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Gabriel was a good writer and researcher. He had a First Class Degree in Communications and Language Arts (CLA) at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Since graduation, he had been doing remote work for individuals and organizations.
Gabriel’s works required a lot of creative thinking, but for some reason, complex thoughts hurt his head so much that by the end of the day, he was more tired than a person hewing trees in the bush.
So, about two years earlier, the freelancer discovered that if he drank coke, his head did not hurt at all. He believed his brain was able to use the “Sugar” in Coke more effectively than the ones processed by his body from carbohydrates. So Grabby limited his consumption of Carbs and had more junk and cokes.
It helped him since Gabby could work tirelessly for long hours without his brain tiring out. But then, some of his body sensors stopped working correctly. He would not know when he was thirsty or hungry. The writer struggled to eat many times since he rarely had an appetite for food he just drank sugary stuff to regain his energy.
But he had been noticing some tingling in his legs and could sometimes get worse during sleep (he could wake up in the middle of the night to see that his leg was dead). Unknown to 25-year-old Gabriel, Coke produces cholesterols, and since he was an indoor person who rarely went out or exercised, the cholesterols were clogging his veins and preventing the proper flow of blood.
Although, coke produces less than other harmful junk he consumed such as yogurt, biscuits, sweets, licking pure sugar, etc. He did not mind consuming those junks because his blood sugar level was Ok, and he believed his brain needed them. Gabriel worked tirelessly and usually worked around deadlines every single time.
But about two years later, he did some jumping and hit his big toe on the floor, causing some internal sprain. Usually, the sprain should go early, but he was surprised to wake up on the third day to some excruciating pain. This meant the wound was not healing at all, and as far as he could remember, the Coke-lover experienced some tingling in his leg during the night. So, it was likely that blood was not flowing properly to his legs again, and the wound cannot heal without a good supply of blood.
Gabby decided to massage the leg, and in the process, he mistakenly touched the toe next to his big toe, called the “long toe”. His long toe was extremely painful to touch, and he was surprised because he never felt any pain in that area.
Upon careful inspection, he discovered that his long toe was dying.
There is something called Gangrene; it is the death of body tissue when blood stops flowing to that area, and in severe cases, the body area will need to be amputated.
His long toe had started dying due to a lack of proper blood flow to it. Luckily for Gabriel, no other toe was affected. He did some research and discovered that bad cholesterols can block blood vessels, and since he was a heavy “Sugar” eater, he was likely suffering from that.
Gabby decided he would not take sugar again. He massaged his toe to life and decided to eat healthily. He went out during the day to eat at a restaurant and cooked at night (unlike Gabriele)
That single lifestyle change caused some changes in his body. One night, he felt many veins in his body coming to life, especially in his leg region. And by the morning, Gabby’s “long toe, the one that is next to the wounded giant toe was no longer grayish in colour. It was not as painful to touch as it was either.
Encouraged by his improvements, Gabriel decided not to take any form of sugar again. But there was a problem—-his brain! Without Sugar, Gabriel’s brain was so slow and thinking was so painful. He struggled to complete his tasks, and he had been avoiding work since because he was just feeling pains in his head. Unknown to Gabriele, his got issue with carbs cause even if he had an excess of them, he might feel sick. As a slim person, his body did not retain fat or carbs.
For days after, Gabriel struggled from morning to night trying to adjust to a change in diet. But since he had work to do, he had no choice but to get another bottle of Coke. Expectedly, his brain became really cool a few seconds after taking the Coke.
Although, he had resolved not to take any other type of drinks or junk, but rather, to eat properly, and take Coke only “one day on, one day off, and honestly wanted to do without every form of sugar, he had difficulties competing a given task and had troubles thinking creatively which was what he does to make a living.
Gabriel was addicted to Coke and he continued consuming Coke and junk foods just to get his work done. Yet, his health was failing.
One particular morning, Gabriele was unable to lift his body out of the bed. In extreme pains in several parts of the body, he yelled for help and was rushed to the hospital. It was found that Gabby had been suffering from heart disease because of high blood which had been continually damaging his heart and blood vessels.
In a West African country with poor public health facilities and limited technical-knowhow, Gabby died a few hours later in the hospital of diabetes!
*About the author*
Raji Ade Oba is a Deaf scholar, writer, public SpecialED teacher, and media and communications professional. He is an award-winning disability rights activist and has habitually engaged in broader pedagogical conversations in Nigeria and abroad about safeguarding, governance, and institutional challenges confronting people with disabilities.
He can be reached at 08188883329; ronnydean66@gmail.com
This is a job well-done. The story was inspiring and also educative. 💪💪
It’s a pleasure. Thank you.