Patient Testimonials
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| Part of Glen Stapleton’s wellness routine includes exercising at St. Mary’s Wellness Center. |
Glenn Stapleton
In the golden years of his retirement, Glenn Stapleton has relearned how to live – especially how to eat.
"I have diabetes, but that’s not who I am," he says. The 55-year-old Milton, W.Va., resident says the assistance of the Joslin Diabetes Center eduation affiliate at St. Mary’s Medical Center has been vital to his healthy lifestyle and mindset. With the encouragement and expertise of its staff, not to mention the support of fellow Joslin patients, Maynard relearned how to eat.
During his career at UPS, his late-night hours would mean lots of late-night binging. This past December, the Ona, W.Va., resident – who has been retired for about a year – was diagnosed as having borderline Type II diabetes. Stapleton’s physician immediately referred him to the Joslin Diabetes Center at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
"He referred me there to take classes to learn how to eat right and exercise," Stapleton says. "The classes have been a big help to me. The instructors helped me as far as what to eat and how to read labels. I didn’t know anything about that. The important thing is to eat in moderation."
Stapleton has seen immediate benefits. His weight dropped from 248 to 218 pounds, and he said his energy level has risen considerably.
"My sugar is down where it’s supposed to be," he says. "Hopefully, I’ll be able to get off my medication. My goal is to get off all of this stuff." He explained that he also takes medications for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
In addition to eating well, Stapleton says he walks at least an hour each day of the week.
Above all else, Stapleton says his health lifestyle changes would have been extremely difficult without the guidance he received at Joslin.
"The people at St. Mary’s Joslin Diabetes affiliate have been really helpful and encouraging," he says. "I’ve enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to anyone."
He says he looks forward to a lot of quality time with his family, including his wife Vickie.
"I felt tired all of the time when I first got this," he says. "I don’t have that problem anymore. It’s really done a lot of good for me."
