By: Paul W., Broward County, Florida
I have been diabetic since I was 27 years old and I’m 51 now. I lost my mother and brother both due to complications with diabetes within 6 months of each other. My mother was a retired geriatric nurse for 26 years in New Jersey, and my younger brother was a kitchen manager. They both resided in North Carolina and were insulin dependent like me. My youngest brother did not have insurance, but through blessings, my mother and I were able to supply him with insulin and other medications for diabetes through our combined insurances. This, of course, meant that my mother and I would run low and took the risk of damage so that no one went without treat.
I lost my mother at 67 years old and my brother at 45 years old. My brother went home from work one day and just went to sleep and passed away. His blood sugar was over 800. Knowing him, he probably thought he could just "push" through it. My mother passed away six months later with complications from her diabetes (poor circulation, sepsis from a wound that never healed in her lower back area, and weakened organs).
There were even times when I lost my insurance and paid up to $550 for one vial of insulin, but my family insisted on sharing it. We believe in taking care of family. It hurts knowing that there is such extreme pricing on such lifesaving medicines. There should be a very minimal cost for anyone going through this disease. It seems that with diabetes, there are always improvements but there is never a cure. I diet and exercise which help control the disease. But not being able to get medicine that will save your life, just because you can’t afford it, is just plain wrong. I worry about my niece and daughter who are both living with diabetes. Thank you for listening to my story. Their names were Madeline and Travis. There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss them and wish that I could have done more.