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An Ancient Puzzle Unsolved

My sister has lived with type one diabetes since she was nine years old. One day, like any

other, when we arrived at school in Panama, I did not know that she would end up leaving early.

I was unaware of the circumstances for my young mind and understanding. I only remember

walking towards my mother's car in a hurry to get an answer concerning my sister. As my mother

drove, the tension in the air became agonizing and on top of that the absolute silence, no reply,

and deep breathing sighs made it more disturbing until we arrived at a building two stories high

which I was able to identify as a hospital because of the big red cross. After stepping through the

door a strong essence entered my nostrils, bringing a nauseating smell of disinfectant as we

walked through the hallways. Dizzy, I enter, a cold whitish room, dead with no vitality became

until the unexpected moment when I saw my sister leaning on the bed with cables attached to her

delicate wrist. She was awake, pale as paper, but still smiling. From what I heard, my sister's

glucose level was sky-high, which is why the doctor made her stay for ten days to examine and

evaluate her sugar levels. While she stayed at the hospital at age 9, I age 6 had to stay at home

under the watchful eye of my older sister, Kadeem. Because of the situation, my mother slept and

lived in the hospital and would only come at night to see me. After the long days and nights, a

new beginning began to rise as my sister’s happiness grew more and more because of her

willingness and power to control the disease that took hold of her. The first few days out of the

hospital were stable, but then the big worry was how to afford the future expenses. As a family of

six at that time, we knew diabetes like any disease is not cheap. Medical care of both emotionally

and financially due to the medical expenses and the necessary food. As my sister goes through

this I have always wondered what is the future for low-income families with diabetes. So with

my interest and close relationship to diabetes, my question is: What is the progress of and future
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outlook for juvenile type one diabetes?