Sunday, January 29, 2017

Living With Two Strikes Against Me


"Strike one," I hollered while filling out my diabetes risk factor assessment yesterday.  It was only the first box on the list – family history of diabetes.  I proceeded to the next item, age greater than 45.  "Strike two," I yelled like an angry umpire.  This time I cringed while the pharmacist on duty slid over to observe the situation.

"Am I out if I get one more strike?  I asked.

"This will all be over in two minutes," the staff member helping me with the test assured.  She pricked me with a needle before counting to three.  It turns out I'm safe, even with two strikes against me.  The A1c level test result was 4.9%.  Anything below 5.6% is considered normal.  I'm sharing this with friends and family because diabetes is a serious issue and it shouldn't be ignored.  Some of your strikes against you may not be within your control, like your age or your family history.  I'm one of the lucky ones.  In fact, my risk assessment sheet once looked more like a winning blackout bingo card than a ticket to a healthy life.  I'm thankful the Caveman Food Experiment gave me a mulligan on all my strikes and a clean slate on a new bingo card.  See your physician annually and be proactive with your health.  Have a great day.

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