The Candy In My Pocket: The Wild and Crazy Life of a Type 1 Diabetic (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798986007021)

A percentage of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Imagine becoming legally blind while working at becoming a renowned architectural designer. You have a mortgage on a building you've just started renovating; rent is due for your office; and employees must be paid. How would you cope? Or picture yourself with chronic kidney disease which ultimately requires a transplant. At 30, you are diagnosed with heart disease. What would you do? And, what if you fought osteomyelitis with IV antibiotics for years but finally had to have your leg amputated? What would you feel? Could you keep on fighting?

These are just several of the amazing questions resolved in The Candy in My Pocket, John Robert Wiltgen's compelling memoir. He battled many debilitating complications of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) while creating a prestigious design firm with projects across America, Canada, Mexico-even Africa.

With unwavering honesty, Wiltgen chronicles the immense challenges he faced in his relentless struggle against this silent killer. But The Candy in My Pocket is not solely about conquering diabetes, it is also about the author's determination to preserve his identity and keep close those he held dear. This captivating narrative reveals Wiltgen's relentless pursuit of a life of purpose while remaining optimistic amidst overwhelming adversity.

As an award-winning designer commissioned by celebrities, world leaders, and other luminaries his memoir includes larger-than life tales that are extremely entertaining. It includes exciting celebrity cameos with stars such as Jane Seymour, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Sean and Robyn Wright Penn, Steve Harvey, John Cusack, the former Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria (now President of that country) and Jesus.

With compassion, wisdom and his irreverent sense of humor John inspires individuals of all beliefs and backgrounds to embrace optimism even in the darkest of times.

Wiltgen's narrative intertwines moments of adventure, laughter, even fear, whisking readers away from their own lives and immersing them in a world brimming with hope and possibility.