Living With Diabetes Is Still A Life To Be Lived

Yvonne and Frank Ball
(Photo courtesy of Wil Phinney)

Yvonne asked the doctor what would happen if she relied on antibiotics and pain killers. "The doctor looked at me and said 'I'd give you two weeks.'"

At that, she called her family together and they prayed about it. "Then I decided, okay, if it has to come off do it so you won't have to do it again." Instead of amputating above the ankle, at Yvonne's insistence the leg was removed below her knee.

Yvonne Ball fits the typical diabetic profile. As a youngster, she can remember drinking three bottles of pop in one sitting. She was always heavy. Her father was a diabetic. "Diabetes is caused by lifestyle," she says. "We all need to control our diet, eat right and exercise."

As a diabetic, the same rules apply. But it can be difficult sometimes to follow such a rigid routine.

"I know I need to exercise to regulate my blood sugar," Yvonne said. "I'll do pretty good for a while, but then I'll get disgusted and over do it, eat candy and things I'm not supposed to eat."

Her blood sugar is unpredictable – sometimes high, sometimes low. On a recent night, she felt disoriented and knew something was wrong. Her blood sugar had dropped to 40.

"I was sweating, ready to pass out. I couldn't function. I was weak and tired. I sweated so much it felt like I'd taken a shower," she said. She ate a candy bar and a half glass of juice. Her blood sugar barely climbed to 100.