Along with being grateful that I am so lucky to live in a country where I did not have to constantly think about healthcare, comes a feeling of guilt. Why am I so lucky? Why do other people die because they cannot afford insulin or because they do not even have access to it? These are questions that I am constantly asking myself. And although I know that I will never receive an answer, I still sometimes struggle with that feeling. Read more
The one thing I know about in life is change. I was 12 turning 13 when my father got sick and died. He had been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and was awaiting a heart transplant, so we travelled from Canada down to the United States for him to say goodbye to the rest of the family. It was our last night there, and he didn't make it. Read more
To make a difference in all of these areas, I have founded The Diabetes Ambassadors Program (DAP). Our mission is to raise awareness about diabetes and our vision is to live a healthy and a productive life with diabetes. Most importantly, we wish to empower people with diabetes. Read more
I joined dozens of people impacted by the rising cost of insulin in the USA in protest of those prices in front of Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Some had traveled many hours to join the protest, but one thing was made clear, we wanted to ensure that Eli Lilly heard our voices. We were passionate in our outcry for change and jointly understood that not saying anything is simply not an option.
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For a person who gets a minimum wage here, if you sum up everything and do not have insurance, you can be spending at least 40% of your income on diabetes each month. That was my experience before moving to the city to attend university. Read more
Patients and those who support us will be demonstrating outside of Eli Lilly HQ in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 9th 2017. See the full post for more information and join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/insulin4allAction/ if you can be there.
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As insulin prices crept upward, I realized I needed to figure out more ways to increase my sensitivity and reduce the large load of insulin I had to pump into myself every day. It became more than a financial struggle; I was scared that synthetic insulin could become insufficient. Then what? So with my shallow pockets and fear for the future, I talked with my doctor about the type two medication, Metformin. Read more
In the wake of rising insulin prices in the United States and recent threats to public health safety nets like Medicaid, patients with type 1 diabetes are becoming increasingly more vulnerable. As a member of the T1D community and a rising second year Masters student at the Yale School of Public Health, Samantha Willner is hoping to shed light on the terrible sacrifices members of the T1D community in the U.S. have had to make in order to get the medicine they need to live. Read more
Sixteen organisations have signed an open letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the incoming Director-General of the World Health Organization. The letter, penned by T1International, praises his attention to diabetes and requests that more focus is put on access to insulin and treatment for everyone living with diabetes around the world. Read more
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend Camp Waromo, a four-day diabetes camp hosted by the Sonia Nabeta Foundation (SNF), a wonderful organisation working to ensure that everyone with diabetes in Africa has access to medicine and support they need. T1International was honoured to be invited and to share our advocacy resources and knowledge. Read more