Frederick G Banting was a pioneer in medical history. He shaped the way that all diabetics can act, and live. He was known at the time as 'the man who achieved the impossible', and to me and millions of others, he will be known as 'the man who saved us.' Before he made his incredible discovery, diabetes was a death sentence. Those who lived past a few years were thought to be amazing. Their lifestyle consisting of foods with no carbohydrates and lots of exercise. Many would slowly starve or die of dangerously high blood-sugar-levels (BGL). He received a Nobel Prize for his efforts and was even honored with a knighting from King George V in 1934 and since then was known to the world as Sir Frederick G Banting. 

 

 

I was lucky to have so many reliable sources that I could use to study the great achievements of Frederick G Banting. Since there are so many organizations for diabetes that continued his legacy, and they all had a history page, some of these were very useful sources. Also, as he was awarded a Nobel Prize, their official website made a very detailed article on the man who discovered insulin for the world. Some of the information was difficult to find, especially when finding answers to the 10 questions, but for the most part, my research was very successful while finding information. 

 

 

When Frederick G Banting was in the army during WWI, he served for the Canadian Army Medical Corps, this probably would have been a great experience as it would have further extended his knowledge of medicine and medical procedures. During this time, he was forced to operate on his own arm, otherwise he might have lost his arm. After succeeding, he earned himself a great demonstration of dignity, medical ability, and most of all, he earned himself a Military Cross for 'Heroism under fire'. Satisfied with his efforts in the army, he changed to the more predictable and less strict job of studying medicine in a lab. 

 

 

As a child Frederick G Banting was quite a normal child – a normal education for the time, a normal house, normal everything. He had a childhood friend that was diagnosed with diabetes and soon after, he passed away. This is one of the main reasons that he wanted to study insulin. He wanted all people to be able to live freely. While looking into insulin, he became more and more determined to find a cure or treatment to diabetes. He and his fellow scientists were faced with many different challenges on their road to making a breakthrough. Although despite what you might think, they were heavily aided with the work of Naunyn, Minkowski, and a few others. They weren't successful in finding a treatment as Banting was, but they did a lot of research that led Banting in the right direction to discover insulin. If not for this, he and his fellow scientists might not have discovered it in the first place. 

 

 

Frederick G Banting was extremely lucky in his books as a child, this is because, he didn't have a condition or disease that hampered him in any way. This is, as I said before, the main reason that he decided to look into diabetes. It was his passion, and motivation to make sure that people should not be hampered just because of the condition that they have, that all people should be equal. He thought that people's lives shouldn't rest in the hands of what they were given that they should be able to shape their own future.  

 

 

As we already know, almost all determined scientists would work tirelessly to achieve what they are trying to discover, and this is no exception for Frederick G Banting. He would have barely rested for the 3 years that it took him to supervise and work for the discovery of insulin, from the first bits of research, to when it was produced worldwide in May 1922. He knew that so many lives lay in the hands of himself and that he couldn’t - or wouldn't let them down when he had made a promise to himself and the ones he was trying to save from the notorious killer – diabetes. How could he live with himself? Giving up on the population of diabetics, and the thousands of hours that he would have put in to get to this stage, only to stop, it all for nothing. This is what kept the man going, beyond what was known of diabetes, beyond yield. 

 

 

Sir Frederick G Banting was a rather humorless person in his time, but in his age this certainly wasn't abnormal. He was often totally focused on achieving one thing and one thing only as we can see from the example of insulin. Nothing would stop him once he had his goals set, he would relentlessly labor until it was finished to his high standard. In the case of insulin, he supervised the first mass production of the substance as not to let any discrepancy occur. Despite this, however, there are photos of Banting and his partners in science enjoying themselves like regular men, not ones that have achieved a great feat that many would not even come close to matching. 

 

 

Most people would have some way that they could connect to any given notable person. But I can easily say, that if it were not for my notable, I wouldn't be here. Yes, I am a diabetic, and if this piece has told you anything it's should be that Frederick G Banting discovered insulin and how to extract it. As insulin is the only known treatment even today that is able to treat diabetes, it saved me. I, to this day, rely on insulin on a daily basis. I constantly have to treat myself with the substance. It's not ideal as there is a lot of work that goes into maintaining everything, but it still saves my life every day. This is why I chose Frederick G Banting and why he is a hero to me. He saved my life and millions of others, and if there was one thing I could tell him, it would be a 'thank you' on behalf of the millions of lives he has saved and of course mine.  

 

 

If this piece hasn't shown you that Frederick G Banting was notable than I haven't done my job properly. Frederick G Banting was literally a life saver, he saved millions in the space of a few years, before this time, they would have had a death sentence. He would have given thousands of young people a reason to push to the limits and would also serve as someone to look up to as the man who achieved the impossible. I hope that I have showed you that Frederick G Banting truly is notable and can be looked up to as a man who achieved many great things. He didn't do anything for the fame, for himself, for his family, no, he did it for the ones who needed it. "Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world". 

- Sir Frederick G Banting 

 

Thank you, 

- Connor