American Diabetes Association: I WAS IN DENIAL

I WAS IN DENIAL
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
By: Amanda Castro

I am hispanic and hardly ever got sick...

I am a hispanic and hardly ever got sick. But when we moved from Los Angeles to Georgia I encountered myself so lonely with no other relatives but my husband and my kids. I missed my son and other relatives and friends and started gaining weight. I thought that it was because I was home sick. One day my neighbor who lives across the street whom I had known since moving to the neighborhood invited me to a health fair at her clinic. I thought "Oh! This is just going to be a waste of time for me and my family." Well, the day came and I completely forgot about it, but she insisted that we come and so I said I do not feel like coming then she said it will be healthy if you get a physical done for free so I said okay and we will be there in 20 minutes. The doctors were very nice to even see us because we were the last ones to get there, and then I started doing the eye test exam, feet, blood pressure and urine test. To my surprise, when they got the results the nurse said that one of the doctors would like to see you. The doctor said "Do you know that your sugar level is 250?" I went cold and she said I should come see her on Monday. So, I went and got tested and there I was with diabetes. I wonder if I had missed that health fair where I would be right now. I keep my sugar under control and thank that neighbor for insisting I go. Now her little girl was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and we just help each other out. I think this will be a great cause for me. I love my family and want to be there for every event in their life.