A Celebration of Professorships in the University of Michigan Medical School

May 13, 2004
Michigan League, Ann Arbor

Remarks of Dee Brehm

I was a student at EMU as Dr. Lichter said and I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I was sent to the University of Michigan Hospital and fortunately, Dr. Jerry Conn, who was chief of endocrinology took me on as a private patient. So when I was a senior and was engaged, he asked me to bring Bill in so that he could consult with us about what we might be looking at in the future. Bill came with me. I think Dr. Conn wanted to be sure that Bill knew what he was getting into. Fifty-four years ago when I was diagnosed the care of diabetics was pretty crude. We didn't have the tools we have now. So Dr. Conn told Bill (and my mother) four things that he should be aware of: first, that we wouldn't have children probably, that I would have complications, that my life span would be shortened, and that this was a disease that I would have for all of my life. Well, in those first years, before we had glucagon available or a blood glucose meter, we had the usual frantic flights to the hospital in the middle of the night and hospitalizations with low blood sugar and high blood sugar. Just two days ago Bill said to me, “I have a number that you might be interested in.” Since he is a mathematician, I usually pay attention to his numbers. So he said you have injected insulin 100,000 times in the fifty-four years. Since I have had a blood glucose meter, I have punctured my finger 53,000 times. So, those are the difficult parts of it, but there is some good. One thing is we have two children, six grandchildren. He said you probably won't get to the expected life span. Well, I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm creeping up on it. Then he said there'd be complications. Well, so far so good. No complications. So we are grateful for that. And then the last thing that he told me was that this would be a disease for all of my life. Well, when it came to a part of our life where we could help, perhaps with finding a cure for diabetes, we came back to the University of Michigan where it all started. We are delighted to have Peter Arvan in the Chair with his expert technology and research, and with all of the researchers all over the world looking for a cure.

Dr. Lichter said we all have a dream. Our dream is to help with finding a cure for diabetes. We are so delighted to have Peter and the other researchers around the world who are spending their lives looking for that cure. When the breakthrough comes, it would be wonderful if it was at Michigan. So what we're hoping for is that some day I can say Dr. Conn was wrong. I am not going to have this disease for all of my life.