We're Not Alone

I went to a local Health Fest yesterday. It really covered the waterfront. The hundreds of community residents (like me) who were milling around from table to table could pick up information on nutrition; health care programs; medicaid, medicare, and insurance options; and all manner of possible ailments. I saw welcoming faces behind table after table willing and able to discuss all kinds of complicated and delicate matters. Are you at risk for a stroke? What are the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease? Just how germ-y are your hands? And on and on and on.

Folks were having their blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, and eye sight checked. They were getting flu shots. They were having mammograms done. They were being tested for HIV. And yes, they were were being tested for diabetes.

Just for the record, I came through like a champ. At 5'6" and 136 pounds, my Body Mass Index is a healthy 22 (in the normal range). And my exercise regimen (rigorous and four to five times per week) will help to ward off strokes. My blood pressure was a little bit high (138/70) because I was all hyped up trying to make people aware of my book on managing diabetes, Your Life Isn't Over ~ It May Have Just Begun! But overall, I was satisfied.

I gave a book to the doctor who seemed to be the ringmaster of the event, a woman with the kind of energy that just screams how much she cares. And I made a new connection with a young Black woman who has opened a family health clinic with a particular focus on diabetes. She's a Doctor of Phamacology and Certified Diabetic Educator, but more to the point, she is obviously deeply committed to reaching out into the community and saving the lives of people with my condition. We agreed to meet for lunch soon to figure out how we might work together to more effectively fulfill our shared mission.

It's good that I met her because this fight against a disease that's probably affecting a third of the population of the United States in one way or the other now is not gonna be beaten by one woman with a book. In fact, when I got home and went online, I discovered Jim Turner, (see above) a man who's fighting diabetes in yet another way -- through humor. He tells the truth and he's funny and he's been living with diabetes for more than forty years. What a relief it is to know I'm not alone. And neither are you.