Robert Gawley was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on June 30, 1962, the day before doctors walked out at his local hospital. His physician, Dr. Paul Schwan, managed to see him despite the strike, admitting him for two weeks of treatment. Back then, insulin administration was primitive: one daily injection using glass syringes and needles sharpened by hand on emery paper.
A Primitive Start to Treatment
“They, first of all, wanted to get me regulated. In those days, it was one shot a day, one shot of insulin a day, so it took time,” Gawley recalled. The process of learning to inject insulin involved practicing with water and oranges before self-administering. When he traveled, maintaining blood sugar control was “very hard” due to the cumbersome equipment.
He carried glass syringes and metal holders filled with alcohol to sterilize the needles before each injection. “It burned every time I inserted the needle,” he said. His relief came with a spring-loaded buisher injector from his mother-in-law, which made injections faster and less painful. Disposable needles from a medical representative friend further simplified his routine.
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Blood sugar monitoring relied on litmus paper to test urine, a method that offered little precision. Over time, home glucose meters emerged, followed by continuous glucose monitors and automated insulin delivery systems. Gawley’s grandson, Nate, diagnosed at nine, experienced this shift firsthand.
Modern Tools Transform Daily Life
Nate explained that blood glucose sensors became available about five to 10 years ago. Today, he uses an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, which he describes as “pretty darn close to almost being its own little pancreas.” The pump delivers insulin continuously, while the sensor measures blood glucose every few minutes.
“It helps out a lot with just my everyday life,” Nate said, balancing parenthood and teaching. He no longer needs to pause activities to test his blood sugar—now he simply checks his phone first thing in the morning. The devices alert him to dangerous drops with alarms he calls “like a police siren.”
One evening at school, while coaching football, his phone connected to a Bluetooth speaker. “All of a sudden the music cuts out and there’s a siren that’s going off through the speaker,” Nate recounted. “The kids just like completely lose it. Some of them have figured out now, it’s like ‘Oh, Gawley needs some sugar.’”
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While Nate adopts these technologies, Gawley prefers his meter and sensor without a pump. “I just haven’t thought it necessary. I get along fine with my little metre and the sensor,” he said, using one long-acting insulin dose at bedtime and short-acting shots with meals.
Both men emphasize how community support shapes outcomes for people living with type 1 diabetes. Robert credits his family and medical team for helping him maintain stability through decades of treatment evolution. Nate’s upbringing among relatives with the condition meant he never faced isolation during his own diagnosis.
Advocacy Through Personal Experience
Nate’s advocacy extends into his teaching career, where he educates colleagues and students about diabetes management. The emergency alerts from his continuous glucose monitor have become teaching moments, helping classmates recognize hypoglycemia symptoms. This dual role as educator and patient exemplifies how lived experience drives peer support initiatives.
