Jeremy Robertson is the first Australian commercial pilot flying while living with type 1 diabetes. The road to get here has been long and difficult.

Before his diagnosis, Jeremy was an accomplished commercial pilot flying for Qantas for nine years.

“Overnight I went from flying throughout Europe, the US, south-east Asia and north America to nothing. I spent the first half of my career as a second officer on the 747’s on long haul international routes, before being promoted to first officer on domestic capital cities and to south-east Asia.”

Jeremy was attending a training course in California to convert his Australian pilot’s license to an American one when he got the news.

“The diagnosis immediately invalidated all of my pilot’s licenses. Not only could I not finish the course, when I came back to Australia, I no longer had a job. Every pilot’s license I had worked for was revoked because of my diagnosis.”

It was also a busy time in Jeremy’s personal life, just weeks out from getting married.

“To have this uncertainty thrown in at the same time was hard, a new diagnosis, job loss, loss of a career and financial instability. All I could do was put one foot in front of another.”

Jeremy focused on getting his ultra-light license back up and running, the only license he was allowed under Australian flying regulations with a diabetes diagnosis.

“That was a giant relief. Even if nothing else changed, on a sunny day I could still hop in a little plane and go up and have some fun.”

Jeremy also decided to finish an engineering degree he had started while working at Qantas. He soon worked out engineering wasn’t the profession for him and went on to become a medical doctor.

Working part-time as a junior doctor, Jeremy also started flying for a sky diving company.

“I resigned myself to never being able to pilot a commercial plane again.”

But he soon realised Canada and the UK allowed commercial pilots living with type 1 diabetes to fly, so he set about changing Australia’s regulations.

“In 2017 I put in a submission to lift the ban on people with type 1 diabetes not allowed to pilot commercial planes. It was approved last year, and I became the first person with type 1 diabetes to hold a class 1 medical, which means I can fly commercially again.”

Jeremy now divides his time between being an aviation medical doctor that services country New South Wales as well as a flying instructor.

“Losing my career was devastating but finding a new professional passion and getting myself to a point where I can incorporate both professional interests in one career while making a difference to people’s lives has been rewarding.”

The long-term goal is to return to a major airline company working in the medical department and flying.

Jeremy says insulin has made his career and life possible.

“The life expectancy of someone diagnosed with diabetes was just months before insulin. New insulin treatments allow me to fine tune what I need to give me flexibility in my life. It is an amazing invention.”

He wants people to consider donating to research to help find a cure.

“We are getting very good at treating and managing diabetes in all its form, but there is still no breakthrough in terms of preventing it in the first place or curing the disease after diagnosis. Any donation would be great to help find a cure.”