Jeffrey Brewer Letter to the Editor

Western Wisconsin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 22:14:26 +0000

Jeffrey Brewer, president of the national JDRF, wrote the following letter to the editor in the NY Times:

Re “Rediscovering the First Miracle Drug” (Oct. 5): As a father of a 16-year-old who has lived with diabetes for well over eight years, I recognize that injectable insulin was not a cure, and still isn’t. It is merely life support. But we must recognize that the researchers who discovered insulin paved the way for significant advances that continue to this day — including reformulating the insulin molecule to more closely mimic the workings of a human pancreas. These improvements not only benefit people today but are steps on the road to an artificial pancreas — an automated system that will better manage the blood sugar of people with Type 1 diabetes.

Type I Olympian – Kris Freeman

Western Wisconsin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:35:54 +0000

The 2010 Winter Olympics features an American, Kris Freeman, who was diagnosed with Type I diabetes just before the 2002 winter games. Kris is a member of the U.S. Cross Country ski team.

The following is from a dLife story:

Kris Freeman may have won the 30K cross-country race at the U.S. National Championships in Anchorage, Alaska last month – had he not been forced to stop and test his blood sugar late in the race. Freeman came in second.

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Freeman, who wears an OmniPod, blogs about the difficulties of competing with type 1 diabetes.

“I get nervous before a race and release sugar just like everyone else. Unfortunately my regulatory system is broken and I have to give myself the appropriate amount of insulin. This is where things get tricky. How nervous I am affects how much sugar I release into my body. More nerves equal more glucose. The difficult part is there is no real way to monitor how nervous I am.”

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Jeffrey Brewer Letter to the Editor

Type I Olympian – Kris Freeman