A Lifetime of Good Diabetes Control

A Lifetime of Good Diabetes Control

A LIFETIME OF GOOD DIABETES CONTROL

by Ed Bryant

Last issue, we brought
you the story of an infant with insulin-dependent diabetes. Today, we go to
the other extreme.
Jerry Seidel is 80 years old. He has
had type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes, for almost 56 years, since 1942! And
although some folks still believe diabetes inevitably means a traumatized and
shortened life, he is living proof to the contrary.
"I was diagnosed around 1942,"
he says. "I was in the service, in basic training, going on the usual hikes
and whatnot. I would have to stop by every tree, and drink from everyone's canteens."
"Finally, my eyes started to get
blurry, and I was getting run down, so I went on sick call," he told me.
"They had two young doctors there, and they said: 'you look pretty run
down and pretty beat up,' so I told them I was a little tired. They told me
to go over to the PX and drink some malts!"
Jerry's unit was shipped to another
camp. On the train, he tried to eat a Hershey bar, and could not. The next morning,
he couldn't get up: DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis, from the sustained high blood
sugar. He was 25 years old.
He was immediately placed on insulin,
and sent home.
"I was going with my wife then;
we weren't married yet," he told me. "I called her up, and told her
I was coming home, because I had diabetes. She thought that was the greatest
thing that had ever happened!"
Back home in Columbia, Missouri, Jerry
found a good doctor, who taught him the importance of a healthy diet. Then he
and Kathryn learned diabetic meal planning together. He is still very conscientious
about food, as he has observed a clear link between poor dietary habits and
complications, such as diabetic foot disease. "I've seen more guys lose
feet, and die before they should," he says, "just because they won't
watch what they eat. One guy wouldn't stop eating fast food hamburgers..."
I asked him how he was doing now.
"I've got all my feet, and my eyes
are working well. No kidney problems. The only medicine I take is my insulin,
and though I've had a couple of heart attacks, I've recovered, taking only aspirin."
(He also works out in a cardiac rehab program three times a week.)
I found that what sets Jerry apart is
his motivation. There are plenty of people who do not take care of themselves--but
he does. As he says:
If you want to keep your feet, live
a few years longer, and be in good shape, you have to do a few things. They
are not easy: Diet, watch what you eat, and never miss an insulin shot. These
are the main things, and a lot of people can help you with this.
I made up my mind, that by watching
what I eat I could keep my feet. I know a lot of people, friends and such, who
don't watch their diet. Someone will tell me "Joe passed away; he was a
diabetic, and never watched what he ate..."
As Jerry puts it: "You've got a
choice--good hamburgers, and other things you shouldn't be eating, or you've
got your feet. It's not easy, but with a little effort..."
Of course Jerry has mastered the skills
of good self-management. He tests often, and takes at least 3 insulin shots
a day, adjusting his dosages on a "sliding scale."
For those who lack motivation to follow
good self-management, Jerry has a suggestion: Visit a wound clinic. There, as
he says, you will find a lot of folks with unhealed wounds and lesions from
diabetes. Some will be facing amputation. "Go see what happens when they
don't watch their diet and medication," he suggests.
Jerry has not let diabetes run his life.
He took control early, learned what he needed to do (he is still learning, he
told me), and then kept with it. As he says, it's not easy, but he has done
the right things. His reward has been a long and full life, and the opportunity
to raise his family (his daughter is 47, and his son will soon be 50). He is
a positive example for all of us.