November is Diabetes Awareness Month
Honoring those who live healthy lives to assist in controlling their diabetes
November 14, 2012
From left: Martin Rigoult, Dr. Kristine Sanden, Joanne Stinneford and spouse Neil Stinneford.
In observance of Diabetes Awareness Month, Franklin Community Health Network is honoring the diligent people who live healthy lives to assist in controlling their diabetes. Among them are Martin Rigoulot, Dr. Kristine Sanden, and Joanne Stinneford, who collectively have 110 years of monitoring their blood sugar while using insulin, striving to eat healthy, and staying physically active.
Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production, insulin action, or both. People with diabetes, working together with their support network and their health care providers, can take steps to control the disease and lower the risk of complications.
According to Nancy Thomas, RN, CDE, “Diabetes affects approximately one in ten people and is on the rise. New treatments and technologies are continually under development to combat its progression and complications. There are people who work sometimes hourly through many days of their life to control their blood sugars. This day-to-day engagement in self-management is what sets diabetes apart from other health conditions. You never go on vacation from it.”
According to Stinneford, who volunteers at Franklin Memorial Hospital, “I have lived with diabetes since the age of 25. I have found that it is an incentive for me to live healthy, eat right, and walk every day.”
For individuals living with diabetes, Franklin Memorial Hospital offers diabetes self-management training that provides information to help manage the disease and prevent complications. Certified diabetes educators, care support nurses, and a registered clinical dietician provide the education and services that are certified by the American Diabetes Association. Clients learn about the roles that exercise, nutrition, blood glucose monitoring, medications, and stress management play in controlling their diabetes. One-on-one counseling and class structured learning are tailored to need and insurance requirements.
Rigoulot added, “You just have to keep the faith. It’s gotten easier over the years to monitor blood glucose levels with the new technology.”
According to Thomas, diabetes education and care is also offered at several Franklin Health practices. To learn if your medical practice provides this service ask your primary care provider.
For more information, call 779-2539 or 779-2225.
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