48 weeks and counting: The Importance of Recognising 50 Years
I have lived with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes for 49 years and 4 weeks. So, in 48 weeks time, I hope that with continued good health and proof of length of diagnosis, I will qualify for the Alan Nabarro medal from Diabetes UK.
The peoples history NHS website has an encyclopaedia entry about Alan Nabarro, extracts from which are below.
“Alan’s family was told he had diabetes in 1921 when he was 7 years old, at a time when most children did not live longer than a year after diagnosis. For any family this would have been devastating news, but luckily for Alan, his uncle was a pathologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and was aware of a glimmer of hope. David Nabarro (1874-1958) had heard of potentially revolutionary research involving the hormone insulin, being conducted by Frederick Banting (1891-1941) and Charles Best (1899-1978) from the University of Toronto, Canada, with colleagues in Santa Barbara, California. David began telegramming the researchers, and as Alan’s condition worsened, his requests for insulin became increasingly desperate. Frustratingly, David was told that insulin was not yet ready for distribution. Alan’s family then turned to a Dr Devos, a diabetes specialist in Brussels. Dr Devos flew to London to see Alan and another diabetic boy, Neville Janion. Dr Devos put Alan on a near-starvation diet of spinach and cream once a week, until finally in 1923 he was able to get regular insulin supplies.
By the 1970s, Alan was one of the longest living people with diabetes up to that time. After his death, the British Diabetic Association decided to honour his memory with the inauguration of the Alan Nabarro Medal, which is still awarded today to people who have lived with diabetes for 50 years or more.
Felix Lancashire, Assistant Archivist, Royal College of Physicians”
So in anticipation of nothing stopping me from reaching my 50 year diaversary (the anniversary of a diabetes diagnosis) on 5th March 2022, I have decided to undertake a countdown looking back on my life with type one over my almost 50 years of diagnosis.
This is really important to me. I sometimes feel that there is a rising tide of pressure to appear super-human and show that type 1 diabetes need not and has not stood in your way. However, I feel that type 1 has often stood in my way and even after all these years, continues to attempt to do so. I can usually get through the hurdles that it presents but that doesn’t mean that such hurdles are not present. Yes I have finished school, gone to university, got married, had children, worked pretty much full-time with the exception of a four year career break when the children were small, played tennis, run cross country both for High School and University teams, travelled, volunteered…. I have done a lot, though nothing particularly exceptional by most peoples’ standards. But, type 1 has regularly interfered with my ability to lead a “normal” life. Managing many of these activities has required planning that has frequently needed me to consider the impact that my type 1 diagnosis may have on quite ordinary events to give myself the best chance of avoiding problems in doing what I want to do.
I am still here and still continue to plan and to lead an active life. It is for that reason that this medal is so important to me. It allows me to acknowledge that I may not have done anything remarkable in anyone else’s eyes, especially if they do not have insight into what it takes to live with the burden of a chronic medical condition. That is not what this medal is all about for me. Instead, it allows personal recognition from a charity that knows and works to support those living with Diabetes. It recognises what strength of character, determination and perseverance it often takes an individual to get to their 50th anniversary. For that reason Diabetes UK, I look forward to being able to say thank you to you next year, for my medal.
Over this next year I plan to look at a different area every four weeks and recognise how much has changed over the 50 years - from injections, the monitoring available, hypos, food considerations, exercise, type 1 communities and being given my independence as I grew up. I have asked for comments from my parents, sister, husband and adult children to understand their feelings and to obtain their thoughts and reflections – after all a diagnosis affects the whole family.
💙 48 weeks to go 💙 The importance of recognising 50 years 💙
💙 44 weeks to go 💙 My diagnosis 💙
💙 40 weeks to go 💙 Injections and Insulin Pumps 💙
💙 36 weeks to go 💙 Monitoring 💙
💙 32 weeks to go 💙 Food 💙
💙 28 weeks to go 💙 Exercise and my Independence 💙
💙 24 weeks to go 💙 Hypos and Hypers - Walking the Tightrope 💙
💙 20 weeks to go 💙 Education and Work 💙
💙 16 weeks to go 💙 The Emotional Impact of Managing Type 1 💙
💙 12 weeks to go 💙 Family and Friends 💙
💙 8 weeks to go 💙 Health Care Support 💙
💙 4 weeks to go 💙 The Type 1 Community 💙
💙 50 year diaversary 💙 Research and the future 💙
For anyone interested, I hope you will enjoy sharing this journey to 50 years with me…. And if you are coming along for the ride, I hope it will offer an insight into why this recognition is so important to me.
