Marva Oden was diagnosed with diabetes over 20 years ago but it wasn’t until recently that she really incorporated her family into her education about the disease. Several months ago, Marva’s family doctor referred her to the diabetes education classes at Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna (EAH). It was then that younger generations of her family (daughter, Tracey 44, and granddaughter, Reece 4) decided to join Marva, 71, for the education classes.
Tracey said she was motivated to come along to get more information and a better understanding of the disease, not only to help her mother, but so she could also learn about her possibilities of being diagnosed with diabetes in the future. While Reece might not have been old enough to understand, Tracey felt it was a great way to include her in the process and make it less of a strange or scary thing. “Reece sees her grandma take shots and always asks questions,” said Tracey. “And we all learned more about eating better. There was lots of good information. We used to drink 2% milk and I thought I’d never drink skim milk. Now we all do!”
Ina Turner, Diabetes Educator at EAH, was very happy to see the multiple generations so involved and supportive. “When someone has diabetes it really should become a family matter; unfortunately, many times it is not handled that way,” states Ms. Turner. “I have found that education of family members is vital to the diabetic’s success in making the necessary lifestyle changes.”
Tracey, who often attends doctor appointments with her mother, found the role play demonstration on how to participate in a doctors office visit very helpful. She felt it helped them become much more active and engaged in the treatment of her mother’s diabetes. Now when they see a doctor-- like for a recent knee surgery and an ER visit--the medical personnel and doctors are very impressed and thankful that they bring a printed list of all of Marva’s medications.
In commenting about the classes held at EAH, Marva states, “Everyone was very informative--from the educator to the nutritionist, the pharmacist and the podiatrist. I really recommend these classes to anyone dealing with diabetes. You will receive great information and lots of helpful tips.”
Diabetes education classes are regularly scheduled each month. For more information about upcoming classes, call 770-319-2021 or visit the hospital’s website at www.emoryadventist.org.