Hip hop legend Doctor Dre, known for being the co-host of “Yo! MTV Raps”, has lost his vision due to complications from type 2 diabetes. He’s helping us to honor Luther Vandross’s legacy by sharing his story on Divabetic’s Annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 6 PM, EST. TUNE IN
Since his diagnosis in 2007, the famed DJ launched the Visually Impaired Can Foundation that aims to provide resources for those with vision obstacles. “Basically I’ve been going through a whole different resurgence of my life,” he said. “I stopped at one point, and now I’m doing this and through the blessings of the late great Dick Gregory and some people he’s known I’ve worked through different holistic doctors out there to change what goes in my body and actually work with trying to do the best. We can treat diabetes.”
Diabetic eye disease, caused by diabetes, is a leading cause of blindness and vision loss. Because of the high risk for eye disease, all people with type 2 diabetes should receive an annual dilated eye exam.
Guests include Andre “Doctor Dre” Brown, Michelle Cobbs-Hardy, Dr. Khoshnevis, Danny Clay, Luther Vandross Historian Leon Petrossian, and the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach. Throughout this podcast we will be featuring music from Luther Vandross’s album,‘The Night I Fell In Love’courtesy of SONY Music.
Discussing the eight tracks on The Night I Fell in Love, Luther Vandross says, “Yeah, that’s a good album. There was something magical about the way everyone responded to it, which to this day I can’t account for.”
FANDROSS: The Night I Fell In Love with Luther Live Concert
Join fellow Luther Vandross fans for an evening of music, memories, and magic at the third annual FANDROSS concert. Luther’s former bandmates, vocalists and special guests will to perform your favorite Luther songs under the musical direction of Nat Adderley, Jr. This incredible night will have audiences remembering the magic of his brilliant voice.
Join us for the inaugural Fandross Festival presented by the Vandross Family Estate and Divabetic celebrating the musical legacy of Luther Vandross and raising awareness for the prevention of diabetes health-related complications such as stroke.
New York City’s liveliest brunch spotlights ’80’s ‘GLAM’ Fashions as a tribute to Luther Vandross and his love of all things Gianni Versace. $45 Brunch Special. Come and enjoy a Fun-Filled Sunday afternoon featuring:
‘80’s FASHION SHOW: Our inclusive catwalk features innovative integration with all sizes, shapes, heights, genders, ages, ethnicities, nationalities, persuasions and orientations on the same runway.
DIABETES DISCUSSION: Diabetes by the Decades Spotlights the ’80’s: A Dynasty of Self-Care Discoveries with Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDEknown as ‘Dr. Bev’. Dr. Bev is a Clinical Psychologist and Certified Diabetes Educator who has been living well with type 1 diabetes for over 40 years. Moderated by Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek
’80’s DRESS AUCTION: Bid for your favorites over a Bloody Mary or Mimosa and help raise funding for America’s leading women’s diabetes outreach organization, Divabetic.
SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMERS!
Hosted by Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL TICKETS: Receive 2 Free Raffle Prize Tickets & Goody Bag before 4/20/18
The Vandross Family Estate and the national diabetes nonprofit organization, Divabetic (divabetic.org), proudly present Fandross Festival. “Keep your House a Home” and learn how to prevent diabetes health-related complications (such as stroke) from occurring.
We invite Luther fans of all ages to attend and celebrate Luther’s “so amazing” contributions to music, arts, and culture from Thursday, March 10 – Sunday, March 13, 2018 in New York City.
Fandross Calendar of Events: Fandross Kick-Off Party at Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar on 5/10/18, Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton at the Blue Note on 5/11/18, Fandross Festival at SVATheater on 5/12/18, Fandross Sunday Brunch at Casa de Femme on 5/13/18. All tickets sold separately on Eventbrite. More event details at Divabetic.org
Fandross Festival 2018 Hotel Accommodations:
Vandross Family Estate and Divabetic have secured a discounted room rate ($239.00) per night at the New York Marriott East Side located at 525 Lexington Avenue at 49th Street, New York, NY 10017.
Call: (212) 755-4000 mentioned ‘Luther Vandross Fan Club’. Hotel’s room rates are subject to applicable state and local taxes.
Our ‘beyond the music’ series continues exploring the diabetes hardships experienced by beloved musicians who have passed away to help you ‘keep your house a home’ by learninghow diabetes health-related complications from occur.
In many instances their obituaries make little mention of their diabetes diagnosis and/or diabetes health-related complications which results in the general public’s continued ignorance about the subject.
LaVern Baker, whose hits such as “Tweedle-Dee” and “Jim Dandy” put her at the top of the rhythm and blues charts in the 1950s and earned her a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
LaVern Baker figured that she was living with type 2 diabetes for about five or six years before she was diagnosed. She received the news soon after completing an triumphant run in “Black and Blue” that marked her return to the United States after two decades living in the Philippines, where she performed on a military base.
She suffered a stroke in the early 1990’s, and then was forced to withdraw from the spotlight in 1994 when her right leg was removed. Initially her doctors thought that only part of her left foot would have to be removed, but a few days after that operation, it became necessary to amputate the entire leg. Ultimately, both of her legs had to be amputated.
“I lost my legs,” Baker, 65, announces. “But I didn’t lose my mind. I’m tired of just sittin’. I want to do something. God gave me a talent and I can still use it. I can still go out and sing.”
And that’s precisely what she did. LaVern Baker returned to performing in 1996 with an undiminished voice and an indomitable spirit. Her repertoryinclude 12 to 15 songs spanning her career around the world. Her shows included the ’50s–songs like “Tweedle Dee,”“Jim Dandy” and “I Cried a Tear”–to numbers from the 1990 Broadway revue “Black and Blue” and from her most recent album, 1992’s “Woke Up This Mornin’ “–a collection of pop and blues standards.
“We’re planning for LaVern to have a motorized wheelchair,” her manager said. “So she’ll make her entrance by herself, rather than being pushed on. You know, I can’t think of anybody in the history of show business who has performed with two legs amputated. Some people think audiences will be squeamish, but aside from her spirit, LaVern’s got great showmanship. And she’s kept her sense of humor, even though her life has been such a roller coaster.”
LaVern Baker, whose original name was Delores Williams, was born in Chicago; an aunt was the blues singer Memphis Minnie. Ms. Baker sang gospel in church, and in the mid-1940’s she worked as a blues singer, calling herself Little Miss Sharecropper and Bea Baker.
She became the second woman signed to Atlantic Records–right after Ruth Brown, who coincidentally originated the role in “Black and Blue”. In 1955, Baker scored her first R&B hit for Atlantic, “Tweedle Dee”–though, in a move typical of that period, it was a re-recorded version by white artist Georgia Gibbs that took it to the pop charts.
More than a dozen R&B hits followed, and–eventually–even some crossover success. Her crowning achievement came in 1958 with the ballad “I Cried a Tear,” a No. 6 pop hit.
But as new divas like Gladys Knight and Atlantic’s own Aretha Franklin started to emerge, Baker’s star was falling. She left Atlantic in 1964. By the end of that decade, her second marriage (to comic Slappy White) had also fallen on troubled times.
Baker was inducted into the rock hall of fame in 1991, telling the audience, “Regardless of how old you are when you get this, it’s still good, baby.”
Why Do People Suffer Double Amputations?
In people with diabetes, a trifecta of trouble can set the stage for amputations: Numbness in the feet due to diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage) can make people less aware of injuries and foot ulcers. These ulcers may fail to heal, which can in turn lead to serious infections.
Over half of limb amputations (about 67 percent) in the United States are attributable to diabetes and related complications. The majority of limb amputations are performed on the lower extremities.
Nerve damage or diabetic neuropathy causes decreased feeling, and a person with diabetes cannot feel it when they get a tack in their foot, or injure their limb
Skin changes from diabetes causes skin to break down, and this combined with diabetic nerve damage and poor circulation leads to non-healing ulcers
Join us for the inaugural Fandross Festival presented by the Vandross Family Estate and Divabetic celebrating the musical legacy of Luther Vandross and raising awareness for the prevention of diabetes health-related complications such as stroke. Enjoy an interactive Panel Discussion featuring Luther Vandross’s former musical director, Nat Adderley Jr., singer-songwriter Fonzi Thornton, vocalists Alfa Anderson, Robin Clark, and Tawatha Agee, Luther Vandross historian Leon Petrossian and more. Tickets are on sale now (50% Off). Get your ticket now by clicking the link below for the inaugural Fandross Festival on Saturday, May 12, 2018, 6:30 -8:30 PM at SVA Theater at 333 West 23rd Street, NY, NY 10011. Please join us! BUY TICKETS
Tennis champion, Serena Williams knew something had gone terribly wrong just a day after giving birth to her child.
She explained what happened in Vogue Magazine stating,”The next day, while recovering in the hospital, Serena suddenly felt short of breath. Because of her history of blood clots, and because she was off her daily anticoagulant regimen due to the recent surgery, she immediately assumed she was having another pulmonary embolism. (Serena lives in fear of blood clots.) She walked out of the hospital room so her mother wouldn’t worry and told the nearest nurse, between gasps, that she needed a CT scan with contrast and IV heparin (a blood thinner) right away. The nurse thought her pain medicine might be making her confused. But Serena insisted, and soon enough a doctor was performing an ultrasound of her legs. “I was like, a Doppler? I told you, I need a CT scan and a heparin drip,” she remembers telling the team. The ultrasound revealed nothing, so they sent her for the CT, and sure enough, several small blood clots had settled in her lungs. Minutes later she was on the drip. “I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!”
A near death experience in childbirth involving one of the greatest female athletes of all-time will inevitably create buzz on social media but it’s also the story of millions of women of color across the nation.
ProPublica has published an investigative series on the effect socioeconomics has on motherhood in America. One piece in that series, titled “How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers,” reports, “It’s been long-established that black women… fare worse in pregnancy and childbirth, dying at a rate more than triple that of white mothers. And while part of the disparity can be attributed to factors like poverty and inadequate access to health care, there is growing evidence that points to the quality of care at hospitals where a disproportionate number of black women deliver, which are often in neighborhoods disadvantaged by segregation,” writes Annie Waldman.
Data like this highlights the fact that the American medical system has a long-standing racial gap for dealing with diseases such as diabetes.
Let’s not forget that compared to the general population, African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes as reported by the American Diabetes Association:
13.2% of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diagnosed diabetes.
African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes as non Hispanic whites.
African-Americans are significantly more likely to suffer from blindness, kidney disease and amputations.
Good diabetes management can help reduce your risk of developing a diabetes health-related complication; however, many people are not even aware that they have diabetes until they develop one of its complications.
About 2.8 percent of U.S. adults — one-third of those with diabetes — still don’t know they have it reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
You cane help us change that staggering stastistic!
Join us for Fandross Festival on Saturday, May 12 2018, 6:30 – 9:30 PM in New York, NY. We will be raising awareness of the prevention of diabetes health-related complications such as stroke by celebrating the legacy of R & B superstar, Luther Vandross. Don’t miss it! TICKETS ON SALE NOW
One final thought, Serena Williams reflecteed on her post-birth complications and said, “it made me stronger’ on the Today Show. Words to live by.
We’re going ‘beyond the music’ to explore the diabetes hardships experienced by beloved musicians who have passed away so you can ‘keep your house a home’ and learn how to prevent diabetes health-related complications from occurring.
In many instances their obituaries make little mention of their diabetes diagnosis and/or diabetes health-related complications which results in the general public’s continued ignorance about the subject.
David Peastonwas an American R&B and gospel singer who was mostly known for the hit singles, “Two Wrongs (Don’t Make it Right)” and “Can I?”. David Peaston died from complications of diabetes in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 1, 2012, at the age of 54.
After being laid off as a teacher in 1981, David Peaston moved to New York to pursue music. Quickly thereafter, Peaston who scored national fame after winning on “Showtime at the Apollo”. He wowed audiences with his sky-high falsetto and his rendition of “God Bless the Child.” His multiple wins on the show led to his signing a major recording deal in the late ’80s with Geffen Records. He released two albums, 1989’s “Introducing … David Peaston” and 1991’s “Mixed Emotions,” on Geffen. in 1990 won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist.
Check out Peaston perform “Everything Must Change” at Showtime at the Apollo below.
During the 1990’s, David Peaston was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. His right leg was amputated at the knee in March 2004; his left leg also was later amputated, forcing him to use prostheses. When he was preparing to be honored at the 2004 event “A Celebration of Love in St. Louis,” he struggled with whether he had let his disease prevent him from ever performing on stage again.
“I didn’t want to be back in the public,” he told the Post-Dispatch that year. “I wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed, but I felt I let myself down and, therefore, I let everyone else down. It was my fault for being sick, and I didn’t want anybody to see me like that.”
But by 2004, he lost 200 pounds, and sang with the St. Louis group the Distinguished Gents for five years. The group performed a mix of classical, jazz and gospel songs annually at the Ethical Society of St. Louis. He also toured Europe until his older sister, Fontella Bass, fell ill.
In 2006,David Peaston returned to studio and issued the album, ‘Song Book: Songs of Soul & Inspiration’. The album featured eight new tracks by Peaston, as well as several of his biggest hits.
David Peaston was also a veteran of traveling gospel plays such as “Momma Don’t.” Singer Cheryl Pepsii Rileytoured with him in “Momma Don’t” and other shows. He enlisted on the gospel show “His Woman, His Wife: The Musical,” touring across the U.S. In his last years, he still ran Pea-Stain Productions, his own production company.
Cheryl Pepsii Riley described her colleague, David Peaston as, ”this man with the hearty laugh, great sense of humor, that incredible voice, and he was the most amazing friend.”
What we can learn from David Peaston’s Story
From reading David Peaston’s journey living with diabetes we can assume he had a diabetic foot ulcer that went untreated which developed gangrene and resulted in a below the knee amputation.
David Peaston’s story is a testament that you can still be active and participate in life the way youwish to after experiencing an amputation. He continued to hit high notes on stage until his untimely death.
However, to avoid a similar fate you must practice daily foot care.
Always check shoes for foreign objects, and make sure footwear fits well, and does not pinch the skin. People who try to remove their own callouses, warts, or corns by performing “bathroom surgery,” can give themselves a non-healing ulcer that later requires an amputation. This is why people with diabetes should never try to remove their own callouses, warts or corns. They also should not use any over-the-counter callous, wart, or corn remover products on their skin.
Diabetes can cause neuropathy, making it hard to feel pain in the feet and cause wounds to heal slowly. On top of that, poor circulation, and changes in the shape and anatomy of the foot make it more likely for a person with diabetes to injure their feet which can lead to peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD causes your blood vessels to narrow and reduces blood flow to your legs and increase your risk of amputation.The most common amputations in people with diabetes are the toes, feet, and lower legs.
Let’s talk about some statistics related to amputations in the diabetes community.
African Americans are twice as likely as whites to have PAD, and 1 in 4 older African Americans has diabetes. In a California claims study recently published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, African Americans who had both diabetes and PAD had the highest rates of preventable amputations.
The cost of amputations is high, financially and emotionally.
Amputation doesn’t have to be part of your diabetes journey. If you do all you can to manage your blood sugars and care for your feet as well as visiting a podiatrist annually for a Comprehensive Foot Exam, you’ll reduce your risk of major complications.
https://youtu.be/zOspndjaE9Y
Small steps lead to big changes. ‘Walking With Peety’ author, Eric O’Grey shares how adopting a shelter dog inspired his successful weight loss journey on Diabetes Late NiteLISTEN NOW
Don’t miss our inagural Fandross Festival celebrating the legacy of Luther Vandross and raising awareness for diabetes and diabetes health-related complication prevention from May 10 – May 13 in New York City. Visit: divabetic.org
