The First Use of Insulin was in 1922 and It Has an Amazing Story Behind It!

Imagine a hospital ward filled with young children fighting against a disease with no cure. Where there was nothing anyone could do except pray for a peaceful last breath, until a miracle finally happened. This is the story of the day insulin was first injected to treat children with diabetes, eventually changing the average life expectancy of diabetes diagnosed children from a mere one or two years to 68 years. Although insulin was first isolated by Dr. Frederick G. Banting, Charles H Best, and John MacLeod in 1921, it was not until 1922 that it was made stable enough to be administered. It was first administered to 14-year-old Leonard Thompson who was admitted to Toronto General Hospital with type 1 diabetes. During those days, the only treatment was a starvation diet. Even though he was kept at just a 450-calorie diet, Leonard's blood sugar levels were dangerously high and he was clinging on to his life. After the first insulin injection, his blood sugar level showed just a negligible drop, and he developed an allergic reaction to the treatment. The scientists realized that the insulin they had extracted was not stable and pure enough to be injected. So, they brought in a biochemist, James Collip, who worked tirelessly for the next 12 days to develop a pure insulin extract. On 23 January, 1922, the second clinical trial took place. This time Leonard was injected with the stabilized insulin developed by Collip. In just a time period of 24 hours, his blood sugar level reduced from 28.9 mmol/L to 6.7 mmol/L with no side-effects. The insulin worked! Leonard got well and was strong enough to be discharged from the hospital! With the power of the stabilized insulin on their hands, Banting, Best, and Collip injected insulin to many children who were being admitted in the hospital for diabetes. Many of them were comatose and on the verge of losing their lives, with family members grieving for their inevitable demise. But Banting, Best, and Collip didn't stop. They went from bed to bed injecting the kids with insulin. It is said that by the time they reached the last kid, the first few kids were already out of their diabetic coma and were showing signs of improvement! This was nothing short of a miracle! One by one, all the diabetic children awoke from their fatal comas. A room of sorrow and woe turned into one with joy and hope. It is still hard to believe that at one moment heartbroken mothers were holding their babies' cold hands, and the next moment a doctor was injecting life into them! What a wonderful and miraculous moment that must have been! If you liked this story, do let us know in the comment section. Also, please LIKE, Comment, and Share this video! Sources - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323774.php https://beyondtype1.org/brief-history-insulin/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news_landing_page/first-use-of-insulin-in-treatment-of-diabetes-88-years-ago-today https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20150106/type-1-diabetes-linked-to-lower-life-expectancy-in-study