I had a friend — “had” being the operative word — who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was in his twenties. It wasn’t a surprising diagnosis. Both his father and his mother were diabetic. I didn’t meet Ronald until he was in his fifties. We were both members of the same club, and even though there was a large difference in our ages, we became friends.

Ronald was a happy-go-lucky kind of fellow. He was fun to be around and always had a smile for everybody. Ronald simply refused to be burdened with the restrictions of Type 1 diabetes. He was determined to live life on his own terms. He wouldn’t stick to a diet. He refused to test his blood on a regular basis. He did what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it.

Ronald died a few months ago. He lived to be almost 62. Those last few years were rough, though. His kidneys failed, and he was on dialysis. He lost most of the sight in both eyes. He was legally blind. He had one leg amputated above the knee. He developed heart disease, and his heart grew weaker and weaker. In short, life was painful, and…well, life sucked!

Ronald would probably still be here today if he had respected his disease and accepted responsibility for taking care of himself.

The thing about diabetes — both Type 1 and Type 2 — is that neither one of them are fatal diseases. Nobody dies of diabetes. People die because of the complications caused by diabetes. Diabetes is often listed on death certificates as an “underlying factor.”

Diabetics are faced with the choice of testing regularly, eating a healthy diet, and exercising according to plan; OR ignoring the problem, eating what they want, and generally doing as they please. One choice leads to a long, happy, and productive life, and the other leads to an early and painful death.