell people who are afraid to be tested for it?
If you've been recently diagnosed, I would say that there is a LOT of information on the Internet, but take anything you find and run it by your doctor before accepting it as gospel. There's so much out there that is pretending to be fact but is actually opinion, and sometimes nutty opinion.

Here's a good example. Is aspartame good for diabetics? There's a lot of information out there that suggests that it's not good for us, that it will jack with our insulin and turns into formaldehyde when it's heated. Well, holy crap, is that true? And it was scary because I was looking for info because I felt like I was reacting badly to diet drinks with aspartame. And how about Splenda? My doctor told me it was awesome for diabetics, and I was thrilled. My body seems to do pretty well with it. But then you go online and find stuff about how it's a poison and not properly tested and watch out, boogedy boogedy boogedy! Your doctor knows fact from scary fiction, so talk to him. Or her, if you're me and have a pretty doctor. Yow!

As for people who are afraid to get tested, I know exactly how you feel. But do it. It's scary to hear, but then it's like 'Okay, let's kick this thing's ass.' If I had a big old brain tumor and there was nothing I could do to stop it, yeah, maybe I wouldn't want to know. but diabetes is something you can fight with, and the sooner you start, the sooner you can get it under control.

Diabetes has been named the #1 growing health concern in the world. Why do you think it is becoming so prevalent? Is it more of a physical or cultural phenomenon?
You know, I have no idea. One thing I found out the hard way from writing about it online is that a lot of people think that diabetes is a disease of fat lazy smokers who somehow deserve what they got. I got a bunch of emails from one person who insisted that I had brought it on myself and deserved what I got. She kept quoting a doctor who claims he can cure diabetes, 100 percent success rate, if you will just follow his miracle plan, blah blah blah. A few diabetics jumped in to correct her, but I suspect there are a lot more people out there who believe that sort of thing. I suspect that much of the high rate of diabetes in this country comes from some of our unhealthy living, but how much of that is due to a better rate of diagnosis? I have no idea. On one hand, my dad had it, and yet on the other, I was overweight when I was young and drank a lot in college. Which is the reason I got it? Both? Of course. Would I have gotten it if I'd lived healthily? Who knows?

How do you see your future in regards to your diabetes?
I think about that every day. When I think about my father, I get scared. When I think about my daughter, I get determined not to let it be the thing that gets me. So I'm still at that stage where I don't know how this is going to go down. Once I get my blood sugar under control, I'll have a much better vision for my future. Right now, I'm still trying to sort it all out.

You are famous for your amazing love for your adorable daughter, Schuyler. Was fatherhood what you expected? What has been the best thing about it so far? What has been the hardest aspect?
It hasn't been what I expected at all, not just because of her disorder but because of how close I've become to her. Schuyler has taught me how to love and how to care more about someone else than I do for myself, and that's both the best and hardest thing. Best for obvious reasons, but hardest because I want to help her, I want to beat her disorder for her and give her a perfect life like ever parent wants to, but in the end, I can't. And that's difficult to bear.

Let's say that you have recently been appointed Ruler Of The World. What is your first order of business?
Universal Three Day Weekend. When I run for president, that's going to be my platform.

And last, what do you most want people to get from your writing?
I want people to see that it's okay to have fears and doubts and to laugh at inappropriate things and to live their lives according to their own rules. I want people to see a person like themselves, whether I'm doing something good or screwing something up, and when they read that, they think, 'Yeah, I get that.' And if I can muddle through, maybe they can too.