That’s actually my son’s Chinese name (梁佳信). It comes from Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Now, I do happen to think that my son is quite beautiful. Thick, full hair … dark, distinctive eyebrows … long, lush eyelashes. I consider him quite good-looking, perhaps it’s because he looks so much like my wife! (Ironically, my wife thinks our daughter is most beautiful because she looks like a little female version of me! 🙂 ) But beautiful feet? See, the Bible here is talking about the perception of beauty as a feeling when a messenger delivers anxiously awaited good news. During this time of Covid-19, good news is especially refreshing. One of my doctors just called me with some good news.
As some of you may know, I have been struggling with abnormally high blood sugar in spite of losing 35+ pounds before the stroke. I don’t mind sharing with you how frustrated I was to actually lose what was for me, a significant amount of weight, and then have a stroke anyway!
After the stroke, I increased my efforts to eliminate carbs and intermittently fast. Even though I continued to lose weight on the outside, my blood sugar still remained dangerously high. Where was this sugar coming from? I felt hopeless.
Now you have to understand, back in 2014, my doctors started me on Glipizide and Metformin when they diagnosed me as prediabetic. Once I began the medications, my diabetes, instead of improving, worsened. My weight began to balloon. The doctors kept increasing the dosages of my meds, eventually putting me on insulin.
In December 2018 (pre-stroke), my A1C was a frightening 12.5 (the cut-off for diabetes is 6.5). In addition to insulin, the doctor strongly suggested a plant-based diet. I was stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place since whenever I tried plant-based proteins like quinoa and legumes, my blood sugar would actually spike and I would gain weight. I prayed to God for mercy and direction. Let me share with you what I feel is a result of God’s grace upon me and my family.
Now many of you have been following our journey for over a year now. You know the crazy rollercoaster ride it has been for us. I won’t burden you with all the complicated details* but let me quickly review what God, in His amazing grace, has accomplished.
| Tim’s A1C | |
| Dec 2018 | 12.5 |
| May 2019 (after stroke) | 10.3 |
| September 2019 | 9 |
| January 2020 | 9.4 |
| March 2020 | 8.4 |
At this point, I was completely without insulin or other diabetes drugs. Since my A1C actually rose from 9 to 9.4 (perhaps due to the coincidence of complicated root canal surgery and anticipating a stressful move), my doctor was not happy. He said he wanted me to drop another 20+ pounds! I told him that was highly unlikely since I hadn’t been that light since high school, but I would continue my efforts.
And now for the good news.
This past week, I went back for lab work. A couple of days later, my doctor called, excited to tell me that … (drum roll please) my A1C had dropped to 7.1! Also, my triglycerides, HDL, and LDL were all well within healthy limits. This is with absolutely no diabetes medicine including insulin and with cutting my statin (cholesterol) meds by half. My doctor even said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you kept going like this, that you will see an A1C of 6.0!” God is healing me! Thank you for your continued prayers and support. God is answering your prayers. But I still have more work to do!
Please pray that I will continue to recover from the stroke. I’ve been having balance problems and we haven’t been receiving various beneficial therapies because of Covid-19. There is also an exciting yet controversial stroke treatment. We want to look into it, but the only doctor we know of who offers this is in Florida. https://youtu.be/6p4jW0i5xKU We would like to further investigate this when it is safer to travel with our children.
But I am thankful for the good news, especially for the Good News that Jesus offers complete forgiveness and reconciliation with God the Father. Someday all sicknesses will be healed, all injustices will be made right, and all promises will be fully realized. Every tear will be wiped away and we will enjoy absolute perfection forever without end. Hope to see you there.
Tim
* If you really want to know the details of my agonizing journey and how God lowered my A1C and helped me lose 50 pounds so far, we have a short synopsis of relevant specifics we can send you. Just email my wife.