Medtronic: Rock ’n’ Roll Dad’s New Music Inspired by Son’s Diagnosis

Ralph Winkler has written a lot of music, but he never imagined one of his most popular songs would be inspired by one of the worst days for his family.

Ralph, 58, who lives in Heerlen, Netherlands, remembers the day in 2023 when he and his wife, Angeles rushed their teenage son, Mikk, to the hospital and first heard about Mikk’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

He describes the next few days as a roller coaster ride. The whole family was inundated with information as they learned from hospital staff how to manage blood sugar levels and taught Mikk how to inject himself with insulin.

“It started to hit him very hard, and he started to think, ‘why me?’” recalled Ralph. “We wanted to be able to take the burden from him, so we told him we would handle this together.”

As his family struggled with Mikk’s new medical reality, Ralph began writing music to express his emotions as a father. The resulting song, Wind Underneath Your Wings, is a tribute to his son’s bravery and the fear many parents experience when their child is confronted with a medical problem they are powerless to stop.

Today, Wind Underneath Your Wings is one of Ralph’s most-streamed songs — played more than 18,000 times on Spotify. In fact, the song was so warmly received in their local diabetes community that Mikk and Angeles established the Winkler Wings Foundation. Proceeds from the song go toward the organization’s mission to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and funds to support those living with the condition.

The foundation hosted its first benefit festival in November, raising more than €4,000.00 to benefit the organization Diabetes+ in The Netherlands.

Today, Mikk is thriving, thanks partly to his Medtronic MiniMed^TM 780G insulin pump, which automatically adjusts his insulin levels to help manage his blood sugar. Mikk jokingly refers to the device as his best friend. “It’s really changing my life,” said Mikk. “I feel very free. I can do way more. I can go out more.”

The device also brings peace of mind for his parents, and it’s brought Ralph an extra sense of pride in his day-to-day job working for Medtronic. Ralph helps translate user manuals, including one for the same technology that helps his son.

“This experience forced me to look at my work through the lens of a patient, and it’s easier to see how our colleagues at Medtronic are making an impact on the lives of people around the world,” said Ralph.

Learn more about Medtronic here.

MiniMed™ 780G System is for type 1 ages 7 and over. Prescription required. WARNING: Do not use SmartGuard™ feature for people who require less than 8 units or more than 250 units of insulin/day. For full safety information, see https://bit.ly/780gRisks