You can save your own life by taking control of it

Diabetics talk about what made them turn things around

By Dan nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
9-11-08

It's always up to patients to decide whether to control their diabetes or let their diabetes control them.

Larry Lands, 56, has had type 1 diabetes for 46 years. He hooks himself up to the dialysis machine in his bedroom every night. For exercise, he put in an "endless pool" system where he swims laps against the current.

It's that kind of attitude that 56-year-old Larry Lands believes has allowed him to keep his eyesight and left foot.

He was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the same disease that killed Lands' father at the age of 50.

"I've worked my backside off all my life," Lands said. "I love my life. I love being here. I can tell my life story and make people laugh or tell my life story and make people cry. I prefer to make people laugh."

His Kaiser Permanente primary care physician, Dr. Paul Laderta of the Waipi'o clinic, calls Lands' case "one of the more severe cases of diabetes type 1 I've seen."

"To Larry's credit, he's also one of the best patients when it comes to managing his disease," Laderta said. "Larry is one of those patients who takes total control of his care. Larry has done his homework and asks the right questions. Attitude is very, very important. Patients with the best attitudes who take control of their disease do much better."

A Strategy For Life

For most of his life, Lands has always looked to his own power.

Lands' sister, who is one year older, also was diagnosed at age 10.

"They tell me that I'm in the last two-tenths of 1 percent that are still above ground at this point," Lands said. "If my sister and I both make it just four more years, we'll become only the second siblings in history to make 50 years as type 1 diabetics."

When he was a child, Lands had to boil water to sterilize his insulin needles, which were injected via glass syringes. Where diabetes sufferers now can test their glucose levels on the spot and get instant results, Lands and his sister had to go to the hospital and wait 24 hours for their results.

"In other words, it was totally, completely useless information for taking care of yourself," he said.

Lands was only slightly better off than his father, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during World War II after spending three days on a troop train eating nothing but candy bars.

"That's when his diabetes showed up in full force," Lands said. "There was very little knowledge about diabetes in that day and age."

He died at age 50 when Lands was in junior high school. And when Lands made his 50th birthday, "it was a gigantic milestone. When I was born, the average lifespan for a type 1 diabetic was about 14 years."

'It's Good To See You'

Lands has fought to keep up a positive attitude despite several medical scares.

Eight years ago, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. Six years ago, he developed a blister while stepping off a treadmill that ended up infecting the bone behind his left little toe.

Impaired circulation that's so common among those with diabetes meant that Lands couldn't feel pain in his foot, and problems piled up for four long years.

"It didn't actually hurt because I can walk on a completely bloody foot and I won't feel it," he said.

His condition worsened to the point that doctors wanted to amputate his foot, "but I was too stubborn for that," Lands said.

Over a 15-year period, Lands also underwent 10 eye surgeries.

"When I say it's good to see you, I really mean it's good to see you," Lands said.

During the day, he stays in shape by swimming against the blast of an "endless pool" in his Royal Kunia backyard. At night, Lands connects himself to a peritoneal dialysis machine in his bedroom.

"Diabetes crushes some people and inspires others," Lands said. "I didn't have any control over the hand that was dealt me. The only thing I could control was the way I played my hand."

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