To be a Joslin Medalist, you need to mark 25, 50, or 75 years with diabetes. (Well, technically, you get a certificate at the 25 year mark, but it’s definitely a milestone to celebrate.) And over the weekend, I had the opportunity to spend the day with Joslin’s medalists who have spent over 50 years with type 1 diabetes.
I was invited as a member of the “media,” but it was a strange experience, being “one of them,” but only halfway there. (“You’re a nice kid, but you’re still a rookie in this crowd,” one woman said, flashing her medal and her smile at the same time.) These generous medalists allowed me to listen to their stories, and offered a few sage words of advice into my video camera.
(Best response that didn’t end up on camera: “That’s a video recorder? I have glucose meters bigger than that!”)
While I compile my notes, let this video suffice as evidence that we can do this. And seeing living, breathing, laughing proof of that is an amazing thing.
[…] [To catch a video of the Joslin medalists telling their stories, check out this post.] […]