India, June 29 -- During a doctor visit in Mumbai in 2024, Usha Rachael Thomas heard words that would change her life. "You're walking and talking, but physiologically, you should be in the ICU." A senior brand strategist and communications leader, Usha was used to high stakes and high stress. But nothing prepared her for the reality that her body had been quietly inching toward a diabetic coma.

Her body gave no dramatic signs. Just a growing fatigue, thirst she couldn't quench, and exhaustion that blanketed her after every meal. For two months, she dismissed the symptoms as stress or heat. But her blood sugar reading told a different story. "The number on the glucometer read over 500, 538 to be precise - more than five times what it sho...