Diabetes Hispanic Community Center

I'm going blind and can hardly see.
I have numbness and tingling, especially my feet.
My provider gave me a meal plan,
but I can't help it I love to eat!
A nurse came to visit my community center, it's like my second home.
I go there to socialize. When I'm there I never feel alone.
The nurse showed some examples of an eye,
both normal and the effects of diabetes after a long time.
I asked a lot of questions about food, my body, and medications.
He gave me examples of how to adjust to different situations.
I have to change to my diet, exercise, and work with my provider.
I don't know it all, but learned valuable lessons and I'm a fighter!

My first experience in working with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) felt like I was in the right place at the right time. I had been volunteering with nycares.org since college and was lucky enough to find this association through the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) group that I belong to. I noticed a disconnect between the Hispanic population and self-management of diabetes, both in the community interacting with people and in the hospital where I work as a cardiac nurse. When this opportunity came along, I reached out to the ADA that was in need of a Spanish speaking medical professional.

While working at a Hispanic community center in the Bronx, with the help of the ADA team, we performed a preassessment to gauge the audience's level of understanding of diabetes and to appropriately meet the clients at their education level. We also did a post-test to identify their level of understanding and any areas we would need to work on in future presentations.

I really enjoyed working with the older adult population. Being Hispanic myself, I felt like I was speaking to a living room full of family members. I made myself available and open to learning from the audience as well. I learned about their strengths and their fears with diabetes. I answered many questions and concerns and really look forward to continue working with Hispanics and diabetes, aside from other volunteer work with different groups of people independent of the ADA.