I was admitted to the Vancouver General Hospital and diagnosed with diabetes on November 6, 1945 at the age of 6 years. My parents were told that I would be put on insulin, but it was unlikely that I would survive very long – children diagnosed in the eastern provinces of Canada had a greater chance of survival because of their proximity to the Banting & Best team. The insulins used at that time were Protamine Zinc (PZI) and Toronto. These were at that time the only insulins being produced; Eli Lilly was working on developing insulin but was not successful until mid 1950’s.

I am now 70 years old and have completed my 64th year of living with type 1 diabetes. I have good eyesight and circulation – I did have triple bypass surgery in 1998, but I am physically fairly active.

After reaching 50-year mark, I have actively encouraged others who have diabetes (in particular, type 1 diabetes) to take a greater interest in their own care and I encourage any and all to use an insulin pump. I have been using a pump for approximately 6 years now, and find this method of delivering insulin to be very much superior to that of insulin injection by syringe due to the variability of the action of the injected insulin. I heartily recommend to anyone living with diabetes to take a very active role in the management of their own health.