By Russ George
Members of the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley held their October membership meeting Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Oak Street Restaurant, 945 Oak Street, in North Aurora.
Club member, Donna Bohr, introduced guest speakers, Hlawn Tlang and Blend Dalipi, undergraduate students from Aurora University, majoring in Health Science and minoring in Chemistry, both aspiring to become medical doctors in the future. Hlawn’s dream is to become a surgeon and participate in research to give back to the community. Blend is passionate about becoming a community-oriented physician and participating in humanitarian medical work.
Hlawn and Blend, spoke about how they and three other researchers from Aurora University, explored Type 2, Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) from two perspectives.
First, investigating how diabetes affects the wound healing process at a cellular level, by introducing peptidoglycan (PGN) to mimic a bacterial infection and analyzing gene expression levels.
Second, they aimed to understand the high prevalence of diabetes, in local communities within Illinois, by conducting a bilingual survey, in English and Spanish, across places of worship, work sites, and community clinics, assessing for risk factors, healthcare access, attitudes, and awareness.
The notable findings from their research of 255 individuals, between the ages of 18 to 40, included that 44% of participants reported rarely talking about diabetes with their families, 75% said they were unaware of diabetes prevention programs, and 61.2% indicated that they would participate in a prevention program if available and were made aware of such programs.
Blend and Hlawn stated that in response to their research findings, they have developed some educational materials to spark conversations and raise awareness about diabetes. They are currently working on a project aiming to reach individuals, who have limited access to diabetes education and prevention programs, due to insurance, doctor’s referral, and other barriers. The new project seeks to educate individuals about diabetes and provide evidence-based resources from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) on how to prevent diabetes, and where to find accessible resources, such as nutrition education, mental healthcare, medical care, food assistance, and much more.
The research team will be holding informational diabetes events with various guest speakers, at local churches, libraries, and universities. Their first event will be held Sunday, Oct. 26, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 722 High Street, in Aurora.
Upon completing their presentation and answering questions, both Hlawn and Blend, became members of the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, taking advantage of our yearly student membership rate of $25.
DCFV members are looking forward to working together with Hlawn and Blend, to bring about an awareness of diabetes and the dangers of uncontrolled blood sugar (glucose).
The Diabetes Club of Fox Valley held their October “Meet and Greet”, organized by media chairperson, Ann McBride, to expose our Club and our mission, Saturday, Oct. 11, at Panera Bread, 1330 N. Orchard Road, in Aurora.
Welcome to new member, Linda Ostrander, who stopped by our “Meet and Greet” to find out more about the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, and joined our fight against diabetes!
DCFV members thank Panera Bread for allowing our Club to handout information on diabetes, prediabetes, healthy meal planning, and our new Diabetic Recipes booklet!
November will be National Diabetes Awareness Month! Plan now to attend our second annual gala dinner, “A Night To End Diabetes”, Friday, Nov. 14, (World Diabetes Day), at the Lincoln Inn, 1345 South Batavia Avenue, in Batavia.
Join us for a delightful evening of fun for a great cause!
Dancing to live music by Phoenixx, a powerhouse of vintage rhythm and harmony channeling the spirit of legends from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A high-energy, harmony-driven band rooted in the golden era of music from the 1950s to classic hits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Cocktails will be at 6:30 p.m., filet mignon and breast of chicken dinner at 7:30 p.m., and raffles, for $85 per person. Table of 10 for $800.
For tickets or information contact: Tony Arch, 630-336-4246 or send E-mail: tony@archprinting.com, or call Mary Arch, 630-688-6147.
The Diabetes Club of Fox Valley is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. A true grassroots organization, where all money raised through dues, donations and fundraising is used for the club’s fight against diabetes.
Tax deductible donations can be made on our website: diabeteshelpnearme.com or mail your tax deductible donation to: Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, P.O. Box 88, North Aurora, Illinois 60542.
Why not join our fight against diabetes? You don’t need to be diabetic to be a member of our club! Yearly individual membership dues are $50. Student dues are $25. Corporate dues are $150 per year, which includes a sponsorship listing on our website: www.diabeteshelpnearme.com.
Have questions about the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, please call, text or send an E-mail with your name and address to president Russ George, 630-205-9065 or send Email: Diabetesclubfv@gmail.com.
Please continue to keep informed about our club’s upcoming events, by following us in The Voice, on Facebook, and on our website: diabeteshelpnearme.com.