About the Joy of Diabetes Book
Forward by Dr. Leslie J. Salomone, Endocrinologist
People with diabetes are just like everyone else. At the same time, they are very different. As human beings they experience life’s ups and downs just as all individuals do. However, in living with diabetes the experience of ups and downs is not only figurative but literal. Their blood sugar, a main energy source for the body, fluctuates up and down every minute of every hour of every day as they go through life. In persons without diabetes, the pancreas controls the blood sugar in a tight range by secreting the hormone insulin. This process occurs without any thought on the part of the individual; however, in diabetic patients this process fails. Therefore, diabetic patients must function as an “artificial pancreas” by either taking oral medications, injecting or inhaling insulin or utilizing a combination of both. Because every food and drink choice, every minute of physical activity or lack thereof, any stressor, the sleep cycle, etc. can affect the blood sugar it is easy to see how much more complex the daily life of a person with diabetes can be.
As an Endocrinologist, I specialize in the treatment and care of persons with diabetes. My goal as the practitioner is to provide these individuals with the best tools to manage their diabetes so that thy can experience life’s ups and downs with the least amount of ups and downs in their blood sugar. This is a very dynamic process and can be very challenging. I see a wide variation in the way my patients approach the management of their diabetes, from overt denial and blatant ignorance of the disease to those who master their role as artificial pancreas. I have the privilege of working with the author of this diabetes book, Bob Hawkinson, who happens to be a Master Manager. Having had diabetes since age 1, and now 45 years old, Bob knows what life with diabetes is like and he calls it “Joy”. Although many others have experienced several years of life with diabetes, few have shared it in written form like Bob in his diabetic book, “The Joy of Diabetes.”
Bob defines Joy as the “realization that you can choose to accept your plight, take charge of your life, and maximize your outcome.”
Bob summarizes how he accomplishes this as follows:
- Accepting that you have diabetes
- Developing a better understanding of the disease
- Finding balance in daily life.
- Recognizing a personal responsibility for one’s own health and how this impacts other people.
- Fostering a sense of humor when managing diabetes.