Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Nutrition Programs for Parents and Children Living with Type I Diabetes

Turning Point has always strived to meet community needs while not duplicating the services of other organizations. Recently a group of mothers in a coffee klatch reached out to Turning Point to gain additional resources, support and knowledge. These mothers all have something in common. They all have a child with Type I Diabetes. Turning Point was invited to attend the coffee klatch and from then on there has been a flurry of ideas that have transformed into programming for children and families affected by Type I Diabetes.
Diabetes is not the only common denominator between these families. These parents possess knowledge, the innate ability to advocate for their children and a desire to learn more about managing their disease - Turning Point is happy to help foster these traits.
Turning Point now offers monthly nutrition based programs facilitated by Nan Borchardt, RD, LD, CDE, and Medical Biochemist. In addition to all the letters behind her name Nan also wears the hat of someone living with Type I diabetes for the past 44 years. As a result, the parents attending these programs are able to explore ideas through the personal and professional experience of the facilitator. Comments from participants include: "Great, real world info"; "I am new to Type I nutritional needs that are this intense - this is a must have class for all parents!"; "I learned more in these two hours than I have in the past 5 years! Nan = AWESOME!!!"
We are also excited to be offering "Kids Cooking up Fun", for the children with Type I Diabetes. This is a summer series in which children will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on cooking. The program is facilitated by Leslie Stullken, a healthy eating food coach and owner of My Healthy Table. Kids will create fresh, seasonal recipes that meet their nutritional needs but, most importantly, kids will be in a supportive environment surrounded by their peers.
If you are a parent of a child with Type I Diabetes, consider registering for some of these upcoming programs. See the programs listed in our Community Calendar (on our website) and give us a call to register.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS OPEN HOUSE

Turning Point is pleased to highlight our programming for people living with MS at an MS Open House on Thursday, July 23 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm. Informal tours of Turning Point’s comfortable living room and group rooms will be available and light refreshments will be served. Wendy Booker, our featured speaker, will offer her presentation from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. A bit about Wendy:
In June of 1998, the mother of three was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) after experiencing balance problems, blurred vision and numbness on her left side. With her sights set high, Wendy committed to a healthy diet, exercise and drug therapy in an effort to one day complete her conquest with the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world.
Wendy believes that, by leading through example, she may eventually inspire others to also take charge of their own obstacles head on. In 2004 Wendy became the first woman with MS to ever conquer the 20,320-foot summit of Mt. McKinley and proved to the world that her disease would not keep her from living her dreams. Wendy relates her experience of scaling Mt. McKinley, saying that it typified her experience with MS; "it’s hard, it’s steep, it’s scary, we don’t always get to the top (and sometimes) we have to do things more than once."
To date, Wendy has scaled 6 mountains and hopes to complete her mission of the seven summits in 2009 with Mt. Everest. Since her diagnosis, Wendy has also participated in nine marathons and has served as captain of the Marathon Strides Against MS team for the Boston-Area National MS Society.
Today, Wendy travels frequently to share her inspirational personal story with others living with MS and is a testament to the power of positive attitude and determination.
Turning Point is grateful to Teva Neuroscience for making this MS Open House, Wendy’s presentation and the MS programming that Turning Point offers possible. See our Community Calendar on our website for upcoming MS programs.