[NFBOH-Cleveland] Braille Monitor November 2020 (The Diabetes Action Network Is as Important as Life and Death) By Debbie Wunder

[Suzanne Turner]

Braille Monitor                         November 2020


 


The Diabetes Action Network Is as Important as Life and Death


by Debbie Wunder

>From the Editor: Debbie Wunder is the newly-elected president of the
Diabetes Action Network. She believes that everything we do is serious
business, but sometimes we forget how important some of our divisions can
be. Here is what she says:

Diabetes is unquestionably one of the leading causes of blindness in the
United States, its only competition being age-related diseases of the eye.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and perhaps this is a good time for us
to take stock of our role in helping blind people. With good information, we
can lessen our chances of getting the disease. If your doctor tells you that
your blood sugar is a little high and that you are classified as a
prediabetic, don't shrug it off and decide you have more serious problems to
worry about. If you can avoid getting the disease, your chances of
developing heart trouble are decreased, and your chances of living longer
are increased. 

If you already have the disease, careful management can spare you many of
the debilitating consequences that can spring from it. Far too many blind
people with diabetes don't know that they can perform the frequent blood
tests that are required to manage it. Too few of us understand that new
technology can now help us avoid the finger sticks that were once a part of
diabetes management, that this new technology is generically referred to as
continuous glucose monitoring, and that there are several devices on the
market that blind people can read with the assistance of a smartphone.

This division of the National Federation of the Blind has committed itself
to being more visible and active. This will include frequent contributions
to the Braille Monitor, monthly seminars open to all using the Zoom
platform, and encouraging even more participation on our Diabetes Action
Network listserv.

All of the programs we run in the National Federation of the Blind are
important in helping us live the lives we want, but the work of the Diabetes
Action Network may well determine how long that life is. We need your help
in building and strengthening the division so that in turn it can help build
and strengthen our Federation. Good diabetes management both extends life
and the quality of that life. The information we dispense may be the
determining factor in whether people can continue to read Braille, travel
independently by using the feeling in their feet, and stop the amputations
which all too frequently occur when good diabetic care is not observed.

If you have an interest in learning more about the work of our division or
becoming part of it, please write to me. My address is
debbiewunder at charter.net <mailto:debbiewunder at charter.net> . You can
subscribe to our listserv by going to nfbnet.org, join or drop NFBNet
mailing lists, and click on the link that says Diabetes Talk. You can also
sign up as a member by sending dues of ten dollars to Treasurer Joy Stigile.
You can do this by check payable to the Diabetes Action Network in the
amount of $10 and mail it to 19831 Friar Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367.
You can use Apple Pay using the phone number 818-419-5331 or through PayPal
using the email address rstigile at gmail.com <mailto:rstigile at gmail.com> .
Regardless of how you pay, please note that you are paying dues for the
division.

Do something that is both in your self-interest and beneficial to others.
Learn about diabetes, how blind people can manage it, and how all of us,
working together, can create a healthier America.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfboh-cleveland_nfbnet.org/attachments/20201122/3c5ea6be/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 192032 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfboh-cleveland_nfbnet.org/attachments/20201122/3c5ea6be/attachment-0001.jpg>