Walk to Stop Diabetes: Why I’m Walking and How You Can Help

When I was growing up my mom told me that my dad goes to the bathroom a lot because he had diabetes. I wasn’t really too concerned primarily because when you’re 10 years old.. your major concerns are how to get G.I. JOE action figures. I was too worried about playing with my friends after school to notice that there was a disease hanging out in my house… slowly deteriorating my father’s life.

My father was never really overweight, maybe 20-30 pounds for his frame in his early married years. He was a pretty skinny guy going into his 40′s and I never thought of him as having any sickness even with the understanding that he had diabetes. I’m not sure why I never really took it seriously… probably because my dad never took it seriously. He’d go about his business in the normal way, working hard, being strong, staying fairly quiet with his internal pain. I’m not sure if he really ever felt pain to be honest… he was that kind of person. I’m almost certain I never heard him complain about his physical ailments outside of his back being sore from working an overnight shift.

That mentality of never really speaking of or worrying about his sickness transferred over to me at some point. I don’t complain much about my physical ailments, if any. Up til the last few years, I never really worried about the fact that I was diagnosed with type II diabetes when I was 20 years old. My sugars were always fairly low but I didn’t really check them for years on end. I lived a lifestyle that would make any type II diabetic cringe. Beer, excessive eating, lack of exercise, simply just not giving a shit. I felt invincible and invulnerable.

I’ve never really understood the concept of diabetes until the past few years. I realized that I needed to make some pretty ridiculously drastic changes in how I go about my life, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I came to the conclusion that some of the things that I’ve enjoyed for so much of my life needed to be curtailed or eliminated. It was hard to come to this conclusion… but I had to do it so that I could have a future past my 40′s. It’s not easy to realize what your life consists of is pretty much not the right stuff… it’s humbling and mind-blowing,.. I’m still grasping this concept.

There’s too much money in the world going to research to not find cures for the various diseases and disorders that ail us. We’re too smart and strong to let simple deficiencies in hormones or chemical imbalances or defects to cause us to die earlier or not enjoy our lives as much. I personally won’t tolerate it anymore. I also don’t believe that diabetes is holding me back from doing anything… but that I have to do MORE to make diabetes go away. I can control my diabetes through medicines currently, but soon, I will control it by just living a very healthy lifestyle.

My father once told me that if you believe you are getting better and you think you are getting better, you will get better. This concept made no sense to me at the time… but he gave me the example of people who always complain about their aches and pains and malaise but do absolutely nothing to remedy it. It’s this incessant complaint process that exacerbates the issues. I’ve believed this anti-psychosomatic concept since my early years and I still believe it to this day. If you work hard, fight hard, and BELIEVE hard, you can fight off your troubles and live a normal and healthy life.

I’m walking in a 3.2 mile walk on October 22nd, 2011 primarily because I feel like I need to do SOMETHING to make it apparent to my friends and family that I’m putting forth an effort to vocalize my feelings and experiences with diabetes. I want people to donate money towards the cause, sure, but I want everyone to know that.. this is effecting Ravi Rooprai, everyday. I don’t need pity or remorse, but I want people to be aware that these types of things.. “diseases”, do affect your close friends and perhaps we need to open a few eyes and push the envelope in spreading the word for support.

I’m already blessed with great friends who have joined in to walk with me to simply show support for me, for their loved ones who are affected, or just to walk. Regardless of their reasons, they’ve demonstrated to me that they’re willing to walk for a cause, and I appreciate that. If you’re interested in walking, you can feel free to join our team, the Finger Prickin’ Good team, by clicking here. If you’re wanting to donate a few dollars to our team, feel free to click here and be as charitable as you feel. Click on whomever you’d like to donate on behalf of, and rock it out.

My dad commanded respect and attention, even at his 5’4″ frame. He offered advice and suggestions for anything I had questions on. He taught me some of the most important lessons in my life without even knowing it. He passed away in 1996 of complications due to diabetes and it changed my life. I don’t want to make the same mistakes and not take care of my diabetes and hopefully with the money that is raised in this event and others like it across the world, we are one STEP closer to finding a cure.