I have Grave's Disease (dx'd at 14, given Radioiodine therapy x2, now on synthroid). I take a pill everyday to make sure I have the proper amount of thyroid hormone coursing through my body. No big deal. But I'm not cured. If I didn't take this pill, I would become sick and eventually die.
I have a dear friend who has Cystic Fibrosis. About 10 years ago, she had a double lung transplant. But she is not cured. She has to take medication so her body doesn't reject the transplant. Pills to aid with digestion. She just recently developed Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes. Yes, the transplant saved her life. But she is not cured.
Insulin is not a cure. A transplant is not a cure. The artificial pancreas will not be a cure. That moss that grows on a tree in the middle of the rain forest in Brazil is not a cure. For me, a cure is when my daughter can live totally unfettered by diabetes. That means no shots, no pills, no finger pokes, no carb counting.
Do I think there will be a cure in Elise's lifetime? It hurts my heart to say it, but no... I don't. I would love to be proven wrong, though.
So for now, I will put my hope in technology that can help Elise live a long and healthy life. I am praying that a "cure" (or cure) will come soon.
10 months ago
Me too, Jo. Me too.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have talked about this at great length... especially the past couple of days. We couldnt agree with you more. I feel EXACTLY like you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post, Jo!
Amen. We want a cure but we have to also prepare in the event there isnt one anytime soon. Diabetes is not a death sentence. And i wont allow it to be.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post as usual.
I was upset today while talking about this very subject. I remember my first blog post after Natalie's diagnosis where I said that I pray for a miracle to happen in her body. I think it was you actually that commented and said you prayed the same thing at the beginning, but no longer do and now pray for a cure. I remember thinking I hope I never stop praying for a miracle. Well, I'm the same now and just pray for a cure because it's quite obvious the miracle isn't going to happen and can it anyway?? So I continue to pray and hope for a cure (at 2am while waiting to check her and see if she has come up from a blood sugar of 75). The CURE can't come soon enough!
ReplyDeleteJo I don't think I could express how I feel about this subject better than you just did in this post. Is this at all in reponse to the JDRF news? New missions etc? It seems a lot of people are upset about it. I am not sure how I feel...I am all about making life with "D" easier to live with as well.
ReplyDeleteThoughts? and (((HUGS)))
My thoughts exactly. I have discussed this with my sister, whose daughter is a cancer-survivor (only 18 year old). We agree that there probably will not be a "cure" for cancer or diabetes, just better treatment. Unless researchers can isolate a virus and develop a vaccine, I just don't see it happening.
ReplyDelete"Cure" is in the eye of the beholder, but the reality is that as far as chronic conditions go, type 1 diabetes requires far more hour-to-hour maintenance than most other chronic diseases, something few doctors seem to grasp. Further, while other diseases may cause very traumatic events, when the treatment is over, the patient can resume a more or less normal existence. There is nothing "normal" about treatment for type 1 diabetes; it is disruptive throughout the day and largely imprecise. Clearly, new treatments have not changed life all that much since insulin was discovered in 1921, and for that, the medical profession has to take a closer look at all the "improvements" they like to rave about.
ReplyDeleteI am with you.
ReplyDeletePerfectly said!
ReplyDeleteI think a cure will be found.... in her lifetime. Some time in her lifetime. But that is not soon enough. She will be an adult and on her own in five or six years. I think money needs to be spent on therapies that improve the quality of life while waiting for a cure. SmartInsulin, islet sheet transplants every two years, not a big fan of the AP but I will take anything to make her safer at this point. Implantable or noninvasive cgms would be a huge plus. Something... Anything..... Insulin is not enough even in the short term as far as I am concerned. Curing the autoimmune component of Type 1 may take her entire lifetime, or many lifetimes. I do not want her adult life marred by diabetes management as it exists today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jo. This whole newly re-hashing what a cure is because of the change in reigns at JDRF has me a bit down. I hope for a cure, I pray for it - it is the greatest dream for me deep down in the pit of my everything. I was very disheartened to hear that my mother-in-law thought a cure would be the AP, I showed her Isaac's butt and said, "A cure will not leave my child with holed, bruises, tape, and being tethered to more machines." It makes me cry so often to know what his body goes through and will go through until a cure is found. I do not believe a cure will be found through big organizations like JDRF, ADA or the likes - but I still support them. I just do it for other reasons.
ReplyDeleteGreat post thanks for a reminder of the simplicity of what a cure really is to all of our babes!
totally agree!!
ReplyDeleteand I have a cousin who has CF and is just starting to need to keep on eye on his blood sugar.
Your friend Scott explained very well how I feel. Diabetes is so different than other chronic illnesses...day in and day out, no break ever.
ReplyDeleteIf we don't have hope...what's left. I was feeling so positive about a cure for my daughter. Your posted brought me down today.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about no cure has got me a little down. I have to admit that although I agree 100% with your words actually seeing them written here made me a little sad.
ReplyDeleteYou did not make me sad -
Just all of this talk is really getting me down.
I want a cure and won't give up on one but I no longer feel like it will happen in my lifetime so I think making PWD lives as easy as possible is certainly what we need to focus on.
I am hopeful and doubtful at the same time. :/
ReplyDeleteWhat is this moss on a Brazilian you speak of? Where can I buy it? Which child do I have to give up to procure some? Will I be arrested if I buy it online?
ReplyDeleteI am walking along beside you, my dear. We are like a procession of flower girls spreading pedals hear and there . . everywhere . . hoping one of them will take root and blossom into a cure. The point is we spread them far and wide, not to dump them all on one place. We will scatter like T1D does. Helping to make the whole picture a better place to be.