Diabetes: Trapped in the endemic
Long before diabetes hit the headlines, it hit home for me. Diabetes runs in my family. My uncle never really acknowledged his diabetes or tried to manage it. Diagnosed in his early 20′s, Richard Esparza later died, age 42, due to complications related to his type 2 diabetes. Years later, in 2006 my sister would also become a diabetic.
Diet and exercise are often the first recommendations made by doctors to their diabetic patients. Such a simple solution though is easier said than done. For many it requires a dramatic lifestyle change. Today, diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, with minority groups making up the largest portion of the newly diagnosed.
I have seen those I love s truggle to accept and manage this lifelong disease. My goal was to put a face to the statistics. This project documents the life of one young man, Demarko Fisher, who lives with Type 2 diabetes.