Diabetes Digital Media has been redefining diabetes this Diabetes Week, showcasing the sensational achievements of people with the condition, from climbing Mount Everest to losing five stone on a low carb diet.
In this final Diabetes Week tribute to the diabetes community we are celebrating people with diabetes who’ve lived with type 1 diabetes for multiple decades.
Earlier this year we reported on a 69-year-old Wiltshire man who was awarded a medal for living with type 1 diabetes for 60 years.
Pete Flannery received Diabetes UK’s Robert Lawrence Medal in April, an award given to people with diabetes in recognition of their courage and perseverance in managing type 1 diabetes. The award is named after Dr Robert Lawrence, who co-founded the Diabetes Association (now called Diabetes UK) with H.G. Wells in 1934.
Diabetes UK also celebrates living with type 1 diabetes for 50, 70 and 80 years. Alan Nabarro, whom the 50-year medal is named after, dedicated his life to preventing discrimination against people with diabetes.
On the Diabetes Forum earlier this year one user posted a similar tale of success, writing, “I became a type 1 diabetic 56 years ago, at which time involved having one injection of suspended insulin each day, eating three meals a day at precise times and only being able to test my sugar using urine.
“But through all the changes in diabetes management in my lifetime, it was impressed upon me how important it was to control my diabetes. So now, I live an exciting life, in France, I run with the dogs daily, take long walks in the countryside, love kayaking, swimming, playing badminton and all this luckily because I have no diabetic complications.”
Then there’s the Cleveland brothers. Bob and Gerald spent over 75 years of their lives with type 1 diabetes, and their inspiring stories reveal just how fortunate we are today to have access to insulin and blood glucose monitoring technology.
Share your Diabetes Week success stories on our Facebook and Twitter pages and while you’re there, why not read through our wide-ranging Diabetes Week content? This week we’ve spoken with special guest celebrities, busted myths, answered popular Diabetes Forum users and more all in the name of redefining diabetes.
