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“Every day with type 1 diabetes is an accomplishment,” says Jeff Hitchcock who founded Children with Diabetes (CWD) after his daughter, Marissa, was diagnosed in 1989 at just two years old.
Today, Hitchcock says his favorite part of the day is reading the submissions for a “Journey Award”, then shipping the beautiful coins to recipients across the United States. REQUEST a JOURNEY AWARD HERE!
If you have at least a decade of type 1 diabetes (T1D) behind you, you might consider requesting a “Journey Award”. Journey Awards recognize people who’ve lived with T1D for 10, 25, 50, and 75 years with a coin made with real precious metals:
- 10-year coin: made with bronze
- 25-year coin: made with silver
- 50-year coin: made with gold
- 75-year coin: made with silver and gold
These awards were first managed by Lilly Diabetes, but CWD recently adopted this program with Lilly’s continued financial support.
When you’ve been managing this disease for even just a couple of decades, it’s easy to forget how much work you do every single day to stay alive.
Recognizing the work of staying alive with T1D
“Since shipping our first award in June of 2022, we’ve shipped over 1,400 as of January 2023,” says Hitchcock, adding that CWD is open to new sponsors of the program. When all is said and done, each award costs CWD about $25.
Your request for a Journey Award invites you to share a brief story about your life with T1D, which CWD is in the process of organizing to share on their website.
“The stories I read, they are the highlight of my day,” says Hitchcock. “I read one the other night from a man who said, ‘I’ve had type 1 for 31 years, I’m really struggling with burnout, I hope this remotivates me.’ I wrote him a personal note, hoping this recognition of all the days he’s lived with this disease shows the incredible accomplishment it is, and gives him the motivation to keep going.”
Hitchcock recalled another story from a young woman with T1D who was once told she’d never be able to have children — but today she’s a mother of two.
Five Decades with Type 1 Diabetes
Being diagnosed with T1D in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s often included a warning from your doctor that your days are numbered, you may not live to see your 40th or 50th birthday. Fortunately, many people diagnosed in those years have proven those warnings wrong.
Receiving requests for 50 and 75-year coins reminds Hitchcock how lucky his daughter is to be diagnosed in 1989.
“By the time Marissa was diagnosed, her pediatrician told us, ‘Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay,’ because we could check her blood sugar and manage her insulin. Today, children with T1D can live as long as if they were never diagnosed — if they have access to insulin, testing supplies, and they participate daily in managing their disease.”
You might request an award for someone else who’s living with T1D.
“Sometimes I get requests from a parent with a child who is passing the 10-year mark with T1D, or a spouse whose partner just passed 25 years. There was one from a family for their grandfather who’s lived with type 1 for 50 years. They said he carried his award with him for days.”
“It’s too special — it must continue.”
“For those who’ve lived with type 1 day after day, you deserve the recognition. It’s pure good. This program must continue,” says Hitchcock. “And I’m very grateful that Lilly felt CWD could take this on and continue that mission. Anyone living with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. passing these milestones can be recognized.”
As a parent of a child with T1D, and as a man who’s built his entire life around supporting families and individuals affected by this disease, Hitchcock knows that every single day requires effort, courage, and persistence.
“The Journey Award,” says Hitchcock, “is really honoring that you stayed in the game.”
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If You’ve Lived with T1D for 10, 25, 50, or 75 Years...
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I was hospitalized and started on insulin March 2. 1943. I have seen many, many changes in treatment, types of insulin, etc. and am greatful for all God has let the medical profession learn during my lifetime. My father’s mother died when he was about 5 years old and insulin had not been discovered yet. I have now out-lived my parents and my husband. I am blessed with 2 grown sons, an adopted daughter, 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Both diabetes and cancer tend to be hereditary, but it does not always happen that way. God has a plan for every life and we cannot see the future! My husband died of cancer and our youngest son had bone cancer at 10 years of age and his left leg was amputated above the knee. He is now 68 and I am ;91. We both are grateful to God and for the advances made in the medical profession. I am now on a Tandem insulin pump and a Dexcom CGM.
45 years with diabetes for me. Going strong!
I was 8 when dx with T1D in April, 1955. It’s been a long adventure. I’m very grateful for the many people along the way who offered support that allowed me to continue my journey.
I have been a type one diabetic, four fifty five years. My sister, who’s diagnosed with it at age four. My father had to boil our needles. My mom started a diabetic group in the city we lived in. I was told I could not go to college because my dad could not come with me to boil my needles. Thankfully, they came out with the disposable ones. And I was able to start college at seventeen. I was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of fourteen. My sister and I were fortunate enough to go to josilin clinic And I was able to go out twice, and also was fortunate enough to go to clara barton camp. Life has been and up-and-down. Rollercoaster for me and I am now on. The dexcom g seven, which has helped, but with other issues, things have begun to go downhill again. I never used to really mind being a diabetic. But now it’s just on my mind all the time. And I believe i’m losing my fighting battle. Let’s be coming very difficult. However, I do believe it is easier to be A. Type one rather than a type two because for the most part, if they have a high blood sugar, it is harder to deal with. 5 years ago I asked my Doctor to. Please get me a 50 year pin. When I found out there was such a thing. About five years later, I do not have one. It would really mean a lot to me to be able to receive one just to show what I have gone through. And acknowledge what I have gone through for fifty five years. My sister, twenty years ago had to get a pancreatic and kidney transplant. She is very fortunate that she has had no real complications, but she had to go through that surgery. I just can’t understand why we cannot find a cure for this. I know someday there probably will be, but not in my lifetime.