Despair, Hope, and the Innovator's Dilemma
A little over a year ago, our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes , a lifelong chronic condition that requires she receive four or more daily injections of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is distinct from the much more prevelant type 2 diabetes, in that with type 2 diabetes, the beta cells in the pancreas still produce insulin -- but the body is not efficient at using it. With type 1 diabetes, however, the pancreas no longer has working beta cells with which to produce insulin. And they're not coming back. People living with type 1 diabetes need injected insulin to survive, and there's currently just no getting around that fact. We've since joined a number of support networks, and two related topics come up over and over again: cost, and cure. The current state of affairs introduces some despair -- the costs are high and there is no cure. My family spends about $1500 per month to manage our daughter's care (including insurance premiums) - just to keep her alive. Th