What wakes you at two in the morning, with your mind churning, chasing away all hopes of sleep? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours...
This morning's worry was sparked by a conversation with a colleague. How can I share with a person what I see without offending? Time and time again I meet genuinely talented intelligent people who are clearly ignoring their health. How do I tell them that they remind me of patients I had while working at UCH Long Term Care Hospital; people who were so sick they needed weeks or months of acute care? Names have been blocked from memory but faces and medical histories haunt me... the 56-year old gentleman who ignored his diabetes -over time a gangrenous toe had progressed to a lost leg, then both legs amputated repeatedly until there was only half a man, a bare inch left below his torso with a bed sore so deep it touched bone. He died but I remember him with a wailing sense of grief that this was valuable life cut short -- ugh, horrid pun! There was a woman in her 30's who had a similar medical case. She's still alive but disabled for life. There were other cases yet these are the two who are haunting me tonight.
Earlier today I stood in a buffet line at a meeting. A beautiful yet overweight woman was in line ahead of me. The skin on her bare arms was suggestive of insulin resistance. I watched her add cookies to her overflowing plate and pour a glass of full sugar soft drink. Unbidden came the flash forward of the physical devastation of uncontrolled diabetes. How do I tell people to STOP!!! How do I tell her that those sweet morsels are not worth the pain and lost productivity of poor health? If prediabetes is identified early, it can be cured with simple lifestyle improvements -- steps that all feel good, enhance energy and vitality. It is so doable. I could help if I could only figure out how to talk to her without offending...
My usual approach to a "2am Momemt" is to write out the worrry -- release it and let it go. So I leave my question with the hope that someone else will answer it. How do I start the conversation that could save a life?
I am all about embracing each day as it comes to you...aka: "plan on being surprised". I love working hard and playing harder. I'm constantly trying to evolve my expertise in web marketing and business consulting. For me, there's nothing better than an active day spent with good friends and family.
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