Pam McKinley's Story

Dear ADF donors,

People like you, who donate so generously to the ADF, will eventually help find a cure for diabetes. Words alone cannot express my thanks to you.

I have been diabetic now for 53 years. When I was diagnosed at age 4, my parents were told that I would only live for another ten or fifteen years, and that I would never be able to have children.

Well, I was a very determined four-year-old, and I decided to prove them wrong. I have two wonderful sons, ages 25 and 23. One of them is diabetic, so I now know what my mom and dad must have gone through with my diagnosis.

I had a normal childhood, with a few differences. I did go out on Halloween, but of course I couldn’t eat the candy. So, I brought it to school and sold it to my classmates! I would make five or ten dollars—a lot of money in the 1960s, when you could buy a comic book for a dime.
My first doctor sometimes accused me of cheating on my diet when I had sugar in my urine. One day she was so forceful it made me cry, and I finally lied and said that I ate candy. To this day, I’m hesitant about seeing new doctors.

I have seen huge progress in diabetes care over the years. When I was first diagnosed, there was no blood testing equipment available. You had to put equal amounts of urine and water into a test tube, along with a solution called Benedict’s reagent, and heat it in a pot of boiling water. And the results were far from precise—it only gave you a range of how much sugar you had in your urine four hours ago.

For insulin injections, I used glass syringes, which my mom had to boil, and metal needles, which my dad sharpened on a stone.

The first blood meter for diabetics, the Eyetone, was a godsend when it came out in the late 1970s. It weighed about five pounds, and had to warm up for 24 hours, but it gave us a far quicker and more accurate tool for measuring blood glucose levels. A little over 30 years later, I now use a blood meter I can easily tuck into my purse!

Despite the great progress I have seen over the years, living with diabetes is still a difficult challenge. I eat on a strict schedule, and do blood tests 4–8 times a day. But, careful though I am, my blood sugars can fluctuate.

When my levels are low, I can become confused and disoriented. People want to help, but they just don’t know what to do. One time, I told a friend to let me know whenever I seem to be acting silly. She replied, “And how will I know?” We both had a good laugh over that!
A few years ago, I had an islet cell transplant and, for a while, I was off insulin. What a weird—but good—feeling! I became good friends with other patients who travelled to Edmonton for the procedure, and still keep in touch with many of them. Most of us are back on insulin now, but we still treasure the friendship and understanding we shared. And, we know our experience helped further the progress of diabetes research.

Pam McKinley and friend Susan lending their hands in the ADF office.

The staff at the Alberta Diabetes Foundation put your donations to excellent use, working hard to advance diabetic research and care. The generosity of people like you has already made life immeasurably better for diabetics like me and my son. And, every dollar you donate brings us closer to our ultimate goal: a future without diabetes!

Sincerely,

Pam McKinley