Inventions for Stability: Insulin The usage of medical inventions over the past hundred years have shown how much they have become an absolute necessity in the medical community. The introduction of new medicinal inventions, such as insulin, protect people from near fatal compromises and the risks included with life saving operations. The invention of insulin has been one of the most beneficial parts of my life and others around me. The diagnosis of type II diabetes is prominent in my family and I have seen the results that insulin-based medicines have given to my grandparents, great grandparents, and my great uncle. Many of these grim diagnoses came around the age of 50 following high A1C test levels. Around the age of 55, my great grandmother, Julia, was diagnosed with type II inventions. This diagnosis was caught while doing an A1C test during her yearly lab tests. This diagnosis was depressing following the loss of her father who had died from a massive heart attack caused by his extreme diabetes at the age of 69. While there had been other ways of diagnosing diabetes, the commonly used A1C test had not been common practice until 1977. The commonality of type II diabetes had warranted a newer way to diagnose diabetics quickly and to discover a cure. Julia’s diagnosis had been caught late and had already caused damage in her kidneys and had caused diabetic neuropathy and peripheral artery disease in her feet. These damages caused her to lose all of her toes and to go on kidney dialysis for six years, starting at the age of 78. The high blood sugars had caused her kidneys to stop filtering blood properly and allowed waste to build up throughout her body. After these damages had been properly dealt with, Julia managed her diabetes well by maintaining a healthy diet and checking her blood levels often. The diagnosis process of type II diabetes as well as the emphasis on discovering methods of managing and potentially curing the disease resulted in many people not having to face the fear of death people had previously felt. At the age of 49, my great uncle, Jim, faced his diagnosis of type II diabetes. This diagnosis changed his life by creating the necessity of pricking his finger three times a day to test his blood sugar levels. The differences in routine were expected following the diabetes that had run in the family, but were difficult to implement in his bustling lifestyle. Without constant testing, Jim’s diabetes became uncontrollable. After Jim’s constant lack of testing, his blood sugar levels continued increasing to over 500 milligrams per deciliter-- an average blood sugar level is around 70-100. These high blood sugar levels caused a major heart attack, and doctors were surprised he made it through. His heart attack was followed by open heart surgery to correct the ongoing damage that his diabetes had caused. Following these operations, Jim had to continue managing his diabetes by giving himself insulin shots into his abdomen thrice daily. A seemingly simple diagnosis had nearly turned fatal. Had insulin not been invented, Jim could have lost his life. The diagnosis of diabetes continues to severely impact lives daily. Living a life full of restrictions and reductions of quality of life is the reality for many who live with type II diabetes. Throughout all of the complications and medicines, the impact of such a diagnosis cannot be completely stopped, but being equipped with medicines such as insulin can greatly reduce the fatalities this disease can cause.