Radish and Garbanzo
Bean Salad
recipe, page 98
Rita’s mom, Mirtha, has type 2 diabetes, as do her
nine siblings. Mirtha has been a role model for
Edgar by eating healthfully and walking daily.
in common—their diabetes was out of control. The
weekend-long retreat kicked off an intensive 12-week
training period that focused on the goal of improving
their blood glucose control and overall health.
“From the moment we all got together, I knew it
was going to be incredible,” Edgar says. “We talked
one-on-one with the Dream Team mentors—a
dietitian, an endocrinologist, a fitness trainer, a
diabetes educator, and an organization expert.
They told us to think like a pancreas. We had to
take our medications, watch what we were eating,
exercise, and monitor our blood glucose. When I was
first diagnosed, I’d started testing regularly, but I’d
grown tired of it and had stopped. And I’m a medical
technologist, so I should know better!”
Getting Family Support
An important component of the Diabetes Makeover is
involving each participant’s family. Edgar’s wife, Rita,
who is a medical technologist and nutritionist, and
his oldest son, Johan, were invited to a special dinner
for Diabetes Makeover families that first weekend.
“We have diabetes on both sides of our families,
so we knew the risks,” Rita says. Edgar’s father
died recently after two years of dialysis and an
amputation, both resulting from diabetes. His
mother’s diabetes is under control. Rita’s mother,
Mirtha, also has diabetes, as do Mirtha’s nine
siblings. “With that kind of family background, you’ve
got to pay attention to what you eat and how you
exercise,” Rita says.
Edgar agrees. “I wish my father had had the
opportunity to get the information I received from the
Dream Team. Maybe he would have lived longer,” he
says. “And I wish I’d taken action on my own health
sooner.” Edgar was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
two years ago, but he was in denial for three years
before that. “As a medical technologist, I was able to
check my fasting blood glucose every six months, and
was watching my numbers creep up— 120, 145, 160,”
he says. “The trick was trying to keep it from Rita,
who could access the information because she’s also a
medical technologist. So I learned to code my results
so she couldn’t recognize them.”
