Turning my Mess into a Message

 In August 2017, in the middle of the night at the Mount Sinaï Hospital in NYC, the doctor finally came in with the results: “the good news is that it wasn’t a heart attack, but the not so good news is that we found a few other things; (…) you need to drastically change your life”, adding that as a first step I should earnestly exercise for an hour a day.

I already had been diagnosed with Diabetes 2 for 8 years and injecting insulin for 5 years, gradually adding cardiovascular medication to my growing list of medications. Since this confronting conversation, I started a difficult and often confusing process to change from the always-tired grumpy old woman I had been for so long, into the energetic feeling-10-years-younger I am today, no longer using insulin while reducing all other medication. I count myself very fortunate and privileged to have been given this chance, and having received so much support from both my husband as well as doctors ànd the right circumstances. Looking back, the often challenging situations here in Haiti, where many of the “HowTo’s” from my research did not seem to apply nor work, helped me develop my own path and gradually a dream: to share this, not only with fellow Diabetes-2 patients in Haiti, but also beyond: we are not the only place on earth where you can’t always safely exercise outside or find these fancy solutions you read about.

So what exactly did I do? I started out with exercise, next came my food which eventually changed; I came across the Dutch Lifestyle program “Reverse Diabetes 2 Now” which claimed to be both user friendly and successful. As I couldn’t enroll from Haiti, I bought the book and started my DIY version of the program. My sugar levels stabilized, insulin could be reduced, and as a bonus I started to lose weight and gain more energy. When I found myself plateauing after 6 months, I found an e-coach who helped my take the more drastic steps and/or adapt the program to my situation and food choices. With that, my weight plummeted, and my doctors decided it was time to try discontinue insulin completely and no longer label me as “at risk”, meaning I don’t have to come back! That was in August 2019… and I am overjoyed to tell you that I have not returned to insulin, have been further reducing my other medication, and feel better than I have felt in years!

And then came Corona…… I had not yet fully developed the program I was writing, still adding research and more study, trying to make it easy to understand and digest for the group I wanted to support. But people from different corners of life started to write me: “hey, do you have tips on surviving a lockdown? You’d be the most experienced of us all…”, “how do you stick to your healthy food habits when you can’t find the food you normally eat?”, “how do you get your daily exercise while staying inside?”. The answer in Haiti would be “well, you just dégajé” which translates as “you make do” or “you’ll get your way around”.

So, ready or not, I am starting the conversation with you, “dégajé”-style, tweaking and improving as I go. Sharing the message that you, too, can take charge of your health, and I will humbly show you the way.

Evelien