‘I Can See Again’: How I Found Courage to Fight Diabetes and DME

Photo courtesy of Gwen Brewer Managing Type 2 diabetes is a vital step in maintaining overall health, as the condition can lead to serious complications affecting various organs and systems in the body. One such complication is diabetic macular edema (DME), a vision-threatening condition caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the blood vessels in the retina. An estimated 750,000 people in the United States are affected by DME, with Black Americans facing a two-fold higher risk compared to their white counterparts. For Gwen Brewer, her journey began with an overwhelming craving for sugar—a dangerous yet common habit. “To put it simply, I couldn’t help myself. If I saw a candy bar, I’d grab it. That was my lifestyle,” Brewer tells BlackDoctor.org. This lifestyle ultimately led to her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis six years ago. Her unmanaged diabetes progressed, culminating in a diagnosis of DME. Photo courtesy of Gwen Brewer A New Challenge: Diabetic Macular Edema For Brewer, the symptoms of DME were subtle but profoundly life-altering. “I first noticed it when I could only see two light bulbs in the background where there were three. I also noticed the curtains and blinds were waving oddly. My doctor told me...