Care Chronicles: Meet Ziggy

In 2016 Ziggy Sekula, a former professional Polish soccer player, got in his car and drove to Florida for what he hoped would be a fresh start. After the housing market flipped, Ziggy lost almost all his investments in Chicago and settled in Clearwater without a job or insurance. After discovering he had diabetes, Ziggy could not afford any clinical visits and his health was deteriorating.

A close friend and patient of the Clearwater Free Clinic informed Ziggy of our services and he immediately registered to become a patient. Ziggy came to the CFC with an A1C of 12.0 percent, deteriorating vision, high cholesterol, and low iron. As a former professional soccer player, he relied on the team physician for injuries and minor illnesses but had not seen a doctor in over 35 years. The CFC physicians informed Ziggy his blood sugars had increased because he was no longer as physically active as in prior years as a professional athlete.

The CFC gave Ziggy medication to lower his cholesterol and increase the iron in his hemoglobin and also referred him to Blue Ocean Research to prevent further deterioration of his eyesight. Determined to take advantage of the care and support from the CFC, Ziggy took control of his health. Ziggy maintained a healthy diet, got back into the gym, regularly visited the CFC physicians, and lowered his A1C to 5.9 percent.

“I believe if I didn’t find out about the Clearwater Free Clinic, I wouldn’t have gone to the doctor and seen how bad I was,” Ziggy said. “They saved my vision and they saved my life.”

Ziggy continues to see our volunteer ophthalmologist for monthly eye treatments but he now has his diabetes under control and has a positive outlook on his future.