I came across a Polaroid from my PEOPLE Magazine profile from two decades ago, and it brought back such wonderful memories! Back then, the talented writer Mark Dagostino highlighted my journey of finding Luther Vandross after he faced a tough battle with a stroke due to mismanaged type 2 diabetes.
This inspired me to create the national nonprofit Divabetic, aimed at helping Luther’s fans and their families keep their homes joyful and healthy by learning how to prevent diabetes-related complications.
I was so lucky to host free monthly Divabetic support meetings at the McBurney YMCA, and I loved volunteering backstage at the national diabetes TV show, dlife, with my wonderful parents. The exposure from PEOPLE, along with my amazing network of healthcare professionals, helped me land on Novo Nordisk’s shortlist for a trial program.
With a backpack filled with Divabetic and Dude-a-betic t-shirts and a stack of flyers for various diabetes programs, I nervously pitched both myself and Divabetic to the PR team, BioSector. They were a bit puzzled by my unconventional approach, but when they asked which program I wanted Novo Nordisk to produce, I glanced at my flyers and said, “Since our name is Divabetic, people will expect a touch of glamour. I really want to go with our Makeover program!”