   
One of the children, who came to the drawing tent, when asked if she knew anyone with diabetes, exclaimed, “My dog!” Her dog? Yes, animals can get diabetes, too. The girl drew a picture of her dog, with a caption reading, “Don’t worry, dogs can get diabetes, too.” Now, I’m not sure if her dog has type 1 or type 2 diabetes, but the experience reminded me of an article I read recently, about pets being so obese that they were succumbing to the same chronic diseases as humans….
Overall, we have had over 5,000 visitors to the Changing Diabetes Village, and a few hundred health screenings – one women even found out that she has pre-diabetes, a condition that can often lead to diabetes if left undetected or untreated. Hopefully, with this newfound knowledge, she will seek the proper medical care, and make changes to her lifestyle that will prevent her from developing full onset diabetes.
I think that the Changing Diabetes Bus has had a positive impact upon Chicago citizens. It seems that everyone who has visited the bus has left with increased knowledge, which they will hopefully impart upon their friends. Upon my return home, I plan to continue to actively spread awareness of diabetes throughout the community, and via my blog, Sweet Resolution. I will also post photos of my trip and describe my experiences on 3FOUR50, a new interactive health community on the web.
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