Patient Stories

Elaine was familiar with the rigors of managing diabetes when she learned in 1995 that she had crossed from “borderline” to officially claim the condition as her own.

Her mother has diabetes and takes insulin, so Elaine knew the ropes. But she soon learned that having to climb them herself is a different matter – and that her health care team, no matter how well everyone played their roles, would only get her so far.

“You have to learn how to incorporate diabetes into your life,” Elaine said. “Your life is going to go on; you need to take diabetes with you.”

Learning how to do that took time. Elaine said she went through a small bout of depression when her diagnosis sunk in. But when she learned more, she found that she felt better when she knew she was doing the right things to manage her diabetes – both emotionally and physically.

As a special-education teacher for children with multiple disabilities at Joseph M. Gallagher Elementary School on Cleveland’s west side, Elaine takes her knowledge of diabetes to her classroom, too.

Many of her students have diabetes, and her classroom has become a welcoming support group. Students and teacher look out for each other. They remind each other to check blood sugar and keep an eye out for signals that someone’s levels may be too low or too high. Other benefits come, too.

“It makes them feel that they are not alone,” Elaine said.

When Elaine was first diagnosed with diabetes, pills helped keep her glucose levels under control. But her disease has progressed, and she now takes insulin. Like many people with Type 2 diabetes, she knows that slimming down to a healthy weight will bring a big payoff. For one, she uses less insulin when she exercises.

Elaine has found that enlisting a partner makes the challenges of weight and exercise easier – and more fun. She and her Ohio City roommate joined Weight Watchers together, and they have found creative ways to “exercise” – an afternoon visiting the Cleveland Museum of Art or a day at the zoo.

Elaine also sees her doctor as a friend and vital partner in having a good quality of life. Regular visits to Neighborhood Family Practice and to the others on her health care team – a foot doctor and an eye doctor, to name two -- are an important part of Elaine’s diabetes regimen. She sees success in the numbers.

Elaine has dropped her Hemoglobin A1c – a blood test that measures average blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months – down to 6.8 from a high of 13.

“Hitting that mark, I know I’m doing the right thing,” she said.