Diabetic Brothers Beat Odds With 8 Decades of Discipline

New York Times ^ | February 5, 2006 | RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

[neverdem]

When Robert Cleveland was a boy, in place of a birthday cake his mother wrapped an oatmeal box in colored paper and put candles on top. "I never had any sweets as a child," he said. "Never."

Since he was 5, he has lived within the strict boundaries imposed by diabetes, knowing that if he loosened his grip on the disease it would ravage his body — the terrifying complications, the shortened life span. For years, the only diabetic he knew was the principal of his grammar school, who lost one leg to the disease, and then the other, "and I remember wondering how long it would be before I lost mine."

Then his big brother, Gerald, got diabetes at age 16 and also adopted a set of meticulous lifelong habits. He scribbles sugar readings and insulin doses in a logbook, tests the level of sugar in his system seven or eight times a day, avoids desserts and simple starches, exercises and has always stayed reed-thin. "Even so, I never expected to live to be 50," he said.

Both brothers have done a bit better than that: Gerald turned 90 this month, and Robert will be 86 in March, and they are in fairly good health for their ages. Experts say that they know of no other childhood diabetic who has lived to be as old as Gerald, and no one who has survived with the disease as long as Robert has — almost 81 years.

"My main reason to stay alive," said Gerald, "is to prove to young people there's a way to live with diabetes, to live well."

As diabetes poses a rapidly rising threat to Americans' health, the lives of these brothers from Syracuse offer the ultimate diabetic success story, with telling insights into what is possible...

[neverdem]

Gerald Cleveland, 90, left, and his brother, Robert, 85, diabetics since childhood.

Chris Livingston for The New York Times
Robert Cleveland, who turns 86 in March, checking his sugar level at his winter home in Melbourne, Fla.

Michael J. Okoniewski for The New York Times
Gerald Cleveland, Robert's brother, logged his sugar levels last month at his home in Jamesville, N.Y. "I never expected to live to be 50," he said.

BAD BLOOD the series

[stormlead]

that's inspiring stuff, especially for those of us with a high incidence of diabetes in our family trees.

Good for these guys.

[neverdem]

FDA Approves New Vaccine to Prevent Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Infants

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[Jaded]

That is awesome for the two brothers!

[muggs]

Wow, they look great for their ages!

[Popman]

Has someone who was on the brink of going full blown diabetic Type 2, I have learned great deal about the disease in the last six months.

Their story is truly inspiring.

[Kimmers]

Thank you for this post....I am going to send this article to my school nurse friends. We are having concerns about diabetic education for kids. They have insulin pumps and it seems that they have free rein to eat anything and adjust the pump accordingly....we still see the same highs and lows...it can't be healthy....I have always felt the strict diabetic diet like these guys are following is the healthy way to be for all of us....

[Thebaddog]

Let's think about this - self discipline, sacrifice, family, loving life, I'm liking it. Let's make a movie about these two brothers who love each other, have overcome great adversity and have won a victory over great adversity. Would Hollywood touch this one?

And all kidding aside, God Bless'em.

[OldFriend]

You are right, eating junk and adjusting the insulin level can be deadly in the long run.

It's all about good nutrition. And that discipline ought to begin at home.

The school can go a long way tho, to helping the kids see the value in taking good care of themselves.

[boop]

Sweet story!

[antiRepublicrat]

Wow, they look great for their ages!

I hope I can just make it to 90, not even looking that good, and I don't have diabetes.

[VOA]

bump

[Kimmers]

We try our best to educate them but when you are working with a nurse in school whose' obese diabetic daughter comes in wearing her insulin pump and carrying a food tray with a cheeseburger and fries on it....it is real hard to educate that child...once again cooperation comes from home

[TASMANIANRED]

They look mighty good for their ages.

[Investment Biker]

First these guys are both t1 diabetics not t2. T1 diabetes can kill you in an instant, I know I have it. While the discipline and effort these brothers have put into managing their disease is admirable one has to wonder if their quality of life is not totally diminished by the obsessive behavior necessary to manage the disease. I know it has diminished mine. Further not all people are impacted by high sugars. Some for some reason have a genetic disposition to avoid the complications despite the high sugars. Are these brothers so disposed? We don't know.

I would recommend all that have diabetes, both t1 and t2, take benoftiamine. Benfotiamine is a fat soluble form of Thiamine. It has been shown to offer some protection against neuropathic complications. I take 300mg daily, equal to about 13,000% of the RDA of water soluble thiamine.

[suzyq5558]

I was diagnosed two weeks ago. couldn't figure out why I felt so terrible, three trips to ER they finally figured it out.I changed my diet the day the Doc told me, Ive lost 10 pds just in these past couple of weeks!my dad lets me use his little machine to check my blood sugar.I still have crummy days but between the new way of eating and all the walking im doing I feel 200% better.

[OldFriend]

Good luck and keep on trying to figure out the best diet for you.

Whole grains, veggies, etc.

Bet you can find some great recipes and diet advice on the web.

[redhead]

DR. BERNSTEIN'S DIABETES PAGE

Dr. Bernstein has lived for many years as a Type I (childhood onset) diabetic. He tells in his book and on his website how to achieve and maintain consisted blood sugar levels.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the info on Benfotiamine. At first I thought it was some quackery from the net. LOL! Enter Benfotiamine and diabetic neuropathy into PubMed.

[jocon307]

That's pretty amazing. My father had diabetes from age 22 or so (not really sure how old he was when it manifested, but he'd been in the Navy in WWII, so he wasn't all that young) and he did not live past 63. And he was quite careful, and was thin, but he could never really control it, that diease beat the hell out him.

My poor father, he was really a good guy, I wish he'd lived to be as old as these guys, hey, he'd still be alive! He'd have gotten a kick out of FR, even though he came from a Massachusetts Irish Catholic family he was always very conservative, in fact he was like the original compassionate conservative.