In her 40th ‘diaversary’ story, Karen Addington, CEO of JDRF UK, looks back at her life since diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes.
She says, “This diagnosis story is my attempt to explain why I work in the field of Type 1 diabetes research. This story is why I support JDRF. This story is why I fight for better treatments, for prevention, and for a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
“No child should ever have to go through what I did – or worse – at diagnosis. Children are still misdiagnosed and lost to DKA, even in this country, even today, despite our scientific developments, and with everything we know. I am outraged.
“Children die of a lack of access to insulin in developing countries all the time. I am heartbroken. If my story helps inform just one person, saves just one life, it’s worth telling. I remain, however, so grateful to the NHS for saving me. I am still grateful to every single doctor and researcher who has delivered improvements over the years, to enable me to manage my condition better, more accurately, more safely.
“I am celebrating, not regretting my 40th diaversary today. I am grateful that I have survived, and thrived. I’m celebrating having enjoyed a fulfilling and challenging life and I’m optimistic and positive about the future with Type 1 diabetes. Managing my condition has become easier and easier over the past 40 years, as insulins and Type 1 technology have improved beyond anything I could have imagined all those years ago. And one day – I truly believe this – the continued research and development will lead to the one thing that all of us want. A cure for Type 1.”
Read the full story here.
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