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WHOLE
HEALTH MINISTRY
The Whole Health Ministry
at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church helps to serve the physical, emotional and
spiritual needs of our congregation. This ministry will provide health
education, health promotion programs and support to assist individuals and
families to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Gloria Dei’s Whole Health Ministry Team would
like you to know that our next Blood
Drive will be on May 21st, 2012. Please consider donating blood at
Gloria Dei at this time remembering not to donate 8 weeks before our Blood Drive
date. The next scheduled blood drive will be
October 22nd, 2012.
We will remind you in early August. Thanks for being willing to save
lives!
Blood Pressure Screenings
will be held on the 1st Sunday of every month from 8:45
– 9:30, 10:00 – 10:45, 12:00 – 12:45. These screenings are being organized by
Gloria Dei’s Whole Health Ministry. Nurses will be available to take your blood
pressure in preschool room “D”. If you have any questions please call Alane
Quant at 859-727-3814.
November is Diabetes
Awareness Month
This article
is presented by the Whole Health Ministry committee and was written by Ann
Tagher, retired RN/Certified Diabetes Educator, and a Person of God living with
diabetes.
Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus/DM): Welcome to my world! I am a "person
living with diabetes" for 7 yrs-3 mos. NOT a "diabetic of 7yrs-3mos”. I want
to share with you helpful and necessary information I've learned living with
diabetes. #1 When diagnosed, I had to decide if I was going to let this disease
define and control me (a diabetic) or if I was going to take control of this
disease and be a "person living with diabetes". I chose the latter. #2 Even
though I had been for 20+ years a RN/Certified Diabetes Educator helping other
people learn to control their diabetes--this was different. This disease called
diabetes was now upfront and in my face. I had to learn about my diabetes--how
my body responded to this disease--how the principles of blood sugar (glucose)
control could be assessed for my body’s needs, implemented, reassessed, and
readjusted to control & manage my blood sugar. I needed to become an
informed/educated person working with my doctor to maintain a healthy life.
Controlling blood sugar is a daily way of life. Diabetes never takes a
vacation. Some days are good days of control, others are less good days of
control with hills and valleys of emotion and energy expenditures. A support
system is very VIP. Family and friends are important and being a Person of God
has been my foundation. Enduring God, help me hang in and hang to blood sugar
control. Amen. I can tell you, I have more good days than bad days. Being an
advocate for diabetes is very important to me. So, journey on with me.
Did you know that 4,000 years ago along the banks of the Nile River, there were
people living with diabetes? Every continent in the world has people with
diabetes, and thus this disease is considered a global epidemic. In the USA,
over 25 million people are living with diabetes with 7 million of them not
knowing it. Here in Kentucky, an estimated 445,000 persons are living with
diabetes (318,000 diagnosed & 127,000 undiagnosed). That is 1 in 7 Kentucky
citizens. Additionally, it is estimated that 40% of all Kentuckians between the
ages of 40-74 are currently overweight or obese and can be classified as having
pre-diabetes and are likely to develop diabetes in the future. (University of KY
Cooperative Extension Service, Living, Oct. 2011) Think about these facts.
To date, the cause of diabetes is unknown. What is known is that diabetes is a
controllable disease, but not a curable disease. Medical research continues on
the mission to find a cure. There are 4 basic types of diabetes: Type
1 (old name juvenile diabetes). High blood sugar results when
insulin producing cells in the pancreas stop making insulin. Diagnosed mostly
in children and adolescents, but adults can develop Type 1 also. Type
2 (old name adult onset). High blood sugar results when the body
does not use insulin properly (insulin resistance) and/or the pancreas produces
insulin but not enough. Accounts for 90+% of all diabetes cases and associated
with overweight/obesity and lack of activity. Diagnosed primarily in adults,
but the prevalence in children and adolescents is greatly increasing.
Pre-diabetes is when the blood sugar level is above normal, but not
high enough to be called diabetes and a person with this diagnosis is at high
risk to develop Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes
occurs during pregnancy (never had diabetes before pregnancy) and is at risk to
develop Type 2 diabetes.
Each Sunday in November for
Diabetes Awareness Month, the Whole Health Ministry will be presenting
important materials about diabetes. This will help persons diagnosed with
diabetes be more informed to take an active role in their blood sugar management
while working with their doctor. To others, this information will provide for a
more informed support system for persons with diabetes. Everyone can use this
information so that they are aware of the impact of diabetes in their families,
community, state and globally.
"Whole Health News" Archive
Select an archived "Whole Health News" article
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