As a Latino, Waldo Sepulveda knew he had a higher risk of diabetes. After experiencing symptoms, he took a glucose test and googled his reading. "It said, in big bold letters, that it was a medical emergency, that I should go to the ER immediately."
The 42-year-old Spring resident was visiting his parents and telling them about a slew of odd symptoms he had been experiencing: He felt tired. He was usually queasy and almost always thirsty. His vision seemed blurrier than usual.
His weight had steadily increased from 190 to 240 pounds, since his daughter Giselle was born three years earlier. And being active had been even more difficult after son Javier arrived in December 2022.
"I kind of let myself go," Waldo admitted. "I'm married with children. I have my career. I put my health in the background."
The disease runs in his family. His father Gerardo Sepulveda has type 2 diabetes and his mother Maria Sepulveda is pre-diabetic.
Waldo also knew that as a Latino, he was at a higher risk. In fact, according to a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Hispanic adults are 60 percent more likely to develop diabetes.
It was Waldo's mother who convinced her son to take a glucose reading with her monitor. He expected the monitor to show a number. Instead, it simply read "HI."
Waldo and his wife, Joyce, a nurse, discussed their options. Should they go straight to the hospital? Or should they wait for a regular appointment with their doctor?
"It was the middle of the night, and we had a 2-month-old baby," Joyce said.
But she knew that his high numbers were definitely a cause for concern. "Let's just go now so they can check," she told Waldo. "Better safe than sorry."
They headed to the Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital Emergency Department for what Waldo hoped it would be a quick visit.
"I thought they would give me insulin and send me on my way," he said. "I thought they'd give me a slap on the wrist and send me home with a nutrition book."
But when nurses checked his vitals, his blood sugar was at 580 mg/dL. Readings between 180 mg/dL and 250 mg/dL are considered high.
Waldo's level was dangerous. The nurse was concerned he might go into a diabetic coma.
"I realized I was in trouble," Waldo said.
Waldo would remain in the hospital for four days after he was admitted in February 2023.
"My sugar level just wasn't going down," he said. "And there were a whole host of other problems."
He also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
"I didn't know he was that sick," Joyce said. "Then he had an ultrasound on his liver, because it was not working. I was shocked by all the complications he was already having."
Waldo was finally diagnosed with fatty liver disease.
"I thought I was healthy," he said. "It was like a punch in the gut."
Waldo worried about when he would be able to return home.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he was preparing for a special blessing of his infant son over the weekend, an event a lot of family members planned to attend.
"In our church, we give our babies a special blessing, and it's a big honor for a dad to do that," Waldo said.
His mind focused on his baby, almost 2 months old, and his daughter, 3 at the time, waiting at home.
"I had a lot of stuff going on in my life," he thought. "I shouldn't be in the hospital."
Waldo realized how critical his situation was and thought about how much he wanted to be around to watch his children grow up. He knew how disastrous diabetes could be.
"I remember feeling really down and scared," he said.
His Houston Methodist endocrinologist, Dr. Shawhin Karimi, told him his life was about to change, Waldo recalled.
"When he left, I felt this dread, this despair run through me," Waldo said. "How did it get to this point?"
Karimi, who also practices with Houston Endocrinology Center, explained that a sudden diagnosis with diabetes is not that unusual.
"It actually happens quite often," he said. "It gradually sneaks up on you. Or sometimes you ignore the symptoms until you just can't anymore."
The word "diabetes" can come as a shock to a patient.
"You come into the hospital and get this diagnosis, and it does change your life," Karimi said. "Initially, you can be a little stunned. Then there's a point where you have to decide how to go about it. Are you going to take control?"
Waldo left the hospital with five new medications, including insulin. He would now have to check his blood sugar levels every day.
"It just crushed me," he said. "I knew I had to change for my kids. I needed to do better."
Waldo began to research. "I got my YouTube Ph. D. in nutrition and fitness," he laughed.
"Whenever he commits to something, he's really dedicated," Joyce said. "He didn't want to be on the medications, so he started changing his diet. He was very serious about it."
Waldo completely cut out sugar from his diet, as well as most of the carbs. "I started eating a lot cleaner," he said.
In a month, Waldo dropped from 240 to 220 pounds.
"Then it sort of stalled out," he said. "And that's my Achilles heel."
Usually, after hitting a plateau in his weight loss, Waldo would get too frustrated to continue. This time, instead, he saw a sign.
A banner announced a new gym in the neighborhood, EōS Fitness.
At the time, Waldo already had a gym membership, one that he never used. But after touring EōS Fitness in June 2023, he was hopeful this gym would help him turn things around.
"Everything was brand spanking new," he said. "They had everything I wanted. My wife and I signed up."
He even convinced a few friends to join too.
From his research, Waldo knew strength training would have more benefits than cardio, which he had tried in the past.
He made a habit of heading to the gym at 4:30 a.m. before going to work at the copy shop he owns, Sunset Ink. He focused on lifting weights and strength training.
"It was like a night and day difference," Waldo said.
While the scale stayed in the same place, his pant sizes started to drop. He went from wearing a size 2X T-shirt to a medium.
Waldo's friends, who were now also EōS Fitness members, kept him accountable. "It was positive peer pressure," he said.
And whenever his motivation started to wane, he simply thought of his children.
"I need to do this for them," he said. "I wanted to be a parent that sets a good example for his kids."
During their regular appointments, Karimi witnessed Waldo transform.
"He was very motivated, very early on," Karimi said. "He knew from day one that he wanted to beat this. He told me, 'I'm going to turn this thing around.'"
Waldo took a holistic approach, tackling diet and exercise, Karimi said. Stress management and sleep are also important factors when approaching diabetes.
"Waldo checked every box so that he could get to his goal," Karimi said.
"Dr. Karimi gave me control of my health," Waldo said. "He's not only an endocrinologist, he's a great cheerleader too."
Waldo thinks back on when Karimi told him his life was about to change in the ER.
"Looking back, I see my life did change. It changed for the better," Waldo said.
Waldo's progress is inspiring, Karimi said. "It's actually motivating to me," he said. "Every time I see him now, he gives me tips."
Waldo's story shows how lifestyle changes can help patients reverse diabetes.
"It's not a quick fix," Karimi said. "It's a journey. And you need the right resources, the right team and the right support. But it is possible."
Over the last year, Waldo's weight dropped down to 155 pounds.
"It happened slowly but consistently," he said.
Now, he has changed his goals. He wants to gain muscle weight. He's up to 160 pounds and hopes to add another 10 pounds.
Waldo's quality of life has also improved, and he has been able to stop all his medications.
These days, Waldo and Joyce try to go to the gym together. Since Giselle started school in August, the couple drops off their daughter and then drives to EōS.
"It's been nice, like a date day every day," Joyce said. "It helps our relationship as well. I support him, and he supports me. I push him, and he pushes me."
Because of his commitment to fitness, Waldo has been able to add carbs back to his diet. He still makes healthy choices, eating intuitively and being balanced.
But, since Ninja Turtles are a favorite in the family, enjoying a pizza together is a special treat.
Recently, around the dinner table, Waldo was telling his daughter Giselle about growing up big and strong.
"I told her she had to eat to be strong like the Ninja Turtles," Waldo said. "'No,' she told me. 'I want to be strong like you.'"
"That made me realize all the struggle and sacrifice was worth it," he said. "Because my daughter sees me as her hero. For me, that's how I know I've succeeded."