Better Health, More Independence: A New Life for Louise

 

Louise gets up with the birds for her hour-long walk on the treadmill four, sometimes six days a week. Her 5 am strolls could put anyone to shame, but for Louise, they’re simply a symbol for how far she’s come on her path to independence. With her daily walks, Louise, 73, manages diabetes while she rehabilitates from devastating illnesses. She has done so well, she no longer relies on medicine to keep her blood sugar levels down.

Her success, she said, comes in large part from Heartland Alliance’s healthcare services. “It really empowered her – it gave her her sense of independence back,” Louise’s daughter, Diana, said.

A few years ago, the future wasn’t looking this bright. She’d suffered an aneurysm, which caused a cascade of health problems for her, and for awhile, her doctors and family weren’t sure how she was going to fare. But Louise slowly recovered, and as she did, she struggled with the stress of her illnesses and the mounting costs that chipped away at her spare senior citizen’s budget. It was a rough cycle: The illnesses and stress aggravated her diabetes. The diabetes made it harder to recover, and kept her spirits low.

But at her local health center, she attended a six-week diabetes management course, desperate to find a way to get her diabetes under control once and for all. As the course ended, she knew that controlling her diabetes was more than a six week long endeavor and she knew she’d need ongoing support. Health professionals told her about Heartland Alliance’s healthcare services.

On a fixed income and battling a potentially life-threatening illness, Louise came to Heartland Alliance as many seniors do – with a variety of complex needs. But through Heartland Alliance’s services and connections to community groups throughout Chicago, she quickly began to receive one-on-one help, whether in need of utility assistance or prescription drug aid, medical services, or ongoing diabetes management.

It made all the difference. As she learned more about her disease, she changed her life, learning that exercise, making proper food choices and portioning her food are critical for keeping her blood sugar levels normal and stable. She learned how to manage stress – something she never realized would exacerbate her condition. 

Today, Louise is medication-free, many pounds lighter, singing contralto in her choir – and racking up miles on her treadmill. “I used to think diabetes was a death sentence,” she said. “But then Heartland [Alliance] helped me, and I picked up, and I am not going to stop. “I’m going to keep going as long as I can.”

 

 

 

 

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Heartland Alliance—the leading anti-poverty organization in the Midwest— believes that all of us deserve the opportunity to improve our lives. Each year, we help ensure this opportunity for nearly one million people around the world who are homeless, living in poverty, or seeking safety.

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