COLUMBUS, Ohio — Diabetes is not something Greg Anderson ever thought he would have to deal with. That was even after his doctor mentioned that he may be prediabetic in 2016. 

“I thought, well, okay, I didn't really have any symptoms,” Anderson said. “I just thought, 'well, okay, I'll watch what I eat,' but that kind of went in one ear and out the other.”

Doctors diagnosed him with stage four prostate cancer in 2018. It was during his recovery that he learned he had diabetic amyotrophy disease, a rare disorder that attacks the nervous system. 

“(I) couldn't drive, couldn't do anything,” Anderson said. “My life, it completely just stopped, and I was completely almost paralyzed, I guess to say, from the waist down.”

It was then he knew he needed to get his life back on track. He began eating right and going to therapy and, within a year and half, he had not only regained the ability to walk and drive again but so much more.

“My sugar levels are all under control now again, to the point where I'm not on any diabetes medications at all,” he said. “And it's just, it’s a great feeling not to have to worry about that anymore.”

This will be Anderson’s first Thanksgiving back with family and friends, but even with the temptations he said he feels confident and prepared.

“I get filled up pretty quick with just the vegetables, a little bit of the protein, and there's nothing wrong,” he said. “I don't think there's anything wrong with just kind of [sitting] back and smelling everything.”