Diabetes patient BOBBY MARKS, 44, says he's the kind of guy who "always moved 100 mph," working full-time, caring for two kids and heading Kona Pony Baseball.
hopes others
seek aid
Bobby Marks says he ignored
his symptoms and was too busy
to visit a doctorBy Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinThen, last June, his weight dropped from 210 pounds to 153 pounds, his vision deteriorated to the point that he couldn't see in front of him, and he was always thirsty and going to the bathroom.
"Literally, I would get up seven, eight, nine or 10 times at night," he said.
Still, he didn't see a doctor. He was busy covering Maui, Kona and Hilo for Western Traction Co., a heavy equipment dealer, and had always been healthy. "I never had any reason to seek medical attention," he said, sharing his story for Diabetes Alert Day today.
"I went to an optometrist in Kona and she didn't want to tell me what it was. She said, 'You've got to get in and see the doctor. Something is causing this.'"
BY THE TIME his glasses arrived, his eyes were worse, he said. "I started getting so worn down, so fatigued ... I didn't look forward to going to work; I looked forward to coming home and just plopping down, and that wasn't like me."
He was heavily involved with his work, his kids' activities and the Kona Pony Baseball League, he said. "But that push and that drive weren't there. I finally broke down and went to the doctor."
The diagnosis: diabetes.
The doctor put him on oral medication but gave him few instructions about diet, nutrition or monitoring his blood sugar, he said.
"I was always someone just full of life," he said. "I felt so good. I ate what I wanted. I drank what I wanted ... I didn't have a lot of history or experience or education about controlled diet. For all I knew, protein came from a Milky Way candy bar."
He was struggling with a stack of literature, information, misinformation and lack of understanding, "along with smoking and stress," he said.
On Dec. 22, he was in Honolulu with his son Jeffery, 11, and daughter Julia, 9, for a company Christmas party, with plans to leave the next day for Southern California to spend Christmas with his parents.
He began feeling ill about 10 p.m. and "went all night with this thing and didn't know I was fooling with the devil." He said he denied the pain and numbness.
He called his parents at 4 a.m. Dec. 23 and told them he didn't think he could make the flight. When he described his symptoms, his dad told him, "You're having a heart attack. Call 911 right now."
Marks sent his children on to California and a friend took him to the Queen's Medical Center, where he "started getting this slamming feeling ... It really hit hard. Within minutes they had me into surgery."
He had angioplasty and two stents put in. "All I could think about was my two kids," he said. "I told myself, 'I'm gonna come out of this. I'm gonna turn this around.'"
He did that, he said, with the help of his cardiologist and diabetes educators from Queen's and the Hawaii Medical Service Association.
He said they listened to him and helped him understand the disease and "how you can really make this work with your life." He learned how to control it and balance his diet.
AFTER LEAVING the hospital, he spent two months in California where his children were in school temporarily, and tried to put into practice what he knew about his health problems.
"Now, I not only had a hard time dealing with diabetes, but I've got the heart thing," he said. He quit smoking, began a walking program and spent a lot of time in markets, looking at the content of foods to find items appropriate for both his heart and diabetes.
"You find something that maybe doesn't have sugars and carbohydrates, but it has fats, sodium ... so I got confused," he said.
He said he constantly called HMSA's Diabetes Care Connection Program for help. The two-year program, launched last July with American Healthways, has nurses, health educators and other personnel to help people with diabetes better manage their disease.
By the time he returned to Kona and "had all these conversations with the Diabetes Connection people," Marks said, "I had a pretty good understanding."
He got a glucometer and began "poking myself 10 times a day (to test his blood sugar level). I wanted to see how long does it take after I eat to show clear effects."
He joined a gym and works out 40 minutes a day on a treadmill. His weight is down to 188, which he said is just right for his 5-foot-11 frame. "I feel better than I did the last two, three five or 10 years before the heart attack," he said.
In fact, his diabetes was under such good control that he began feeling ill -- this time from hypoglycemia, he said.
"I'm getting everything stabilized to normal and driving the blood sugar back down." His medication has gradually been reduced and he expects to be off it in another month.
A man overheard him describing his experience to someone in Costco and told him he had the same symptoms, Marks said. Encouraged to see a doctor, the man later called to say he does have diabetes.
Marks wants others who may not realize they have the disease, or who have it and are discouraged, to know help is available and the disease can be controlled with education, proper diet and exercise.
"I don't have time to save the world," he said, "but I don't want anyone to go through what I went through."
Diabetes Alert Day helps find those at high risk
By Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinDiabetes Alert Day, an American Diabetes Association program, will be recognized today with several events targeted to find people at high risk for the disease and encourage them to be tested.
An estimated 80,000 Hawaii residents knowingly or unknowingly have diabetes, said Sandra Miyama, the association's Hawaii area district manager.
Diabetes occurs when a body does not make enough insulin or does not use it properly. Insulin helps maintain the proper level of glucose sugar in the blood. If it is not working, unused glucose builds up in the blood.
Nearly 16 million Americans have one of two types of diabetes, according to the ADA:
>> Type 1 generally affects young people and requires insulin shots.
>> Type 2 generally develops after age 40 and affects from 90 percent to 95 percent of those with diabetes.
Exhibits, blood pressure and blood glucose screening and music by the band Mana Ohana were planned to observe Diabetes Alert Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tamarind Park in downtown Honolulu.
Miyama said people can take a diabetes risk test, which is a simple questionnaire. Those who score high are encouraged to visit their health care provider.
Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state's largest health plan provider, will have booths at Tamarind Park passing out information on nutrition and health, said Amy Young, legislative analyst in HMSA's community and government relations department.
Sponsors include the Queen's Physicians Group, ADA-Hawaii, HMSA, Straub Clinic & Hospital, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, Radiant Research Honolulu, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Good Life Savers Membership.
Diabetes services are available to HMSA members through its Diabetes Care Connection program, conducted with American Healthways, which provides services in the United States.
HMSA and ADA-Hawaii were to be honored today by the House of Representatives for their work in the community on education and prevention of diabetes.
For more information on diabetes, call the ADA-Hawaii, 947-5979, or toll-free, 888-DIABETES (342-2383). HMSA members may call 800-499-5036. Kaiser Permanente members may call 432-0000.
Information also can be obtained from diabetes programs at medical centers.