
A couple has started a support group for those suffering from diabetes.
STATES CHRONICLE – Alana Malick and Rhodes Ritenour are a couple fighting against diabetes. They first met when they were law students. Rhodes was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was a child. In the next 11 years since they met, they got married and had two beautiful children. Both of them started their attorney’s careers. Alana has always been very supportive, helping her husband monitor his insulin level.
They became very comfortable talking about the disease and various ways to treat it. They have been thinking of establishing a support group for all those suffering from diabetes. This could be an experience which could be categorized as eye-opening, concerning the harsh circumstances everyone needs to experience.
The support group is TheDiabetesSupportGroup.org and is free, making use of a series of videos in which the Ritenours are addressing all the couples out there encouraging them never to lose hope. They are talking various aspects related to how they are managing this disease. They also provide different resources for those who need to find out more about this illness.
The launched a program called “Life, Love & Diabetes” on CBS 6. There, they will discuss aspects of the disease. The first episode will be issued on October 19. A part of this show will also be posted on their support group. Their project was entirely funded by the Ritenours, although they keep hoping that this amazing support group will attract some sponsors. Alana argues that this site which they started made them feel useful when helping others. Her husband is living with this disease for 33 years, and he has a lot of valuable information to share.
When Rhodes was diagnosed, he was five years old and having just started kindergarten. He spent a couple of weeks in the hospital where he found out how to control his blood sugar and his insulin levels. As a kid, that could be a really harsh experience. Over the years, he had verified his blood sugar approximately 80,000 times. Since he was a kid up until now, the technology developed all kinds of monitors for blood glucose and various insulin pumps. The number of diabetes is still growing in America estimating that 29 million Americans suffer from this disease.
This disease is cruel, but it’s a condition you can live with if you take care of yourself. Think of supporting those who are suffering from diabetes.
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