The DL
I'm not sure what is it about today, but I have heard some very exciting news today regarding Type 1!

Over at Your Diabetes May Vary, I read a REALLY interesting post, you should read the entire thing click here!

Here is a quick overview: Lilly and Disney showed a kids book with Goofy (my non d son's favorite when he was little) and a new type 1 character. The story line helps break down some misconceptions and gives kids with t1 a Disney character of their own. They also announced an official guide to the parks for type 1 visitors. It is a start that I hope leads to better type 1 awareness in the parks. My dated unofficial guide is at http://DisneyWithDiabetes.com.

It gives me great comfort knowing that SOMEONE acknowledges that living with diabetes is hard, and seeing that people are aware that there are more challenges than just the medicine in the life of someone with Type 1.

THEN I HEAD THE BEST NEWS THAT I HEARD FOR A LONG TIME FROM MY FATHER:

"Denise L. Faustman, MD, PhD, is Director of the Immunobiology Laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has worked in the field of autoimmunity for nearly two decades. In 2001, the Faustman Lab reversed type 1 diabetes in mice with end-stage disease, a project that is now in human clinical trials. Dr. Faustman’s current research continues to focus on uncovering new treatments for type 1 diabetes, as well as searching for therapies for other autoimmune diseases, including Crohn's disease, lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, and multiple sclerosis. "

The link is here to read more about her clinical trials. If any of you live near Boston I am VERY jealous!!!

I feel so torn when I read things like this though...if you head on over to the clinical trial Q&A:

How long will the human clinical trials take?
We expect the clinical trials to take around 8-10 years, but this depends on many factors, such as the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the availability of funding for the different phases of the trials.


That seems so far from now...I hate getting my hopes up, but this would be so amazing. I wouldn't even know what to do with myself anymore if I didn't have diabetes...would I write this blog anymore? Would I need support to transition into "normal" life...it seems like I have so man questions and will never have enough answers...

Till then, here's to hoping!
6 Responses
  1. Holly Says:

    You have the bests research! : ) I'd love a Disney character to help out on trips!
    But 8-10 years for trials? That's so far away, but I'm happy we could be in a ten year window. : )



  2. LaLa Says:

    I love the Disney T1 character and new page for T1 ---- total awesomeness!!

    Faustman ---- love her. Again total awesomeness!


  3. Meagan Says:

    That is all FANTASTIC news! It helps knowing people are aware of T1 (Disney), and that people (Faustman) are working to get us that cure!!! :D

    I totally must plan another Disney trip now. :)


  4. Unknown Says:

    Never give up hope :)

    THREE CHEERS FOR DISNEY...can't wait to "meet" Coco!


  5. Such a joyful post! Thank you for sharing all of it. Praying the FDA hails @ss and we get it sooner!


Post a Comment