Five Years with Type 1 Diabetes: How Technology Transformed Our Lives and Why We Still Believe in a cure.
In October 2021, our family’s life changed forever.
Five years later, type 1 diabetes is still part of our daily lives. But so are technology, knowledge, hope, and a question that continues to stay with us:
What if one day Pablo can say, “I used to have type 1 diabetes”?
I remember that Friday perfectly.
A day that started like any other.
A day at the park.
A normal day.
And it ended with a weekend at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
That was the day we heard the words that would change our lives:
Type 1 diabetes.
And although we often talk about “Pablo’s life after diagnosis,” the truth is that it wasn’t just his life that changed.
All three of our lives changed.
It changed how we sleep.
How we travel.
How we eat.
How we exercise.
How we go to school.
How we plan a day.
How we leave the house.
And even how we define peace of mind.
We went from having a healthy little boy and a life filled with spontaneity to entering, almost overnight, a world of math calculations, carb counting, nutrition labels, insulin, blood sugars, ketones, alarms, and decisions we had never had to make before.
And along with all of that came something we didn’t expect:
Grief.
The grief of the life we thought we would have.
The grief of believing our children would simply grow up, play, and live their lives without us constantly thinking about a chronic illness.
At times, that grief felt endless.
But it was also the beginning of a journey of learning.
And five years later, I can say something I never imagined I would:
The fear we felt that Friday has turned into knowledge.
And a huge part of that transformation has been made possible by technology.
From Finger Sticks Every Few Hours to Real-Time Glucose Data
When Pablo was first diagnosed, our world looked very different.
We started with a traditional glucose meter.
There were finger sticks.
A lot of them.
Every few hours.
We had to check his blood sugar, interpret the number, and decide what to do next.
Meals meant calculations.
Counting carbohydrates.
Figuring out how much insulin he needed.
Giving injections.
Managing long-acting insulin.
And then came the nights.
Because type 1 diabetes never sleeps.
And neither did we.
Our first year was filled with trial and error, logbooks, numbers, questions, and a tremendous amount of fear.
But it was also filled with something that became our greatest ally:
Learning.
We learned to recognize patterns.
To understand how Pablo responded to certain foods.
To identify trends.
To realize that a single glucose reading never tells the whole story.
And while we were learning, technology was evolving too.
The Continuous Glucose Monitoring Revolution
One of the biggest changes over the last five years has been the rapid evolution of continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs.
A CGM uses a small sensor worn on the body to measure glucose continuously and send the data to a compatible device.
Today, Pablo uses the Dexcom G7.
The Dexcom G7 automatically provides glucose readings every few minutes and gives us much more than a number.
For a pancreas mom, it’s more than technology.
It’s information.
It’s anticipation.
It’s the ability to look at a screen and not just see 143, but understand where that 143 is headed.
Is it stable?
Rising?
Dropping?
Dropping fast?
Do we need to act?
That changed the way we care for Pablo.
Moving from frequent finger sticks to a CGM was one of those moments when we finally felt:
“This really can make life a little easier.”
And the technology continues to improve.
CGMs are becoming smaller, smarter, more connected, and increasingly capable of communicating directly with insulin pumps and other devices.
From Insulin Injections to the Omnipod 5
The next major change for our family was moving from injections to an insulin pump.
And not just any pump.
Pablo uses the Omnipod 5.
The Omnipod 5 is an Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) system that delivers insulin through a small wearable Pod.
Unlike traditional pumps that use tubing, the Pod is worn directly on the body.
But what has impressed us most isn’t simply that it’s a pump.
It’s that it can work together with our CGM.
This is where technology starts to feel like something out of a science-fiction movie.
The Dexcom G7 continuously provides glucose data.
The Omnipod 5 receives that information and uses an algorithm to automatically adjust insulin delivery based on current and predicted glucose levels.
In simple terms:
The CGM watches.
The algorithm interprets.
The Pod delivers.
And together, they help us manage diabetes.
That doesn’t mean diabetes disappears.
It doesn’t mean Pablo forgets about it.
We still count carbs.
We still enter meal information.
We still respond to alarms.
We still change Pods and sensors.
We still make decisions every day.
But the difference is enormous.
Technology now handles part of the work that used to fall entirely on us.
And when you’re managing type 1 diabetes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that difference matters.
A lot.
Technology Gave Us Something Precious: Time
Over the last five years, we’ve also seen an explosion of innovation in automated insulin delivery systems.
The goal behind all of these advancements is surprisingly simple:
Fewer manual decisions. More automation. More time spent living life.
For families like ours, that means something that rarely appears in medical statistics:
Time.
Time to play.
Time to sleep.
Time to travel.
Time for sports.
Time to simply be a kid.
The Challenge Technology Still Hasn't Solved: Cost
It would be impossible to talk about progress in type 1 diabetes without talking about money.
Because these advances are extraordinary.
But they can also be extraordinarily expensive.
CGMs.
Pumps.
Pods.
Insulin.
Test strips.
Glucose meters.
Lancets.
Glucagon.
Adhesives.
Medications.
Doctor appointments.
Everything needed to keep a child safe.
The reality is that access to these technologies still depends heavily on insurance coverage, deductibles, and a family’s financial situation.
And that means innovation does not automatically equal access.
We have seen important progress in affordability efforts across the country.
But huge gaps remain.
Because lowering a list price is one thing.
Making sure every family can actually access the technology and medications they need is something else entirely.
That’s why, for us, learning about health insurance has become part of learning about type 1 diabetes.
Because having access to life-changing technology only matters if families can afford it.
Five Years Later, “Cure” No Longer Sounds Impossible
One of the most exciting areas of research is cell therapy.
The concept is fascinating:
If type 1 diabetes destroys the beta cells that produce insulin, can scientists create new beta cells and return them to the body?
Recent research involving stem cell-derived islet cell therapies suggests that restoring insulin production may be possible.
That is remarkable.
But there is still a major challenge:
The immune system.
If new insulin-producing cells are placed into a person with type 1 diabetes, the immune system may attack those cells as well.
That’s why researchers are working not only on replacing beta cells but also on protecting them.
The Next Frontier: Cells the Immune System Cannot Destroy
Scientists are now exploring ways to create insulin-producing cells that can evade immune attacks.
Others are developing protective encapsulation devices designed to allow glucose and insulin to move through while shielding the transplanted cells from the immune system.
Research organizations such as Breakthrough T1D are helping accelerate these efforts and move promising therapies closer to patients.
The conversation is no longer simply:
“Can we do it?”
Now it is also:
“How do we make it safe, scalable, and available to everyone who needs it?”
And that difference is enormous.
Replacing the Cells That Produce Insulin
One of the most exciting areas of research is cell therapy.
The concept is fascinating:
If type 1 diabetes destroys the beta cells that produce insulin, can scientists create new beta cells and return them to the body?
Recent research involving stem cell-derived islet cell therapies suggests that restoring insulin production may be possible.
That is remarkable.
But there is still a major challenge:
The immune system.
If new insulin-producing cells are placed into a person with type 1 diabetes, the immune system may attack those cells as well.
That’s why researchers are working not only on replacing beta cells but also on protecting them.
The Next Frontier: Cells the Immune System Cannot Destroy
Scientists are now exploring ways to create insulin-producing cells that can evade immune attacks.
Others are developing protective encapsulation devices designed to allow glucose and insulin to move through while shielding the transplanted cells from the immune system.
Research organizations such as Breakthrough T1D are helping accelerate these efforts and move promising therapies closer to patients.
The conversation is no longer simply:
“Can we do it?”
Now it is also:
“How do we make it safe, scalable, and available to everyone who needs it?”
And that difference is enormous.
Another Reason for Hope
In 2023, the FDA approved Lantidra, the first allogeneic pancreatic islet cell therapy approved to treat certain adults with type 1 diabetes who experience repeated episodes of severe hypoglycemia despite intensive diabetes management.
In the clinical studies that supported its approval, some participants were able to go extended periods without needing insulin.
Lantidra is still far from being a cure for everyone.
It requires immunosuppressive therapy and is intended for a very specific group of people.
But it represents something extraordinary:
For the first time, the FDA approved a cell therapy capable of restoring insulin production in certain people living with type 1 diabetes.
That changes the landscape.
For families like ours, it provides something that once felt impossible: proof that restoring the body's ability to produce insulin is no longer just a theory. It's now a real medical achievement.
While Lantidra is not the cure we're all waiting for, it offers a glimpse of what may be possible in the future and reinforces the idea that progress toward a world without type 1 diabetes is happening, one breakthrough at a time.
While We Wait for a Cure, Technology Is Giving Us Time
Perhaps that is the most important part of this story.
Technology has not cured Pablo.
But it has changed his life.
And it has changed ours.
Five years ago, fear was everywhere.
Today, we still have fears.
Of course we do.
Type 1 diabetes does not become easy because you have a CGM or an insulin pump.
But now we have tools.
We have information.
We have algorithms.
We have alarms.
We have data.
We have devices that communicate with one another.
And we have a scientific community working toward something far greater than better treatments.
They are working toward replacing lost cells, protecting them from the immune system, and ultimately eliminating the need for daily insulin therapy.
Five Years Later, Our Hope Has Evolved Too
When I think about that Friday in October 2021, I think about a mom who knew absolutely nothing about type 1 diabetes.
A mom who would have panicked if someone told her she would one day know how to interpret a glucose graph.
Understand trend arrows.
Talk about carb ratios.
Recognize ketones.
Change a sensor.
Manage an insulin pump.
Sleep with one ear tuned to diabetes alarms.
Know which alarm could wait and which required immediate action.
That mom knew none of it.
But she learned.
Because she had to.
Because she loved her son deeply.
Five years later, we are still learning.
But something has changed.
Fear became knowledge.
Uncertainty became experience.
Technology became an ally.
And hope became a mission.
Why I Still Believe in a Cure
Every day, I ask the universe for the day when Pablo no longer needs a CGM.
When he no longer needs a Pod.
When he no longer needs to count carbs.
When he no longer needs insulin.
When diabetes is no longer the last thing we think about before going to sleep.
When he can eat pizza without me mentally calculating what might happen three hours later.
When he can play soccer without me watching a screen.
When he can grow up and one day look back and say:
“I used to have type 1 diabetes.”
I don’t know when that day will come.
No one can promise it.
And it would be irresponsible to say we are two years, five years, or ten years away from a cure.
Science doesn’t work that way.
But it would also be unfair to focus only on what still hasn’t happened and ignore how far we’ve already come.
Because five years ago, we started with a glucose meter, finger sticks, syringes, insulin, and fear.
Today, we have technology that continuously monitors glucose and systems that can automatically adjust insulin delivery.
We have cell therapies that have already reached patients.
We have insulin-producing cells derived from stem cells being studied in humans.
We have researchers working on ways to protect those cells from immune attack.
And we have organizations like Breakthrough T1D helping drive research that could transform the future of this disease.
That is why I volunteer.
Why I speak up.
Why I educate.
Why I fundraise.
Why I tell our story.
Because the cure may not come tomorrow.
But someone has to help build the path toward it.
And if one day Pablo can say:
“I used to have type 1 diabetes,”
I want to be able to look back and know we did everything we could to help bring that day closer.
Five years after that Friday in St. Petersburg, we still do not have a cure.
But we have something we didn’t have then:
Hope grounded in real progress.
And as long as that hope exists, we will keep walking forward.
One breakthrough at a time.
Until there is a cure.
Together, we are stronger.
Pablo wearing the pod
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