My late grandmother had Type 2 Diabetes. For years she was very careful with her sugar intake and had to watch her diet. However, she eventually died of liver cancer at the age of 65.
About 15 years ago dad found out that he had type 2 diabetes too. And then a few years later he sufferred a heart attack. He went through what's known as angio-plasty. However, about 10 years later he had another heart attack. This time he had to go through a quadruple bypass surgery.
Then 10 years ago, my sister, Bridget, developed the type 2 diabetes too. But so far she has not had a heart attack yet. More recently, my brother, Dennis, found out that he too joined the type 2 diabetic club in the family. And more recently still, earlier this year, my step-mother found out that she had type 2 diabetes when she suffered a stroke.
They all have one thing in common—they're all fat. No, they're obese! It saddens me that they don't have any discipline whatsoever when it comes to food. Eat, eat and eat; worry about the repercussions later, that's the attitude.
Unfortunately for me, diabetes is a hereditary disease. A doctor told me that it is almost certain that I will contract the disease sooner or later, depending on my lifestyle and what I do to slow down the process. But I am determined not to get it so soon. I try to keep my body weight in check; I try to make regular visits to the gym; and I try to control my food intake too. But I am after all just human. Sometimes I tend to relax a bit. So I will have to balance off here and there. For example if I eat more, I'll somehow balance that off with a bit more regular visits to the gym.
Apparently, about 150 million people in the world are suffering from disbetes—and about 90% of them are of type 2. That doesn't seem to be a big number against the current world population of 6.7 billion people. It is quite alarming to know that it is estimated that that number will double by 2025. As far as I am concerned, that is very, very soon. Hell, I might be a part of that statistic!
Therefore I am relieved to know that there is hope of a cure over the horizon. I hope such cure will be confirmed and then the procedure perfected during my lifetime. The gastric bypass surgery is not exactly a new procedure. It has been used for the treatement of obesity. But it seems that there is now overwhelming evidence to support its benefits in terms of being a cure for diabetic patients. If indeed there is any truth in this finding, perhaps many of my family members could use this kind of help.
Like I said, I hope this finding will be proven and then perfected during my lifetime, so that when and if I contracted the disease, then I know I have something to fall back to. But I hope I will never need it!
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