As the owner of Damon's hardware store in Wakefield, David Chappell needs lots of energy for the long, busy days he keeps to serve his customers. About six years ago, David was diagnosed with diabetes and has been trying to take better care of his health ever since. He recently started a walking program, and has been trying to improve his diet. These efforts, along with care from his primary care physician, Nitin S. Damle, M.D., have been keeping his blood sugar in check.
Can you describe how difficult it's been to change your lifestyle?
"I can be stubborn—I don't like to change much. Dr. Damle has been on me for probably two years. And it's been, 'I'll get to it; I'll get to it.' So I would say that it was a challenge at first."
What made you finally decide to start exercising and eating better?
"It was at the point where I would be on a fourth medicine. That was when I started to change my diet and exercise at Dr. Damle's urging. It's had a dramatic effect on my blood sugar. You reach a point where you know you're not getting any younger. At 63, I want to maintain a healthy life. In a few years, I want to retire, and my wife wants to travel all over. I need to be healthy because she said she's not going to wheel me through any airports."
When do you fit in walking?
"I walk every morning for about 20 minutes and, business permitting, I'll walk again in the afternoon."
Nitin S. Damle M.D., FACP
Internist, Wakefield, Rhode Island
Dr. Damle has been in private practice since 1988. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and of the medical school at Wayne State University. Dr. Damle completed his medical training at Brown University Affiliated Hospitals. He is the Governor of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American College of Physicians and the Vice President of the Rhode Island Medical Society. He says, "I think there are very few professions where you can help people with what's most important to them—that is, their health. It's building that relationship so that when they need us most, they know they can trust us."
