Listen to Joanne Milo of T1D to 100 as a guest on the Think Like a Pancreas podcast, on Podbean at https://integrateddiabetesservices.podbean.com/e/empowered-aging-with-type-1-diabetes/ or wherever you listen to podcasts or you can watch the episode on the Integrated Diabetes Services YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/oyUQfSBgF1M
I will turn 64 in a few weeks. Which means that in about a year, I will be on Medicare. The US Government has declared it: I’m almost old! So, you might ask me why I am part of the T1D to 100 Initiative. It’s simple – I’m its target audience. The work we are doing is for me!
What happens when, as an aging T1D, you experience a sudden loss or major life change? What happens when you need to make a change to where to live when you were once a “we” and are now only a “me?”
My life has been profoundly impacted by managing Type 1 Diabetes since the age of two, alongside my battle with breast cancer ten years ago. However, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my long-time supportive endocrinologist had retired, leaving me to navigate this new challenge without their expertise.
I became ill with double pneumonia in March 2022, and was hospitalized in the Washington, D.C. area for five days at one of the leading hospitals. As a person with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) for over fifty years, I was concerned about my care in the hospital.