The diabetes blogs I follow are all abuzz about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It seems that the JDRF is moving away from trying to find a cure for diabetes and moving towards better technology to manage it. People are apparently up in arms about it.
It's understandable. I can imagine that if you are the parent of a child with diabetes, you don't want a better insulin pump - you want a cure for your child.
Maybe I have a different perspective because I was diagnosed as an adult. When I was first diagnosed, I just wanted to learn everything I could so that I could understand how diabetes works and manage it. I think I just decided that, if I put too much stake on a cure, I wouldn't take diabetes management as seriously. So I put all thoughts of a cure out of my mind and just set about learning how to live with it.
Of course I'd like a cure. Hell, I'd love it.
But today is probably the first time I've thought seriously about it since I was in intensive care back in 2002. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pessimist. I'd bet money that there will be a cure one day.
But in my lifetime? No way to know but I'm not sitting around waiting for it.
In fact, diabetes has been really good for me in a lot of ways. Ironically, it keeps me healthy. I eat really well and I get a ton of exercise. I keep a firm grip on my weight, I get my annual physical, my eye exams, and regular blood work. I meet with a dietician twice a year, I keep my blood pressure down and watch my cholesterol. In fact, I'm probably healthier than most people.
Except for that damn diabetes.
Diabetes keeps me honest - there are just way too many people looking at my bloodwork results, blood glucose logs and food intake summaries. Without all that scrutiny, I may be tempted to stay on the couch, eat those tempting salt and vinegar chips, or let my weight creep up.
So yes, a cure would be nice. In the meantime, I'm too busy staying healthy to worry much about it.
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