Patient Testimonials
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| Jeannie Filipek is an avid walker inside Veteran's Memorial Fieldhouse located near her job. |
Jeannie Filipek
Jeannie Filipek says her dream is to dance at her granddaughter Madison's wedding.
While Madison is only 3 and Filipek is 63, she believes that special goal is within reach – thanks largely to the help she has received from the Joslin Diabetes Center at St. Mary's Medical Center. Filipek was diagnosed with Type II diabetes – something she says, "I knew was coming, but I didn't know when."
While Filipek says she has taken care of herself for the most part, she says her dietary habits haven't always been conducive to good health.
"I ate the bulk of my foods at 7 or 8 p.m. and went to bed," Filipek says of her habit of working late hours as a bank credit union manager and fasting throughout the day.
"My doctor said this is a wake-up call and Joslin Diabetes Center will give you the tools to avoid going on medication."
While Filipek, who lives in Milton, W.Va., takes small doses of a diabetes drug, she does not have to take insulin. She tests her blood sugar each morning and evening and has embraced the healthy habit of eating regularly.
"I had to re-approach how I eat," she says. "I've been able to lose 20 pounds by cutting carbs. Every 10 pounds I take off, it decreases the amount of medication I need."
Filipek, who has embraced an active lifestyle including horseback riding, says she attributed her loss of energy to simply getting older. She said the weight crept on slowly, and she gradually became less active.
"I've learned a lot about my propensity to do certain things," Filipek says of her experience at the Joslin Diabetes Center. "I'm a holistic person and that's how the Joslin Diabetes Center came into focus. I had to learn foods and rethink how I eat.
"That was all new to me and has been an eye-opener as far as making the right food choices," Filipek says. "Carbs will show up in the sneakiest places. Our society is not set up to healthy eating, and I'm glad to see some restaurants providing information for people to make good decisions."
Filipek says she likens the experience at Joslin to opening up an atlas.
"People give you a road map, and it's up to you to pick the route," she explains. "St. Mary's Joslin Center has the type of diabetes education that can benefit everyone."
