Warning Signs

On February 27th, a Georgetown University junior named Austin Freeman was suffering from a cold and stomach virus-like symptoms. He is their leading scorer with an average of 17.3 points per game. He had to take intravenous fluids to come off the bench against Notre Dame. By all reports, he was shaky and pale while scoring five points in 23 minutes. Two days later, he was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. He is 20 years old.

A couple of days earlier I felt chest pressure, numbness in my left arm and numbness in both pinkies. The chest pressure took me to the hospital. My heart is fine, but I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I am 51 years old. Diabetes is a serious condition, but not life threatening. It requires a change in diet, exercise, and constant monitoring of your blood sugar. I was self injecting insulin for the first week of my diagnosis, but now take oral medication twice a day. There a things I have to watch for and understand how my body reacts to foods-but all manageable. The good news is that I've lost weight and maintaining it along with an improvement in eyesight. Go figure.

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post wrote an excellent column on Austin Freeman, other athletes with Diabetes and his own diagnosis a couple of years ago. Click here for the link to his column. The good news for all of us and many of the 285 million people across the globe is that we know what we have and if we take responsibility, can control it. There are many who have it much worse, some who don't realize it.

Are there warning signs of disease in your organization? Is there less enthusiasm than normal? Is absenteeism up? Are people taking calls on their cellphones outside of the office? Are there more whispers around the water cooler? Leadership's first reaction may be to get angry and challenge folks. Look deeper-perhaps you're the cause. I find that there are buoys everyone in life-many are in the workplace. Look to read those buoys and react accordingly. Sometimes we make a decision without understanding the consequences. Think about the warning signs and get help. Many diseases are controllable-both in the body and the organization.