I went to the hospital at five years of age, and I thought to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to die’,”said Cleveland, of Syracuse, New York. He didn’t die. But went on enjoy life to the fullest, pursuing mountain climbing and other outdoor adventures, having a rewarding career as an accountant at General Motors, and raising a family — with his wife, Ruth, 86 — all the while monitoring his blood sugar and taking insulin as needed each day. “He amazes me,”Ruth Cleveland said. “He’s still able to take care of the yard, even drive a 32-foot motor home to Florida — and he does it well.”People like Cleveland—and his older brother Gerald, who is 91, and also has Type 1 diabetes—serve as a reminder on November 14 , World Diabetes Day, that amid the grim statistics lies the notion that a life with diabetes can be active, healthy and without limits. According to the World Health Organization, 3.2 million people worldwide die from diabetes each year and, if improperly managed, the illness can shorten lifespans by an average of 12 years.Type 1 disease usually begins in childhood and is linked to an inability of the insulin-producing cells to do their job. It typically means a lifetime of blood glucose monitoring and insulin supplementation. Most Type 1 diabetics don’t let it overwhelm them, however. “Yes, diabetes is something that you have to deal with, but it’s just another part of your life,”said 73-year-old Alan Lewis, professor emeritus of oceanography at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Lewis was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 69 years ago but has also spent most of his adult life as a competitive swimmer. Experts say a can-do attitude, coupled with steadfast attention to blood sugar monitoring, diet and exercise, are the keys that allow diabetics to live well into their 70s, 80s, and even beyond.Diabetes care has certainly improved since the Clevelands and Lewis were diagnosed as children. Today, high-tech pocket-sized glucose monitors mean quick, easy blood-sugar monitoring is literally at your fingertips. Insulin delivery is also easier than ever. In the 1930s and 1940s, blood sugar could only be tested at home via urine sampling, which provided patients with only a much-delayed look at blood glucose levels. Medical crises—moments when sugar levels dipped so low a coma might result—were common.“It takes a huge commitment to take care of yourself with diabetes, to mind it every day,”said Dr Larry Deeb, immediate past president for medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association. “There’s never a day off.”And yet, most elderly diabetics say that managing their diabetes quickly became routine.“I think I was so focused on what was of interest to me in my life that diabetes was simply something I got used to,”Lewis said. “It became just a hurdle I needed to go through to get someplace.”Indeed, many older diabetics may have lived so long, because “they have turned their diabetes into an asset,”explained Dr Sheri Colberg, a Virginia Beach, exercise physiologist who has done much research on diabetes, longevity and lifestyle.Colberg—a Type 1 diabetic herself —interviewed dozens of diabetic seniors for her book, 50 Secrets of the Longest Living People With Diabetes. “I actually had some people who told me, ‘Diabetes saved my life,’”she said. “They said to themselves, ‘If I don’t do this, I am going to die sooner.’ They used diabetes as an incentive to adopt a healthier lifestyle, better eating patterns. And to stay physically active—every one of them was physically active.”Another key to a long, healthy life with diabetes: the support of loved ones.Ruth Cleveland said her husband initially kept his diabetes a secret from her when they were first courting more than 60 years ago, due to the stigma then attached to the disease. “He claims he was afraid to tell me, afraid that I wouldn’t want to continue seeing him,”she said.Those fears were unfounded. “If anything, it made me appreciate him more and want to be a part of his life,”Ruth said. “Which has turned out to be wonderful.”
