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When I was eight or nine my grandma would come and stay with us for a while. Every morning my sister and I watched her do her ritual. She would take a huge syringe and draw medicine from a big bottle. She would lower the syringe to to her skin and insert the big, long needle into her thigh. Scared and curious at the same, we squinted our eyes as the needle went into her flesh.
At that time we didn't know why she was injecting herself. To us it was amusing to watch her poke herself with the needle. That's all. Then through the years I watched my other grandmother and my parents do the same thing.
It didn't occur to me that I had a high risk of becoming a diabetic. Pretty soon my turn came. I became a gestational diabetic when I was 28 and pregnant. I remember the day when the doctor told me I had diabetes and need to take insulin injections during pregnancy. I sat down with a disposable syringe, filled it with insulin and cried until I realized I had no choice but to gather the courage to inject myself.
I refused to acknowledge the fact that there was no escape for me. I am a diabetic even though my doctor assured me that I could avoid becoming a chronic diabetic by exercise and eating healthy. After my son was born I exercised myself to death and lost 48 pounds. I didn't have to take medicine for another six years. I was happy.
In 1995, I was diagnosed with diabetes again and it stayed for good. I was in denial for almost six years after that. Somehow I thought if I ignored the fact it will go away. So I ignored. I was on medication and pretty soon I started taking insulin. Since I took insulin, I ate anything that came in front of me.
In 2004 I was diagnosed with diabetic induced coronary artery disease with one of my major heart vessels 95 percent blocked. I underwent angioplasty and stent placement at the age of 44.
Now, every day I try to exercise and watch what I eat. I tell my children to do the same because they have over 50 percent chance of becoming diabetics. I warn them not to eat too many carbohydrates. I only cook with canola oil. I haven't used coconut powder or products in foods.
I researched the prevalence of diabetes in India. I found that three out of every four indians have type 2 diabeties. In recent years, India adapted to western fast foods so much so that the number of diabetics triple folded. Currently, India is the diabetic capital of the world.
Despite the campaigns and the medical advancements every street corner is buzzing with foods that are rich in fats, carbohydrates and sugary products. More than 90 percent of the Indian diet is based on simple carbohydrates which are the major contributors to chronic diabetes.
In India, there are no parks I know of and children's lives are centered around television and eating. Studying is so heavily enforced by parents that physical activity falls to the wayside.
Now, life is a constant struggle. I dream of a day when I don't have to take any medicine. I would do anything for just one day without medication. If only my parents educated me on the risks of being a diabetic and took preventative measures I wouldn't be in this mess.
When I see so many of my fellow Indians throw away their precious health in the name of momentary pleasures I am struck with sadness and helplessness. My heart tells me that I need to do something to help people understand the short term and long term complications diabetes. I want to be an example. I want to beg people to save themselves and their children from this pandemic. We are at war with this vicious disease. I hope for all of us to win this war as an entity. Let us not fall prey to this villain because of ignorance. Lets take control of our own choices and life because our life matters.
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