I had discussed on this site the fact that I could find no documentation to provide Joslin for my 50 year medal.
Richard, and others, encouraged me to try some new things. I finally contacted Joslin and was provided with an alternatives I could submit.
For future reference, they need something in the file that "documents" the diagnosis date/year. In my case, I sent a copy of my 2012 physical report from my current PCP, which stated the year in which I was diagnosed. I explained that I had told the doctor this, and she said she knew no one would lie about this, they just needed some documention.
So looks like I really will get my medal this year. Thanks again for all the help!
Congratulations, Spock, and many more years to come! :) Thank you so much for posting this also because I have no documentation on my official diagnosis date either.
Wow, how common sense logical..such a rare commodity! I'm so glad you are going to be able to get your well deserved medal!
On the subject of documentation in general, maybe it's finally somewhere we can be respected and trusted for our own knowledge. As many of you know I was misdiagnosed Type 2 and if they keep stats I'm sure that's what I was put in the hopper as. When my numbers started to rise 15 months later I did my research on here and elsewhere and determined I was, in fact LADA/Type 1. I was living in Guatemala at the time and could get a GAD test because nobody had any clue what it was!(Though I did get a c-peptide which was quite low) I did go to see an endo there who said "yes, you are type 1" based on my list of things that led me to conclude that.
Fast forward a year and change when I returned to the U.S. I just got a new doctor and said "I'm Type 1" and we went on from there. Since then I've been establishing a "paper trail" but none of it originated from anything other than my say-so. I guess if the doctor who began to see me saw reason to doubt the diagnosis we would have dealt with that, but there didn't seem any purpose to it at that point.
Congrats on getting your medal Spock, it was Richard who encouraged me to apply for my 25 year certificate, only 12 years late, but I had the required documentation and am now in the system for my 50 year medal some time in 2025.
I had no documentation and I was about to give up the idea of having the medal. I had stated my problem on a diabetes website, and a medalist replied. She found two people who knew her at the time she was diagnosed. They wrote letters telling what they remembered about her diabetes back then. Those letters were accepted as evidence of diagnosis, and she received the medal. I had my sister and a first cousin write letters. They were were accepted. This is the only way some of the medalists have to establish some form of proof of diagnosis.
Thanks Spock for sharing. I too have no one but my brother who was 4 at the time and remembers me passing out. But of course he didn't understand that I was going into DKA and to tell the truth neither did I. I know my new Endo does have some of my old files I'll have to find out how far back they go.
You know, Betty, his story might be what you need. Get him to write up what he remembers. And maybe later, as he grew up and watched you, he became aware of what he witnessed.
As I said, they took my current med records with the date of diagnosis I provided my PCP.
I’ll be there in 2026. I got my 25 year certificate about a year ago after managing to get a copy of my 1976 hospital records that were stored on microfiche.
