I’m writing this series amid what feels like the final phases of the worldwide pandemic. To say you have COVID now, for the most, part seems more like a bad cold. There is a small portion of our lives that seemingly is coming back to a “new” normal. In this lifetime, I’m not sure if we will ever go back fully to the normal we had before the pandemic.
This is the second article over about three or four weeks I will share with readers during this month. It is posted to share with readers for three reasons. First, the story of my mother and her sufferings from Type 2 diabetes. Secondly, this series shares what Mother taught us prior to her illness so you can understand her impact. Thirdly, I want you all to understand how Type 2 diabetes overwhelmed her, concluding with how her family learned steps to control and even rid their bodies of this devastating disease. I’m grateful for how it has helped people around the world.
After learning about how Type 2 diabetes is caused, and proven research to show how to control it, now I can help others. Though I’m not a trained physician, I have worked with medical doctors who specialize in endocrinology. The information I share in my column and on my radio show is proven via research, and is verifiable.
First point is, Mother Grant suffered for 12 years from Type 2 diabetes, with major complications as a result of her having had this disease. Christmas Day 2000 was that fateful day that Mother died! My family skipped Christmas for nearly 10 years after her death. However now, my coping switched to angelic Christmas tree ornaments. The majority of my ornaments are crystal angels, in memory of my mother!
Secondly, Mother taught us well! My sisters and I lived together, worked together in business; and now we were going through this battle for life with our mother. Throughout our lives, we had been blessed, becoming successful businesswomen, doing exactly what Mother encouraged us to do.
After an impactful death, you must find a new normal. My lifestyle change was going back to Trinity University to get my master’s degree in the field of communications. When writing my master’s thesis, this story was born. My master’s thesis topic was “How I expected this Type Diabetes campaign to become national” — and it has!
Lastly, please understand how this disease can cause devastation to your body if you do not follow the rules. Mother lost both of her legs to amputations, had kidney failure, high blood pressure and several strokes. At the young age of 61, Mother had her first major stroke that caused paralysis. She ended up in Howard University Hospital, and that’s when they discovered she had Type 2 diabetes.
After learning how to publicize an issue on a massive scale, there was no way I could see the devastation caused in the life of my Mother by Type 2 diabetes, fully understand this disease, and do nothing to share this with others.
We didn’t understand! Could we have done something differently? We didn’t know how an improved diet with extremely limited amounts of sugar and major reductions in eating carbohydrates and getting regular physical exercise could have made a difference in her life. Now that I’ve learned from her doctor, from research, from the National Institutes of Health, from Johns Hopkins and American Diabetes Association and others, I must share this good news with you!
For those of you who refuse to follow the rules, Type 2 diabetes can be associated with serious complications such as losing toes, a foot, legs, eyes, organs and more. Plus, research shows it brings on premature death, as in the case of my mom. On the other hand, people with Type 2 diabetes can turn this thing around by taking measures to reduce the likelihood of having these complications.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
