I'm diabetic, as we know, a development post-transplant due to lovely transplant drugs. Woohoo!No, it is not the Biggest Thrill in my life to poke myself with needles, but it doesn't hurt, it's not The End of the World, and I can Deal With It.
But then you've got people like the ones in this article, and I start thinking, 'how about a little personal responsibility, here?'
If you're a kid (or an adult) and you've got Type 1 diabetes, there's not a whole lot you can do to prevent it. It just happens. Type II, while it may just "happen", also is dependent on lifestyle factors. And I will admit, that before tx, I was not really into exercise. I knew it was beneficial. I knew it would help my PFTs, etc. But I had such a hard time keeping on weight that the idea of exercising, which would cause me to lose weight (since I never really had an appetite, ever), didn't make sense to me. So I fought it. Yes, bad patient Emily.
But when the mom says:
Zarate encourages Richard to take care of himself, but "trying to get him to eat vegetables takes an act of God and Congress."
Nor is he much for sports. "He's a video-game nut. I say, 'You want to sign up for basketball?' He'll say no." Her sister tries to get him to walk around the apartment building, "and he complains the whole time."
I want to scream, DON'T BUY THEM! You are the parent! You have the control of the money here! If the kid can't play them, then he has no choice but to walk or go outside or whatever. I guess he could just lump around and whine, but that would get old, real fast, wouldn't it? And as for food--don't buy junk! If you only buy healthy stuff, he'll HAVE TO EAT IT, or go hungry, and no kid will go hungry. Come on!
Whatever happened to taking responsibility for our health choices? Huh?
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