Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BOXED, “B-D YALE, REGULAR POINT”

Date Range From

1963

Date Range To

1980

Materials

CARDBOARD, PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

4

Height

1.25

Length

7

Width

6.25

Description

SQUARE CARDBOARD BOX CONTAINING STAINLESS STEEL HYPODERMIC NEEDLES IN PLASTIC TUBES. VERY GOOD CONDITION OVERALL. .A – BOX LID – BLUE AND WHITE WITH TEXT READING “B-D YALE, ONE DOZEN 25G ½”, REGULAR POINT HYPODERMIC NEEDLES”. TWO LIGHT BLUE PRICE STICKERS IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE LID ARE STAMPED WITH TEXT READING “WOODWARD’S” AND TWO DIFFERENT PRICES. 1.1 X 7 X 6.25 .B – BOX BOTTOM – WHITE CARDBOARD WITH A NUMBER STAMPED IN BLUE INK ON BOTTOM: “37863C”. 1 X 6.8 X 6 .C – NEEDLES – SIX STAINLESS STEEL NEEDLES CLIPPED INTO THREE CLEAR PLASTIC TUBES, POINTED ENDS FACING INWARD, THAT ARE HELD TOGETHER WITH BEADS OF PLASTIC ALONG INNER EDGES. 0.75 X 6.5 X 2.75 .D – NEEDLES – TWO STAINLESS STEEL NEEDLES CLIPPED INTO ONE CLEAR PLASTIC TUBE, POINTED ENDS FACING INWARD. 0.75 X 6.5 X 0.75

Subjects

MEDICAL & DENTAL T&E

Historical Association

HEALTH SERVICES

History

THIS BOX OF HYPODERMIC NEEDLES BELONGED TO THE DONOR, JIM JORDAN, WHO USED THEM AS PART OF HIS TREATMENT FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES FROM THE 1960S THROUGH THE 1980S. ON JULY 14, 2014, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED JORDAN ABOUT HIS PERSONAL HISTORY WITH THE DISEASE AND THE EVOLUTION OF TREATMENT TECHNIQUES OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS. JORDAN SAID: “I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BELLEVUE IN THE CROWSNEST PASS… THEN I MOVED TO CALGARY [IN 1958]. I WORKED THERE FOR APPROXIMATELY A YEAR AND THEN THE ECONOMY CRASHED AND THERE WAS ACTUALLY NO EMPLOYMENT, SO I JOINED THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY FOR THREE YEARS… BEING RELEASED IN JUNE 1963 I RETURNED TO CALGARY AND WENT TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF CALGARY… I WASN’T FEELING TOO WELL. I HAD A COUPLE OF SORES ON MY FOOT SO I WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND HE DID SOME CHECKS ON ME… HE SAYS TO ME “I WANT YOU TO REPORT TO THE HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL THIS AFTERNOON AND WE’LL START DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT FOR WHAT WE CONTEMPLATE IS TYPE 1 DIABETES.”… I WAS ONLY 20 YEARS OLD. IN THOSE DAYS, THE LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR A PERSON DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES WAS APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS, SO, I THOUGHT WELL, I’VE LIVED HALF MY LIFE ALREADY… THINGS IN THE WAY THEY TREATED DIABETES IN THOSE DAYS HAVE REALLY CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY. SO MUCH SO THAT HERE I AM AT AGE 71. I’VE EXCEEDED WHAT THEY TOLD ME WAS MY LIFE EXPECTANCY, AND THAT’S BECAUSE OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THEY MADE IN SUGAR DIABETES CARE OVER THE YEARS.” JORDAN CONTINUED: “WHEN I WAS IN THE HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL, I BEFRIENDED A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS JUST A STUDENT NURSE, AND HER AND I BECAME CLOSE AND DATED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AFTER THAT… SHE WAS ON MY CASE EVERY TIME WE WENT ANYWHERE AND DID ANYTHING. IF I FELL OFF THE WAGON AT ALL [WITH DIET OR TREATMENT] SHE WAS ON MY CASE, AND IT EVENTUALLY GOT THROUGH TO ME WHAT SHE WAS SAYING… SOME OF THE PROBABILITIES OF WHAT COULD OCCUR TO YOU… YOUR KIDNEYS FAILING, YOUR EYES FAILING… I DIDN’T LIKE THE SOUNDS OF THINGS LIKE THAT… I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT IF I WANTED TO LIVE PAST FORTY, I’D BETTER START MAKING SOME OF THESE CHANGES… YOU KNEW THAT IF YOU WENT OUT AT NIGHT AND HAD THAT HAMBURGER AND THAT BEER WITH THE GUYS… YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT… THE TYPES OF INSULIN THEY WERE USING WERE CHANGING, THE AMOUNT OF INSULIN THAT YOU WERE TAKING [AND] THE TIMES YOU WERE TAKING THE INSULINS… THEY WERE REFINING IT SO IT WORKED BETTER… WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN [TO LETHBRIDGE, IN THE 1980S] I WAS TAKING INSULIN ONCE A DAY. I WOULD WAKE IN THE MORNING, AND I WOULD READ TO MY BEDSIDE TABLE, AND THESE SYRINGES AND HYPODERMIC NEEDLES WERE SITTING THERE… PICK UP THE NEEDLES AND TAKE YOUR SHOT… THE GLASS SYRINGES AND STAINLESS STEEL HYPODERMIC NEEDLES BECAME A THING OF THE PAST [BY THE LATE 1980S]. THANK GOD FOR THAT BECAUSE THE NEW STUFF WAS A LOT EASIER TO USE… THEY ARE ANCIENT HISTORY AND I’M SURE IF THEY TRIED TO TREAT SOMEBODY TODAY WITH THOSE TYPE OF THINGS THEY WOULD SAY ‘WHOA, I DON’T LIKE THE LOOKS OF THOSE THINGS’, BECAUSE THEY’RE ALMOST LIKE PUNCHING YOURSELF WITH A TOOTHPICK RATHER THAN A NEEDLE… YOU HAD TO PROCESS THOSE GLASS SYRINGES… I WOULD TAKE THE APART AND PUT THEM IN A BATH OF WATER AND VINEGAR, AND BOIL THEM FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES… IT STERILIZED THEM, BUT IT ALSO KEPT THE SCALE FROM BUILDING UP ON THE PLUNGER OF THE SYRINGE SO THEY WORKED PROPERLY. THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLES… THEY WERE VERY EXPENSIVE… I USED TO USE THEM FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS, AND THEY WOULD GET DULL BY THE END OF TWO WEEKS. THEY WERE ‘OUCH’ TO USE…” WHEN ASKED WHY HE SAVED THE SYRINGES AND NEEDLES LONG AFTER THEY HAD BEEN REPLACED BY NEW MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, JORDAN SAID: “I GUESS THEY SORT OF BECAME LIKE A KEEPSAKE. IN THOSE BOXES IS MY LIFE. IF I DIDN’T HAVE THOSE, I WOULDN’T BE HERE TODAY… AFTER I CHANGED FROM THOSE OLD GIMMICKS TO THE NEWER STYLE, I’D TAKE THEM OUT ABOUT ONCE EVERY SIX MONTHS, AND LOOK AT THEM, AND SAY ‘I SHOULD JUST GET RID OF THOSE THINGS’… IT’S LIKE AN OLD POCKET KNIFE… I’M GOING TO HANG ONTO IT EVEN THOUGH IT’S DULL AND NO LONGER ANY USE… THERE IS A RITUAL. YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING, AND YOU WASH, AND YOU TAKE YOUR SHOTS, AND YOU GO DOWN AND EAT, AND THEN YOU START THE CLOCK TICKING… I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE SEE SOME HISTORY OF THE MEDICAL PROGRESS THAT’S BEEN MADE, IN THIS ONE PARTICULAR AREA… [THESE SYRINGES AND NEEDLES] ARE AN INTERESTING [ARTIFACT] OF HISTORY ABOUT DIABETES, AND HOW IT’S BEEN PROGRESSED AND LOOKED AFTER…” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW.

Catalogue Number

P20140027001

Acquisition Date

2014-07

Collection

Museum

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