Wake Up Call

About a month ago, Ben's dentist told him that he was concerned about some bone loss in his jaw which required 3 teeth to be pulled.  He recommended that Ben visit his doctor to look into the possibility that he has diabetes.  He wasn't exhibiting any other signs but his mom has diabetes, so he made an appointment with the doctor and borrowed a blood sugar monitor from his mom.  We were shocked to find that his blood sugar was all over the place - one time as high as 599 (that's bad).  The doctor confirmed that he does have it, and prescribed medication.  He said Ben was a heart attack waiting to happen.  Yikes!

So we're suddenly feeling our mortality...it had to happen eventually.  But Ben's dedication to managing his blood sugar has been admirable.  He's been doing a lot of reading, has completely changed his diet, and is walking daily.  He monitors his blood sugar and keeps track of it on a spreadsheet.  The good news is that the doctor ran all kinds of tests and it looks like he has normal function in all of his organs that could have been damaged by long-term uncontrolled diabetes.  

The other good news is that Ben's new healthy habits will have an effect on the whole family and could change the way the kids eat and exercise.  And Annie may finally learn to walk on a leash.
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