The background of the Joslin Medalist Program. Thousand of type 1 diabetics have received these medals, but there are many T1D’s who do not know about the program If you know someone who has been type 1 for 50 years, please tell them about the about the medals. Tell them they can join the secret Facebook medalist group and talk to so many others with type 1 for 50+ years. They can also attend meetings of the medalists in odd numbered years in Boston. Joslin has a very good program for the medalists who attend.
They should also be aware that you need to prove your diagnosis date, although they are rather lax about it. My folks are gone, hospitals do not keep info for 50 years, my doctor is also gone. So it was a struggle to prove.
I really wanted this, so I struggled through and was successful. The medal is given by the Joslin Diabetes Center, part of Harvard Medical school. They do a lot of amazing research. It was nice, although my non-D friends and family did not get it.
I attended the DOIT program at Joslin during really rough time in my D Life. I was not happy with the experience, or the staff care. I got turned off to the Joslin experience.
I have not participated in any of the medalist events and will probably not. I am on the FB medalist group FB page and rarely use it. I find TU the most helpful.
Well, I guess I will never be a medalist, because I have zero documentation - original doctor has passed away, parents have passed away, and any documents from that time that were in my mom’s possession were seen as meaningless.
@yogaO I received my 50 year medal from Lilly, the mfg. of insulin. I did not have to go thru all the documentation required by Joslin. It was pretty easy. My CDE arranged it. Maybe it’s on their website. Good luck!
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Don’t give up, Talk to Joslin. I have had the same PCP for 25 years. They accepted his documentation, as I had listed my diagnosis date with him as 11/25/1962. Stephanie Hastings is the medalist contact at Joslin. It seemed really hopeless at first, but there are avenues to walk through. Did not mean to be so negative…
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I was able to get data from the hospital where I was admitted. Over 35 years after my diagnosis admission, they were able to provide my hospital records. 4 days of inpatient treatment in 1976 cost less than one endocrinologist appointment these days…
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Thanks for the tips veterans! I’d sort of written it off but your accounts make it seem more achievable!
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I too found that clinic and hospital records dating back to my diagnosis were not available; however, I attended the diabetes camp, Camp Sweeney in Texas the year after I was diagnosed. Upon requsting those records they sent me the records including the urine sugars for each summer I went there. Those provided the documentation needed. It was interesting to see the daily records that had been kept. I spilt a lot of sugar each day; although, most days I had at least one negative or trace urine sugar.
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I watch these Joslin posts and am amazed by how much T1 care is today. “Spilling sugar” was the term when using the most awful diabetic tool ever-TesTape. It was dipped in a urine sample and developed a green color that you compared to a chart; the darker it was the more sugar had spilled into the urine.
Richard tells the best stories, as he was diagnosed longer than most of us. Syringes were glass and had to be sterilized. For a young child, that would normally mean no activities. I was lucky. Mom wanted me to be active, so she supported me in all activities–bringing insulin when needed, food for designated meals (for everyone, I might add.)
If you get depressed about D, take in the fact that it is 2015, not 1965. The D world is a much healthier place.
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I was eligible for the 50 year medal in 1995, but I did no hear about the medalist program until 2006. I did not have proof of my date of diagnosis. A lady who had the medal told me she had two friends who knew her when she was diagnosed. They wrote letters telling what they remembered about her diabetes back then. The letters were included with the application for the medal. They were accepted and she received the medal. My situation was similar, but I had no relatives who were alive in 1945. My sister is 3 years younger than me, and my oldest cousin is one year younger They wrote letters, and they were accepted. Since I was applying more that 60 years after my diagnosis, the letters helped prove I had been T1 for more than 50 years.
Don’t give up, there is a way to get the “proof” that you need.
YogaO, please read my post at the end of the discussion.
@Richard157 - Thanks so much, I appreciate that.
Actually I used clinitest tablets and a test tube. The results were much clearer than the newer Testape results. I also used glass syringes and steel needles that needed to be sterilized. Because I used only one injection of insulin each day about the only real restriction was on terms of amount of food and timing of meals. In some ways this was less restrictive than intensive treatment.
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It would be really nice if I would make it to be a Joslin Medalist. I was diagnosed when I was 54…
Negg … I met a woman the other day, she is 103 years old. I’d say it is possible. She came into the Hair Salon to get a manicure while her daughter-in-law had one too. She has six children, all still living and in good health, the youngest they said is 76.
Best of luck to all of us, to be as lucky, happy, and healthy!
Negg, it is so much better to be diagnosed late in life, without a medal, than to be diagnosed while you are very young. The trips to Boston for medalists meetings are very expensive, but it is nice to meet other long term T1D’s and compare stories with them. There are several medalists on Facebook about your age, some are younger than you. You could connect with them there.