By Darby Kendall
Farahnaz Joarder, M.D., Darlene Cain Distinguished Scholar of Diabetes Community Collaboration and Innovation, has been seeing Lynn Kauffman to help her manage her type 1 diabetes care for nearly two decades. The two have a strong working relationship that has developed into a friendship over the years, with their check-ins at the OHSU Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Health Center serving as the cornerstone for their connection. In this conversation, they reflect on Lynn’s care and Joarder’s approach to it, along with their mutual respect for one another.
Transcript
Kauffman: Your name was recommended through a pump rep.
Joarder: Oh, I didn’t know that. I was wondering about that.
Kauffman: So I went ahead and pursued it from there. And I’ve just been so thankful that we’ve had the opportunity to be together over these years, because I’ve not been with a doc as long as I’ve been with you, and I feel like we’ve gone below just, ‘How are your numbers and how are you feeling,’ to ‘What’s really going on in life?’ And that, to me, is a gift.
Joarder: The thing is, you were fabulous from the very beginning that we met, in terms of, I never had to worry. It was just sort of getting to know you and being on this journey.
Kauffman: Yeah, yeah, it’s been a journey, hasn’t it?
Joarder: It has been a journey that’s all part of, kind of been this wonderful process of partnership. And I think that’s the word you and I would probably both use is a partnership.
Kauffman: Definitely. I knew that you were seeing beneath the diabetes to the person that I was and the person that I’ve become. And that, for me, is such a rare gift in today’s world, across the board, but let alone with my medical doctor, which had not really been experienced before, just that whole aspect of seeing I’m not a number, I’m not a statistic. I am a person. This is only a part of who I am. It’s not my identity. And that is powerful, more powerful than you know
Joarder: I know you as Lynn. We talk about your diabetes, and we talk about management. We talk about prevention and long-term goals, but I think of you as Lynn. I think the nice, really thing about our partnership is that, Lynn, you accept me for my imperfections and my effort, and that I think I have grown a lot from working with you, and I’ve learned, and it’s helped me do the work that I do better and just be a better person. We share advice with each other all the time.
Kauffman: Yeah, we really do.
Joarder: And we’ve had challenging conversations at times where we might, you know, not be sure how to navigate, but you helped me navigate those too.
Kauffman: It’s always so encouraging, because I come away feeling like, ‘Okay, I can do this some more.’ I can get very focused on elements of my care. I can get driven on the numbers. And you’re like, ‘Lynn, look at the big picture. Look at this.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, oh, thank you.’ Thank you for helping me see the bigger picture, the wider perspective. And you also have helped me to not be afraid to continue to live because this is just a part of who I am. I know that the care that you give me, you give to others, and that, to me, is precious, and I count it as a beautiful gift. So thank you, and thank you for the opportunity of being with you.
Joarder: Thank you.
Patient Care
Patient Care
Discovery | Patient Care
