My seat came next to him on my flight heading to Stuttgart, Germany to attend a business seminar. He was a German man, as I learned later, in his mid-forties half-bald with small circular glasses, which adds a tinge of virtual intelligence to his face. He looked disheveled, erratic, and fidgeting in an impatient and restless manner. I did not pay much attention to him. I was thinking deeply about the intruder who showed up aggressively into my life lately. What will I do with this silent killer that attacked me suddenly? Diabetes has introduced me to nearly a dozen doctors and a plethora of new medications.
Basically, I was
given ordinary mainstream medical advice. I discovered later that most of this
advice did not help me to achieve normal blood sugar. I also figured out later
that the dilapidated guidelines, I was preached about, caused fatal
complications and severe suffering for many people with diabetes all over the
world. Unfortunately, I could not control my diabetes at all, despite all
the efforts I had put in to carefully follow their instructions.
In general, I am an
obedient patient. Nevertheless, my blood sugar numbers were always high and
uncontrollable. I committed to reading about diabetes management. I looked
around at bookstores to find a good book about diabetes management in Arabic,
but I found nothing of value. Most of the books were interpretations of the ADA
guidelines.
Suddenly, I
was brought back from my pondering about diabetes by the sound of the
flight host asking me: “Would you like something to drink, sir?”
I answered:
"Yes, natural orange juice without sugar please," and then went on
smugly completing the sentence “because I am diabetic!”
The guy next to me
flounced angrily, looked at me censurably and asked: “What did you just say?
Are you diabetic and drinking juice?”
I said, “Yes, I
drink a natural healthy juice without any added sugar.”
He said, “Even if
it is natural and without sugar! Don’t you know that one glass of orange juice contains at least 4 to 5 squeezed oranges and each orange has about 20 grams of
carbohydrates (between glucose and fructose)? The glucose part will raise your
blood sugar about 50 to 60 mg/dl per one orange as per your weight? Now, when
you squeeze all these oranges you only get the sugar and strip out all the fibers
that come naturally with the orange to delay the absorption of sugar in it! You
will just drink the sugar in five oranges by doing this. What could possibly
be natural about this! I am not even talking about the negative effect of
the huge amount of fructose you are about to sip! Without a doubt, drinking
such juice will raise your blood sugar massively and rapidly. You know what? I
will do you a favor you will never forget.”
“Why is this person
so interested in helping me? Something seems weird here! And, what are these
algorithms he is talking about! Carbohydrates, sugar, glucose, fructose, fiber?
This seems deranged. Let me see where this conversation will lead.” Talking to
myself!
With an
unmistakable look of defiance, he reached into his bag and took a big book out
of it. He paused a little and said politely, “Please take this book and just
read it until our plane lands in Stuttgart and I will take it back from you
before we say goodbye.” Then he handed me a big book of 511 pages. His eyes
were talking to me silently as if he wanted to say, “Please do yourself a favor
and read this book before diabetes kills you.”
“Is this man for
real? Is he really thinking I could read such a big book before we land?”
Talking to myself again.
To my amazement, it
seemed he just read my mind and knew what I was thinking, as he suddenly said,
“Believe me, you really need to read this book. It will improve your life and
many other lives. So, please start immediately and do not waste time.”
The book title was
“Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution” by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein. I wondered who
is this Dr. Richard Bernstein?
One hour had
already passed from the long eight hours flight. I put on my headphones to
listen to some music played by my favorite pianist, Omar Khairat. For a moment,
I was curious to know about the author’s solution for diabetes. Simultaneously,
I felt no desire to read about diabetes now. It has been really tedious
squeezing diabetes into every corner of my life. Besides, I knew there was no use
in reading such books, as diabetes is a progressive disease anyway and no
matter what I do, I will inevitably deteriorate. That was the repeated warning
I always hear from my doctor.
Therefore, I
pretended I am reading until my new friend falls asleep, so I can go to sleep
as well. I opened the book to a random page and it so happened that this page
was about complications of uncontrolled diabetes, specifically, the diabetic
foot. I felt more anxious and averse and I wanted to put the book aside and
sleep. I began to hear the sound of little snoring. Finally, my friend had
taken a comfortable decision, for both of us. He took off his shoes, crossed
his legs in a relaxed way and slept.
Relieved, I
thought, Thank God.” Let us wait another five minutes until he starts dreaming.
Then I will place the book aside and sleep like a baby. While getting ready to
execute my plan, my eyes fall on something strange. Part of my friend’s upper
foot that was placed over the other seemed very hard and full. It seemed
artificial.
I rubbed my eyes
and then looked at his foot again. But, yeah, it was abnormal. Something was
wrong. My heart was pounding rapidly with a background of escalating snoring
from beside me. All of the sudden, I decided to touch his foot lightly to see
if my eyes were right or wrong. I acted as if I was going to the restroom.
I stood up and touched his feet gently as I passed by while on my way out to
the corridor. OMG! Yes, I was right! It
was wood, steel or anything, but it was not a normal foot.
Oh, the guy’s foot
was amputated. Could it be one of the diabetes complications resulted from poor
control of his diabetes? That must be why he insisted I read and learn, so I
can avoid such a fate!
I turned back to my
seat and mesmerized for a moment. I was riveted there for five long minutes.
While I was sweating and thinking, the man opened his eyes, as if he knew
exactly what happened. He disclosed a sad smile while saying, through misty
eyes, “learn before turning back becomes impossible”.
With silent
involuntary overflowing tears, I opened the book from the beginning and started
to read. And, from the first page, I knew this book was different. Just 15
minutes of reading and I became an addict. Oh My God, what is this? Clear,
smooth, convincing and profuse science? Dr. Richard Bernstein is an
Eighty-three years old physician and a genius Engineer who was diagnosed with
T1 diabetes at the age of 12. He was on the verge of death at the age of forty
suffering from all possible complications, despite following what doctors
advised him (The ADA guidelines).
He discovered the
secret of controlling his diabetes by cutting all fast-acting carbohydrates.
His daily consumption of carbs never exceeded 30 grams of slow-acting
carbohydrate. He added a basal insulin strategy to his treatment. Finally, he
got his diabetes under control and started reaping the benefits of normal BS.
Most of his painful complications reversed. He tried to spread the word to help
people with diabetes all over the world but, in fact, he found
himself fighting against the medical establishment. He was swimming
against the strong current of low fat/high carb diet media and industry.
He expected to be
attacked and silenced because he was not a physician. So, he decided to become
a doctor. He went to medical school at the age of forty-five and graduated as a
physician at the age of fifty. Of course, he reversed most of his complications
by normalizing his blood sugar. He became one of the best physicians who
achieved unprecedented results with his patients. Fortunately, he wrote this
magnificent book in my hand that, literally, would change my whole life.
I was consumed by
this great book until I felt Robert’s hand patting on my shoulder while saying,
“Only 15 minutes to land my friend.” OMG, I had spent nearly seven hours
reading without realizing the time. I had finished two-thirds of the book. This
book had planted the seeds of magic in me. It had already changed my life for
the better. It completely altered my attitude in dealing with diabetes forever:
it gave me hope
We landed and I
hugged my friend Robert who had saved me indeed. The goodbye was full of tears
out of gratefulness to this great person.
Robert dedicated
the book to me and wrote down some words that always provoke my tears any time
I read them. He wrote, “From a friend with one
foot to a friend with two feet, please keep your feet attached.”
My friend Robert
guided me to the right track and gave me a real example of how to help people
out of love and kindness. Thank you dear Robert - You have saved my life and
the lives of many.
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