24-02-2025
Diabetes 'medalist' has lived with the disease for 80 years
When he was 10 and newly diagnosed with diabetes, Julian 'Yudi' Rubin and his mother were told he wouldn't live past 30 and wouldn't be able to father children.
He'll be 90 this spring, an occasion he expects to celebrate with his son, his daughter, his six grandchildren and five great-granddaughters.
Defying the odds has been Rubin's lifelong endeavor, one that's earned the New London native and former Waterford resident a string of medals.
Earlier this month, the Boston-based Joslin Diabetes Center recognized him for 'his outstanding lifetime achievement in living courageously with type I diabetes for 80 years.' Five years ago, he was similarly honored with a 75-year medal. Before that, there was the 50-year medal.
Joslin has so far tracked down 36 diabetes survivors who have reached the 80-year milestone, according to John Gauthier, the Joslin researcher who traveled to New Jersey to present Rubin with his latest medal. The presentation was made at the Rockleigh nursing home where Rubin's resided since last year, after he moved to an affiliated assisted-living facility in 2022. His daughter, Amy Kagedan, a special educator, lives in Teaneck, N.J. His son Mitchell lives in Norwich.
Rubin lived on Laurel Crest Drive in Waterford for decades, having grown up on Linden Street in New London.
He attributes his longevity 'to living in the present,' he said last week during a virtual interview.
'And I've lived in a manner I would call 'doing it my way,'' he said. 'As far as the diabetes went, it didn't ruin my life as it does for many. ... I did things a doctor wouldn't recommend.'
When he went to work in the family business, the Ruby Glass Co., in New London, he could have opted to go out on measuring jobs, say, or sit behind a desk. Instead, he chose to work in the shop, on his feet all day, handling huge pieces of glass weighing as much as 200 pounds.
'Because the work was so hard I burned up a lot of the carbohydrates I was eating,' he said. 'I could feel when my blood sugar was rising or falling,' which is crucial for a diabetic taking insulin, a medication that manages blood sugar levels.
'I would get slight cuts from handling raw glass, a no-no for a diabetic, but I wanted to do it my way,' he said.
He worked for 45 years, retiring at age 64.
Rubin said he never considered being diabetic a problem, accepting the condition as 'part of my life.' A doctor who treated him at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London for 18 years is convinced Rubin's attitude has served him well.
'Julian was the embodiment of true self-actualization, whose personality traits helped him deal effectively with his diabetes and other challenges during his life,' Dr. Stephen Quevedo, former director of the Joslin affiliate at L+M, wrote to Kagedan on the occasion of Rubin's receiving the 80-year medal. 'One does not achieve such an incredible milestone without a combination of good fortune and genes, but I truly believe his demeanor played the largest role.
Rubin also benefited from the support of his family and the medical community at a time when little was known about diabetes.
He recalled events that led to his diagnosis in 1945, beginning with his suffering from a virus that sent him to the Mitchell Quarantine Center on Colman Street in New London. Following his discharge, he began experiencing other symptoms at home. He developed an appetite for candy and was 'thirsty all the time' while frequently urinating. At some point, he slipped into a coma.
Dr. Isadore Hendel, the family's doctor, had Rubin's parents take him to L+M, where he was diagnosed and stabilized with insulin.
'L+M saved my dad's life,' Kagedan said. 'But they didn't have the knowledge or infrastructure to teach him how to take care of himself. They sent him to Joslin.'
Enter Rubin's mother, Faye, who stayed with him for two weeks in Boston, studying about type I diabetes as he learned to give himself injections. Later, she advised him to keep three tin foil-wrapped cubes of sugar in his pocket in case he sensed his blood sugar dropping.
Rubin's wife, Dolores, who died in 2019, also was instrumental in his living with diabetes.
'I was married to the most wonderful woman for 64 years,' he said. 'She always had me in the back of her mind. It was very seldom she had to remind me what to do, but in a quiet way she was always there. That's the best way to treat a person who needs special care.'
Gauthier, the Joslin researcher who presented Rubin with his 80-year medal, said studies of the medalists have aided diabetes research. Awareness and treatment of the disease was pretty much nonexistent when, in 1948, Joslin began recognizing people who had been living with diabetes for 25 years.
Joslin began awarding 50-year medals in 1970, and added the 75-year medal in 1996 and the 80-year medal in 2013. Medals have been awarded to recipients in all 50 states and throughout the world, including Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and South America.
More than 6,150 medals have been awarded since 1970, Gauthier said.
'If somebody is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes today, they can have a very positive outlook for the rest of their life,' he said. 'If they get support from doctors and family, they can live a relatively normal life.'
