I have been living with type 1 diabetes for 47 years.

I have been fortunate to have good health insurance for most of that time, which allowed me access to the most recent upgrades in diabetes management.

Even with fresh tech, diabetes remains something that I deal with every hour of every day. Do I have enough insulin in my pump? How much time do I have remaining before I have to change the Continuous Glucose Monitor? Have I figured out the balance of food/exercise/insulin for the day?

Technical progress does relatively little to hedge against the uncertainty of diabetes. For example, even health issues that are not caused by diabetes are more complicated to treat because of diabetes.

To live with diabetes, no matter how well managed, is to know deeply the difference between management of a disease and curing that disease.

Even with all the whizzbang gadgets, I still have the disease, and I remain at risk for all of the potential complications. Nor am I alone. About 28 million people in the USA have diabetes, which is more common and more harmful among people living in poverty.

Free or reduced-price insulin and high-performing technologies will never be as beneficial as a cure. This is why I am coordinating with the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure to raise funds for diabetes research. Can you help? Click below

Every contribution gets a handwritten thank-you note from me.

Thanks
Gunnar
http://main.diabetes.org/goto/GCN