So Sad

I received some very sad news last night.  Another one of my mom's cousins passed away too young, and as a direct result of decades of morbid obesity and complications of Type 2 diabetes.  This cousin was 70 and his heart finally gave out.  He lost a leg due to diabetes several years ago and had been in and out of the hospital for the past three years as doctors fought to save his other leg.  He always thought of himself as a picky eater and wasn't cooperative even in the hospital as they tried to monitor his food intake; his wife would smuggle in his favorite foods, the very foods that were killing him.

As I've attended funeral after funeral, I've talked to family members about this program and they all know my own story and my own history with Type 2 diabetes.  I talked to his wife at length about our program (she is morbidly obese and needs a walker because her legs and ankles won't support her weight), but to no avail.  This couple have been pretty much housebound for the past few years, needing in-home help, starting in their mid to late 60's.  All because they weren't willing to change how and what they eat.  How sad!

It breaks my heart that family members are living such compromised lives due to dialysis, amputations, etc. and dying early due to complications of their Type 2 diabetes which was brought on, at least in part, by obesity.  It doesn't have to be this way!  It shouldn't be this way!

If they'd known 20 or 30 years ago how things would turn out, I wonder if it would have been enough to motivate them to change.

The problem is, we don't have a crystal ball and we can't see into the future.  Many of us have spent years pretending that the statistics don't apply to us and believing that somehow we'll be one of the lucky ones to escape the odds.  That was pretty much my attitude until a blood test in September of 2005 revealed Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high triglycerides.  That was a very sobering day for me as I realized that two decades of morbid obesity had finally caught up with me.  Because of my family history, I had only to look around at family members dealing with complications of Type 2 diabetes to realize that that's where I was heading.  That scared me to death!  By losing weight and permanently changing my lifestyle, I changed my health future.  Losing 126 pounds - and keeping it off - has kept my blood sugar and cholesterol at healthy levels for over 3 years. 

We can't see into the future, but study after study shows a correlation between being overweight/obese and an increased risk for a variety of health issues, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Making the decision today to take control of our health and develop a healthier lifestyle will impact our health decades from now in ways we may not fully comprehend.

It's too late for my cousin, but it's not too late for you.  Thank God that you have a chance to redirect your health future, depending on the choices you make today.  Choose wisely :-)