This morning, while flipping through the newspaper, I read an article published a few days ago in the Health Newspaper. I found it very enlightening and relatable, so I transcribed the entire article into my computer. Here, I will add my own commentary to share with our fellow diabetes patients.
Over the years, I have become half an expert on diabetes as a surgeon.
Getting sick as a doctor might be a "blessing."
At the end of 2001, I accidentally discovered that my urine sugar was positive, and upon retesting, it was still positive. The next morning, my fasting blood glucose level was 8.7 mmol/L. On the third day, my fasting blood glucose level was 8.8 mmol/L, and my blood glucose level two hours after breakfast was 12.5 mmol/L. There was no doubt about the diagnosis of diabetes.
I regretted ignoring the blood glucose test while working in the hospital. It's better late than never: I thoroughly reviewed all materials related to diabetes, paying attention to the latest reports. Furthermore, because I had a clear understanding of acute and chronic "complications," I was able to focus on prevention. Therefore, even though it has been eight years now, not only are my fasting blood glucose, post-meal blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and dynamic blood glucose stability maintained within ideal or standard ranges, but I also haven't developed any complications.
Over the years, due to consciously studying and accumulating the latest knowledge about diabetes and disease prevention techniques, I, as a surgeon, have become half an expert on diabetes. I also became a volunteer ambassador for diabetes awareness, paying attention to my family's blood glucose monitoring, and promoting knowledge about diabetes prevention and treatment to neighbors, friends, and patients. As a neurologist, I paid special attention to diabetic complications, successively discovering sensory neuropathy complications in diabetic feet, skin itching neuropathy complications in diabetes, and cranial nerve complications such as ptosis in diabetes.
"Turning misfortune into blessing, how do we know it isn't a blessing?" If a doctor can learn from one setback and gain wisdom, there might be an unexpected harvest.
Hebei, Zhang Wei
Xu Zhangrong's commentary: Dr. Zhang Wei's short article is excellent, concise yet profound, illustrating a truth: Diabetes can be treated, and its complications can be prevented. In a person's lifetime, it is impossible not to get sick. The question is to try not to get serious illnesses, not let diseases affect our normal lives, and certainly not let them shorten our limited lives. Although Dr. Zhang Wei has had diabetes for eight years, his blood glucose is controlled within a completely normal range, and he doesn't have any complications. Isn't this a typical example with ample convincing power? Moreover, because he himself has diabetes, he understands this chronic, preventable, and treatable disease better, empathizes more with our fellow diabetes patients, and places greater emphasis on preventing diabetes. For instance, he himself has become a diabetes awareness ambassador and half a diabetes specialist. Isn't this a great benefit for oneself, the people, and the country?
Sometimes, getting sick as a doctor may not necessarily be a bad thing for the individual, nor for society. Six to seven years ago, I suffered from sudden deafness. A year before I got this illness, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health were organizing national key research topics for the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan." I was invited to serve as the group leader for the elderly disease topic review panel. Our group reviewed various topics, including diabetes, hearing loss, cataracts, macular degeneration (a difficult-to-treat eye disease affecting vision), and bone joint diseases. During the review, I didn't fully understand why hearing loss should be listed as a national scientific research topic. After I myself got sudden deafness, during treatment and subsequent daily life work, I realized that hearing loss, such as sudden deafness and tinnitus, is not uncommon, especially among the elderly. Therefore, whenever I encounter patients with such conditions now, I always remind them to seek timely treatment and not to be negligent like me, delaying treatment and even resulting in complete deafness on one side with little chance of recovery. I fell ill during the night between Sunday and Monday, gave a lecture at the Chinese Medical Association on Monday, worked normally at the hospital on Tuesday, and saw expert outpatients on Wednesday morning. It was during the outpatient session that I experienced increased dizziness and vomiting, forcing me to interrupt the clinic. I was then urgently sent to the emergency room. It wasn't until I was hospitalized that I learned that timely treatment is crucial for sudden deafness.
Therefore, I now realize that hearing issues are a major health concern for the elderly. Two weeks ago, I was again invited to participate in the acceptance of national key research topics supported by the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan," serving as the group leader. When accepting the topic led by the PLA General Hospital regarding elderly hearing research, I felt that I understood the significance of the topic, the objectives of the research, and the extensive research conducted by the team much better.
I agree with Dr. Zhang Wei's view: Getting sick as a doctor might be a "blessing."
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