Managing type 1 diabetes takes the diligence, discipline, and resilience of a champion.

Once an individual is diagnosed with T1D, they and their support team are on the job 24/7 until we find a cure. With T1D, there are no off days and zero vacation time.

So who’s a T1D Champion? There are so many amazing examples; here’s just a few:

• The newly diagnosed with T1D teenager who found the courage to ask their coach and teammates for help when dealing with low blood sugars at soccer practice.
• The parent of a young adult who has had T1D for twenty years, who just spent several hours on the phone figuring out a health insurance transition.
• The teacher of a 1st grader with T1D who hosted a “what is type 1 diabetes?” event to help make the child’s life safer and easier at school.
• The adult who has been living with T1D for 38 years and, even though they’ve worked with their doctor to get the best tools to manage their health, a complication has arisen, which they’re navigating with grit and resilience.
• The friend who signed up and hit their goal of $100 raised for their T1D friend’s One Walk team to show their support.
• The young adult with T1D who has been up with high blood sugar levels all night but still knocked a presentation out of the park at work.
• The partner of a person with T1D who took it upon themselves to learn not only about life with T1D, but about their partner’s specific signs of low blood sugars, what food helps manage blood sugar levels, and what emotional support is helpful to them on a tough T1D day.
• The new mom navigating her own T1D while trying to balance taking care of a newborn, not getting enough sleep, and keeping herself and her baby healthy.
• The sibling of someone living with T1D who chose a career in healthcare because they saw firsthand how health affects not just an individual, but a whole family.

Who in your life is a T1D Champion? Help us celebrate them all day, every day by sharing your story on social media with the hashtag #T1DChampion

When a person has type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks its own insulin-producing beta cells. Without these beta cells, people with T1D cannot produce their own insulin (the hormone that allows the body to convert the food we eat into energy). 

Without insulin, the body resorts to breaking down bodily tissue such as muscle and fat stores for energy, leading to significant health problems and eventually death.

Luckily, almost 100 years ago insulin was isolated as a treatment for T1D and continued advancements in care can keep a person with T1D healthy!   

Without access to insulin, being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is fatal. The body needs insulin to survive, and every person living with T1D has a different set of needs when it comes to the type and amount of insulin their body requires.

You cannot just stop taking insulin or give your body less than it requires, even if you can’t afford it. Considering the life-sustaining nature of this drug, insulin should be affordable and accessible to all those who need it.

However, federal data and multiple studies show that the cost of insulin has tripled, even quadrupled, in recent years. As critical as insulin is, it should be available at a reasonable, predictable out-of-pocket cost. 

JDRF continues to work closely with lawmakers, insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers, and drug manufacturers to increase affordable access to insulin.

Knowing your blood-sugar levels and acting accordingly are among the most important ways to treat T1D. Monitoring lets a person know when insulin may be needed to correct high blood sugar or when carbohydrates may be needed to correct low blood sugar. Monitoring blood sugar can be done using traditional blood-sugar meters or continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).

The Special Diabetes Program (SDP) is a critical government program that provides $150 million in annual funding for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country’s premier medical research agency. 

SDP’s multiple-year funding is essential to continuing large-scale trials, proactively planning next steps for research programs and allocating research dollars most effectively. 

Through the #Coverage2Control initiative,  JDRF is calling on insurers, employers, drug companies and the government to provide 3 things that will help people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) control the disease.

Affordability: Make out-of-pocket insulin and other costs predictable and reasonable.

Choice: Give people the freedom to choose the insulin pump that’s right for them

Coverage: Cover all life-saving technology, including the artificial pancreas.