Your Diabetes Mentor at Hegg

Your Diabetes Mentor at Hegg

November is National Diabetes Month, timely as Hegg proudly introduces our new full-time Diabetes Educator, Linda Bartl.

Inspired by her own family history of the disease combined with her decades of experience as a Registered Dietitian and Diabetes Educator, Bartl’s wish is to continue Hegg’s mission of healing body, mind and spirit through the art of diabetes coaching and management.

Witnessing her father’s lifelong journey with diabetes and walking with her sister through a sudden Type 1 diagnosis at the age of 45 stemming from a condition known as Latent Autoimmune Disease in Adults (LADA) primed Bartl for not only the physical coaching, but emotional mentorship necessary to handling a disease that is always changing and can onset in any person at any age. “When we learned my fit, active 45-year-old sister was a diabetic, it opened my eyes. Changing an entire lifestyle after having a lifetime of uneventful health and freedom is no easy feat, and neither is being a person with lifelong diabetes realizing your disease is changing once again,” Bartl states.

There’s hope: thanks to plenty of research, there’s plenty of tools and medications available to patients with diabetes. The options can be intimidating but Bartl lives in the world of diabetes management daily and looks forward to meeting with and guiding patients to feel empowered by their choices. “My own cupboards look like everyone else’s. And again, thanks to research, there are no foods that are off limits just because you have diabetes. Moderation is key.”

Bartl also stresses that “diabetes is progressive.” In addition to learning a new medication or routine, she notes “the disease changes again, and you need to change things up again.”

Patients facing a diabetes or pre-diabetes diagnosis who are needing a mentor in their medical journey can look to the Diabetes Program at Hegg Health Center for guidance.

November is a good time to make plans for your future health as we focus on a month of Diabetes. Speak with your physician at your next wellness exam about receiving a program referral, or call Linda Bartl directly for a consult at 712-476-8065.