My parents and I used to high-five one another when we learned that the child of someone very rich had been found to have Type 1 diabetes. We weren’t being mean, just desperate. I was given my diabetes diagnosis in 1987, when I was 9, and the years immediately following were spent fantasizing about a cure. A cure would solve all my problems, the physical, mental and financial strains of having a chronic illness. A cure would require fund-raising for charities that would then be able to sponsor life-changing research. Put more simply, a cure would require money — lots of it.

So, like monsters, my family and I rooted for offspring of the wealthy to join the broken-pancreas club, so that diabetes would become their pet cause and their fancy friends would get involved. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s charity auction would make a killing.

When I was a kid, I was certain there would be an end point to my disease, a day I could check off on my calendar when I’d be free. By the year 2000, I was sure that my pancreas, which had stopped producing insulin , would suddenly restart thanks to modern technology. I was particular. I hoped the cure would not require surgery — injectable was preferred, but something in pill form would be even better. As if I’d have any say in the matter.

There have been some improvements in the management of my diabetes in the past 30 years.

I used to have to put a hanging drop of blood on a strip and then wait three minutes for my bulky glucometer to give me a reading. Now all I need to test my blood sugar is a small pin prick of blood, and in five seconds I have an answer. Different types of insulin work more steadily and are faster acting, allowing more flexibility around mealtimes. Insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors are providing stability and greater freedom for many. There’s still no cure, but I’m actually glad that most researchers don’t talk solely about a cure. Diabetes is no longer centered around it — living well with diabetes is better than wishing to throw money at it and make it go away.