Patricia Silverstein: Dreaming of a Cure for Diabetes

Patricia Silverstein is a woman on a mission — and that mission is to cure diabetes. Or, as is said on the Diabetes Research Institute website, “We want to turn the lights out.”

Silverstein co-hosts the Hamptons Garden Gala, a major fundraiser, along with her husband, Roger. This year’s event was in early August their Water Mill home. The two also co-founded the Silverstein Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports groundbreaking medical research for the Diabetes Research Institute and National Jewish Health.

The DRI Foundation, headquartered in Florida, operates a regional development office in New York. It was created for one reason, to find a cure for diabetes. The goal of all involved is to become obsolete. Patricia Silverstein, Roger and other like-minded individuals work to provide DRI with the necessary funding to research and find that cure.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that diabetes is considered an epidemic in the United States, affecting 11.6% of the population, or 38.4 million people, in 2021. This includes 29.7 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes, and an estimated 8.7 million who are undiagnosed. The percentage of adults with diabetes increases with age, reaching 29.2 percent among those 65 and older.

Of these numbers, 352,000 children and adolescents younger than age 20 years — or 35 per 10,000 U.S. youths — have been diagnosed with diabetes as of May 2024. Additionally, 97.6 million American adults have prediabetes.

While some may see these statistics as alarming and even a little demoralizing, for Patricia Silverstein, it causes her to feel that tomorrow is not soon enough to cure diabetes. She believes that with hard work, vigilance and funding, there will be a cure. The Silverstein Dream Foundation is the organization of choice for those who are serious, passionate and committed to advocate for diabetes cure and prevention. Its mission is to provide the Diabetes Research Institute with the funding necessary to cure diabetes now.

This mission on its own is extraordinary, but when you consider all the other tasks she has laid out for herself, you can’t help but be impressed. Silverstein is an author, health coach, philanthropist and businesswoman.

“My motivation is seeing how the impossible becomes possible,” says Silverstein, a business coach with experience in high-pressure corporate environments. “Through my own journey of self-development, I came to the conclusion that ‘the impossible’ is achievable for everyone. The key to success is finding the willpower and motivation that will keep you focused and moving toward your goal.”

What happened in her life three years ago could easily have broken her, and it would have broken many. Instead, it drove her to find her passion. Three years ago, she received a call from her younger sister, Laura, who lives in Barcelona. Laura has had type 1 diabetes for 26 years, since age 6. When she got that call from Laura, she could hear the fear in her voice, After visiting numerous doctors, Laura was diagnosed with retinopathy — and neuropathy.

Retinopathy affects the eyes and causes blindness. Neuropathy affects the nerves on the legs and arms and especially her feet, where she could develop ulcers and had risk of infection and amputation. Lastly, she had developed kidney disease, and her kidney function was decreasing rapidly.

“I had no idea that I was about to receive the biggest gift and the greatest knowledge about our human condition,” Silverstein recalls of that devastating news. “In that moment my whole world stopped, and all I could think is that my younger sister, who I love very much, was not going to live much longer. I felt a tremendous amount of fear and asked myself how is this even possible.”

Silverstein had only recently moved to New York, but the thought of her sister alone dealing with this crisis could have paralyzed Silverstein. Instead, it galvanized her.

“I decided I was going to do everything in my power to alleviate her condition,” Silverstein remembers.

Despite her own fears, Silverstein researched and found the best research doctor on diabetes and immunology in the country, and he proposed a new stem cell therapy infusion that would regenerate her kidney tissue and improve diabetes complications. Silverstein started her first fundraiser and Laura traveled to the United States for the pilot trial. Despite all her efforts, they lived in constant fear of what could happen.

“I realized that all our life had been ruled by fear, since she was a little girl,” Silverstein says. “She was programmed to believe she was a sick girl and she would get worse overtime, and that was exactly what was happening to her.”

While the treatment helped with her diabetes complications, her kidneys could not be saved, Silverstein says. Laura went on dialysis as she awaited a transplant. Silverstein suddenly understood that what they believed was what they attracted. Instead, she began to believe that they did have the power to change things.

“I started doing a specific meditation every morning where I will visualize a movie with my sister being healthy, happy and full of life,” says Silverstein, who meditated for two months before suggesting Laura do the same.

Silverstein says despite her kidneys worsening, Laura felt strong and healthy in her heart and mind, so much so that when in seven months a new kidney and pancreas were found, she could tolerate the surgery. Laura is not just better, she’s using her psychotherapy skills to help others with severe illness. Silverstein devotes time to finding a cure.

“This process has also created a program that works with the government to implement new laws for mandatory pediatric screening, to detect who and what type of children could develop diabetes,” Silverstein says. “The process launched the Silverstein Dream Foundation, an organization with the unique purpose to improve our healthcare system, and support the research of new treatments, so we can bring the cures sitting at our labs to our patients’ beds. This process was not easy but this process changed our lives forever. And one thing is sure now, we won’t ever give up on our dreams.”

For more information visit silversteindreamfoundation.com

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.