As November is National diabetes month, and in honor of Thanksgiving, I would like to share some of the things I am most thankful for.

1) Parents, husband, friends, and my 8 siblings who did their best to keep me safe & well over the past 56 years of living with type I

2) Medical personnel /educators who tried to guide me over the years

3) The invention of disposable syringes- those glass ones that needed to be boiled each week to sterilize them, and then would fall apart  & break if you didn’t hold them just right

4) The invention of blood glucose testing meters- tes-tape & clinitest tablets were less than accurate back then

5) The invention of insulin pumps/technology & the ongoing research looking to a cure

6) Glucagon- it saved my life many a time in the early years even though it made me sick as a dog for a few days each time…

7) Insulin- I think I have been on every type except for PZI and Lantus. I haven’t used Novolog yet, but that may change with my insurance this year.

8)Friends- In the area where I grew up I only knew of one other person who also had type I. After graduating from nurses training it was becoming more prevalent. There was no such thing as “camp” for kids back then, but I became involved in volunteering as a camp nurse in 2001, and still love working with campers, families and staff.

My parents and I were told that it was felt a cure would be found in my lifetime…I am still looking forward to that day.