Perhaps you’ve heard the quote, “sometimes later becomes never.” When it comes to health, our success is often measured by our effort. Habits, breaking poor ones and beginning healthy ones, are key to managing chronic illness.
“Augustus” is 43 and became a patient of the Clinics one year ago. He’s been diabetic for 20 years but was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2018. Augustus knew that for him, sometime could become never if his lifestyle didn’t change. Thanks to quality patient education and a will to thrive, one year later he no longer smokes, is monitoring his blood glucose regularly at home, and taking medications daily. Imagine sitting beside Augustus in the Emergency Room as the doctor explained that his kidneys were wearing out and simply couldn’t last much longer because of uncontrolled high blood pressure and diabetes. He woke up, and he made a choice.
Augustus decided to make serious lifestyle changes. He cut out sweet drinks and decreased food portion sizes, starting counting carbohydrates, began a blood glucose log, and added daily exercise to his routine. His success is measuring up well to his effort! Within only 75 days, Augustus has lost 24lbs, brought his blood glucose levels down from the 300’s to normal ranges, and feels far better. Success!
Recently, a patient was celebrating in the hallway and high-fiving with our staff because of his improved A1C. His lab results were proof that his hard work and diabetes education had paid off, too. Over 500 diabetic patients at the Clinics are given the opportunity to succeed in managing their disease with a dedicated team to walk with them.
At Good News Clinics Clinics, we empower patients to take control of their health through education and quality healthcare. As an American Diabetes Association (ADA) approved multi-site, we are proud to offer patients one-on-one diabetes self-management training, group diabetes education classes, and nutrition and lifestyle coaching with our registered dietitian. Why? Because we know that our successful treatment of chronic illnesses is often measured by our effort.
