Next weekend, more than a thousand San Antonians will be “Stepping Out” to help in the fight against diabetes with a walk in Brackenridge Park. The man who is spearheading this year’s fundraiser knows the disease from two perspectives. He’s both a patient and a doctor.
Dr. Joshua Hedman knows feet. The podiatrist with the Foot and Ankle Treatment Center of San Antonio was only 27 years old and a second year resident when he started experiencing strange symptoms.“Excessive thirst. Frequent urination. I lost a lot of weight. I was very fatigued,” Hedman recalled.
He was diagnosed with type I diabetes, a life-changing moment for him, but one that has given him great compassion for his patients. About one in five are diabetic.“It allows you to relate on a more personal level, that’s for sure,” he said. “Before you would get ‘Doc, you don’t know how it feels’ and now they can’t really say that.”
Patients like Marcella Hrncir say they appreciate Hedman’s honesty and empathy. She’s recovering from a toe amputation caused by diabetic complications.
“He’s really nice. He listens to me,” Hrncir said. “He does know what we’re going through.”
While the numbness caused by neuropathy and circulation problems cause many foot issues for diabetic patients, Hedman is careful to tell people that complications are not inevitable. “You don’t have to have bad things happen to you because you’re diagnosed with diabetes,” he explained. “But a lot of things that do happen I think is because of a lack of awareness and education.”
Hedman is using his personal experience and professionalism to change that.
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