Some of those were older. Some were young. All were friends or family members I miss dearly.

A recent trip to the emergency room has led me to make changes in my life.

No longer will I ignore bloodwork results, fail to visit my physician, or eat whatever the hell I please.

I am not telling this story for sympathy. I am telling this story in the hope that I can save just one person’s life.

I have ignored my health for years, both my mental health and physical health.

I’ve told myself that I would start exercising tomorrow. I will lose weight tomorrow. I will eat better tomorrow. I will go to the doctor tomorrow.

On Tuesday, April 27, I was convinced that I wasn’t going to see Wednesday, April 28. I was convinced that once I called 911, I wasn’t coming home. That I wouldn’t see my wife and kids again. That I wouldn’t run a fire call again. That I wouldn’t walk the beaches of Ocean City again. That I wouldn’t see my family again.

When my wife and boys left for school that Tuesday morning, I kissed them goodbye while showing them, I would be ok. They knew I didn’t feel good that morning, but they thought it was just a headache.

I had been out the night before from 7 to midnight, first at a weekly training session for the fire department and then on the scene of a building fire. Maybe I was exhausted. Maybe I was dehydrated.

My body was sending me a message that something was seriously wrong. I tried to go back to bed but kept thinking I might not wake up. As much as I didn’t want to go to the hospital, call my wife at work, or worry everyone in the family, I put all of that aside and dialed 911.

I told the dispatcher I thought I had a heart attack. I believed I was. My left hand was tingling. I had the chills. I was in a state of complete discomfort. I couldn’t sit down. I couldn’t lie down. All I could do was stand up and pace around the house.

In the back of my mind, I had a feeling it was something other than a heart attack. I had recently received the results of my annual bloodwork conducted by the fire department’s medical provider.

For the previous two years, I ignored those results. Each of the last two years, my blood sugar and triglycerides kept climbing. I kept telling myself that I would start dieting, exercising and would get everything under control.

I kept telling myself there’s not enough time in the day to go for a walk, ride a bike, or walk a treadmill. I will start tomorrow. I’ve made promises to myself and my family that I kept breaking, and it was killing me.

When the engine arrived at my house, they began evaluating me for a possible stroke. Then the ambulance arrived, and the EMTs asked the same questions. The paramedics checked for stroke symptoms too.

The first good sign of the morning was when the paramedics told the EMTs that I did not require advanced life-saving measures, so they would not follow us to the hospital.

I underwent a CT scan, a chest x-ray, and a full panel of bloodwork, including checking my cardiac enzymes and multiple EKGs. All of the results came back normal.

My blood sugar was at a whopping 371 that morning. When the fire department medical provider notified me, it was hovering around 355.

It was determined that I endured a diabetic episode. Thankfully, I was given medicine and discharged later Tuesday afternoon.

My family had never been happier to learn someone was diagnosed with diabetes, considering all that could have been wrong with me that morning (heart attack, stroke, etc.).

I have made immediate changes to my life. My diet has changed completely. I have started exercising regularly. I have cut out soda and snacks. I am on medication to help keep my blood sugar in check.

I know I am not the first person diagnosed with diabetes, and I will not be the last. But, if my story reaches just one person who is ignoring their health, the messages their body is sending them, or refusing to go to the doctor, then telling my story was the right thing to do.

When the cavalry arrived Tuesday morning, I knew I was in good hands. It almost immediately alleviated many of my fears, but I still had it in the back of my head that I was suffering a heart attack.

The professionalism of the firefighters from my department, the EMTs from a neighboring squad, and the Virtua paramedics were second-to-none.

I cannot thank them enough for comforting my wife and mother-in-law as I was loaded into the ambulance, reassuring them that things would be ok. When you are in a brotherhood such as the fire service, everyone looks out for everyone, and that was evident Tuesday morning when off-duty guys responded to my home when the call was dispatched.

It’s sad to say that it took a trip to the ER to make the proper changes in my life, but it did. It was a frightening wake-up call that I hope no one else has to experience.

I never want to see the look I saw on my wife’s face when I was being loaded into the ambulance ever again.

With the proper diet changes and exercise, I can control diabetes. I encourage anyone who hasn’t seen their physician within the last year to make an appointment. If you’ve been ignoring your health or warning signs from your body, make today the last day you do so.

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