Borne The Battle

It isn’t easy when you have diabetes. Did you check your blood sugar? Are you exercising and keeping a good diet? Do you have your insulin handy?Mary Julius, a program manager for the diabetes self-management education and training at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, wants to help educate Veterans and their families about how to self-manage diabetes.Julius broke down the differences between Type I and Type II diabetes. Persons with Type I diabetes produce little or no insulin. Persons with Type II diabetes make insulin but there is a resistance to the insulin. According to Julius, diabetes awareness and education are increasingly important for Veterans and their families; “25% of Veterans receiving VA care have been diagnosed with diabetes.” Without awareness and education, people diagnosed with diabetes put their health at risk. Thus, Veterans who have been diagnosed with diabetes should work closely with their primary provider, but, she emphasizes, Veterans and their family also need the tools and