Just a Glimpse

I went to the park this afternoon to do my usual exercise. The weather was very good and accommodating. Although the heat of the sun was glaring hard, the soft breeze coming from the north, facing Passaic river, neutralized the heat. I saw a number of people, mostly elderly, walking around the park with the usual ease and momentum. Some of them, with portable chairs, just sat together under the trees, reading newspapers, or conversing with one another. A number of cars were parked at some corners, and I saw some men taking a nap inside their cars. What a nice day to relax, if not a good place to take some rest and find some respite.

I started my exercise regimen by riding my bike around the park. I started slow, then with gradual speed. I rode my bike around the park five times without slowing down or letting up. I felt a little tired and weak in the beginning. After a while, however, I gained some momentum, and my strength was becoming steady. While exercising, there were times when I wanted to slow down and stop and simply take a rest. But, my determination to exercise has kept me going. I didn’t want to be lax with my exercise regimen. This is something I have and must do. I have to put it in my head that in order for me to regulate my blood sugar, I need to watch my diet and do exercise regularly. There is no other way. Diet and exercise, as I was told, are the keys to my success in my battle against diabetes.

After the fifth lap, I slowed down my bike and went to take some drinks from inside my car. An elderly lady, who parked her car near mine, came out from her car when she saw me. She said hello and then we started engaging in some conversations. She told me that she just came out from work and she went to the park to relax. Gauging from the uniform she was wearing, she must have been working in some hospital or medical institution. After she said hello, she immediately said that she could never ride a bike like I did. Well, looking at her physique, she was a big lady. So I was not surprised at all when she said that she could never ride a bike. Our conversation started off with exercising and the need to care of our health. “Health is wealth,” she said. Then she mentioned about her friend who is filthy rich and yet she is dying of brain tumor. “What good is our riches if we are not healthy,” she added. I nodded my head in affirmation. Then she asked me if I had been going to the park and exercising regularly. Yes, I told her. I had been exercising quite religiously since I was diagnosed with diabetes more than two months ago. Then she mentioned to me that she too had diabetes. It had been seven years ago since she was diagnosed with the same illness. She warned me about the complications of diabetes. “It’s a silent killer,” she said. Then she was ranting off about the effects of diabetes, and how this sickness can kill people. I stood there listening to her as if I didn’t know anything about this sickness. What surprised me was, she was telling me all these negative things about diabetes and yet she herself, according to what she was telling me, was apparently not taking care of herself too. She said to me that she was eating all that she wanted to eat. “I am now sixty two years old and I really don’t care anymore,” she said. I said to myself, this woman was warning me about the complications of diabetes, if not regulated, and yet she was not taking care of herself as she should. What an irony that was.

Before I started my car and headed home, I stopped for a while and reflected about my exchanges with this woman. I know that there are people out there, who may be suffering the same sickness as I am, but who take their sickness so lightly. The woman was right when she said that this sickness is a silent killer. Therefore, we cannot be complacent on our guard, or take this lightly. And much worse, to think that we can just do anything we want as before, especially in terms of not watching our diet and not exercising. Some reason out, ‘we take our medications regularly so there should not be any problem.’ But this is exactly the problem. For me, this could be the worse attitude we may have. If you are afflicted with this sickness, and you continue the same path as you used to tread on before you were diagnosed—I can bet that sooner or later you will find yourself in a position where there is nothing left but regrets.

I left the park with a heavy heart for this woman. I know that I am in the same boat as she was. The only difference between us is that –I know what I am treading on, and I intend to do everything possible, not only to be well informed about this sickness but also to do what are necessary to treat this illness and keep them.