Diabetes and a man

A friend had his AccuCheck device out. He had to check his diabetic count. He let out of small yell of joy. The digital counter showed a number that was below 200. He was recovering from over 300. I congratulated him. He took a picture and send it to his spouse. I went back into memories. Uncle was my father's best friend. They had travelled a whole orbit from arguing Dev Anand's films to India's Cricket without Pataudi's captaincy to how emergency had pushed back India by ten years. In this new town called Chandrapur where we had been transferred, they had settled down to being quiet newspaper sharing friends. This was a different scene for me. He would arrive at the door. He called me by a different name, still does. He spent a couple of minutes chatting with me about the school and world. Then, father would take over. Some chats about work, some about politics of the day (no WhatsApp then, so news had to be shared vocally) and then the TV used to be put on. Both sat in companianable silence. Till March arrived on the scene. Ma insisted on feeding uncle. And uncle, who by then had contracted diabetes would have a hard time telling no to her for most things as diabetes did not permit him to have those items. It wasn't as if Ma did not know that those foods weren't good for him but she just tried. God knows for what! Father used to sit there for a while gritting his teeth and then finally request her to do the usual biscuits and non sugar tea. Basically, leave them be. It was a comic sight laced with melancholy. Uncle was nearly a member of the household as he used to share rooms with us when we were quite young. To see him, a hearty if picky eater from those days, morph into this quantity and quality conscious man in his middle age was heart breaking. The lines on his face or the bleary eyes that used to stare back at us told us of the misery he was going through. And he grew quieter by the year. That image stayed with me. Diabetes has to be managed as I know. It has no way of being completely eradicated. Its the management that makes a difference. There should be smart phones apps that can possibly remind one of food timings, type of food suggestions and even possibly help with choosing the food for a person with variable tastes. If they are already there, they should be publicised, if not someone can develop something to help such nice uncles and friends. And diabetes afflicted people should be now included in the "alternative" lifestyle groups. With menus and exercises to make them happy about the life ahead. The uncle gets great care from his spouse and still leads a comfortable retired life. And he still chooses his fish in the market near his home. Finally, life is about outlasting the hurdles. Isn't it?