November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

According to the International Diabetes Federation 537 million adults (20-79 years) are living with diabetes. That is one out of every 10 people. Experts predict this number, acquired in 2022, will rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.

These numbers are sobering and not to be taken lightly. Diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021 - one every five seconds. More people die from diabetes than from cancer although, according to the National Institutes of Health, large studies have found that diabetes increases cancer mortality.

Diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss in adults. About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 diabetes eventually will suffer kidney failure. In the United States, every year about 73,000 amputations of the lower limb, not related to trauma, are performed on people with diabetes.

Diabetes costs at least $966 billion dollars in health expenditures - a 316% increase over the last 15 years.

Acknowledging National Diabetes Awareness Month, author John Robert Wiltgen, said, "much of the general public believes that insulin and eating sensibly makes diabetes easy to manage, but that's not necessarily true."

Wiltgen's book, entitled, "The Candy in My Pocket," is about his life with Type 1 diabetes.

"Imagine becoming legally blind in your early 20s while working as an architectural designer," said Wiltgen. "There's the mortgage on a building you're renovating, rent is due for your office, and employees must be paid. What would you do? Or picture yourself with kidney disease requiring a transplant. Then at the age of 30 you are diagnosed with heart disease, have had three silent heart attacks and require two stents. How would you cope? Additionally, what if you fought skin and bone infections for 20 years and finally had to have your leg amputated? Could you go on?" he asks.

These are a few of the amazing questions resolved in John Robert Wiltgen's captivating memoir, "The Candy in My Pocket." He battled countless debilitating complications of Type 1 diabetes while creating a prestigious design firm with projects across America, Canada, Mexico - even Africa.

According to Navid Ziran, an Orthopedic Trauma Surgery Specialist practicing in Phoenix, AZ., and across the west coast, "I perform many amputations (toe, trans metatarsal, below the knee and above the knee) due to diabetic foot infections, and I am very familiar with the effects of diabetes on mental and physical quality of life and overall longevity," he said.

"For instance, the overall five-year mortality rate after an amputation is 62-percent," said Ziran. "Wiltgen, who has suffered from insulin-dependent diabetes since the age of eight, has defied the odds for survival."

"Other individuals would have died a long time ago, Wiltgen not only survived but developed into a world-renown interior designer and he sought joy and established solid friendships along the way," he said.

"He is a quintessential example of how human spirit cannot only adapt/overcome but also flourish and succeed despite overwhelming odds. Truly, his life story embraces 'ad astra per aspera'- a crooked path leads to the stars," said Ziran.

"I would say that regarding survivability and inner strength, Wiltgen represents the end of the bell curve for not only diabetic patients but for all humans," he concluded.

Though Wiltgen's life involves countless tragedies, it also includes exciting personal and professional adventures as well as celebrity cameos including Jane Seymour, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Sean and Robin Wright Penn, Steve Harvey, John Cusack, the former Governor of Lagos State who is now President of Nigeria and Jesus.

Dr. James Paperello, Professor of Medicine Nephrology and hypertension at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, made this comment about Wiltgen's book, "As a nephrologist, I found 'The Candy in My Pocket' particularly inspiring as it shows that people with kidney disease can still live a full life."

"Mr. Wiltgen shares how he dealt with his diagnosis, the transplant, and life afterward - a life more interesting and authentic than reality TV shows. He also exemplifies the health benefits of a good sense of humor."

The "Candy in My Pocket" is timely, not only for National Diabetes Awareness Month but also with the current explosion of diabetes in America and around the world.

Cynthia Rowley, global fashion designer raised in Barrington, commented, "I laughed out loud at every story. John's triumph over medical adversity is enormously uplifting. He chooses joy, happiness, and unwavering positivity in his quest to live life on his own terms. I have never met a person with more energy and pathological optimism."

The memoir can be purchased online through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Barbara's Book Store, Etsy - even Walmart. For more information visit www.thecandyinmypocket.com.

A portion of the profits realized from the sale of this book will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.