WHEN 56-year-old Rahmat Mohd Yunos was diagnosed with diabetes 21 years ago, he knew the dangers of the disease.

His mother had already lost her right leg to the same condition.

However, a combination of apathy and the rigours of a round-the-clock job as a personal driver made Mr Rahmat neglect his treatment.

'I would skip check-ups and my medication because I was the sole breadwinner in my family then,' he recalled.

The oversights eventually led to a limb being lost. By 2004, an ulcer on his foot became gangrenous and his right leg had to be amputated just below the knee.

In an effort to spare others the same fate, the Health Promotion Board will launch the first Diabetes Be a-Ware Campaign on Saturday. It aims to spread greater awareness about the dangers of diabetes through a media blitz that includes advertisements on television, MRT trains and even toilet cubicles.

The campaign, which runs until November, will also feature graphic newspaper ads showing an amputated leg.

There will also be a roving interactive exhibition at Suntec City Mall's Tropics Atrium and four heartland malls.

Meanwhile, Mr Rahmat now wishes he had kept closer tabs on his condition.

Fitted with a prosthetic leg, the unemployed father of three tries to lead as normal a life as possible.

The once-active sportsman, who loved playing soccer and rugby, now goes to the gym three times a week for weight and cycling exercises.

'Life has to go on,' he said. 'I have to motivate myself to be as normal as possible.'

Mr Rahmat's experience, however, serves as a warning to his three children, aged between 20 and 30, to take good care of their health and go for regular check-ups.

'They don't need to look elsewhere for a good example of the dangers of diabetes,' he said.

'The best example is right in front of them.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on June 3, 2008.