Magnolia Matters - 2019 Spring/Summer

“MAGNOLIA AND THE ENTIRE STAFF HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! THEY CERTAINLY CHANGED MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER.” — Gary Gadd The first attempt didn’t register anything, due to his blood glucose levels being so high. The second attempt resulted in a blood glucose measurement in the 500s, which is dangerously elevated and indicates risk of serious complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations without treatment. Based on the extremely high blood glucose levels, Gadd was rushed to the Emergency Department, where he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and admitted to the hospital for a week. Enter Carmen Parks Gadd's hospital stay involved treatment of complications from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones. In February 2017, after he had recovered, he had his first meeting with Carmen Parks, FNP-C, Certified Diabetes Educator at MRHC, to discuss next steps. The two established a plan for Gadd to manage his disease. “When I began my treatments with Carmen Parks, my A1C (a blood sugar test) was at 11.2,” said Gadd. “We started with insulin injections, and once my sugar was better controlled, she recommended moving to an insulin pump.” Continuing to Improve Since making the move to an insulin pump, Gadd has maintained improved blood glucose levels, and his A1C has improved to 7.4, meaning that it decreased from being severely elevated to being slightly elevated. Gary Gadd and his wife, Valerie 2019 SPRING/SUMMER 14