As both of my readers know, I've been a Type 1 diabetic (the type that even nonfatties get) since the smooth and supple age of 15, and though the diagnosis was terrifying at the time, addicted as I was to Little Debbies and Froot Loops, I slowly came to accept that I would be giving myself 4 insulin shots a day and pricking my finger between 5 and 10 times a day, depending on how paranoid I was about my blood sugar levels. And, yeah, sure, I've had a few frightening insulin reactions in my time, incidents that scared the bejeezus out of my parents, friends, and, one time, customers at a table I was waiting on. But overall, diabetes is now just a part of who I am, like being tall or liking dudes or having the smooth, hairless chest of a porn star. I stay active, bike to work every day, keep my sugar levels under control, and see a doctor regularly. In short, diabetes is now--and has been for 20 years now--just a part of my daily routine.
But sometimes the media can be really helpful in jolting a guy out of his complacency and forcing him to realize the threat he lives under EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY. In a kindly article entitled "Diabetes: Underrated, Insidious and Deadly" in the New York Times Health section yesterday, Tara Parker-Pope lays out the ugly truth about this disease that, if one is not careful, can eat one from the inside out and turn one into a crazed, friendless, depressed, legless, brain-craving zombie. Here is my favorite quote:
“It is a disease that does have the ability to eat you alive,” said Dr. John B. Buse, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who is the diabetes association’s president for medicine and science. “It can be just awful — it’s almost unimaginable how bad it can be.”
Hmm. Maybe I won't have that deep-fried chocolate covered hamburger for lunch today after all. I want to at least live through the long weekend.
2 comments:
Tara Parker-Pope. What a name. I bet she's hot.
I'll still love you as an amputee.
xo,
k
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