Numbers have and will always be an essential part of life. At an early age you learn how to count, and then you put into memory birth dates, phone numbers, etc. As you get older, some numbers become more important than others such as SSN, driver’s license or weight. Well there is another number you can commit to memory and that is your A1C.
Do you know your A1C number? Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and 4-time NAACP Image Award winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson says that it is a very important number to know. Better known for crime fighting as the no-nonsense Lieutenant Anita van Buren on 17-seasons of Law & Order, her film credits include HBO’s Lackawanna Blues, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Mother and Child, Peeples (with Kerry Washington), and more. It was while promoting her various projects that she got the shock of her life that caused her to know her A1C number. Now she has joined a grass roots campaign with Merck called America’s Diabetes Challenge: Get to Your Goals program to educate others on why they should know their A1C number. She sat down 1-on-1 with Houston Style Magazine to tell us more.
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Eleven years ago Merkerson was meeting and greeting the public at a health fair. Her role was simply to encourage others to be their own health advocate by taking regular tests and knowing all their important numbers. Little did she know that she should have been taking her own advice. After demonstrating how easy it was to test your blood sugar on camera, a doctor spoke with Merkerson off camera to give her a wake call that her blood sugar was high. Immediately Merkerson made an appointment with her doctor who confirmed that she indeed was a type 2 diabetic.
Merkerson knew she had a family with a history of the illness. She had lost her father and grandmother due to complications with diabetes. Plus two other family members, her brother as well as her Uncle, are diabetic. But it never occurred to her that she might be diabetic. Like many with a new diagnosis, Merkerson began to educate herself on how to manage her newly discovered disease. It was then that she found the importance of her knowing her A1C number and the lifestyle changes she needed to make to reach her health goals. With new found information and knowing that nearly 26 million Americans are living with type 2 diabetes, she decided to speak up so more would not put their health at risk and tell them the importance of knowing their A1C number.
So what is the A1C number?
A1C is a number that is found through a blood test that examines your average blood sugar level over the past two to three months. The number also helps diabetic patients and their doctor see how well diabetes treatment is working for them. A main goal of type 2 diabetes management is to keep the blood sugar under control and to reach the A1C goals established with their doctor.
Once Merkerson consulted with her doctor on her individualize treatment plan (which may change over the years) she began to alter her lifestyle via diet and exercise to reach her individual health goals. As a firsthand witness on how the disease can alter your life, she committed herself to achieving her A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol goals. She is not only committed to keeping herself healthy but others as well.
Take the Pledge
Merkerson encourages everyone, especially those with a family history of diabetes, to get their blood sugar checked to make sure they are not diabetic. If the outcome is that they are in fact diabetic, Merkerson then wants them to take the Americas Diabetes Challenge with her.
Merkerson is challenging those living with diabetes to step up and join her in taking the pledge to reach their A1C goals. Commiting to the pledge can be done in three missions. Mission 1 is for diabetic patients to work with their doctor to know their A1C number. Mission 2 is to set goals with their doctor and make a plan to reach those goals. Mission 3 is to follow and stick to the plan.
“It is important. It is important because it (diabetes) is manageable,” said Merkerson. She continued to say that the complications of unmanaged diabetes are not good or healthy.
Step up and take the challenge America with Merkerson. Visit www.americasdiabeteschallenge.com to take the pledge and find out more information.
As seen on StyleMagazine.com