BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WLVT) - For Annette Rodriguez, diabetes hits home.
"I got clammy all of a sudden. I had no idea what was the matter with me," she recalled about a day when she was at work.
She developed Type 2 diabetes, the same disease that took her dad and grandparents.
"Unfortunately, Type 2 can take away your eyesight, which happened to my grandmother. It could take away your limbs, which happened to my grandfather," Rodriguez explained. "So, yeah, Type 2 has really, really grave consequences."
Rodriguez said despite her family history, she’ll fight diabetes any way she can. She's the chair of the Diabetes Coalition of the Lehigh Valley and a volunteer with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
"I made it my mission to say, 'That's it. I am not going to be a statistic of diabetes,' and I have educated myself and empowered myself to learn what diabetes is about," she said.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and in the Lehigh Valley, groups are focused on ways to prevent a disease affecting more than 30 million Americans.
Several organizations were part of a special event at the Bethlehem YMCA on Thursday, which was World Diabetes Day.
"We know that adult onset Type 2 diabetes is prevalent among older adults. We have a community that is aging demographically," said Carmen Bell, United Way's director of healthy aging. "So, we still consider this to be a good prime-time part of your life, and we want to help people get to a good quality of life and help combat some of those disease issues."
There is more than one type of diabetes. Type 1 can’t be prevented, and Type 2 diabetes is the more common one. Health experts say there are choices people can make to better manage the disease, including nutrition and fitness.
"Plant-based diets are quite low in saturated fat, and we know that saturated fat causes the body's insulin not to work as well," said Ann Marie Barilla, a registered dietitian at Lehigh Valley Health Network's Helwig Health and Diabetes Center. "So, by limiting red and processed meats, all animal products, and whole fat dairy products, we can better control Type 2 diabetes."
"Just do things differently. Walk farther to where you park the car, do steps instead of elevators, things of that nature," said Bruce Stephens, a 75-year-old Salisbury Township resident who is pre-diabetic.
Stephens joined the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program to help improve his health. Janet Yarko, a diabetes lifestyle coach at the Bethlehem YMCA, said the program started in March. It's a year-long commitment with the goals of losing seven percent in body weight and increasing physical activity up to 150 minutes a week.
"We discuss things like reading food labels, being a fat detective, you know, moving muscles, what type of physical activity is achievable," said Janet Yarko, a diabetes lifestyle coach at the Bethlehem YMCA.
"I feel good," Stephens said. "I lost about 20 pounds, and I'm down where I want to be. It's now the challenge is to hold it there."
"Some of the participants have reduced their A1C levels, which is a blood sugar type of test," Yarko said. "Some have reduced the amount of medication that they've been taken.”
The American Diabetes Association says 7.2 million people are living with diabetes and don't know it. Rodriguez said learning about the disease -- even if it’s just talking to a doctor -- saves lives.
"Diabetes is not a death sentence," she said, "as long as you have the information, you empower yourself, and you educate yourself."