ORGANIZATIONS SPREAD AWARENESS FOR NATIONAL DIABETES MONTH

 Her peers call her the ‘Diabetes Guru.’
 
Patti Williams is the Director of Health Education Alliance and consults people of all ages with diabetes.
 
"For diabetes specifically, we work with people who have diabetes and of course parent's of children who have diabetes and we help them learn how to self manage it," Williams said.
 
Williams said that almost anything that’s recommended for diabetes, can be applied to a healthy life style in general
 
"The message that gets missed really is that everything that is recommended for diabetes,” Williams said. “You could remove the word 'diabetes' and say ‘cardiac health,’ or for your blood pressure and for your general well being." 
 
Williams said the hardest part that people have after being diagnosed is changing eating habits.
 
"It’s not like we can't eat,” Williams said. “We're going to eat several times a day and making healthy choices for some folks is harder because we weren't raised with healthy choices and in other scenarios it's cause were exposed to extra food."
 
For Carrie Smith the healthy lifestyle was easy.
 
"I hate to focus on the negative because I think there's a lot to be said about positive management and long term health," Smith said.
 
At the Health Education Alliance Carrie Smith helps peoples with the disease by sharing stories of her own battle, and overcoming diabetes.
 
Smith has dealt with diabetes for more than 30 years now, and says it isn’t as bad as it sounds.
 
"So often it's thought of as a negative and scary,” Smith said. “With the right medication and right control you can live a long and healthy life."
 
Smith has many plans for the future and says you have to find a way to live with it and move on.
 
"It’s a matter of just living and doing what everyone else gets to do,” Smith said. :I've also traveled across the globe and you know, hope to have a baby some day.”