Small gifts help patients with diabetes prevent life-threatening complications
Read on to learn how Blessing Foundation donors improve lives
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August 2019
Diabetes is costly and can be difficult to manage for those with financial hardships
The Blessing Foundation meets patients’ needs so they can focus on their health
Angie Lockwood had just two cans of food in her home this past May. Because of unexpected expenses, she didn’t have money for groceries and wouldn’t have money for about two weeks.
Angie has diabetes and a slew of other health issues.
Angie has diabetes and a slew of other health issues.
Her blood sugar was out of control because she wasn’t eating much. Consistent meals and proper nutrition are key to keeping her diabetes in check.
When her dietitian at the Blessing Diabetes Center asked what was going on during a scheduled visit, Angie explained her situation. Staff members sprang into action and secured a $100 gift card to a local grocery store.
“That was a tremendous help to me,” Angie said. “I was a little embarrassed, but very thankful. It meant so much.”
That immediate assistance was available at a critical time for Angie because of donations to the Blessing Foundation.
The Diabetes Patient Care Fund
Among the more than 60 funds administered by the Blessing Foundation is the Diabetes Patient Care Fund. It might not be as well-known as the funds that help cancer, heart, or hospice patients.
But it’s just as vital.
It helps patients like Angie and so many others better manage their diabetes. They get the supplies, nutrition, and other support that they need to stay healthy. Otherwise, they’re at high risk for hospitalization, life-threatening complications, and other chronic diseases.
“If we don’t take care of the root problem – diabetes – patients will continue to have heart problems, kidney failure, and hypertension,” said Erin VonderHaar, nurse manager, Blessing Diabetes and Wound Center.
Diabetes is the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and lower-limb amputations.
Erin VonderHaar
‘Why Are You Doing This for Me?’
A diabetes diagnosis can be costly and it’s a struggle for some to afford the medication and supplies needed to manage the disease. Most don’t ask for help. But the strong relationships that the caregivers at the Blessing Diabetes Center form with their patients allows them to discover when someone’s in need and take quick action.
A few examples:
- A patient who walks a lot needed special shoes to prevent diabetic foot problems. He couldn’t afford them, so the Blessing Foundation stepped in. Without those shoes, he could have developed a foot ulcer that might have led to amputation.
- A patient with diabetes and other complications needed a nebulizer to prevent breathing problems and costly emergency room visits. She didn’t have the money, so the Blessing Foundation paid the bill.
- A patient couldn’t afford nutritional supplements. The Blessing Foundation provided the supplements, so the patient could keep blood sugars in a healthy range.
- A patient’s insulin pump dramatically improved how well the disease was being managed. But the patient lost insurance and public aid hadn’t yet kicked in. The Blessing Foundation filled the financial gap.
- A patient who lost a significant portion of her household income stopped taking her insulin because she didn’t have food. The Blessing Foundation arranged transportation so she could get to the grocery store.
“Many of them are very thankful,” said Deb Derhake, program coordinator, Blessing Diabetes Center. “They ask, ‘Why are you doing this for me?’”
“A chronic condition can be stressful enough,” Derhake adds. “If one of those stressors is financial, and often it is, the Blessing Foundation can take some of the burden away from patients. These patients are working at improving their overall health – and they are not taking advantage of the system.”
Blessing Foundation funds are used only when all other assistance has been exhausted – and 100% of donors’ gifts goes straight to those in need. The Foundation team serves at the pleasure of the donors to the Health System.
“The money stays local,” Derhake says. “The patients who benefit … you could be sitting next to them at a ballgame or it could be the neighbor down the street. Diabetes is a disease that doesn’t discriminate.”
Deb Derhake
Back to Angie...
Angie’s life changed in an instant when she was hit by a car and suffered major trauma in January 2015. She developed a life-threatening blood disorder that has required multiple surgeries and lived in a nursing home out of the area until moving back to Quincy in April 2017.
At 42, Angie is in a wheelchair, unable to work, and deals with chronic pain and sleep apnea in addition to her diabetes. When she started a program at the Diabetes Center, she learned how to take better care of herself, got help coordinating her medication, and was able to get an insulin pump in January.
It’s made all the difference.
“I was sick every day, lethargic, tired, thirsty, sugars so high I couldn’t think clearly,” Angie recalls. “Now, my A1C (average blood sugar) is much lower. I’m more energetic and happier. They really care and really want to help you.”
Angie says the Blessing Foundation not only helped her with groceries when she needed them, but also paid for transportation to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis when she needed blood clot surgery in July 2018. The Foundation used money from the Heart and Vascular Center Fund for that $100 ride.
“The Foundation gives back to the people who really need it –
things that are life and death,” Angie says.
Your Gift Has the Power to Change Lives
