Mail Bag
Real Stories Are Best
Here at HealthMatters, we do our best to tell the real stories of real patients with diabetes, to put into words their challenges, their hopes and their victories over this terrible disease. These stories are told by the most skilled writers we can find. But sometimes there are no stories like the ones people tell about themselves. Take this letter that we received from Roger Strashinsky in Ontario, Calif.:
"I didn't do anything to change my behavior when I was diagnosed in 1992. When I became a diabetic, my denial continued many years. It was only after losing my eyesight (temporarily) that I accepted my disease, and that was in 2002. Through good education, a good endocrinologist and a vibrant support group, I have managed to change and improve my life."
Thanks, Roger! Our writers couldn't have said it better. Roger's story is like those of so many others who have learned, often the hard way, that you can have a good life with diabetes, but only by taking charge of your health. Take Carmine Panichelli, the patient on our cover. We call him a "star patient" because he's working in partnership with his doctors so he can see his grandchildren grow up. David Jennings, profiled in the same story and trying to overcome a family history of diabetes, controls it through diet and exercise alone.
Do you have a good story? Write and tell us about the ways in which you don't let diabetes keep you down.
— The Editors
We'd like to hear from you
The editors of HealthMatters are always on the lookout for story ideas from Liberty customers. If you have a story based on your own experience that could be either educational or inspiring to our readers, we'd love to have you share it with us. Send an e-mail to healthmatters@epscomm.com, or write a letter to Editor, HealthMatters, c/o EPS, 210 West Cummings Park, Woburn, MA 01801. All correspondence will be kept in strict confidence, and nothing will be published without your permission.