The monkey on Al’s back was causing a lot of trouble one day.
The monkey is diabetes.
“Sometimes the monkey is well behaved, and everything is fine,” Al said. Then my blood sugar drops, or I spend hours fighting high blood sugar. That’s when the monkey jumps up and down and screams in my ear. I feel miserable until my numbers are under control again and he settles down.”
That’s not all. A diabetic’s monkey is a thief that steals vision, kidneys, heart, and feet and leaves behind artery clogging plaque.
The day after our conversation, Jim Fowler was on a rerun of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Jim brought out a young Celebes crested macaque that was oh, so cute in his red shorts and faux-hawk hair, making faces at the camera. The cuteness wore off quickly when the little stinker pulled Johnny’s mug off the desk, bounced on top of a table, pushed over a stool, and swiped at Johnny’s attempted “high five” gesture.
The ape we’d just watched was Al’s diabetes monkey made flesh. Having something like that on your back is a tough way to live.
Al wants future generations to live without the diabetes monkey on their backs. You have been nurturing his wish every year with your donations to my Tour de Cure rides—donations that help the American Diabetes Association improve the lives of people living with diabetes while working to find a cure.
This year’s in-person tour is in Redmond, WA, and my ride will be virtual. Will you help me ensure that generations to come don’t have to host a back-clinging diabetes monkey?
Thank you for your support!
