My sister called me on the phone in tears. She was so upset over getting the diabetes diagnosis. I stayed with her on the phone for quite a while and just listened to her share her frustrations. She said that really helped. She appreciated my advice too. It took some time for her to calm down, but I was able to help her put things in perspective. I told her it's not like the diagnosis was the end of the world and that we would get through it together. I started talking about things she could do to improve her health. I told her about several of my friends who also have diabetes who have had lots of success after modifying their diets. I told her we could even start exercising together if she was interested. She used to be really involved with athletics. Over the last several years, I had noticed the decline in her physical activity and energy levels. I would imagine it was from all the stress of going to medical school. She really stopped taking care of herself the way she needed to. Maybe now she'll finally realize how important her health is. You can't be an effective medical practitioner if you're always sick!