UBQDRYRIMM
Letter From the Chapter President
Dear Friends,
Documentation of diabetes as a condition goes well back into
Egyptian and early Greek days and was categorized as a wasting disease. Comforting the patient was the only remedy offered until the development of insulin for human use by Dr. Frederick Banting and his colleagues in 1921. And in those early years, these crude therapies offered limited promise to those afflicted with type 1 diabetes.
In the nearly 90 years since this discovery, remarkable progress has been made – particularly in the last decade. Just think of the reality that existed for kids and adults with type 1 diabetes when JDRF was founded in 1970:
- A teenager diagnosed in 1970 would have had a 90 percent chance of blindness from diabetic retinopathy within his or her lifetime (today that figure is under 10 percent)
- That same teen would have faced a 25 percent chance of kidney disease (today also under 10 percent), and a 30 percent chance of not seeing his or her 40th birthday (today less than 7 percent – still an unacceptable number)
These are sobering reminders of the severe threat that diabetes represents
and is a call to action, then and now, to eliminate diabetes as a threat to the health of our friends and family members.
A new destiny was established in 1970, when the parents of children with type 1 diabetes vowed a different outcome for their kids by establishing JDRF as an organization that would lead the charge to find a cure. And, as the founders ventured along this path, many of us joined the crusade to change that predictable future.
Thank you for being part of JDRF’s past success and for your continued commitment to the journey that lies ahead.
JDRF Addresses Quality of Life
We are dedicated to finding a cure – there is no deviation from that mission. However, until a cure is found, treatment advances and new therapies allow persons with type 1 diabetes to manage their disease with much greater success.
Because a well-informed patient and family can make the best care choices, JDRF provides a wide range of service and support programs that address your physical, emotional and social needs as they relate to living with diabetes.
Our Bag of Hope program, operated in cooperation with Roche Diagnostics, provides information and comfort to those newly diagnosed by providing hope at a time of great anxiety. One-on-one coaching through our Friendly Listener Peer Mentor program connects someone in need with a trained, knowledgeable person who has walked in those same footsteps.
JDRF’s educational programs provide information and networking opportunities. These programs are anchored by our flagship conference Diabetes Today and Tomorrow, which features diabetes experts from around the world, to be held on June 5 at Burton Manor in Livonia. Additionally, the JDRF Education Series offers two-hour seminars throughout the year. The first cycle focuses on the mental health aspects of living with a chronic health condition like diabetes.
Lastly, JDRF offers a variety of tools and resources to support positive health outcomes. The JDRF School Advisory Toolkit, the new JDRF Adult Type 1 Toolkit and Chapter Resource Guide are examples of material JDRF makes available
to you.
JDRF is focused on advancing the state of care for persons of all ages with type 1 diabetes. Your continued support and involvement will help assure we reach our destination as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
Mark Roth
President
Metro Detroit & Southeast Michigan
