I remember a few months back, I got a call from my doctor’s office about my test results from my blood work.  I heard those words on the other end of the phone that no one truly ever wants to hear: “Mr. Danner, your lab results came back abnormal.  We need you to come in.”

Initially, I wondered if it was cancer or something.  I mean it was not all that dramatic in my mind either; I did not have any flashbacks of my life and did not worry about death or anything.  The only thing I negatively thought about (albeit rather briefly) was not being here to see my son grow and how my wife would handle being a single mother.

Nevertheless, I went back in to the doctor’s office and the nurse practitioner stated that I had Type 2 Diabetes.  Fortunately, she was not that dramatic about it either and neither was I at first hearing confirmation that I had diabetes.  It is not that I do not take it seriously.  On the contrary, it is serious when you have to start taking medicine for an issue.  Although I know that my health was not the best, I am not a dramatic person.  Plus, I knew that it could honestly happen: it runs in my family, I am morbidly obese for my height, and for the past year or so, I had been kicking back soft drinks and ice cream like it was going out of style.

My being diagnosed with diabetes is a consequence for being foolish with my eating habits and lack of exercise.  This diagnosis became a wake-up call no doubt.

I told my wife and she went to work setting up meals for me to eat.  She has kept reminding me that I need to drink more water than anything else.  So, I have definitely increased the amount of water bottles that I ingest during the day.  I do have soft drinks and other juices from time to time, but nothing like I was taking pre-diagnosis.

Now, I am fortunate that I am not insulin-dependent.  But I can easily do that route if I am not more attentive to what I am supposed to be doing with my body.  Before my son was born, it may have not been as a big a deal for me to be a bit more responsible with my health.  Today though, I (and my wife) desire for me to be around for this kid’s formative years if God so wills.  Additionally, I would rather my wife not to have to take care of me now or in old age because of continued bad decisions that I am making today.  It would be rather foolish to continue on living a certain way when that way may end up costing me to be a burden to someone else.  It just would not be fair to her.

Thank goodness that I can honestly say that I have lost about 20 pounds since May.  My wife was glad, I am glad, and my nurse practitioner is proud of me.  I still have a long way to go, but it is actually encouraging that I am losing weight.  Although being disciplined has been a struggle for me, a diagnosis like this opened my eyes to the possibilities of what can happen when you have ill-health because of your own bad decisions.

Well, here is to trying to become more disciplined in how I live, losing weight, and being a healthy example to my son while I still can.