Huber Heights man: “I thought I was healthy”

Barwick was among the lucky.

There was more than one sign before it all came to a head and Barwick ended up in a hospital bed diagnosed with a diabetes in January.

He was chugging water and could barely see.

“My eyes got really blurry,” the Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School said. “It was pretty scary.”

>> Diabetes after age 50 could be sign of pancreatic cancer, study says

Sometimes diabetes comes without warning.

The community and economic development project leader for the Central State University Extension said many men ignore their health.

“We may have health insurance, but we don’t take advantage of it,” he said.

With the help of his colleague, Mary Kershaw, an extension program coordinator, Barwick launched  Men Take a Stand for Your Health, a community health fair directed toward men and their concerns that was held June 30.

Men should take control of their health, he said.

“The whole point is to get men focused on health,” he said.

>> Insulin pills could replace daily injections for Type I diabetics, study finds

Barwick said his diet has changed significantly since he discovered he was a diabetic.  He’s cut way, way back on the ice cream and switched to frozen yogurt.

He said he knows he is not immortal and is taking his health in his own hands.

I don’t have to be a diabetic. I can get off of it,” he said. “Men, we have to be serious out our health.”