“Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I never saw a doctor for anything. And when I passed out on stage that night and went to the hospital, the doctor said “You’re a type 2 diabetic.” I said, “Oh, really?” admits Patti LaBelle in an interview for Essence magazine.
Our favorite celebrity ‘Divabetic’ adds, “I knew it existed in the family. But I said, “not me.” I tell all of my friends, please check yourself before you wreck yourself – go to a doctor.”
It’s been widely reported that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing complications due to COVID-19. We’re learning that people with diabetes tend to live in a chronic inflammatory state which is why they may experience a more severe inflammatory response to COVID-19 that can culminate in a life-threatening cytokine storm. Of course, reports like this seem to only add more stress and concern to people’s lives. Even a world-famous Divabetic isn’t immune to the burden that the pandemic has put on her diabetes and mental health.
“It’s been almost impossible to stay healthy, unless your mind is on the bigger prize and you’re saying, “I can do this. Even in COVID, I can cook the right things and I can feed my kids the right things.” You have to be mindful of whatever you buy from the grocery stores and whatever you put in on your table. So you have to try to make a healthy choice in these bad times. It’s so hard, but I believe we can do the best we can.”
We’re celebrating Divabetic’s 10th Year Podcast Anniversary with music from the world’s most famous “Divabetic”– Ms. Patti LaBelle. She’s encouraging a ‘NEW ATTITUDE’ about living with diabetes! Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle, RN, CDE, Dr. Andrea Chisholm OB-GYN, Luther McRae, Mama Rose Marie, Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Seveda Williams, and Terri Seidman.
Divabetic was inspired by the late music legend, Luther Vandross and created in 2005 by Max Szadek, who, as Vandross’ assistant of 14 years Visit Divabetic
We’re blogging about cellulitis and diabetes after one of our good friends and Luther fans sent us photos from a clinic being treated for cellulitis with a back drain. Their healthcare provider mentioned that high blood sugars were feeding their infection.
What is Cellulitis?
Cellulitis is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. It occurs when bacteria enter through a crack or break in your skin. The affected skin appears swollen and red and is typically painful and warm to the touch.
It may contain blisters exuding clear or yellow fluid or pus. Cellulitis can occur on any part of the body but is most common on the lower legs or feet.
Cellulitis & Diabetes: What’s the Connection?
Research shows that diabetes predisposes a person to common infections, such as cellulitis and pneumonia. Poor glycemic management was linked to the development of cellulitis.
Elevated blood sugars can increase the risk of skin infection and that the infection could also raise blood sugars. Additionally, the reduced blood flow from vascular problems could increase the risk of infection. This is why people with diabetes and those with poor circulation need to take extra precautions to prevent skin injury.
Foot and skincare are extremely important when you have diabetes especially when blood sugars are out of control. Visit your physician and podiatrist on a regular basis and request a full foot and leg exam.
Cellulitis can be prevented with diligent attention and care. Know what to look for and take active steps to make sure you do not end up with this unnecessary and possibly disastrous problem!
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, virtual diabetes support event with style. Divabetic’s dynamic diabetes program features ‘What To Wear When Nothing Fits for Summer’ presented by Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller and ‘How To Master The Menu at The Cookout’ presented by MaryAnn Nicolay MEd, NDTR on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, 7-8 PM, EST
At Divabetic’s recent free Zoom outreach program, we dined out virtually at a Mexican Restaurant with MaryAnn Horst Nicolay, MEd, NDTR. MaryAnn shared what terms to look for and which terms to avoid when making our menu selections. Most of us can’t change the menu, but we can change what we eat and how much we eat.
Join us for Divabetic’s Zoom Program: ‘No Judgements’ on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, 7-8 PM. Mr. Divabetic hosts this free, virtual diabetes support program featuring ‘What To Wear When Nothing Fits for Summer’ presented by Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller and ‘How To Master The Menu at The Cookout’ presented by MaryAnn Horst Nicolay MEd, NDTR.
We’re raising the curtain on important diabetes health-related topics such as diabulimia, stroke, and insulin resistance on this Broadway-themed podcast.
Are you ready to make a comeback!
Never in its 120 years has Broadway been dark this long. Producers are on Zoom calls every day, trying to figure out when and how their industry can reopen. What are you doing to manage your diabetes health?
There is no way to know your blood glucose levels without monitoring. You need to be able to see what it is you need to do and when you have time to do it. Being able to sync your “to-do” list with your appointments and daily diabetes-related tasks is the essence of creating a time sense and time planning.
Broadway employs 90,000 people and contributes over $2 billion a year to the city’s economy. But theater people and theatergoers can find a measure of comfort in the past. Broadway has faced several existential crises before and has always managed to claw its way back, often more vibrant than ever.
You can do it too!
Sometimes the best way to overcome an obstacle is to identify it. Think about what is keeping you from being active and/or cognizant of your self-care. Then google some of the American Diabetes Association’s solutions to the most common barriers. Is there a solution for you?
Learning effective time-management and diabetes self-management skills requires embracing new behaviors as well as utilizing your own unique strategies.
Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast guests include We Are Diabetes Asha Brown, Maximize Your Metabolism Co-Authors Dr. Noel Maclaren and Sunita Singh Maclaren, Coach The Cure Trisha Artman, andPatricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.
In 1985, Barbra Streisand returned to her roots with the release of her twenty-fourth album, The Broadway Album. Having decided that Broadway musicals were no longer in the same league as some of the more commercial music dominating the charts in the early ‘70s, Streisand ended up taking an unforeseen fifteen-year break from Broadway and show tunes. This return to her “roots” was a shock to many, worrisome for some, but ultimately a massive success, both critically and commercially.
From the Putting It Together introduction right through the explosive Somewhere finale, this album is a sumptuous combination of the ultimate in voice, selected material, and arrangements. Standouts include Putting It Together, which kicks things off with laughter and lightness with some biting insights and undercurrents into the hopes and fears of this project, and the upbeat Something’s Coming.
It’s almost time to raise the curtains again in New York City, says Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Broadway needs to come back, and we will move heaven and earth to bring Broadway back,” he said. New York City’s theaters have been shut down for more than a year, since Mar. 12, 2020.
Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring music from Barbra Streisand’s The Broadway Album courtesy of SONY Music.
Tune in over 140 Diva TalkRadio podcasts available for free on i-tunes (‘Divabetic’). Get the latest in diva news, diabetes headlines, and inspiration by joining our Divabetic facebook page.
“Are you running away, Mom?” Mark Crenshaw rubs his eyes awake. Behind his mother, he can see it’s 12:15 AM on the clock on the nightstand. He eyes her suspiciously, standing in her bedroom doorway of their modest home in the San Fernando Valley.
“What?” Candace jumps from the sound of her eighteen-year-old son’s voice. Once again, her son manages to sneak up on her without her noticing. When he was younger, he did that a lot. She reasoned, without a father, he needed constant reassurance his only living relative was alright.
Fortunately, for Mark’s sake, Candace Crenshaw has never given her son reason to worry until now. Her unshakeable self-confidence was shattered a few days earlier when one of her music students, a young boy, was a fatal school shooting victim. Since then, she is jumpy, anxious, and on edge. “Remain calm,” Candace tells herself. She isn’t ashamed of what he caught her doing as much as she is scared. After all, the weekend trip she is packing for isn’t for her, it’s for him. This is something she should have done a long time ago.
Eighteen years earlier, the day after discovering she was pregnant, Candace cut off all ties with her past and ran away to Los Angeles. In quick succession, she needed to make things happen. Find an apartment in a good area. Enroll in college to get a music education degree. Join a church. Find a doctor. After Mark’s birth and with her degree in hand, she got a job teaching music at a public high school. Her passion for teaching caught the eyes of several administrators at nearby schools and she soon transferred to a school with a more extensive music program. The salary increase from switching jobs allowed her to purchase a small two-bedroom bungalow in the Valley where she and her son reside today. In those early days, she only had time to take care of her son, go to school, work odd jobs, and repeat it again the following day. She held firm to her goal to provide a safe, stable environment for her son. The pride she felt in the making over her life she held on to like a badge of honor.
Now her baby was this tall, self-assured young man standing before her. The dark clouds she saw reflected in his large brown eyes did not comfort her. She could see the wheels spinning in his head, questioning her actions. “What are you doing up?” she snaps back. She thought he was sleeping when she started to pack, but maybe her music was too loud. She always loses herself in Luther, especially listening to Dance With My Father. But the last thing she needs is for her son to start giving her the third degree. Her nerves are already shot from the tragedy.
“Why don’t you tell me first.” He points to the mountain of clothes on top of her bed.
“If I’m running away, then I’d better get a bigger suitcase to pack your stuff too.” She lets out a nervous laugh. Candace looks down at her suitcase struggling to remain calm. She fully intends to tell him about her trip after she returns. Right now isn’t the right time or place. She doesn’t know the outcome of her trip yet, so there’s no guarantee she can protect him. The thought of her son being vulnerable, like the boy who died, terrifies her. She has to steer their conversation in a different direction. The school counselors caution parents to explore rather than ignore their children’s random thoughts and questions using clear, concise communications.
“I’m packing for the coping conference this weekend I told you about.” But when her son’s expression makes it clear he doesn’t buy her explanation, she attempts to turn the tables on him. “I know that look on your face. Should I guess what you’re thinking, or are you going to tell me?”
“Destiny’s Mom doesn’t know about your conference,” he says with air quotes. “I asked her earlier. So what’s really going on?”
Her mother’s intuition warned her that Mark would ask Destiny’s mother, Sheila, the nurse at her school, about her trip. These days Mark spends most of his time at Destiny’s house. She gives him her prepared explanation. “It’s for teachers. The Board of Education has one for school nurses in a few weeks. Are you okay? You should be sleeping.”
His eyes soften as he looks at her. “The whole town feels like it’s in a daze.” He looks over to his Mom. “Starting with you.”
When Luther’s rendition of Superstar fills the room, Candace starts humming along as she debates to herself whether or not to pack a black cardigan sweater. Deep in thought, it takes a minute for her to realize Mark has stopped talking. She turns to look at him.
“Sorry. Luther’s voice had me thinking about how love had the power to put people in a daze, not violence. People fell in love and celebrated love at Luther’s concerts. Even couples with problems got swept up in his music. Their troubles melted away as soon as he began to sing.”
“Can you feel something for someone you don’t even know?”
“I think so.” Candace tries to keep her voice calm.
“That’s how I feel.”
Candace nods in agreement. Every night since the shooting, she lies awake thinking about the potential dangers lurking outside her front door. She was lucky nothing happened to Mark. But what about next time? She shakes away the thought from her mind.
“Come here, and give me a hug.”
Candace sighs and goes back to packing for her trip. From her bed, Mark watches his mother grab a plain understated business suit out from her closet. She looks at it, shakes her head, and puts it back. Unsure of what to pack for her trip, Candace keeps changing her mind about what she should pack. She takes out every item from her bag and starts over. Her actions make her son very nervous. Her graceful gestures, the ones honed for years from dance lessons, are gone. She appears clumsy and jittery at best.
“I have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear. How can that be possible?” Frustrated, she accidentally slams a dresser drawer shut, and it catches her finger. She screams in pain.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go. We haven’t spent much time together lately.”
His mother’s behavior is so atypical. Usually, Candace is usually decisive, grounded and reserved. She is her son’s rock.
“I’ve been busy. Here, let me help.” As Mark gets up to help her, a greeting card slips out of the pocket of his sweatpants. Mark picks it up, hands it to his mother.
“This is for you, Mom.”
Candace looks up from the envelope and smiles. Opening the envelope slowly, she finds a Father’s Day card inside. Her shoulders relax. She grabs her reading glasses off the nearby dresser, then gently pulls out the card and opens it. Candace reads aloud the message inside. Her son writes:
To the best Dad, a son can have. I love you, Mom! Mark.
Candace pushes clothes aside and scoots beside her son on the bed. She feels a lump in her throat as they glimpse at the muted TV screen. There’s a news flash of the shooting in front of their eyes. She turns to Mark.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week, it’s that life is precious. Promise me – do the things that make your heart sing. Don’t let yourself settle for less.”
“Like the way you did when you toured with Luther?”
“This moment right now is what makes my heart sing.”
Yesterday she offered words of comfort to the victims’ parents and classmates. Who would comfort her if something happened to Mark? Or what if something happened to her? How would her son cope with the loss? She is both his mother and father. They are each other’s worlds.
“I heard you singing to the Power Of Love (Love Power) when I was at your door.”
“Did I sound like my touring days were a long, long time ago?”
“Nah, You still sound just like you do on the record, Dad.”
The word ‘Dad’ sticks in his throat. Deep down in his heart, Mark’s burning desire is to know who his father is or was.
“Doesn’t the guy pictured on your card look like Luther?”
At the mention of Luther’s name, Candace presses Mark’s card against her chest. She comments, “Both of you have such beautiful penmanship. Your swirls and curves are just like Luther’s.”
“So, I take after my father?”
Candace looks up from the card. “There you go again, talking nonsense.”
“Why else did you teach me his songs when I was growing up? It has to be him.” Mark looks at her intently. He wants his mother to confirm what he is sure he already knows. The legendary R & B icon Luther Vandross is his father. The father he has never met. She constantly compares the two, like she just did. Why can’t she just admit it?
“Stop saying that! People will get the wrong impression.”
“Then, why don’t you tell me who he is?”
“According to you, I am.” She points to the card. “You said so yourself. Now, move your behind so your father can finish packing her clothes and go to sleep.”
“You always say his music is responsible for making babies. I must be one of those babies, right?”
In honor of Luther Vandross’s 70th birthday on April 20, 2021, Max Szadek shares an excerpt of his Luther jukebox musical idea, ‘Last Dance With My Father,’ which focuses on a group of fictitious female backing vocalists’ lives and loves.
Synopsis: A son’s ultimatum on Father’s Day causes his mother, one of Luther Vandross’s vocalists, to reunite with her former bandmates for a Luther Tribute Concert after a twenty-year absence. Old rivalries, secrets, and heartaches threaten to break up their perfect harmony.
Daily links will be posted on Divabetic.Org and the Quiet Storm Fans FB page. There’s also a Last Dance With My Father playlist on Spotify.
“It’s the most awful, dark feeling in the world,” Divabetic Icon Luther Vandross said when he put back on 100 pounds. “It feels like you’re wearing an 80-pound hat and a coat that weighs 300 pounds … You feel like it’s always dark and gloomy.”
We’re spotlighting Luther’s album, Give Me The Reasonon Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast, scheduled for Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 6 -7:30 PM, EST.
Luther Vandross had become one of the most successful soul singers of the first half of the eighties when he recorded his fifth album, Give Me the Reason, in 1986. The album comprised nine tracks, including the hits: So Amazing, There’s Nothing Better Than Love, Stop To Love, and Give Me The Reason.
He also was a weight loss success story! He appeared slim on the album’s cover in 1985, when he dieted below 200 pounds.
Three short years later, Luther’s weight ballooned to more than 300 pounds. A pattern that he repeated several more times in his lifetime.
The next time he lost a significant amount of weight, he credited it to a six-month liquid diet program, used by Oprah Winfrey, in 1989.
While many people with type 2 diabetes struggle with weight fluctuations, Luther’s yo-yo relationship with food was displayed before millions of fans.
Divabetic’s Annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast hopes to shed light on how doctors put overweight patients, with type 2 diabetes, on a path to failure by focusing on shedding pounds.
“Luther beat himself up about his weight fluctuations,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, host of Diabetes Late Nite
“His weight issues seemed to overshadow his success. He achieved and sustained incredible success in his career as a songwriter, producer, and singer, yet, on the flip side, fought a losing battle with his health.”
Our cultural obsession with appearance may bleed over into the exam room, leading doctors to disproportionately focus on weight and to interact with fat patients differently from thin ones.
“It makes it very hard,” Luther said. “You wear it externally so the minute you walk through the door, everybody knows ‘Luther’s not winning his battle with his demon.'”
He often referred to his relationship with food as an addiction: “An alcoholic can’t have half a martini, and you know, I can’t have bread.”
But medical professionals disagree about how they should address weight management with patients or whether they should address weight loss at all.
Divabetic’sDiabetes Late Nite podcast guests include Lisa Fischer, Jason Miles, Jeff James, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Chuck Flowers, and Kitt Vordeaux.
Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring music from Luther Vandross’s Give Me The Reason album courtesy of SONY Music.
He added, “I can’t have sugar, and I can’t have carbohydrates … but I can sing the mess out of a ballad.”
Although it was apparent to everyone else that Eric was morbidly obese, he wasn’t aware of it or his health issues. But by age 51, Eric was 351 pounds with a 52-inch waist, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. He estimates that he was on about fifteen different types of medication. “It was a cruel, gradual, slow process. It’s not like you wake up one day and you’re a hundred pounds heavier than you were the day before. The worse it gets the more you get used to it and it becomes your new normal.”
Eric admits that one of his biggest problems was that he wasn’t personally involved in his own health. He was taking both metformin and insulin and his A1C was 12. “I didn’t know how my own body worked. I relied upon other people, namely MD’s, to make those decisions for me.”
Eric turned his diabetes health around after seeking the help of a naturopathic doctor, Dr. Preeti Kulkarni.
“Dr. Kulkarni put me on a plant-based diet and told me to adopt a dog from my local shelter. I had never had a pet before so I immediately asked her if it was OK if I got a cat instead.” She said, “have you ever walked a cat?”
Eric chose to rescue an obese middle-aged dog. He says, “I thought we’d have something in common.”
The first time the two went for a walk, they were only able to go about a hundred yards before they had to stop and rest. “I was so out of shape I was out of breath just tying my own shoes.”
Within three months of a program that consisted of eating a plant-based diet and walking Peety for 30 minutes twice a day, he lost 5 pounds a week, and all of his medical stats improved. His A1c also dropped from 12 to 5.
Listen to more of EricO’Grey’s transformative story on Diabetes Late Nite with music from P!nk. Other guests include Chilbrook Kennels breeder, author, and diabetes alert dog and scent detection expert, Debby Kay; poet Lorraine Brooks; Yoga for Diabetes author, Rachel Zinman; and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE. Throughout the podcast we feature songs from the P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma album courtesy of SONY Music.
We’re posting this video not because we are endorsing FreeStyle Libre but because its star, Austin James is a musician living with type 1 diabetes. Often people wonder why we feature music on our Divabetic monthly diabetes podcasts. It’s not simply because I worked for Luther Vandross or that many people with diabetes make music; music brings all types of people together. It feels good to help unite people so that no one with diabetes feels alone.
In April 2003, I felt alone in my shame of not helping Luther avoid experiencing a severe stroke from mismanagement of type 2 diabetes. Looking back, if I had listened to that shame’s negative talk, I would have never shared my story or started Divabetic. I would have put my head down and just gone on with my life. I am accountable for not being more involved in Luther’s self-care aside from picking up prescription refills. But I didn’t have a clue that diabetes mismanagement could lead to a stroke. Back then, people commonly referred to diabetes as a ‘touch of sugar,’ and that didn’t seem scary.
My desire for people to heed my warning is why I refuse to let shame or blame stop me from sharing my story. If a stroke happened to someone as invincible as Luther Vandross, it could happen to anyone.
Pain from neuropathy or the daily stress it puts on your life can stop anyone from managing their condition. Even the pain you experience from the actual diagnosis can hit you like a ton of bricks. You may feel like you have no quality of life, and without a quality of life, what’s the point of living anymore? Or even to bother trying? You may just want to enjoy the time you have left.
When a diagnosis affects someone like that or a diabetes health-related complication such as stroke, it can be hard to fight back the depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety make it more challenging to take care of yourself. It helps to have a community of like-minded people to lean on.
Musician Austin James found ‘community’ in his bandmate, who is also living with type 1 diabetes.
The pain Austin James felt on his fingertips’ pads from checking blood sugars was compromising his musicianship. Thankfully his bandmate shared his solution for easing the pain from frequent blood sugar checks with him. Together they have managed to keep the music playing without compromising their diabetes wellness. Rock on!
We’re keeping the music and a message of diabetes wellness alive on Divabetic’s upcoming Annual Luther Vandross Tributepodcast. Guests include Lisa Fischer, Jason Miles, Jeff James, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Chuck Flowers, and Kitt Vordeaux.
By the time Luther Vandross headed to the studio to record his fifth album Give Me the Reason in 1986, he’d become one of the most successful soul singers of the first half of the eighties. His four previous albums have been either certified platinum or double-platinum in America.
For Luther Vandross’s fifth album Give Me the Reason, the album comprised nine tracks including the hits: So Amazing, There’s Nothing Better Than Love, Stop To Love, and Give Me The Reason.
Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring music from Luther Vandross’s Give Me The Reason album courtesy of SONY Music.
“For many years, I struggled silently, trying to hide the fact that I was in over my head and I didn’t know if I could keep dancing. I didn’t have a diabetes educator, and I didn’t have a doctor who understood. I was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes because I was in my early twenties,” says Former Soloist Ballerina Zippora Karz, living with type 1 diabetes, on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring music by Christina Aguilera.
Zippora joined the New York City Ballet at seventeen in the 80s. She danced to George Balanchine’s ballets every night.
What’s life like for a ballerina?
“You are creating a new vocabulary within your body. You have to work on it every day. We take morning classes to improve your legs’ line and your jumps and turns because it’s not natural. And then, you a different program every night. A six-hour rehearsal day, and then you perform that night.”
“I was in my third year with the ballet when I was diagnosed with diabetes,” says Zippora. “However, my doctors didn’t understand the athleticism and energy output of a ballerina.
So what kept her going?
“I felt pressure to prove that nothing changed. But the magic I experienced dancing was so intense that I had to keep going and had to preserve.”
Former New York City Ballet Soloist Ballerina & Author (Sugarless Plum)Zippora Karz is a guest on this episode of Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast. We Are Diabetes founder Asha Brown, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Mama Rose Marie.
It was a Monday morning in March 1975 when my GP (then known as General Practitioner, now referred to as Primary Care Physician) had me take a 5-hour oral glucose tolerance test in his office. On Friday, March 14, 1975, I returned to his office for the results of the test. He diagnosed me with “juvenile diabetes” (now referred to as type 1 diabetes). He gave me my first injection of insulin. There were no practice shots for me to learn how to inject myself. There were no diabetes educators or support groups for me to ask for guidance. He recommended a physician who was a specialist in diabetes for me to see for my care. That specialist (a diabetologist) was a wonderful man who helped to empower me to manage my diabetes. His name was Dr. Henry Dolger, a “Founding Father” of JDF (now referred to as JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). His office staff welcomed me at my first visit and after reviewing the results from my glucose tolerance test asked me how my stay in the hospital was? I was alarmed, because I was never admitted to any hospital. To this day I don’t know how high my blood sugar reading was, but it must have been significant.
“I was told at the time of my diagnosis that I would be blind after ten years of living with diabetes.”
Diabetes management in those days was one shot of insulin a day. There were no meters to measure blood sugar, only urine tests to measure sugar “spilled” into your urine. It was an imprecise tool as it measured the sugar which had collected in your bladder. As time went on, my regimen changed to two shots per day. I was told at the time of my diagnosis that I would be blind after ten years of living with diabetes. At 20 years old that was daunting news to hear. I decided to continue studying my college major of psychology, accepting that I could still practice psychology in the future even if I were blind as long as I was able to hear my patients. Thankfully, I was not blind after 10 years, or 20 years, or 30 years or 40+ years! In fact, I have never experienced any diabetic eye complications.
Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDCES has published two books which include insightful lessons of empowerment written by successful men and women with diabetes. Available for purchase.
The book is compiled by Dr. Beverly S. Adler who is also one of those women. “Dr. Bev” as she is better known, is a clinical psychologist and Certified Diabetes Educator in private practice, specializing treating patients with diabetes and also has had type 1 diabetes for 37 years. All those years ago when she was diagnosed, there were no role models with diabetes for her. This book is geared for women with diabetes who need role models who can inspire them. The book is written for the newly diagnosed woman with diabetes who is overwhelmed with her diagnosis. Or, for the woman who has had diabetes for a while, but can also benefit from uplifting, inspirational stories to encourage and motivate self-care (especially if they already are trying to cope with some complications).
Dr. Bev is joined by 23 contributing authors who are all women of exceptional accomplishments! Each story is unique and heartwarming, as these very special women share their triumph over diabetes. The reader can learn how the women’s experiences with diabetes helped to shape them into who they are today. The theme running through the book is that “diabetes is a blessing in disguise.”
Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDCES on November’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from one our all-time favorite divas, Whitney Houston.
Enjoy an exclusive listen of “Whitney Houston – I Wish You Love: More From ‘The Bodyguard’” courtesy of SONY Music. This 25th anniversary of “The Bodyguard” soundtrack album features the hit song, “I’m Every Woman” echoing the recent statistics that 1 in 10 women are now living with diabetes.
