A few years ago, Wendy Norris experienced numb in the feet. She assumed that it was just from standing all day long at her job at a nursing home.
Norris said, “It was that neuropathy, where my (blood) sugar was high and I didn’t know it.” She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Grundy County, Tennesse, has a very long list of public health issues, and type 2 diabetes tops the list. It also has the lowest life expectancy rate.
Norris was physically active. She enjoyed sodas, sweets, and frozen dinners. She was aware that her family has a history of diabetes. So, when she was diagnosed with diabetes, her doctor recommended insulin shots and advised her to check what she ate.
We often come across a lot of articles and blogs on the internet claiming that weight loss and exercise can reverse type 2 diabetes. However, research shows that people need more than that to control their blood sugar, and they barely get enough support. It is quite easy for patients and doctors to rely on medications.
It was not easy for Norris to change her diet by herself. She did not change her diet and her doctor kept increasing her insulin dose.
Unfortunately, Norris lost her health insurance and she was not able to afford the injectable insulin that costs her hundreds of dollars a month.
Two nurses, who were members of her community, stepped in to help her out with crucial support of a different sort.
Norris was introduced at Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, which was founded in 2010 to make health care cost affordable to the area. She was advised an alternative approach to control her type 2 diabetes and even the prospect of reversing it altogether.
Karen Wickham and her husband Steve Wickham started the health education sessions for people with diabetes. They are semiretired nurses, who have dedicated their lives to help people with diabetes, are on a mission of what they call “diabetes reversal.” They offer six-week seminars to patients with type 2 diabetes.
Karen says, “It’s our purpose. Our purpose in life is to try to help make a difference — first in our community.”
With slide presentations, the couple explains the difference between glucose and sucrose and the scientific facts that foods such as potatoes spike blood sugar, while sweet potatoes do not.
They suggest eating much fiber, as the stomach can stand and drop almost every kind of sweetened beverage. They conduct seminars that offer detailed instruction on the physiology and pathology of diabetes, benefits of diet and exercise, and plenty of individualized support.
The couple originally moved to Grundy County to take care of ailing parents. Later, they ended up building their dream home there.
Karen said, “I had taken care of diabetic patients for so long, and I knew the progression. If you truly want the people to get better, you have to treat it with lifestyle interventions.”
Changing your diet and activity level is the obvious answer; however, those changes are a bit hard to start and harder to maintain.
Steve says, “Nobody, actually, will make all of the lifestyle changes that we recommend. But if you’re making the kind of choices that lead you to a healthier lifestyle, then you get better.”
The Wickhams, along with their lifestyle counseling, always give a disclaimer, recommending people to consult with their physicians about their condition and its treatment. They also mention that their seminars are not yet “evidence-based” or backed by any peer-reviewed scientific research, which is why they have not been able to get government funds for their program.
