Deborah O'Keefe: 60+ Years with Type 1 Diabetes
Deborah O’Keefe has been living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for more than 60 years. Diagnosed at 5 years old, her A1c remained above 11% for many years. She lowered it to 8% when she started using an insulin pump, and then, another milestone.
“I was very excited to see 6.7% for the first time in my life,” she said. “When Christine [Hoogasian, her nurse practitioner] told me the number, we celebrated together. It was a great moment!”
Deborah’s care team is extremely proud of the effort she’s put into learning the new technology and persevering through challenges along the way. She has also learned that managing stress and anxiety is an important part of diabetes management.
“It was a struggle at first,” she said, “but my diabetes educator, Cheryl Barry, was incredible. We stayed in contact for weeks to make adjustments, and finally got the pump settings that work well for me.”
Deborah was reluctant to wear an insulin pump when they first hit the market, due to the size of the original devices. Now, she uploads her insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor data, so it’s available to her care team prior to appointments. They review the numbers and patterns together without wasting time to upload it in the exam room.
“MyChart is great,” she said. “If I send a message to my care team between appointments, they get right back to me. It’s a wonderful way to communicate with them.”
Technology has come a long way since Deborah was diagnosed with T1D in 1960. Her parents gave her insulin injections using glass syringes and metal needles! “My mother would boil them to sterilize them."
With the support of her boyfriend, friends and coworkers, Deborah understands that living a healthy life with diabetes requires a lot of work.