Maria Escobar's Story
March 26, 2021Managing Diabetes for Life
How we live can affect how well we live. That's what Maria Escobar (pictured with her daughter) learned, with the help of Holy Cross Health's broad approach to diabetes management.
A regular visit to the Holy Cross Health Center in Aspen Hill in 2017 detected that Maria’s blood glucose level had risen to a dangerously high 300. She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Maria’s physician and pharmacist focused on medications and frequent checkups to bring her blood glucose level down, a crucial step in managing diabetes. At Holy Cross Health’s free, Spanish-language Diabetes Self-Management Education classes, she learned that eating more vegetables, cutting back on sugar and breads, and exercising could help her further control her diabetes and feel better.
“It’s hard to change lifelong habits, but I’ve changed my eating habits by 80 percent,” said Maria.
Support For Long-Term Change
The medication therapy management she receives through bi-monthly meetings with a Holy Cross pharmacist at the health center also has been crucial to helping Maria improve her health.
“Everyone knows you’re supposed to eat healthily and exercise,” said Erik X. Rivera, MD, Maria’s primary care physician at the health center in Aspen Hill. “We educate our patients and provide many resources for lifestyle changes, as well as access to care. But the regular check-ins we provide with our pharmacists, nutritionists and diabetes educators make people feel accountable and that supports long-term change.”
Moving Ahead, Feeling Better
Maria has recently achieved an average glucose level of 130. “This is outstanding, perfect for a diabetes patient,” said Dr. Rivera.
“Now I feel better,” said Maria. “I’m more agile, more awake and I’m in a better mood!”