@lujanluvshugs – I don’t know about a website, but I can tell him what has happened to my husband because of not taking better care of himself and his diabetes.
As a result of uncontrolled blood sugar he has had to have an angioplasty and then a quintuple bypass. He has coronary artery disease still, which must be monitored frequently.
He has lost all the vision in one eye and much of it in the other due to diabetic retinopathy. He can no longer read or drive, but can watch TV now that we have gotten him a 42” screen.
He can no longer feel his feet, which is actually an improvement because while the nerves were being damaged his legs and feet would tingle and burn. He has been hospitalized three times for foot ulcers. He also has reduced blood flow to his hands and feet (peripheral artery disease) which has caused him to loose much of the use of his right hand, and puts him at great risk of gangrene and amputation. In addition, his sense of balance has been damaged so he must use a walker or a wheelchair. He can no longer go upstairs in our house.
His gall bladder became gangrenous and ruptured, putting him in a coma for three weeks. This is a common problem for diabetics.
While his kidneys were struggling to keep working he had repeated bouts of congestive heart failure and was hospitalized. He can no longer sleep lying down, but must sleep in a recliner. His kidneys have now failed completely so he is on dialysis three times a week, four hours each time.
Another effect of kidney failure is loss of appetite. My husband played football at a weight of 265. After football he dropped to 224, where he stayed for many years. In the past year he has gone from 224 to 176, because he has no appetite.
As a result of damage to the nerves controlling his digestive system he developed an intestinal blockage, which caused his potassium level to rise to 7.9 (normal is 3.5–5.0, and 7.9 is considered “a level incompatible with life”), and which resulted in his being hospitalized for 5 days before Christmas.
I just got him back out of the hospital today. They had to do a 2-part surgery to create a fistula where dialysis can be done. Until it heals he has a pair of plastic tubes put into his carotid artery for use by the dialysis machine. This means he has a direct path for bacteria to enter directly into his main circulation. As a result he is no longer allowed to take showers, but only careful sponge baths.
My husband is 67 and will never be able to travel in retirement as he had hoped to do. He may see our daughter graduate from high school this coming June, and he might see our son graduate in 2013. I doubt that he will see our daughter graduate from college, and he certainly will not walk her down the aisle at her wedding.
Print this out for your husband to read and PM me if you want more details. All of his problems are the result of not controlling his blood sugar levels.
On the good side, I now know the floor plans of all the major hospitals in our town, and where is the best place to park at each one depending on whether he is being admitted, has come to the ER by ambulance, or is being discharged. I also know how to give injections, how to do CPR, how to recognize the symptoms of a variety of serious illnesses, and how to keep track of 21 different medications, some of which are once a day, some twice a day, some four times a day, and some as needed.
We also know a lot of nurses, EMTs and doctors by their first names, and always get lots of mail, from insurance, from hospitals, from doctors, and from medical supply companies. I also no longer need a hobby to fill my empty hours because I have none.
Also, the walnut-chicken salad at one hospital’s cafeteria is really terrific. I recommend it.
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