American Diabetes Association: My Mom's Story

My Mom's Story
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
By: Susana Rosende

My Mom's Story

Diabetes has affected me personally, as my maternal grandparents, several of my uncles and aunts, and my mother, were all diagnosed with the disease. In the last few years, my father has also been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

My mom was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2 at the age of 37. Diabetes ravaged her health, causing her to lose sight in one eye, as well as to suffer toe amputations. While still in her 50s, my mom suffered kidney damage and loss of sensation in her feet so that she had trouble walking and was forced to stop driving.

Over the years, I witnessed my mom go from being an active, full-of-life housewife, mother of five, and grandmother of 10, to being too tired and breathless to do her own housework, and having her independence severely limited by being unable to walk or stand for longer than short bursts of time, and finally, being unable to drive.

By age 60, my mom was on Oxygen. Last year, after battling Diabetes for over 25 years, my mom passed away from Congestive Heart Failure at age 63. (Heart failure is a silent killer of diabetics, as there are often no advance warning signs or symptoms.)

Diabetes limited and shortened my mom's life, curtailing my parent's dreams of traveling when dad retires, and preventing the youngest grandchildren from truly getting to know the loving person that she was. My youngest sister will never have my mom help her with her wedding some day, or even know any children she may have. My mom even missed her college graduation. We have have not only lost our mom, but our best friend.