World Diabetes Day, again, hmmm and again, and again, and again, and again, and again

I’ve had type 1 diabetes for 52 years. You may know that. Diagnosed at 18. I was told, like almost anyone diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in any year, “We’ll have a cure in five to ten years.” Well, of course we don’t. Nor do I actually expect one in my lifetime.

That’s not to say I’m not grateful for all the advances we have: better insulins, faster insulins, peak less insulins, smart insulin pens, continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps now cozy with continuous glucose monitors, looping etc. Most of these advances have come in the past decade. Somehow speed begets speed. Advance begets advance.

Yet, still each year we stand up tall and honor a single day in the year when we attempt to bring awareness to this condition that many of us have lived with a very long time. I’m sure that’s better than not doing so, but it feels like it feeds a complacency. It quiets the masses.

I’d rather we were doing more, if that’s possible, I don’t know. What I do know is, in part, these campaigns promoting diabetes day with blue balloons and roses and the sharing of stories are lovely for the newcomers to our ranks, but this old rank and file member feels these efforts carry a whiff of distraction because we’re still so far from that original promise.

In all honesty, I had no idea when I began writing this post that I’d end up here. I expected to share with you the campaign that Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) is running this laudable day and extend the opportunity to participate. So here it is – ‘What do you want T1D breakthroughs for?’ And, yes, that’s nice.

Yet, wouldn’t it be nicer to no longer have a World Diabetes Day because there’s no reason to recognize an illness that no longer exists.