Sparky lost his vision as a result of diabetes. But now, he's keeping fit and sharing his story.
In March 2013, Sparky Reese started going blind.
“My right eye was going crazy, like those glarey mirrors at carnivals,” he said. It, perhaps, wasn’t a surprise. Sparky had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1991. Then, for more than 20 years, he’d mostly ignored doctors’ recommendations, drinking lots of soda and not getting much sleep.
“I was engaged to 2-liter Mountain Dew,” he said.
Living in New York City, he worked two jobs in the day and played pool most of the night.
When it happened, it happened quickly.
“The stress just got to me,” he said. “It took my right vision within a week.”
One morning just a few weeks after losing vision in his right eye, Sparky woke up and could barely see out of his left eye.
“I completely lost my vision,” he said.
“So I booked myself an airline ticket, charged it to my boss, called the University of Washington to see if I could ‘guinea pig’ myself to try to get my vision back.”
Half blind, Sparky flew to Seattle. He ended up at Virginia Mason Hospital with blood sugar levels over 700.
“They didn’t know how I didn’t have an aneurism on the plane,” he said.
Out of the emergency room, he found a doctor that would do the necessary surgery if he would get his blood sugar levels under control.
Sparky knew that regular exercise helps manage diabetes, so for the next two months, he walked. Barely able to see out of his left eye, he walked up and down the waterfront at Pike Place Market in Seattle and in the neighborhoods around Everett, where the Salvation Army had found a place for him. And he drank water. And more water.
“I wanted to flush all the sugar out of my system,” he said.
He met the goal, and the surgery was scheduled and completed.
Sparky feels like one of the lucky ones.
“God kept me alive on the plane when I should have had an aneurism,” he said. “He provided me an eye doctor in Seattle.”
He wants to share his story.
“I want to show people what diabetes does to your eyes, to try to be an inspiration. To say, let’s walk today for one mile, up the stairs at the stadium, get your blood sugar under control.”
His plan is to do long-distance bike rides to raise diabetes awareness. He’s set out on several such rides in the past couple years, between Everett, Wash., and points as far south as Sacramento, Calif. Extreme heat and a bicycle crash have cut some of them short. He once rode from Port Townsend, Wash., to Seaside. “Eighteen hours, 200 miles. I’ll never push myself like that again. I gave my bike away after that,” he said.
His dream today is to ride his bike across the country. Starting with getting a new bike, in August 2019, he plans to ride from the Oregon Coast to New York City to promote awareness for diabetes and how to control it. He’s looking for sponsors and someone to help with logistics.
“I’m going to knock on people’s doors, tell people what I’m doing,” he said.
Meanwhile, he’s working out on the StairMaster and doing hill work on the treadmill to increase his fitness.
Sparky loves his Street Roots job. He’s been a vendor for a couple of months, after a series of events led to him losing his place in Everett. He lived in his car for a while and finally found a place of his own in downtown Portland through people he met at his church in Vancouver.
He feels very blessed. Over Christmas, he made enough money in a couple of days of selling papers to treat himself to a Willamette River cruise on the Portland Spirit.
“Street Roots helps financially,” he said. “It puts money in your pocket. And it does awareness for homeless. I have been homeless, and I know what it’s like.
“I really like my post. People are so friendly. I smile a lot, and I think that helps me sell papers.”
You can find Sparky and find out how to support his ride for diabetes awareness at his Street Roots sales post, located at Providore Fine Foods on Northeast 23rd Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.
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