The following is a quote from Judith, one of my favorite Joslin medalists. It explains exactly how she and I have lead our lives while living so long with type 1.
“Do the best you can each day in trying to control the disease. No matter how well you do everything, try to be able to coordinate the insulin, carbohydrates, body growth, hormones, exercise, and all the other factors that influence the performance with your body. It is extremely hard to to have it perfect all the time, so don’t be upset if you don’t have 100% control! When my day is slowing down I think about how I did to control the diabetes, and if it wasn’t the way I wanted it to be, I go to sleep thinking I’ll do better tomorrow. I get up the next day and start it by trying to have better control. I’ve been fortunate to not have complications, and with 73 years of type 1, I still expect to do better. Do the best you can, because there are better days ahead with new equipment to help us, and you want to be in a healthy condition to take advantage of those better times.”