There are a lot of people that are totally ignorant regarding what a diabetic should and should not eat, including many diabetics. It doesn't help when the ADA comes out with recommendations stating that refined sugar is just fine for diabetics as long as they cover it with sufficient medication. The rationale behind that being that they don't want diabetics to feel that they aren't leading a normal life. How normal is life as an amputee??
I hope that your co-worker's husband will be getting good support following his amputations and is giving some serious thought about what led him to such a state. It's a very sad situation, to be sure.