A patient at Heartlands Hospital has received the prestigious ‘Robert Lawrence’ medal from Diabetes UK in recognition of 60 years’ triumph over the condition.

Gillian Tait, aged 77 from Birmingham, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 15 years old.  She currently injects insulin twice a day and estimates that she has injected herself around 45,000 times over her lifetime so far.

Having diabetes has not deterred Gillian from living a full and energetic life.  Over the years, she has enjoyed folk dancing, rambling, gardening, a full-time job as an infant teacher and has continued to advise and support other diabetics. Gillian has also worked hard to raise awareness of the condition through membership of the diabetes association committee.

Gillian said: “Managing my condition is a lot easier now than it was to begin with.  When I was first diagnosed I used to weigh everything I ate and wrote the food values down, but then I got used to being able to judge this for myself.

“When I was diagnosed with diabetes I was told insulin would extend my life by 15 years so I thought I would live until I was thirty years old.  This spurred me on to do everything I wanted in life, so I went to college and trained as a teacher and took up all the hobbies I wanted to do. 

“Now I’m 77 and insulin is my friend – I’m glad to have it and it makes me feel well.  I’ve been very careful and followed all the instructions given by the doctors and nurses to keep me on track, so I’m very proud to have received this medal.  I hope that it gives other diabetics hope that they can live a fulfilling life.  I’m very thankful to Dr Rahim, Dr John and the team at the Heartlands Diabetes Clinic where I have been a patient for many years.”

Diabetes specialist, Dr Reggie John, said: “Gillian has taken good care of her diabetes and is an outstanding example of the fact that diabetics can have a normal life, if the compliance is good.

“Successful control of Gillian’s diabetes should serve as an encouragement not only to her, but to all newly diagnosed diabetics.”

The Robert Lawrence medal is named after Dr Lawrence, one of the first people in the UK to receive insulin when he was diagnosed in the 1920s, and a founding member of the British Diabetic Association, now Diabetes UK. Each year, the medal is awarded to someone who has lived with diabetes for 60 years.