Great Physician's Rx for Diabetes

Introduction: Time to Make a Change ;In early 2004, Joey Hinson sat attentively while I spoke at a Wednesday night service at my home church, Christ Fellowship Church, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. That evening, I described how a thirty-nine-year-old acquaintance of mine had suddenly died from a heart attack, leaving behind a beautiful wife, four energetic kids, and a thriving ministry. "I had been asked to speak to this father and husband about getting on God's health plan, but we never connected in time," I said that evening. "How would his life--and those who mattered most to him--had changed if he had managed to turn around his health in time?" ;A year later, my church asked me to speak again, and this time Joey introduced himself after the service. "When you spoke a year ago, that story about that thirty-nine-year-old guy really did a number on me. You see, I'm also a husband and a father, and I felt like you were speaking directly to me. I knew I had to do something." ;"Tell me about it," I said, intrigued, but humbled by what I had heard. ;After he finished describing the events of the past year, I asked Joey if we could share his story with readers of the Great Physician's Prescription for Diabetes. Here's what happened in his words: ; Throughout much of 2003, I began feeling horrible. This was something new for me because I thought I was in good shape, even for a guy who had turned fifty. I had played football in college--I lined up as an offensive lineman at Mars Hill College in North Carolina--so I was encouraged to "eat big" when I was growing up. It was hard to get away from that mentality after my college days were over, however. Over the years, I gained some weight--probably a good twenty or thirty pounds extra on my six-foot, two-inch frame. When I tipped the scales at 250 pounds a few years ago, I told myself to do something about it. I attended so many Weight Watchers meetings that I received a lifetime membership, but once I went off their food, the weight always came right back. ; ;I think it's because I liked to eat Southern foods too much. My weakness was fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and collard greens with the ham bone cooked in, or country-fried steaks dripping with gravy and yellow rice. Dessert had to be a rich chocolate cake or pecan pie. ;Cheeseburgers and fries worked just fine for lunch. I worked as the transportation director at King's Academy, a private Christian school near my hometown of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, and a couple of times a week I borrowed the school's golf cart and drove to the Wendy's or Burger King located next door to school. People looked at me funny when they saw me ordering lunch from my golf cart, but I didn't mind. I was having fun. ;What wasn't fun was the shortness of breath and lack of energy that I began experiencing after turning fifty. Our house has a good-sized lawn that normally takes me several hours to mow. In the muggy Florida summer heat, I was too pooped to tackle the project. I'd lie down on the sofa, gasping for air and frightened by how fast my heart was beating. I felt really bad. ;Donna, my wife, was naturally concerned, and I was bothered that I didn't have the energy to keep up with our youngest son, a ten-year-old. Then one Sunday night in August 2003, I was sitting in church, listening to the pastor, when beads of sweat formed on my forehead. My heart thumped like a bass drum, and I feared that a heart attack was imminent. "Lord, what should I do?" I prayed. Things got so scary that I thought about signaling for an usher to call 911, but I didn't want to create a scene in the middle of a church service. ;I thought I was having high blood pressure problems since hypertension raRubin, Jordan S. is the author of 'Great Physician's Rx for Diabetes ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780785213970 and ISBN 078521397X.