‘She didn’t need to die at 42.’ Elicia Heaston told me that after her best friend died in December from type 2 #diabetes. Kate Herrin was among more than 100K Americans who died from diabetes in 2020, up 17% in one year. We wanted to know why. 1/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
Then @RobinRespaut found that deaths from diabetes rose faster in 2020 than for any other disease. Only accidents/overdoses went up more. These weren’t deaths involving #COVID directly. But Herrin and others fell victim to the isolation and disruption. 2/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
During #COVID19, many #diabetes patients became fearful and reluctant to seek care – until they were in crisis. ‘COVID caused more damage than we realized,’ Sandra Arevalo of Montefiore Hospital in N.Y. told us. 3/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
Another startling discovery by @RobinRespaut was that younger adults, ages 25-44, suffered the sharpest increase in diabetes-related deaths, up 29%. We interviewed families who lost fathers, daughters and other loved ones in their 30s or 40s. 4/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
From reporting, we realized this tragic toll was the result of a public-health failure that predated #COVID. By 2019, deaths from #diabetes had reached the highest rate in 8 yrs. When pandemic struck, people with the disease were especially vulnerable. 5/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
Despite billions spent on new treatments, the prognosis for people with #diabetes has been getting worse over the past decade. Hospitalizations and deaths from high blood sugar had soared in recent years. #Amputations were rising. 6/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
The pandemic highlighted longstanding problems in the U.S. that have made the country's mortality rate for #diabetes among the highest in the industrialized world. The U.S. ranked lower on diabetes care than Libya, Iran and Vietnam in a global report. 7/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
Then @RobinRespaut met John Cupo, who was sent home from work in the pandemic and he canceled doctor visits. Later, he lost his left leg to diabetic complications. ‘I believe I would still have my leg if it wasn’t for COVID scaring me to stay home.' 8/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
At Children’s National Hospital in D.C., diagnoses of #T2D nearly tripled in the first year of the pandemic from a year earlier. Dr. Brynn Marks said school closures and decreased physical activity likely contributed to the spike. 9/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
I talked to their new patient, Adedotun Adebayo. Before #COVID, the 15-year-old was active and played basketball after school. When classes went online and gyms shut down, he hung out on the sofa and gained weight. ‘I was alone and not doing anything.' 10/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
In March, Adebayo passed out at church and his mother called 911. 'Please do everything to save my boy,' she told the operator. He woke up days later in ICU, newly diagnosed with type 2 #diabetes. 11/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
I spent a lot of time learning about Kate Herrin. Doctors often rejected her #Medicaid plan, and she ran out of the test strips needed to manage her #insulin. She cycled through the ER with dangerously high blood sugar. Then #COVID made matters worse. 12/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
The isolation brought on by #COVID19 and the persistent financial and logistical issues proved overwhelming, her friends told me. Herrin died alone on her bathroom floor. Her rescue dogs, Honey and Sugar, were lying quietly next to her. 13/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
Robin, Deborah J. Nelson and I thank all the families & friends who shared their stories with us. We're still reporting on #diabetes and welcome your stories, ideas and tips. DMs are open, contact info in my profile. Also reach out to @RobinRespaut 14/ reuters.com/investigates/s…
And please watch and share this video our @Reuters colleagues put together: @specialreports #diabetes #health
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