Day 6: Scared Straight By Father Joe Carroll

Growing up in San Diego in the 80's I was lucky enough to witness Father Joe Carol begin and grow the movement to help provide services to the homeless in San Diego that culminated in in St. Vincent de Paul's Village and Father Joe's Villages.  Growing up in the Catholic Community at UCSD I remember the sense of community that Father Joe inspired as people from all over San Diego joined him in his mission. It was truly an unprecedented movement.
My memories of Father Joe was that of a strong, happy man who was saving the homeless like a superhero.  
Last week I was listening to my local NPR station on the way to drop off the twins at school and they were running a story about the rise in San Diego amputees due to complications from diabetes.  "Great!" I thought just want I want to hear when I haven't taken my own blood sugar in months. I mean really ... trying to avoid thinking about long term consequences here. 
I actually was contemplating changing the channel when I heard a clip from Father Joe detailing what he has gone through because he did not take his diabetes seriously when he was younger. And that stopped me cold.  I have heard before that Father Joe had diabetes but for whatever reason it did not register with me that he had lost limbs and eyes because of his diabetes.
My first thought was, I've been neglecting my diabetes care for a while and I definitely want to keep all of my body parts, I need to make some real changes. 
So, while it may sound cony listening to Father Joe last week birthed the inspiration to make real changes in my life to get healthy and not be a burden to my children later in life because of years of not taking care of myself.
Thank you Father Joe for scaring me straight!

Click Here to Listen to Father Joe Talk How Neglecting his Diabetes Has Affected Him