Diabetes Education & Research for Long, Healthy Lives

We are pleased to announce that St. Luke’s Humphreys Diabetes Center’s Program Director Judy Davis has been recognized as a “Fellow” by the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

Judy is the one and only Diabetes Educator in Idaho recognized as “Fellow” and is one of an elite group of only 33 in the United States.

Judy’s leadership and expertise in diabetes has continued to keep HDC as the preeminent diabetes education center in Idaho.

Alex is just 9 years old, but he is already a great role model for people of all ages with diabetes.
He keeps learning more every day about how to take care of his diabetes, and he doesn’t let it get in the way of all the other things he likes to do.

• He goes to school – he is a 3rd grader at Greenleaf Friends Academy.
• He likes to play video games and ride his bike.
• He goes fishing and camping with his family.
• He rides horses with his grandma, who also has diabetes.

His grandma was the one who noticed possible symptoms of diabetes and suggested a blood test. The doctor called the same day as the test and referred Alex and his parents to Humphreys Diabetes Center.

His parents Trevor and Doreen say they all felt like “deer in headlights” that first day, as they learned about insulin injections and diet and exercise. But they have done so well in their first year that they recently decided to try an insulin pump. So far it is going well, Dorene says. Alex likes less poking with needles.

“Take it one day at a time” and make education a priority, Doreen suggests to other newly diagnosed families. She works in health care and sees the “bad stuff that that happens” when people don’t manage diabetes well. “It’s very important to teach children when they are young, so that when they are adults, they can take care of themselves.”

When Steve Vancleave was first diagnosed with diabetes at age 11, he thought life was going to be short. He never dreamed how long he would live with type 1 diabetes – or how much fun he would have.

He is now 64 years old and has had insulin-dependent diabetes for 53 years!
He’s been having a lot of fun for most of those years.

He has been skydiving and scuba diving since the 1970s. He has backpacked in the Amazon and in the mountains of Peru. Last year he set a motorcycle land speed record at Bonneville flats (111 mph in the 175cc class).

And yes, he did work — 30 years for Zerox Corporation in California, and now two days a week for a local company.

“I don’t think I’m the greatest diabetic,” he says. He doesn’t do everything perfectly. But he does test regularly and adjust his insulin accordingly. “I stayed active,” he emphasizes. “I didn’t sit around and watch television and eat. When something new comes along, I go out and do it.”

Congratulations to all 81 Finalists who lost a total 2,511 pounds, an average 31 pounds each, in the 2010 Treasure Valley Weight Loss Challenge. Below are 1st place winner stories; See photos and read more inspiring stories about all of our winners Weight Loss Challenge Winners!

1st Place Woman
MELISSA ZACARIAS Lost 76.8 pounds, 30% bodyweight
Melissa lives in the small town of Glenns Ferry. When she started the Challenge last January, she began walking around town. People would stop to offer her rides, and she would explain that she was walking to lose weight. Pretty soon, the whole town knew and supported her. She walked and went to the gym or exercised at home almost every day. She cut back on red meat and carbohydrates. The prize kept her going, she said, because she and her husband have been living in two different countries for more than a year. She will use the prize money to visit him in Mexico this summer. And she plans to continue her weight loss by participating in Weight Watchers with her sisters.

1st Place Man
DON MORSE Lost 97.6 pounds, 36% bodyweight
Don worked hard —really hard. He walked four miles at work each day, then worked out at the YMCA walking / running, weight lifting and on the elliptical. If that wasn’t enough, he also participated in a Fitness Boot Camp three nights a week! His wife is a dietitian and was instrumental in helping him learn how to eat differently. He ate smaller and fewer portions, and slowed down to allow his brain time to signal “FULL”. His motto became “Eat to live, and not live to eat!” His 12-year old daughter was his ‘personal trainer’ and motivated him to work when he didn’t feel like pushing himself. His 16-year old son has big biceps and 6-pack abs and was always “generous” enough to show them off to motivate Don to do his work! He has a new lifestyle and wants to be a good example for his kids. He will spend his prize money on a nice summer vacation, some hip clothes to fit his new physique and a couple of deep tissue massages.