Basic HTML Version
November 11, 2012
HEALTHY LIFE: DIABETES
5
kept Sinclaire’s diabetes at bay. Then, in 2007,
he was put on oral medication. He now takes
NovoLog, a synthetic form of insulin, in con-
junction with Atlantis insulin. He monitors
his glucose levels and administers his own
injections.
“I’ve got to stick a needle in me four times
a day,” he says, “but it’s becoming second-
hand now.”
Since his diabetes diagnosis, Sinclaire has
worked with the Weight and Diabetes Insti-
tute at Legacy Health in northwest Portland.
Aside frommonitoring his condition and cre-
ating a treatment plan, WDI assigned him
registered nurse and certified diabetes edu-
cator Nan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald continues to
be an invaluable resource for Sinclaire, serv-
ing as something of a coach as he navigates
life with Type 2.
The non-profit organization CareOregon
has covered the costs of his medical treat-
ment, and will likely continue to do so until
Sinclaire is eligible for Medicare in two
years.
A disease on the rise
According to the National Institutes of
Health, 7.8 percent of Americans live with
Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-
onset diabetes; up to 95 per-
cent of diabetics suffer from
the Type 2 variety. The dis-
ease, which hinders the
body’s ability to regulate its
glucose levels, is thought to
be the seventh most com-
mon cause of death nation-
wide. And it comes at quite
a cost: A 2007 NIH study
found that Type 2 diabetes
alone cost Americans near-
ly $174 billion that year.
While there is no cure for
Type 2 diabetes, health care
professionals recommend
that diabetics maintain a
strict diet, exercise regular-
ly and in some cases use
synthetic insulin to better metabolize glu-
cose. Type 2 is also considered preventable,
so individuals with a genetic predisposition
toward the disease are encouraged to make
healthy lifestyle adjustments early on in or-
der to lower their chances of developing dia-
betes.
Sinclaire never considered that he might
be at risk for Type 2.
“I was adopted, so I don’t have any real
family history,” Sinclaire said. “The way it
was explained to me, (the onset of diabetes)
was probably (due to) a combination of my
heart condition and everything else. One
helped the other come about, so to speak.”
Major lifestyle changes
Sinclaire admits he is limited by his condi-
tion. He can’t be away from his insulin supply
for more than a couple hours, and longer
trips require him to bring an ice pack con-
taining insulin packets.
“If I want to go down to the coast or some-
thing like that, I can only do that as long as
there’s refrigeration on the other end,” he
said.
Even when he stays close to home, diabe-
tes continues to be a disruption.
“Time-wise, if I get going and doing
something, I like to finish it,” Sinclaire said.
“And now I’ve got to stop halfway through
and go take a shot or something, and go
back to it.”
Then there are the all-too-common side
effects of the disease. A condition called
diabetic neuropathy has damaged the
nerves in his feet, making it difficult for
him to walk more than a couple blocks at a
time before he feels a sharp pain in the
back of his leg and is forced to rest.
Still, Sinclaire remains gracious. He con-
siders that the vigilance he’s had to prac-
tice for the past decade has likely made him
healthier than many of his peers. And his
physical limitations have brought out the
public servant in him: Shortly after he fin-
ished chemotherapy to treat his leukemia, he
began volunteering with Lift Urban Portland
(formerly Northwest Portland Ministries).
He now makes regular pick-ups and deliver-
ies that support the organization’s food bank
and Meals on Wheels programs.
In his apartment building on N.W. Everett
Street in Portland, Sinclaire acts as a kind of
safeguard for the many neighbors who have
limited mobility and depend on medication
shipments from Veterans Affairs. Sinclaire
hand-delivers mail to other residents and
has installed a cupboard for mailbox over-
flow. He makes sure there is always someone
in the manager’s officer to receive deliveries.
His hobbies reflect both an awareness of
his condition and his pragmatic outlook.
“I’m in the cane mode right now,” Sinclair
said, explaining that he repairs and refin-
ishes walking sticks for himself and his
friends.
Adjusting to his own limitations has moti-
vated him to tinker with electronics. He was
recently given an electric mobility scooter
and is learning the mechanics of it in order to
offer maintenance help to friends and ac-
quaintances who depend on such modes of
transportation.
His message to others who receive a Type
2 diagnosis?
“Listen to your diabetes educator,” he
says. “I went for a long time with just a
change to diet.”
For more information about the Legacy
Wealth and Diabetes Institute, visit: legacy-
health.org/weight.
Dennis Sinclaire
uses a monitor
to check his
blood sugar in
his NW Portland
apartment.
Sinclaire has to
inject insulin up
to four times a
day.
PAMPLIN MEDIA
GROUP: JONATHAN
HOUSE.
■
From page 4
“Listen to
your
diabetes
educator.
I went for
a long time
with just a
change to
diet.”
— Dennis
Sinclaire