THE DIAGNOSIS LIT A FIRE

Jeannette Alligood put her health on the back burner until a diabetes diagnosis - and newfound support - spurred her to take charge

- AMY PATUREL

In December 2016, Jeannette Alligood and her husband, David, thought they might save some money by bundling life insurance through the same company that handles their car and homeowners’ insurance. The only problem: two weeks after they took the required blood test to qualify for coverage, their insurance agent called to tell Jeannette she had been denied.

“I was shocked,” says Jeannette, now 47. “I knew I was about 50kg overweight, but I never had any health problems. David and I both thought I was the healthier of the two of us.” While the agent couldn’t provide any specifics, she suggested Jeannette get checked for diabetes, then handed her the report.

“I noticed the HbA1C level was 13.7, but I didn’t know what that meant,” says Jeannette. When she took the report to her doctor, he confirmed the elevated level with a second blood test and diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes. She was overwhelmed.

She understood the consequences because her dad had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 12 years earlier, when he was in his 60s. She knew how hard it was for him to follow his doctor’s advice to change his eating and exercise habits. “Denial was part of it, but it’s also hard to stick to a long-term healthy eating plan. He didn’t want to give up the things he enjoyed,” says Jeannette. “Now he has heart issues. I’m constantly worried about him.”