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Bob Friend
Learning Makes Living with Diabetes Easier
As a diabetes patient for close to three decades, Bob Friend thought he knew everything there was to know about the disease. So when his doctor suggested he take a course on diabetes management at the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center, his reply was: "I can teach the course."
Ultimately, Friend succumbed to his doctor's request and enrolled, picking up, to his surprise, invaluable tools on diabetes management.
"I learned everything from how to handle a reaction (low-blood sugar) to learning how to balance insulin, exercise and eating -- not to mention all the tricks that make living with diabetes much easier," says Friend who is managing partner at Howard Properties, a real estate firm owned by the Friend family.
The Diabetes Teaching Center is the patient education arm of the UCSF Diabetes Center, which also includes research and clinical care.
The course lasted four days, but its impact on Friend was enduring. He currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Center, keeping him actively involved with future plans.
"The brightest people in medicine are at UCSF collaborating to find answers. What they find not only affects those who receive care or take the course, but is changing the understanding of diabetes overall," he says. "I'm willing to work for that cause."
In addition to giving his time and advice, Bob Friend and his wife Michelle have provided generous financial support to the Diabetes Center.
What keeps him so involved with the University? "It's the people. They genuinely care -- it's medicine in its finest form."
Story written in May 1999.
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