Real Success Stories: Fighting Diabetes, Walking Again

Hear some memorable success stories from seniors who have followed through with the Whole Life Living Approach at GenCare Lifestyle from Leon Grundstein and Danielle Parker. Leon is Founder and CEO, and Danielle Parker is COO,Leon shares the story of a Parkinson's patient determined to be able to get our of her wheelchair and walk again. "We had a woman move into our Ballard community. She had Parkinson's and she was in a wheelchair. One of her goals was, 'I really want to be able to walk again.' So we have, certified trainers included in the rent in all our buildings... We started developed a program for this woman that started off in the pool, so it allowed her to walk. She did weight training and she slowly, from walking in the pool, graduated to a walker, and she was using a walker instead of a wheelchair. And she was very excited about that."And she continued the program and she was dedicated herself, and had the drive to complete the program. Then she started lifting weights and doing boxing, a good thing for Parkinson's. Anyhow, she hit the next level and she was able to use a cane. She had all the gumption going, and [eventually] she was able to stand up and walk 100 feet without any support. She was able to be much more mobile and manage her disease much, much better. And we were always very proud of that, and proud of the trainer that helped her get there."Danielle shares the story of a woman with diabetes. "She's still living at our Renton community. When she moved in, she self-described as overweight. She did have type-2 diabetes and she was on insulin. She joined our walking program. And in the program, they would wear a pedometer and they would track the stats and ultimately at the end of the program, they were walking to Las Vegas, so that they would celebrate with a casino. Casino Royale night at the Community, which was lots of fun. But the real reward for this resident was she went and saw her doctor after the program. She was no longer diabetic, no longer taking insulin. And felt better than ever. She had lost 70 pounds. She's a testimonial on our website, and she's wonderful, just a wonderful resident. She would later go on to beat cancer, and attributes a lot of that to the program."Learn more at gencarelifestyle.com.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks