Blogging While Black version 4.0

Hotep brothers and sisters:

Peace and blessings in the name of the most high...

So I took a break, so what? Well, I did get a chance to read all of your
email. I also got a chance to catch up on some sleep too. I feel a little
refreshed, but I do have something to share with you. It took me a
while to put this together for more than one reason, but the main
ingredient is here for you to ingest.

People ask me all the time: "Are you healthy? How's the weight? What
the hell is that you're eating and is it what you're supposed to be
munching on?" I get it all the time. You see, i'm diabetic, and what I put
in my body is gravely important, especially after what I recently learned.

A couple of Thursdays ago, I got a checkup. Everything was fine, until I
got a phone call recently and found that the results of my optical exams
were not as good as I thought. I lost a little of my eyesight. Now I did
not say that I am going blind, or in 6 months I will be like Ray Charles
or something, but there is some blurriness and what I like to call
un-sharpness due to the optic nerves being so small, and at one point
hardening of the arteries due to my diabetes.

The stress is there because the optic nerve is the smallest vessel that
blood travels through, and when sugars are high, it restricts flow,
causing blurriness. Don't get it twisted, I manage my blood sugars to the
point where I have almost lost jobs (in private, away from my crew or
workroom floor, so sometimes i'm missing in action), and my 6 month
check (called the A1C for those counting) was at an all time low (very
good to excellent). That does not mean that I am out of danger.
Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness in adults 25-40.

Diabetic retinopathy happens to all diabetics sometime in their life. It is
a result of being diabetic over time. It happens to both healthy and
unhealthy diabetics. Time is a major factor for all. Either you are
affected and treat it, or you're not.

So I adjust. More carotene, B12 and vitamin A. More fasting and
prayer. More continuous control over my blood sugars. More testing every
6 months and more awareness about this problem, because I am not the
only one. We detected a very treatable result of retinopathy in its early
stages. Nearly half of all diabetics develop this before 40, not too far
off for me.

I'll try my best to continue to blog. I will continue to take photos, y'all
just gon' have to work with me, there are a lot of things I must learn to
adjust to. Untreated retinopathy causes blindness, so, if you can read
this and you're a member in my club, check your sugars, get off your ass
and get them pupils dialated and checked out! I'm gon' be aiight, what
about you?