Diabetes and Me

By: Christina Acevedo

I am not a diabetic but diabetes affects me every day.

“Christy, can you bring me my insulin from the fridge,” is my mother Nilda’s daily request to me. My mother has been diagnosed with Diabetes Type II for as long as I can remember. Diabetes, a chronic disease where the body isn’t able to regulate levels of sugar, is a growing epidemic. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, it continues to affect 700,000 New Yorkers. Many diabetics struggle to control their blood sugar, as well as cholesterol and blood pressure to prevent any further health complications. My mother not only has diabetes, but also high blood pressure and she’s overweight.

Seeing my mother’s struggles has led me to change my lifestyle to help prevent me from getting diabetes. Discovering that diabetes is more common among Hispanics, my ethnicity, also terrified me. Once I understood that a person who has a close family member diagnosed with the disease has a higher risk of developing Type II diabetes, motivated to change my eating habits for good.

I live at home with my mother, who goes from eating healthy one day to cooking fried chicken for dinner the next, so it’s not always easy. At times, I find myself struggling to find a snack that’s healthy from the packs of cookies and hostess cakes piled on top of one another in my kitchen cabinet. I decided to buy separate groceries for myself that included an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and foods that were low in fat, and salt. This also allowed me to worry less about what my mother was cooking for dinner; I would determine what I would eat. I also had to separate myself from a long- time friend named Pepsi. I replaced him with water and juices that I learned would never betray me.

            I also became more active. I began running the Williamsburg Bridge once a week with my boyfriend. That later turned into three days a week; the beautiful view of lower Manhattan inspired me. I also signed up for Lucille Roberts™ because I knew it would help boost my self-confidence as well as contribute to my healthier lifestyle.

            I sympathize with my mother and her struggle to maintain a healthier lifestyle. I know it’s difficult. However, I want to live and enjoy life as much as possible. Every now and then my mother comes along and says to me, “Christy, do you want a piece of cake?” Although, there’s something inside of me that just wants to shove that cake into my mouth, I tell her “no thank you, I’ll just have some fruit.”