Anyone even vaguely up close and personal in my life knows I’ve had a bit of a slippery slope with my general health in this last year and a half. Masked by some ongoing stress issues relating to my wife’s health, I failed to heed symptomatic warnings in myself as I rather mysteriously developed Type 1 Diabetes, not diagnosed until a blood test delivered a blood sugar level of 600-plus, resulting in an emergency situation abruptly (and life-savingly!) disrupting last year’s 20/20 children’s eyewear shoot.
Immediate and focused care from a dedicated endocrinologist put me in control of the disease to the point where my blood sugar smoothly charts out between 100 and 115 daily with a terrific A1C number of about 6 percent. My weight has come under control via tough tactics with sugar and carb intake to the point where I maintain my weight at about 175 pounds, down from a dangerous 200 at the time of my diabetes diagnosis.
I inject insulin twice a day and certainly look forward to some great progress on the verge of happening in the treatment of diabetes. Equally important to the daily blood monitoring and insulin injections is the full regiment of doctor specialists now confirming all systems are a go as the diabetes impacts my general health, and paramount to that is very consistent visits to my new ophthalmologist, Dr. Joseph Bacotti, personally recommended to me by my dear friend and 20/20 contributing editor Barry Santini.
Bacotti is a wizard and true star in (and for) my eyes. He’s currently tracking the beginnings of a cataract condition and well ahead of the development of angle-closure glaucoma that will soon need the surgical procedure of laser iridotomy.
And so where does this fit into the issue at hand, children’s eyewear and eyecare circa RIGHT NOW?
Scrutiny.
Scrutiny in a logical and full force plan that should always command full commitment from ALL eyecare professionals, the patient and the full focus of the whole family of that patient in a vantage point that facilitates everyone on alert and attentive to every aspect of the health spectrum. And when it comes to our children, I’ve made this point before but I will never back away from the logic that THIS is a way we can insure the well-being of our future via the eyes of our children. So truly it is a double-edged call of “Doctor, My Eyes!” and “Doctor, Their Eyes!” Hope this issue hits that for all of you and all of our kids.
James J. Spina
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
