Jimmy Zoad was a man’s man. It’s was his upbringing. A real man didn’t go to the doctor for ever little thing that ailed him. He dealt with the pain and that was that. At least that is what he always told everybody.

That is why Jimmy didn’t seek help with the constant pain in his back and the difficulty getting a urine stream started and having very little output when he did. That is also why he weathered alone with the pain in his right big toe, which had turned a kind of purple. Jimmy marked it up to that time three months ago when he cut his toe one night while going to the bathroom. It never did seem to want to heal.

It wasn’t long, though, before all five toes on his right foot, then the front half of his foot had turned from purple to black and there was a foul odor coming from it. Jimmy took care of it himself, as was his custom. He soaked his foot in Epsom salts for an hour every night just like his father had done for his tired feet.

Several months passed. By then, the whole foot and the leg, too, all the way up to just below the knee had turned black. His urine output was not much better either, dwindling to just a few drops at a time. He had to go quite a few times a day. He was starting to feel lethargic, fatigued, and dizzy. He had trouble concentrating and remembering things. It seems like whole days would go by that he couldn’t remember. But, what concerned him the most was his eyesight. It had been failing for some time. He though it was because of his age. He was in his forties, after all. A lot of his friends had started wearing glasses. But lately, it had been growing even worse.

Finally, Jimmy called his sister to come and take him to the doctor. The doctor was appalled. He admitted him to the hospital immediately. There was no circulation in Jimmy’s right leg. It had died about a week ago. Some of his toes had actually fallen off. So, they had to amputate his leg six inches above the knee to make sure they got all of the gangrene. The plan was to fit him with a prosthesis. But, that was in the future. For now they had to get him stabilized.

They catherized him so they could monitor his urine output. There was very little by now. His kidneys had all but shut down completely. He should have been on kidney dialysis months ago. The poison from his dead leg had entered his blood. He had septicemia. The poor state of his kidneys placed an extra burden on his liver which was working overtime to rid the body of the poison, but to no avail…just too much poison.

Jimmy was there just a day and a half. His sister was there with him, but Jimmy couldn’t see her anymore, the diabetes that had ravished his body so completely, that had overwhelmed his kidneys, his immune system, his brain, and his liver, and cost him his leg, had caused him to go completely blind.

Jimmy fell into a coma and a few hours later, Jimmy Zoad died. The diabetes had killed him. Or maybe, what really killed him was his own refusal to seek medical help which could have saved everything he lost, including his life.

Diabetes is controllable. But, it requires medical help. Don’t try to manage it alone. Make an appointment with your physician and get tested for diabetes. For more information contact the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

Author’s note: Jimmy Zoad is a fictional character, a composite of many patients who have suffered the ravages of uncontrolled diabetes.

Copyright © 2008. Wayne Litchford. All rights reserved.