Stopping a killer.

YOUR ARTICLE "SUGAR BLUES" IN THE EXECUTIVE HEALTH GUIDE OF THE January 2004 issue was right on. Like Kevin A. Pemberton, who was featured in the piece, this past summer I exhibited all the symptoms he shared: headaches, extreme fatigue, and what looked like a pinwheel of bright colors spinning around in my right eye. However, unlike Pemberton, my glucose level was 800+ and I did fall into a diabetic coma.

I had chalked up my own lethargic feelings to an overflowing work schedule and my move weeks before from New Jersey to South Carolina. Despite my symptoms, the emergency room doctors and the eye specialist I saw days before my lapse into the coma never thought to consider diabetes as the possible culprit, citing fatigue and migraines. And I never thought to ask, even though my father had been a diabetic since his mid-30s. Though the news was not encouraging to my family at all in those first few days, I am a living witness of the power of prayer and medical advances.

Now, despite a still-full work schedule, I am on the mend because I am actively participating in my own wellness by taking my medication and making exercising and eating right a priority. Thank you, BE, for putting that valuable information on this silent killer out to your readers. I am heartened that one of my favorite magazines is not only interested in its readers' fiscal health, but cares about our mental and physical health as well. Keep up the great work!

Wiley M. Woodard

Cross, SC

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