Begin Episode one:
TITLE: Meet Greg
Greg Pfaff: My name is Greg Pfaff, and I’m 45 years old as of yesterday,
I live in the central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, surrounded by the beautiful
Blue Ridge Mountains. So it’s a great place to come home to. Very quiet, very beautiful.
Greg Pfaff: 6 years ago, living the American Dream, you know I
had one delicatessen, I was getting ready to open a second location, and then I
was diagnosed with Diabetes, it was, it was shocking.
TITLE: Greg’s Journey with Diabetes
Greg Pfaff: I used to work 7 days a week; it’s what I did. But
then all of a sudden, I would take a whole day and just sleep.
Esther Pfaff: Greg’s not much to just sit around, so when he was
sleeping later in the mornings it was, it was strange to me.
Greg Pfaff: She actually said to me: make an appointment with the
doctor. I made it right away, because I knew something just wasn’t right.
So I went to the doctor. The next day, they called me and they said: ‘Can you fast
and come back again?’ And I said: ‘Why, what’s wrong?’ I mean, that was, would be
anybody’s reaction. And they said: ‘Nothing really, we just need you to come back
and run some more tests.’ So, ok, fine. They took my blood glucose test again. And
again, that to me at the time, was just like all the other tests they were taking,
I didn’t’ have a clue what it was. And the doctor came in, and he said to me, ‘Greg, you’re
a diabetic.’ And that still didn’t mean anything to me. I was like: ok, fine. So
I don’t eat chocolate. Big deal. Can I go? I got to go to work now ‘cause I run
a deli on a Friday you know. And he said to me: ‘you don’t understand. You’re going
to need to change the way you live.’ And that’s, that was the day, that’s how it
started.
Greg Pfaff: He said I’m a diabetic. I got to take some pills. I
gotta to exercise. I gotta watch what I eat. No big deal. And I started to exercise
and I started to watch what I ate, and it was one pill, and 4 pills, and 6 pills,
and 8… I ended up on 11 pills a day, testing my sugar 4 times a day, and I still
could not get these numbers to work. And I started to feel worse. And alls I wanted
to do was crawl under a rock and sleep. I felt I failed.
TITLE: Next Episode: Removing the Barriers
End Episode one.
Begin Episode two:
TITLE: Removing the Barriers
Greg Pfaff: I was 38 year old, I was living the American dream
and now my health was becoming an obstacle. I wanted to be healthier, but the only
way that I could do that, was to get my blood sugars under control. I needed to
go back to my doctor, get with him to get on a plan.
Esther Pfaff: I was just praying that he hadn’t damaged his body
by not controlling his blood sugars better, sooner.
Greg Pfaff: When I finally went back to the doctor, that’s when
he suggested: ‘Greg, you may want to look at some insulin.’ I wasn’t expecting that.
You hear the word insulin, and you figure it’s the end of the road. Everything that
you’ve ever heard about insulin before- wasn’t good. It’s no longer just a pill,
now I have to take needles; I have to start doing injections. But I was searching
and hungry for anything that could help me achieve better health.
And I realized that the insulin is going to be just another tool for me to better
take care of my blood sugars.
It’s a choice that you make, it was a hard choice, but it was a very good choice.
Esther Pfaff: Greg went on insulin and he wasn’t able to control
his numbers right away. It took a while, because he had to find the right dosages
that he needed to control the way his blood sugars numbers were.
Greg Pfaff: I remember seeing the benefits; I remember waking up
in the morning and my blood sugar readings looked good to me. And for the first
time in a long time I wasn’t starting the day behind the game. With insulin as part
of my treatment I had a good opportunity to give my family hope that I was getting
in control of my blood sugars.
TITLE: Next Episode: Just something I do
End episode two.
Begin episode three:
TITLE: Just something I do.
Esther Pfaff: Telling his doctor when he didn’t feel well or when
he felt his numbers were not leveling off, they came up with the right dosage for
Greg, so he could control his blood glucose numbers more effectively.
Greg Pfaff: Insulin is a big fear for people. When you mention
any type of insulin or any possible use of insulin the normal reaction is ‘I’m not
there yet.’ How far are you? Are you five feet, 10 feet, what are you? You’re not
there yet, and so if the insulin is the tool that you need to get to those numbers,
that’s the main thing.
It’s just something that I do. So I get up, I shave, I grab my coffee, I test my
blood sugar, I head out the door. It’s just part of me.
I went through stages with my diabetes, denial, acceptance, and then education.
I’ve learned how to understand my body’s needs, but I don’t think I’ll ever get
off of insulin, but that’s okay, it’s what I need to have better control of my blood
sugars.
Esther Pfaff: I felt very confident with the insulin but also you
have to incorporate your food and exercise with that, and now that Greg is managing
his blood glucose levels better, we’re managing the business better, we’re managing
us better.
Greg Pfaff: 5 years ago, my Dr. suggested Insulin I was resistant;
now, I wish I would have started insulin earlier.
