Chuck's Story
D-Day: The day Chuck defeated diabetes
In December of 2014, Chuck Richmond had not been feeling well and made an appointment to see Dr. Owen Vincent at the Crossing Rivers Health Clinic. During Chuck's appointment, Dr. Vincent checked his blood pressure and ran some blood work. His official weight was 301 lbs.
“He was somber. I could tell by the look on his face that he was going to tell me something that I probably wasn’t going to like,” Chuck recalled.
With the numbers that were shown, it was clear to Dr. Vincent that Chuck had Type 2 Diabetes, a diagnosis that is usually determined later in life, generally caused by diet and lifestyle choices.
Chuck left the clinic that day, the day he refers to as 'D-Day', with the determination to make a major change. “Dr. V. gave me the blueprint and helped me get there.”
The Blueprint
“The day he gave that diagnosis to me, I decided there was no way I wasn’t going to do, or at least try to do, what he had given me the blueprint for,” Chuck exclaimed.
Chuck had to learn how to make healthy diet choices and began counting calories. He shared, “I eliminated soda from my diet and started reading labels. I purchased a fitness watch to calculate calories and realized I was eating 10,000 calories per day – some people don’t eat that in a week! We set a daily calorie goal that was comfortable and continually decreased it.”
Chuck also became an avid walker. “I walked in a 5K! I had never dreamed that I would participate in a 5K, much less complete it. This changed my life. I feel better than I have ever felt.”
Beating the Odds
Chuck has been able to maintain a consistent weight of 224 pounds and hopes his story will inspire and encourage others to take the necessary steps to lead a healthy lifestyle. Chuck exclaimed, “I used to take eight or nine medications and now Dr. Vincent recommends one low dose aspirin. That’s it!”
“You have to start somewhere. No one can do it for you. It has to come from you,” encouraged Chuck.
Chuck shared his own personal motto, as motivation to others, “Be awesome every day!” When it comes to the importance of a strong patient-provider relationship, Chuck had this to say, “Dr. V. is not only my physician, he’s my friend and so are the rest of the staff. I love them, and I thank them because they really did change my life.”
Through a donation to the Crossing Rivers Health Foundation, you can make a difference in the lives of friends, neighbors, and the ones you love.
