A Very Likely Hero.... at Least, For Me

This man's story probably did not come across your radar this weekend, but it did mine. My mother-in-law brought him to my attention and then a nap time Internet research session was quick to follow.

My research topic is a 90 year old man living in San Diego, who was recently named the first American known to live 85 years with Type 1 Diabetes. I want you to first think about how many 90 year old people you know and have a personal relationship with.

90.

I have two amazing women in my life, close to that age, and it is safe to say that if they are speaking, I am listening..... fashion, manners, bridge.... I will be forever interested in their sage advice.

But today it is all about Bob Krause, I would be listening to any and all of his advice as well. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a 5 year old. He lost his younger brother the year before because he was diagnosed before insulin was available. At that time, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence, with starvation as the only chance at survival.

"I watched Jackie die by starving to death," Krause said. "Before insulin, diabetics would just die because eating doesn't make any difference: anything that you ate couldn't be converted and you literally starved to death because your body couldn't absorb anything."

Bob's mother would boil his syringes, weigh every amount of food, and sharpen the point of the long needle when it became blunt due to frequent use. Since 1978 he has relied on an insulin pump to deliver his doses along with a stubborn attitude and frequent blood sugar checks.

"Bob has outlived the life expectation of a normal healthy person born in 1921," said his physician, Dr. Patricia Wu, attributing Krause's success to his strong character. "He knows that he has to deal with this and he sees this as a part of his life, he doesn't let this get him down."

The trim, white-haired Krause puts it more succinctly: "I'm a stubborn old man. I refuse to give up."

My hero.

Needless to say, I'm inspired. Now lets just pray that all my hard work won't grow up to be a teenager and decide she's "over it, even though Mom and Dad worked so hard to raise me healthily up unto this point"..... I've heard this is what I have to look forward to so maybe if I keep preparing myself for it, I won't be surprised.

I'm posting a link to the entire article from which I am pulling my quotes on foxnews.com, but I have to leave with my favorite quote of the entire article:

A quote from his Doctor:

"He'll say, `I've been doing this for 80-number of years and it has gotten me this far and I'm still here, so who are you to tell me how to do this? I've been doing this since before you were born,'"

Well done, Bob Krause. I am thankful for your stubborn self. I can only hope to raise such a stubborn, long living, diabetic.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/31/man-celebrates-85-years-living-diabetes