Video: Out of Control
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Reporting by David Templeton
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Linda Torch regularly enjoyed 5th Avenue candy bars and other carb-loaded foods. That is, until 2003 when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The diagnosis was no real surprise due to family history of the disease. But it was a disappointment that now is a prevalent concern. Her father, Lester Hayes, lost both of his gangrenous legs and died of heart disease, both due to type 2. Then her 45-year-old husband, Thomas Torch, died of a stroke in 1998, five years after suffering end-stage renal failure from type 2.
In April, her brother William Frederick Hayes, 68, died of a heart attack believed to be related to his type 2.
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Diabetes' impact on her family did not end there.
Her three sisters and 92-year-old mother, Laurestine Hayes, also have type 2, although her mother has tamed the beast by eliminating sugar from her diet, testing her blood sugar four times a day and taking regular walks with a cane in hand.
Mrs. Torch, 54, of Whiteley Township, Greene County, cannot drive and lives on public assistance including $284 in food stamps a month, but is working hard to control her disease against tough odds, including living on public assistance in a rural area. She has lost 50 pounds, takes daily walks, cares for her three dogs, does housework and refrains from most carbs including candy bars, although she occasionally cheats by eating a piece of pie or potatoes.
"It's hard. It's tough," she said, describing her mother as a fighter and inspiration to control the disease. "You gotta live with it. You gotta accept it."
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First Published August 17, 2007 4:13 pm
