Voice of the Diabetic

Voice of the Diabetic

Back|

Next|

Table of Contents|

Home

A LONG LIFE WITH DIABETES

by Ed Bryant

Photo: portrait. Caption:

Photo: portrait. Caption: Richard Donnell

Photo: portrait. Caption: Evelyn Engelhardt

Photo: portrait. Caption: Harold Felender

Photo: portrait. Caption: Helen Olson

Decades ago, when diabetes

care was not as advanced, or as convenient, as it is today, many medical professionals

believed that a diagnosis of diabetes invariably meant a limited, shortened

life. Diabetics were told things like: "Don't exert yourself, don't drive, don't

work in a factory, and don't get married." Too many doctors told their diabetic

patients this.

Was it true? Of course

not! Insulin manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company gives an award to diabetics

who've used insulin more than 50 years -- and more than 1000 people have collected

this award. But some people have been using insulin a lot longer than 50 years.

In past issues of the

VOICE, I interviewed a number of veteran type 1 diabetics, people who were diagnosed

way back in the days of urinalysis, reusable needles, and widespread ignorance.

They spoke of their childhood, of the elaborate chemistry needed to test their

sugars, and of learning to give themselves injections. They spoke of their success,

of their full, rich lives.

Recently, I contacted them

again. Remembering these are all elderly people, prone to the same age-related

issues as non-diabetics, how were they doing?

Irving Mushlin

Mr. Irving Mushlin, from

Astoria, NY, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in January of 1931. He'd had

the symptoms of diabetes for several months, and his first doctor, missing the

symptoms, had actually prescribed a mouthwash to take care of the bad taste

in his mouth.

But New York City doctors

got it right, and taught Irving how to take insulin. They taught his mother

how to manage a diabetic diet, "more than she needed to know," he says. He met

Rose, the lady who'd become his wife, when he was 17, but waited ten years to

tie the knot. Shortly before the wedding (which took place the day Japan's surrender

ended WWII), the couple went to see a "diabetic specialist" who assured them

that "all diabetic men are sterile," but they didn't take it to heart -- and

now have two children and five grandchildren.

Irving retired at 65, and

promptly began a new career, as a paralegal. He still works several days a week.

He says: "Controlling your diabetes, taking your tests and shots, once you get

accustomed to it, is a burden, not a problem. It only looks like a problem the

first time you hear about it, because it's such a radical change... I just went

ahead with it, and did what they told me to do... There's no reason to stop

learning at any age."

Evelyn Engelhardt

Mrs. Evelyn Engelhardt,

now 80 years old, from Cincinnati, Ohio, developed her diabetes in September

1931. Her first doctor hadn't even heard of insulin (it had been out 10 years),

and put her on the old "diabetic diet" of gluten bread. A year later she was

in a near-fatal diabetic coma. Again, hospital doctors "figured it out."

Those were the early days.

Still Evelyn followed her doctors' instructions, watched her diet, and kept

up with her exercise (she loved dancing.) Evelyn's daughter told her: "You really

do take care of yourself..." And it has been almost 70 years.

Evelyn reports she received

many letters after her interview, from younger people who were so pleased to

hear from someone who could win over diabetes." And she has won. Diagnosed in

a time when many believed diabetes invariably meant a shortened life, she now

has one great granddaughter, and a second is on the way.

Harold Felender

Mr. Harold Felender, born

in 1918, can't remember whether he was 12 or 13 years old when his diabetes

was diagnosed, but he knows it was at Christmastime. "My mother had tuberculosis,"

he said, "and my grandmother was there, but she didn't know too much about these

things, so I had to do everything myself."

Harold learned well. He

mastered diet and exercise, as well as insulin injection -- this back in the

days when "Regular" was all the insulin we had. There were no blood glucose

monitors (not until the 1960s), so Harold, like his contemporaries, regularly

tested his urine.

Harold's work was the aircraft

industry. He started as a sheet-metal worker for North American Aviation (maker

of the P51 Mustang), and went on to be a "quality assurance engineer." He reports

he found being a Jew more trouble than being diabetic.

Harold had some problems;

he went through a time when his sugars fluctuated a lot. He's stabilized now,

and trying to decide about whether to remain in an assisted living facility,

or return to his house.

Harold Felender's diabetes

has neither shortened his life nor limited his ability to participate fully.

"It isn't torture to have diabetes," he says.

Helen Olson

Mrs. Helen Olson is 75

years old, and has had diabetes 69 years. She's had some problems (two single

heart bypass surgeries) but hopes to recover, to be "back on the ball in the

near future." Before her heart surgery, she was planning to switch from insulin

injections to the insulin pump. "When I recover, I'll ask for the pump," she

says.

Helen proves that along

with diligent self-management, positive attitude is very important! "I really

try to keep my diabetes under control," she says, "My best advice to you is

to follow the rules of being a good diabetic... Follow your diabetic regime,

and then live a normal life. After all, what is life for? Its to be enjoyed!"

Richard Donnell

Mr. Richard Donnell, from

Columbus, Indiana, has had type 1 diabetes since 1935. He has many stories from

the early days, of drinking black coffee at the sweet shop "like one of the

big boys," while his friends ate sodas and floats, of weighing and measuring

his diet ("it was very difficult to calculate a diet while going into a reaction,"

he reports), and about his three shots a day insulin regime ("still doing it").

He has been successful. "I still have all my fingers and toes," he says, and

he still drives his car, and lives at home. His wife died several years ago,

and he has recently remarried.

All of these people are

"living proof" that with the exercise of reasonable diabetes care and positive

attitude, the complications, tragedies, and foreshortened life are NOT "inevitable."

And note, these people started with diabetes a long time ago. We know far more

now, and have vastly better tools to treat it. If you're a veteran diabetic,

you can do as well as these folks -- and if you are just starting with diabetes,

your outlook is even better!

Back to Top