Reflections

This is an excerpt from a speech by Ms. Geralyn R Spollett, American Diabetes Association (ADA,)President of healthcare and education, during ADA’s 72nd scientific sessions held recently in Philadelpshia, Pennsylvania, US. I felt that this is something that we really should think a lot about . One person is diagnosed with diabetes every 17 seconds. This one person could be your family member, your child, or the man that rides next to you on the train to work each morning. For many of us, diabetes has been our lives’ work. Unfortunately, there is enough work in this field to last for generations to come. My fondest dream is to hold high the vial of a miraculous serum as Jonas Salk did when he announced the polio vaccine, and tell you that I and my colleagues have found a cure for diabetes and our mission is fulfilled: a life free of diabetes and all its burdens! However, lately I have been having two recurring nightmares. In one, there are lines and lines of people,...