Sivarajah Manicavasagar

Memoirs of a Diabetic: a Malaysian Sivarajah Manicavasagar

This memoir shares the inspiring story of a diabetic and his life experiences-some life-threatening-over the past sixty-seven years. Diagnosed in 1957 at the age of 11, author M. Sivarajah considers the changes in treatment of the disease from his early years through present day. He recounts how handling insulin has changed over the years, recalling early metal syringes and needles and the method of sterilizing both. The time it took to boil the needles to insure that they were properly sterilized was staggering. The present generation can gauge for themselves how different life was in the fifties for a diabetic and how much we have progressed in the knowledge of the disease over the years. He also includes a description of how "urine sugar" was tested when there were no blood glucose level tests, as we have now. He also remembers many incidents of bad hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) conditions-some of which seem humorous in hindsight. Providing a realistic look at the progress that has been made in our knowledge of diabetes and ways to lead a virtually normal life with the disease today, Memoirs of a Diabetic reveals how thoroughly this condition can affect your life.