MY VIEW: Genetics can be a time bomb

  Let’s get personal. Genetics are a crazy thing you never think about until you have issues. There are many things passed down through genetics–illness, eye color, traits–all these things you can get from your family. There are physical genetics you can see you have inherited while others hide until later on in your life like little ticking time bombs. You won’t know if you have inherited the health issue or if you skipped the gene. 

  In my family, diabetes is a big thing. My mom, brother, aunt and grandpa all have diabetes. My brother was seven when he found out he had diabetes. I didn’t even know you could get diabetes that young. Getting diabetes was never a big worry to me until I found out my brother had it. My mom started talking to my other brother and me about how we need to watch what we eat and how to take care of ourselves. Since the genetics of diabetes runs in our family, it’s easier for us to get it if we don’t take care of ourselves. My brother had to change his eating habits. All his favorite things  that he enjoyed eating had to be given up. 

  I always fear that I will be diagnosed any time I go to a check up. I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, so I convince myself on a daily basis that I have every sickness imaginable. Any time I feel a pain in my body or feel dizzy, I tell myself there’s something wrong with me. I have extreme anxiety about being sick. So knowing that diabetes runs in my family, I get paranoid anytime I know I have overdone it with sweets or foods that contains sugar. 

  My mom is always telling me to take care of myself because she doesn’t want me to have to go through what she and my brother go through with the medicine, shots, and food. So to prevent myself from being able to get diabetes, I watch what I eat. I make sure I don’t go overboard with certain foods. 

  Seeing them having to change their lifestyles in order to live is something I hope I’d never have to go through. Right now, I know that I do not have diabetes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. I will continue to keep myself healthy and on a good track to prevent that.