March is Women’s History Month, a memorial that’s necessary because traditionally, women never made into history books, despite their indelible impact on so many different fields. Diabetes is no exception! From physicians to actors to scientists to athletes, women have been a huge force in improving the care of diabetes and how people perceive this condition. So today, we’ve chosen to highlight three of those women: Dr. Priscilla White, Eva Saxl and Helen Murray Free. Not only did they make huge accomplishments for diabetes, they also made great strides for Womankind.
Dr. Priscilla White
Who among us isn’t familiar with the renowned endocrinologist Dr. Elliot Joslin, founder of the world-famous diabetes institution The Joslin Center and the namesake for Camp Joslin for Boys? But you might not have heard of Dr. Priscilla White. In 1923, just a year after after insulin was invented, she graduated third in her class from Tufts University Medical School, years before Harvard Medical School even accepted women. Dr. White was the youngest founding member of The Joslin Center and one of the first people to treat children with diabetes. Along with Dr. Joslin, she also was a founding member of the Clara Barton Camp.
While she spent much of her time treating children with diabetes, she was personally passionate about diabetes and pregnancy. Women today owe a lot to Dr. White for the research and techniques she developed. Dr. White discovered that women with diabetes who delivered a month early would often have better success than those who delivered at full-term, because babies of diabetic women were often very large and could die during the birthing process.
When Dr. White started work at Joslin, the success rate for diabetic pregnancy was only 54%. By the time she retired in the 1980s, it was over 90%! Under Dr. White’s supervision, over 2,200 babies were successfully delivered. Now that sounds like someone I would want on my diabetes team!
Her achievements were well-known in her time, and Dr. White was highly respected by the diabetes community. She was the first woman awarded the Banting Medal, the American Diabetes Associations highest medical award.
Eva Saxl
Eva Saxl’s story of overcoming adversity to save the lives of hundreds is remarkable and inspirational. Eva Saxl and her husband escaped Czechoslovakia during World War II and fled to China. While in China, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Japan, however, occupied China and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the occupation tightened and all pharmacies were closed. Without life-saving insulin, Eva relied on black market insulin, but soon even that was running out. So Eva and her husband Victor decided to make “homemade” insulin, using the same technique Banting and Best used on dogs, only this time they used rabbits.
Eva wasn’t the only type 1 diabetic affected by the lack of insulin. Living in a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai, many others were also in dire need of insulin; Eva and Victor managed to make enough insulin from 1941 until 1945 to save the lives of 200 people. Miraculously, no one died from tainted insulin.
Amazing, amazing resolve. You can also watch Eva’s story on dLifeTV.
Helen Murray Free
Originally intending to become a teacher, Helen Murray Free changed her major to chemistry after World War II began and men were enlisted to serve in the army. After graduating from college, Helen went to work for Miles Laboratories (now part of Bayer), where she met her husband, Albert Free. Along with her husband, Helen worked to develop urinalysis testing.
Helen’s own achievement was in Clinistix, the home urinalysis test that allowed patients to dip a strip into urine to get an instant test for the presence of glucose. This was the first time people with diabetes were able to monitor their blood sugar levels (albeit imperfectly) at home, and away from the lab. It was truly the beginning of patient-driven diabetes management.
A salute to all the women (past, present and future) who have made a difference in the lives of people with diabetes! We literally could not live without you…
I had the pleaure of meeting Helen Free when I worked at Bayer. She maintained an office on the campus, still. She is a remarkable woman and her work was so pioneering, really getting us on the road to “self”-management. Thanks, Helen!
Thanks for the history lessons! Pretty amazing stories, plus now I finally understand the dramatic tension from the movie, “Steel Magnolias”.
Fair Winds,
Mike
This is so cool. Thanks for this awesome post! I am in awe of these women and others who have worked so hard to improve the life of PWD, in addition to keeping us alive. Much gratitude.
Ah! I went to Clara Barton Camp in 1990-1993. Memorieeeeees! Yay Priscilla White! That was such a fun post to read on the women of diabetes–thank you so much. The Clara Barton Camp for girls with diabtes and the Joslin camp for boys with diabetes (right down the road) had mixed co-ed dances that were a total riot–there were counselors with testing supplies and glucose and crackers set up every couple of feet around the dance floor to catch us as we fell =) I wonder how many diabetic love stories were spawned from dual lows after dancing to Bon Jovi?!
NOW I know why my brother and I (b.1946 & ’51) were “by appointment.” I’ve wondered….
Two additional women who are heroes in the history of diabetes are Dr. Mary Olney and and Dr. Ellen Simpson. They founded the first camp for diabetic children west of the Mississippi. These two women doctors from the University of California, San Francisco provided thousands of diabetic kids their first camp opportunity while redefining diabetes management to focus on the whole child.
Goodness, that’s unbelievable! How on earth can anyone produce home made insulin? I’m gonna have to Google that one this afternoon! Having only been a Type 1 diabetic for 7 years and finding out late in life (age 27) I am aware of how lucky I’ve been when it comes to treating diabetes. It really wasnt that long ago when things where an awful lot harder… this is something I remind myself when having a bad day, it could be worst. I now have something else to be thankful for, that I dont need to produce my own medication! Thanks for the article, fascinating stuff, we really do take a lot for granted these days…
Dr. Priscilla White was my mother’s doctor at Joslin, for many years. She was her doctor when she gave birth to me and my 3 siblings, as a diabetic. My mother died a few years ago in her 80′s, and after almost 70 years as a diabetic. Dr.While became my doctor, too, when I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 10 years old. When I was young, the whole family usually took the long trip to Boston so we could visit Dr. White – once or twice a year. We usually went with big jugs of urine and notebooks filled with notes and records. She always had an encouraging word and was interested in what I was doing.
I volunteered at the. Diabetic camp run. By. Dr. Lonely during. WW ll
The. Best. Time. Of. My. Life