Javier Vazquez

"A Story About Diabetes and Smoking"

Author: Javier Vazquez, Florida State University MPH intern Illustrator: Chuck McCann

Acknowledgments

This endeavor would not have been feasible without the continuous assistance and support of Dr. Gail Bellamy, Director of Center for Rural Health Research and Policy, Dr. Penny A. Ralston, Director of the Center for Better Health & Life for Underserved Populations, and Ms. Andrée Aubrey, Director of the Florida State University AHEC Program. Thanks to the remaining members of our Product Development and Research Team: Catherine Coccia, Tammye Farmer, and Iris M. Young-Clark. Thanks to the members of the Florida State University Health Literacy in Diverse Populations Advisory Committee: Joanna Colburn, Rhonda Cooper, Guillermo Gonzalez, Jerry Lang, Alma Littles, Juliette L. McDonald, Maria Pouncey, and Sharon Ross-Donaldson. Thanks to Maria Pouncey, coordinator of the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC) Migrant Education Program, for supporting our efforts. Finally, a very special thanks to the instructor of the PAEC literacy classes, Guillermo Gonzalez, and to the students of the PAEC literacy classes for participating in this project. This project was funded by the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Characters

Name: Pedro Agriculture Worker, Brother of Lucia and Father of Daniella

Name: Lucia Agriculture Worker, Sister of Pedro and Aunt of Daniella

Name: Daniella Student, Daughter of Pedro and Niece of Lucia

Name: Mario Agriculture Worker, Pedro’s friend and co-worker

Name: Dr. Martinez Family Doctor

Pedro – ¿Cómo esta Lucia? Daniella – Creo que ella va a estar bien. Todo lo que tenía era un poco de dolor en su

pierna. Pedro – Estoy seguro de que solo le van a dar una medicina y la van a mandar para la

casa.

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Scene 1 – Pedro arrives at the hospital to meet family in the waiting room. Pedro – How is Lucia doing? Daniella – I think she is going to be fine. All she had was a little pain in her leg. Pedro – I am sure they will just give her some medicine and send her home.

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Dr. Martinez – Parece que Lucia ha tenido diabetes por algun tiempo. No tenemos

más remedio que amputarle la pierna. Daniella – ¿Que? Esto no puede estar pasando. Pedro – Tengo que salir de aqui. Voy para afuera. Dr. Martinez – ¿El esta bien? Daniella – El se va a fumar un cigarillo.

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Scene 2 – Doctor is speaking to Pedro and Daniella. Dr. Martinez – It seems Lucia has had diabetes for some time. We have no choice

but to amputate her leg. Daniella – What?!? This cannot be happening. Pedro – I have to get out of here. I am going outside. Dr. Martinez – Is he okay? Daniella – He is going to smoke a cigarette.

Diabetes (diabetes) Amputate (amputar)

Smoke (fumar)

Cigarette (cigarillo)

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Mario – ¿Hola Pedro, que haces en el hospital? Pedro – Me acabo de enterar de que le van a cortar una pierna a mi hermana a causa

de la diabetes. Mario – Que noticia mas triste. Pedro – Lo se. Estoy sintiendo mucho estrés. Tuve que salir a fumar un cigarillo.

¿Que haces tu aqui? Mario – Mi esposa, Ana, acaba de dar a luz. Tenemos una hermosa niña. Usted sabe

que yo fumaba todo el tiempo cuando me sentía estresado. Yo no fumo más por que estaba enfermando a mi familia y yo mismo me estaba enfermo.

Pedro – ¿Cómo pudiste dejar de fumar? Mario – Bueno, lo primero que hice fue decidir dejar de fumar. Despues recibí

ayuda de la linea Florida QuitLine. Pedro – Me gustaría dejar de fumar pero no sé si puedo. Mario – ¡Por supuesto! Si yo pude dejar de fumar, tu puedes dejar de fumar también. Pedro – ¿Crees que puedo? Mario – Sí. Tengo que ir a ver a Ana ahora. Llámame más tarde para hablar más

sobre esto.

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Scene 3 – Pedro outside smoking. Runs into Mario. Mario – Hi Pedro, what are you doing at the hospital? Pedro – I just found out that my sister is having her leg cut off because of diabetes. Mario – That is sad news. Pedro – I know. I am feeling a lot of stress right now. I had to come outside to

smoke a cigarette. Why are you here? Mario – My wife, Ana, just gave birth. We have a beautiful girl. You know I used to

smoke all the time when I was stressed. I do not smoke anymore. It was making my family and me very sick.

Pedro – How did you stop smoking? Mario – Well, the very first thing was making the decision to quit. Then I got some

help from the Florida QuitLine. Pedro – I would like to quit but I do not know if I can. Mario – You sure can. If I can quit, you can quit too. Pedro – You really think so? Mario – Yes. I have to go in to see Ana now. Call me later so we can talk more

about this.

Stress (estrés)

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Daniella – ¿Doctor, como es que la diabetes causo todo esto? Dr. Martinez – Bueno, si la diabetes no se cuida puede causar problemas con la

circulación de la sangre. La diabetes puede afectar muchas partes del cuerpo. Pedro – Yo no sabia que la diabetes era tan peligrosa. Dr. Martinez – Si lo es. Pero esta enfermedad se puede controlar si uno se cuida. Pedro – ¿Qué necesita uno hacer si tiene diabetes? Dr. Martinez –En primer lugar, es importante saber si usted tiene la enfermedad.

Lucía no iba al médico con frecuencia y no sabía que tenía diabetes. Siendo miembros de la familia de Lucía, están todos en riesgo de la enfermedad. Sugiero que todos obtengan un examen para la enfermedad pronto. Tengo que atender a otro paciente. Por favor, con permiso.

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Scene 4 – Pedro goes back into hospital to speak with doctor and Daniella. Daniella – Doctor, how did diabetes cause all of this? Dr. Martinez – Well if diabetes is not taken care of it can cause problems with blood

circulation. Diabetes can affect many parts of the body. Pedro – I did not know diabetes was so dangerous. Dr. Martinez – Yes it is. But, you can control the disease if you take care of yourself. Pedro – What does someone need to do if they have diabetes? Dr. Martinez – It is important to know if you have the disease first. Lucia did not go

to the doctor often and she did not know she had diabetes. Being family members of Lucia, you are all at risk for the disease. I suggest all of you get an examination for the disease soon. I have to check on another patient. Please, excuse me.

Circulation (circulación) Dangerous (peligroso)

Control (controlar)

Disease (enfermedad)

Risk (riesgo)

Examination (examen)

Patient (paciente)

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Pedro – Creo que debemos ver a un doctor para saber si tenemos diabetes. Daniella – Tia Lucia nunca iba al doctor y mira como esta ahora. Pedro – Si. Nosotros tenemos que empezar a cuidarnos. Yo no quiero pasar por lo

que ella esta pasando.

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Scene 5 – Doctor is gone. Pedro and Daniella speaking to themselves. Pedro – I think we should see a doctor to know if we have diabetes. Daniella – Aunt Lucia did not go to the doctor and look at her now. Pedro – Yes. We need to start taking care of ourselves. I do not want to go through

what she is going through.

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Doctor – Pedro, miré los resultados. Tengo noticias buenas y noticias malas. Pedro – ¿Cual es la mala noticia? Doctor – La mala noticia es que tienes diabetes. Pedro – ¿Cual es la buena noticia? Doctor – La buena noticia es que puedes vivir una vida normal aunque tengas

diabetes. Pedro – ¿Me van a cortar la pierna? Doctor – No, en absoluto. Tuviste suerte de conseguir un examen temprano. Tú y yo

vamos a hablar de lo que usted necesita hacer para vivir una vida normal. Si usted se cuida, no tendrá problemas en el futuro.

Pedro – Estoy content de que me hice el examen. Doctor – Now, one thing I do have to tell you is that you need to quit smoking.

Smoking makes diabetes worse and it can lead to bigger problems. Ahora, una cosa que te tengo que decir es que usted necesita dejar de fumar. La fuma hace que la diabetes se ponga peor y puede resultar en problemas grandes.

Pedro – Sí, doctor. Haré lo que sea necesario. No quiero acabar como Lucia.

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Scene 6 – Pedro is at the doctor’s office getting an examination. Doctor – Pedro, I looked at your results. I have some good news and some bad news. Pedro – What is the bad news? Doctor – The bad news is that you have diabetes. Pedro – What is the good news? Doctor – The good news is that you can live a normal life even if you have diabetes. Pedro – Is my leg going to get cut off? Doctor – Not at all. You were lucky that you came in early to get the examination

done. You and I are going to talk about what you need to do to live a normal life. If you take care of yourself, you will not have future problems.

Pedro – I am glad I came to get this examination. Doctor – Now, one thing I do have to tell you is that you need to quit smoking.

Smoking makes diabetes worse and it can lead to bigger problems. Pedro – Yes, doctor. I will do what it takes. I do not want to end up like Lucia.

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THE END

For more information on how to quit call:

(1-877-822-6669)

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