Alabama
The Poarch Creek Indian Community
Community Diabetes Support Group
Community Diabetes Support Group
Local Impact - Michigan
Tracy L. Sagataw, Hannahville Indian Community
Hannahville Indian Community Clinic Diabetes Program
"I had been around diabetes all my life but it was only 2 years ago-through community diabetes education-that I began to fully understand the disease."
- Tracy L. Sagataw
Almost my entire family-my mother, brother, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are living with or have died from complications of diabetes. My earliest childhood memory of diabetes is seeing needles lying around the house and not knowing what they were for. Even though I have been around it all my life and have seen people in my community on dialysis or with amputations, it was only about two years ago that I actually began to fully understand the disease.
At that time, I had just started working as an Outreach Worker and began to get involved with many of the programs at the clinic, including the diabetes program. I learned about pre-diabetes and that there was scientific proof that type 2 diabetes could be prevented. Soon, I found myself on a different part of my wellness journey. Overall, with a combination of diet and exercise I have lost 40 pounds. The weight management program and the Reach for Wellness Fitness Center contributed largely to that. I have seen my people suffer enough, that alone keeps me motivated to stay on this path.
Special diabetes funding is important in our community because we need the staff and tools to educate more people about diabetes prevention, diabetes itself, and to provide continued care for the people living with diabetes.
