Diabetes Awareness Month: A personal post.

by

Many thanks to Jenny for writing and sharing the below.

On any given day, you’d hear my dad say “UnbeLIEVEable!” at least 3 times. He said it like Chandler Bing a la “Friends”- with great emphasis on one syllable.  Now that he’s gone, it’s a private (Well, maybe not anymore!) joke between my brother and I (that and his excessive use of the word “shmuck!”).  What I’d like to share with you, readers of the lovely Mizfit’s blog, is how UNBELIEVABLE my dad was- emphasis on every syllable.

This month is National Diabetes awareness month- a cause that is extremely dear to my heart because I lost my dad 2 years ago after his lifelong struggle with this disease.

He was diagnosed with Juvenile Type I diabetes at the age of 12 after suffering from an acute insulin reaction.  He never let it stop him from living his life, though- he was an all-star baseball player, track star, a karate black belt, in the ROTC and holy cow- was he amazing with his hands.  The man could build anything- kitchen cabinets, fine woodwork, a car engine, etc.  He was smart, too- brilliant at math and history.

What he didn’t do, however, was take very good care of his diabetes.  My parents divorced when I was 11 and it wasn’t until I was 15 that I saw him again.  By that time his health had already started to decline.  He had lost the rest of his hearing, as well. Over the next 7 years he’d lose his sight, end up in a wheelchair due to a muscular dystrophy- like disease, go into kidney failure and essentially become a shell of the man he was.  Whenever we were together, he’d ask me to give him his shots.  I hated to do it, but I did it anyway, and he’d feign great pain Every.Single.Time.  He’d scrunch up his face like I’d grievously wounded him and then just as quickly, he’d smile, laugh and say, “Just kidding!”

When I was little, we’d play a game every night where he’d trace letters on my back and spell out words.  When I got the call that he was starting to really lose his sight, I told his then-girlfriend about our game.  She called me the next day and told me that she’d started to trace out my name on his back and while he was confused at first, he starting to tear up because he remembered.  That was the primary form of communication for the last 2 years of his life.

Determined to find another way, he was learning Morse code, so that someday he’d be able to communicate with greater ease and the help of an aide.  We’d spend hours practicing.  He’d poke fun of himself when he made a mistake, but he never gave up hope that he’d be able to rejoin society a more independent person.

The last time I saw my dad outside of a hospital, my brother and I were visiting.  He started telling us one funny stories, delighted that we were roaring with laughter so loudly that he could hear us.  He told us about his bad boy days and his most profound life experiences.  It is one of my dearest memories.  I remember laying my head on his knee so that he could feel me shake with laughter.  And he laughed, too, delighted to be causing so much joy.  THAT is how I choose to remember my dad.  Not the constant doctor’s appointments, the frustration of his diabetes, or the battering that his body took.  I remember my dad as a beacon of hope- someone with an indomitable spirit who never completely lost his faith that somehow, everything would work out, even when the odds were so badly stacked against him.

Two years ago, he went into cardiac arrest at dialysis and slipped into a coma, brain dead.  He was 49 and I was 22.  My brother and I knew what he would’ve wanted.  They later told my brother and I that he had been fighting the paramedics who were trying to help him- and that was my dad.  He was a fighter who refused to give up hope.  There was not a day that I was with him that he did not try (and always succeed, mind you!) to make me laugh or to make fun of himself or show me that although he’d been dealt one of the most unspeakably horrible hands, he was still going on and still hoping.

I cannot change how it turned out, but I sometimes wonder how things would have worked out if he had taken better care of himself.

In a country where obesity is rampant and eating habits are worse than ever, diabetes is increasing in alarming numbers.  The CDC reports that as of 2007, 23.6 million people—7.8% of the population— have diabetes; 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007.

National Diabetes awareness month is EXTREMELY important for every single one of us and I urge everyone to educate themselves on this serious disease and take good care of yourself- you get one body and one life.  I made a promise to my dad that I would take care of my body.  So I’m doing it- for him and for me.

You can click here to learn more about Diabetes Awareness Month.

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. I’m in tears reading this. My dad has Type 2 diabetes, and has waited too long to start taking care of himself. He has a lot of conditions now that are the result of his diabetes, and at the beginning of this year, he had a mild heart attack. I live 7,000 miles away from my parents at the moment, and I worry about him so much!

    At one point, my weight was so high that I knew I was destined for diabetes too. But now I eat healthy, exercise regularly, get plenty of rest and have lost over 120 lbs, so my getting diabetes is no longer an inevitability.

  2. Thank you, Jenny, for sharing your story. It blew me away. Both my parents have diabetes (type II) so this is a time close to my heart as well.

  3. Wow – this is powerful. As Mizfit knows, Diabetes is one of the biggest reasons I finally got my tail in gear regarding weight loss and fitness. While I was facing type II, not type I, the ramifications are very similar. Thank you for the reminder.

  4. VERY powerful post. My mom has diabetes and recently lost sight in one eye. Scares the crap out of me because I had gestational diabetes. It is the driving force of why i eat well and move my body.

  5. such an amazing post huh? All month Ill have stories and experiences from people whose lives have been touch by diabetes.

    Im so appreciative that people would share.
    On a different note Im here in the dark and cold in Casa Miz.
    Getting it rectified today (byebye bank account :)) but no blog visiting this morning for me.

    feel free to shoutout to yourselves here for all to see 🙂

  6. Wow Jenny – this is the side of diabetes you don’t often hear. So often it’s “I have diabetes and I’m on insulin, or trying to get it under control.”

    Thank you for sharing your story, and I’m so sorry for your loss.

  12. This is heart breaking. And somehow heart-mending too. Thanks for telling your story, Jenny. You’ve brought tears to my eyes and have brought the issue that much closer to home.

  15. That is a moving story and a good reminder. Prediabetes induced me to start my blog and finally lose weight. My dad has Type 2 but he takes it very seriously and has done well for the most part. As a nurse I see the effects when it is not taken seriously– I have wrapped quite a few stumps in my day. Unfortunately, even when patients are compliant, I’ve seen hypo reactions from the medication when they get sick and can’t eat, etc. Not something to be taken lightly.

  16. Thank you for sharing your story…it brought tears to my eyes.

    I have watched complications of diabetes claim the lives of two grandparents and now my uncle is struggling as well. I was next in line with the way I had been going until I changed the way I was taking care of myself.

  17. Such a touching story! Thanks for sharing it!

    My mother and father both have Type II. Dad can manage his mostly through diet, but Mom’s is a bit different. Last year she started experiencing the debilitating effects of diabetic neuropathy, and it robbed her of so much LIFE.

  18. Thanks for your story Jenny!

    Diabetes is a huge part of my life as well. My little brother was diagnosed with Juvinile diabetes at about the age of 12 as well. After watching my dad’s sitster loose toes, feet, and eventually her life to the disease we all know how important awareness is.

    My mom also used to have Type II diabetes. She since has lost 150 pounds and it no longer presents a problem.

    Luckily I don’t have either types but I still am very congnizant of my blood sugar levels and eat as healthfully as possible!

  19. being a type ii diabetic myself, November is an important month for me as well. it’s at epidemic proportions and society needs to get a grip on their health and wellbeing.

  21. Jenny, thank you so much for sharing this story. Real, intelligent people get diabetes, and yet don’t have the ability to conquer it. My dad has type 2 and also has various serious health problems from it, including being legally blind. Almost 10 years ago, he said he was giving up, he couldn’t get his blood sugar under control. I asked around (I am a nurse) and found out there was such a thing as a ‘clinical diabetic educator.’ I told him to get to one immediately, and it has vastly improved his life. Its so frustrating to me that his primary doctor wouldn’t have prescribed this for him long before this crisis point.

    Anyway Jenny, sometimes I am sad and frustrated that my dad has this. But now I feel selfish. I still have my dad, and you lost your amazing dad at such a young age. I am so sorry.

  23. This touched me. As someone who was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in my 30s, I struggle to keep it in check. Thanks for reminding me and making me realize why that is so important. Thanks for sharing!

  24. I am Type II due to my obesity and I do insulin shots. I am adopted so I do not know if it runs in my family. With my weight loss (53 lbs. or 16%) I have been able to decrease the dosage by 70% and plan to be off the shots completely in 2010.

    Thanks for sharing your story and helping with awareness!

  26. Jenny, what a beautiful tribute. I’ve come back to it several times during the day.

    I’m sorry that you lost your dad at such a young age (for both of you). I have type 2 diabetes, and I work hard to take care of it. This was a good reminder for me of how devastating the consequences will be if I don’t, and not just for me. Thank you so much!

  27. Jenny, thank you for sharing your story. I am so sorry you lost your father to diabetes, especially at such a young age.
    Miz thank you for all that you do to help, support and educate people.

  28. It takes alot to put your personal life out there for everyone to see but by doing that someone may take better care of their health. I have a friend and his brother was diagnosed with diabetes who has almost died twice through not following the program to keep his diabetes in check. I am glad you are educating people to this deadly disease and i am hoping all who have diabetes will keep it in check by following their treatment guidelines.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This