It started basically just like any other day. You couldn't tell from its beginning what it would bring, and how it would come so close to damaging our lives irreparably. That's how life is when you have a diabetic in your midst; particularly one who doesn't take care of his diet, and who doesn't follow doctor's orders.

In retrospect, it's hard to imagine that a tiny incident, over in a matter of seconds, almost rendered my husband a permanent invalid, but for the grace of God . . .

The Event

So what was this event? My husband, a diabetic of fifteen years, and very poorly controlled, was touring his latest building site. He suddenly noticed that there was a piece of wood attached to the sole of his foot. As he has a degree of peripheral neuropathy, he felt no pain, but knew he must have stepped on a nail. Since he was in a hurry to go to a meeting, he pulled the plank away from his foot, finished arrangements with his workmen, and took off.

That was in the late afternoon. Around eleven O'clock that night, he came home tired and hungry. I fed him, and as we were chatting, he casually mentioned what had happened on the building site earlier. He showed me the small puncture mark, which at that point in time wasn't even pink, never mind red. I was horrified and told him he should go to the emergency room there and then. He laughed at me. "What for?” he asked.

He went on like this for a few days.

Crisis Point

Eventually he was getting impatient at me for nagging. I was distraught. In the end, and most predictably, infection set in. On the advice of a doctor friend (who he spoke with on the phone), he got himself some strong antibiotics. By this time, five days after the event, it was too late. The antibiotics didn't stand a chance against the raging infection that rapidly took hold. By the next morning he could hardly stand, and needed someone to help him walk.

Aggressive Medicine

He gave in and went to the hospital. Even I was surprised at the speed with which they admitted him. They began intravenous antibiotics immediately. We all stood by with baited breath. The first type didn't seem to be doing anything, so the doctors (by this time there were three or four on his case), decided to try a stronger one. When I stood by on the second morning, I could see the concern on the doctors' faces. They were trying to keep his morale high, as of course this is essential to any patient. On the third day they decided to perform surgery to clean out the wound and try and give the antibiotics a better chance of beating the infection. By this time we were on our fourth different type of antibiotics.

Truth Dawns

My husband, previously oblivious to his plight, smiling and cheerful, and highly attentive to visitors, was beginning to see that this could all go horribly wrong. I knew exactly what the score was, and every time they brought in a new, stronger type of antibiotic, I would grab the vial to read its name. I knew that when we reached Vancomycin, we would have reached the end of the line.

Immediately upon admission, the endocrinologist insisted that my husband follow the special diet that was written for him. The reason this was so critical is that if blood sugars are high, the infection (any infection) actually feeds on the glucose in the blood and grows stronger. This is, in a nutshell, why infections of any kind are so devastating to diabetics. Besides, this was a wonderful opportunity; they'd been trying to bring his blood sugars under control for years, and now he was just where they wanted him!

When infection sets in at the lower extremities it can be doubly destructive because peripheral neuropathy is the result of restricted circulation. As a result of numbness, many diabetics don't even notice when they

injure themselves. Even a tiny cut can quickly become infected, and if not treated will eventually lead to wet gangrene.

A healthy circulation is the first line of defense against any kind of microbial attack. With diabetes, the situation becomes ripe for gangrene. The higher the blood sugars are allowed to remain, the more likely gangrene becomes. It can be very difficult to stop once it sets in, and almost always leads to amputation.

Thank God, eventually they gave him Vancomycin, at about the same time I decided to intervene myself. I brought a supply of 1,000 mg vitamin C tablets to the hospital. Of course I'd have loved to do a lot more from the alternative medicine point of view, such as a complete nutritional support program designed for diabetics, and supplements to kick the immune system into high gear. But when you're dealing with skeptics, you have to choose your battles. I knew that administering vitamin C intravenously would have been far more effective, but I also knew that I could well be up against five medical men. I chose my battle, and I chose stealth mode! When no one else was in the room, I told my husband (who is used to my alternative health ways), that I was sick of standing by and doing nothing, and that I wanted him to take one tablet every hour. He raised his eyebrows, but under the circumstances he knew we were backed into a corner here.

Why Vitamin C? Vitamin C is of major importance to the immune system and to tissue integrity. It can help the body fight infection and is a superb antioxidant. It can play an important role in tissue repair. It has also been proved that vitamin C can be a major player in combating bacterial and viral infections. It is a weapon of choice for many alternative medicine aficionados.

Within a few hours, either the Vancomycin, or the vitamin C, and possibly the combination, had started to work and I was profoundly relieved when I saw the smile on the surgeon's face as he unwrapped my husband's wound. From then on, remarkably, improvement was very rapid. On the eighth day he was discharged and we continued the treatment at home. Although we were not out of the woods yet, and although we had many weeks of vigilant wound-watching and dressing-changes still ahead of us, it was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

I Love That Nail!

When we'd been at home for only an hour or two I was reflecting on our near-miss. My husband smiled at me and said "You know, I love that nail! If I knew which one it was I'd frame it and put it on the wall.” I knew what he meant immediately. His blood sugars have been fluctuating between 350 and 500 for years. Despite constant warnings from his endocrinologist, he hadn't done anything serious about controlling his diet. He was relying solely on medication. Since the "nail incident” I'm thrilled, and very proud to report, his blood sugars have only hovered around 200 on a couple of occasions as a result of temporary insanity, as I call it. For the most part, we are now very serious about every morsel that goes into his mouth, and blood sugars are steadily around 100-120. As any endocrinologist will tell you, medication is only of limited effect with diabetes. The primary line of defense is diet.

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