We Love Catherine Schuller!

Barbra Streisand singing ‘Being Alive’ from her The Broadway Album, you’ll hear it on next week’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast, is inspiring this post. Seriously, the combination of Barbra’s voice, lyrics from a popular Broadway musical, and the sunshine streaming through my window at 7 AM are like a multi-vitamin for an older gay gent like me. 

If there’s any truth to the saying or Madonna’s Vogue song lyric ‘beauty is where you find it then it’s clear I found it in Catherine Schuller. From the most moment we met, back in 2005, she has been a powerful, positive, and empowering force in my life. Always stylish, always upbeat, always sparkling! She has helped me to define and refine Divabetic’s GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS philosophy. Together found a way to stamp out the shame and blame associated with a diabetes diagnosis by making people feel better about themselves right now, not tomorrow. It’s funny how a bit of mascara, a bright-colored feather boa, and the hook to your favorite disco tune can push the clouds away.

I have plenty of reasons to love Catherine just for her work as Divabetic’s Image & Style Advisor on Divabetic’s national tour of Makeover Your Diabetes outreach programs. Her ability to comfort, care, and cheer on all types of divas (type 1, type 2, LADA, gestational, and prediabetes) was remarkable. But love beams are shooting straight out of my heart because of the passionate way Catherine lives after experiencing a stroke. I don’t think a day goes by that she doesn’t make the most of every moment.

During the pandemic, when I wasn’t sure if it was Monday or Thursday, Catherine managed to give Dr. Birx a run for her money! She took up my challenge to demonstrate many ways to tie a scarf on one of Divabetic’s past Zoom programs.

Next week Catherine joins me for the two-part stroke prevention webinar, Keep Your House A Home, for the Frazier Coalition for Stroke in Philadelphia. My good friend and health champion, Senior Health Educator for Center for Urban Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Neva White DNP, CRNP- BC, CDCES is organizing it.

Catherine plans to share her powerful testimony about advocating for her health after experiencing a stroke. After her husband told her to go upstairs and lie down, she told him in no uncertain terms to call an ambulance so she could get to a hospital. Her wise decision to seek help right away and not wait is why her recovery has been so excellent. Fortunately, Catherine’s quick thinking is precisely why she able to receive the stroke drug tPA. This potent clot-busting medication, tPA, may save critical brain tissue if a patient arrives at the emergency room within three hours of experiencing stroke symptoms. And there’s a new study that suggests that the traditional three-hour time window is too short. Combining data from multiple clinical trials, Maarten Lansberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford, and colleagues from Belgium and Germany have shown that treatment can benefit patients up to 4.5 hours experience their first symptom. Their findings were published online on May 21 in the journal Stroke.

The timing of treatment is essential because giving a blood thinner like tPA during a stroke can cause bleeding inside the brain. The longer a patient waits to get treatment, the more likely the risks of treatment will outweigh the benefits.

My life and the lives of many others were devasted by Luther Vandross’s stroke, related to his mismanagement of type 2 diabetes. I can’t turn back time and change his outcome, but hopefully, you can change yours. Let Catherine Schuller inspire you to GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS, and advocate for your health today, not tomorrow! 

Free Divabetic Outreach Program on Zoom in April

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 program on Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7-8 PM. Click here to register

April’s program features two presentations:  ‘What To Wear When Nothing Fits’ presented by Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller and ‘What To Eat When Dining Out Mexican’ presented by MaryAnn Nicolay MEd, NDTR.

What To Wear When Nothing Fits

We want to help you embrace the body you have now.  Don’t put off looking great and feeling like yourself in your clothes until that elusive one day you hit your goal weight. One tip that style experts advise is to try Shift, A-line and Wrap Dresses to create a more hourglass shape.

Catherine Schuller is one of the Plus Size Industry’s pioneers. She is a former Ford model, consumer advocate, promoter, marketer, editor, image consultant (Certified by AICI), author, andentrepreneur.

 

What To Eat When Dining Out Mexican

Traditional Mexican food is loaded with carbohydrates which cause blood sugars to rise. One solution is to order tacos! As long as you order corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas since they are much smaller in size, and therefore lowercarbohydrates. Additionally, Guacamole is made from avocadoes, which are loaded with healthy fats and very low in carbohydrates.

MaryAnn Nicolay is a Registered Dietetic Technician and has worked with the Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland for over 20 years. Her primary responsibility is to develop and implement diabetes education materials and activities in diverse and/or underserved communities.

Cost: Free.

REGISTER – FREE REGISTRATION 

Divabetic’s Cooking Party with Jill Weisenberger Highlights

Nationally Recognized Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and Best-Selling Author Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, FAND, CHWC joined us for Divabetic’s recent free virtual Cooking Party on Zoom

Jill shares her favorite  healthy soup recipes, suggests new flavor combinations like spinach and cinnamon to perk up meals, and answers questions on nutrition in this sneak peek of what you missed!

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk?

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for Divabetic’s next free virtual outreach program on Zoom. Visit Eventbrite and Divabetic.Org for details.

Are you interested in learning how to bake with sugar substitutes? Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Baking Party with special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Thursday, December 10, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

FREE REGISTER