Disasterous Diabetes

The day that *Zack was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, he thought his life was over.  Even his doctor was surprised by the test results.  Zack is not your "typical" diabetic.

He is a very tall and slender man.  And he has never smoked or touched alcohol.  So, why was this happening to him?

Zack has always had one huge problem:  an addiction to sweets.  Even when told that dinner would be in five minutes, he would still insist on having four Keebler elf cookies.  Then, he would eat every morsel of food on his plate and follow it with four more elves.  Not to mention that the dinners he was frequently consuming were often covered in layers of cheese and loaded with carbs. 

As soon as Zack told me the news, I raced to his house for an intervention.  I quickly discarded every sweet in the house (much to the happiness of my co-workers).  He stood sullenly in the corner of the kitchen.

"Well," he sighed.  "There's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm going to sue those elves," he joked.

But, his humor didn't last long.  For some strange reason, Zack felt like an anomaly.  He just knew that he was the only person in the world with diabetes.

I quickly looked to my other best friend, Google, for some answers.  And I was certainly amazed at what I found.  There is actually a website devoted to famous people that have/had diabetes (http://diabeteshealth.com/read/2008/12/17/5681/famous-people-with-diabetes/)!

From actors and scientists, to musicians and pro-athletes.  Needless to say, I went through quite a bit of paper and ink.

I proudly thrust my pile of new found knowledge in Zack's hands.  He glumly accepted my findings and I left him alone to reflect.  It wasn't long before I received a call that went something like this:

"Lauren, guess who had diabetes?"

"Who?"

"Thomas Edison!"

He was finally realizing that he wasn't alone at all.  In fact, he was in good company.

I soon found out about the Step Out Walk hosted by the American Diabetes Association.  I thought that this would be a great event for Zack to go to.  Reading about people having the same disease as you is not the same as seeing a huge group of sympathizers in person.

But, wouldn't you know, Zack wasn't comfortable with telling people about his diabetes. In fact, he wanted to keep it a secret.  This made me incredibly sad.  Zack felt like there was something "wrong" with him.  Like he wasn't the same person any more.  Like he was "diseased."

Why was Zack trying to live the life of a leper?  I pointed out to him that I have hand eczema, which is considered a disease.  But, I don't refuse to leave the house during the winter months (when it tends to flair up).

Having a disease doesn't mean that you are the disease.  And you certainly are not defined by it, either.  You are still the exact same wonderful person that God made you to be.

Zack's tendency was to then focus on all of the things that he couldn't eat any more.  He was choosing to define his life by food.  And there is way more to Zack than just his impressive appetite.

After many talks with family and friends, he decided to begin eating healthy.  And guess what he discovered?  He could still go out to eat!  Many restaurants are now offering low carb options that are super delicious and good for you.  Plus, he rediscovered an old favorite:  salads.

While Zack hasn't fully cleared the hurdle of Acceptance, he has begun to jog into Tolerance.  He has even started wearing a medical alert necklace (under his shirt, of course).  Try as he may, he will never be able to hide one thing:  his true strength.




*name changed