Almost a year ago I lost the most important person in my life to diabetes, my dad and best friend. My dad, a Type1 diabetic for nearly 35 years, passed away unexpectedly on the morning of May 30th 2010 from a massive heart attack. This is why I care about diabetes prevention and research funding and why I am determined to put a stop to diabetes.
The majority of the population is unaware that diabetes is more than just a disease that hinders a body from producing insulin. The disease also has the ability to increase an individual’s chance of developing various other complications. Although my dad tried very hard never let his girls see the true pain he was in, we noticed, and it was truly heartbreaking to witness him deteriorate at such a rapid pace. My sister, mom and I watched my dad suffer every day for the past five or six years with many different complications that stemmed from the diabetes. It started with dad developing peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage that causes pain, numbness and/or weakness in your feet and hands. As the neuropathy worsened, dad had a hard time feeling his feet, thus stubbing his toes were not uncommon. Since he was unable to feel pain in his feet, a small infection that had gone unnoticed rapidly turned into a staph infection, leading to the amputation of his large toe. He had developed retinopathy and lost vision in his left eye and most recently developed gastro paresis, a type of neuropathy in which food is delayed from leaving the stomach, making it very difficult to monitor his blood glucose levels. These are just a few of the many things that Dad experienced from being a diabetic, he was only 54 years old.
As previously stated, the majority of the population is unaware about the additional complications caused by diabetes. Which is why I think it is imperative that funding for research and prevention be granted.
