Newspaper Page Text
Page 2C
February 23, 2022
Reporter
Monroe woman enjoys rewards of healthy living
Pictured left is Diane Shaw before she began a healthy
diet and lifestyle change in August. Above is Diane with
her three grandchildren, her greatest motivators for a
healthy lifestyle.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcnnet
Diane Shaw lost her
husband last May. He fought
a hard battle with cancer,
but he didn’t really take care
of his health as well as he
should have. Diane was liv
ing with diabetes and neu
ropathy (nerve pain that is
mostly in her legs and feet)
and knew that she wasn’t
taking care of herself as well
as she should, either.
Her daughter-in-law,
Ashleigh West, encour
aged Diane to begin eating
healthier and to let a
healthier diet lead her to a
healthier life style. Ashleigh
prepared meals for her that
had no added sugar and
were low in carbohydrates.
She cut out potatoes, bread,
rice, pasta and all carbs.
For breakfast she had eggs
with fruit. Lunch was veg
etables with tuna salad. Pea
nuts were her go-to snack.
Dinner was the family meal,
but Diane kept her portions
moderate and cut the carbs.
Since August she has lost
47 pounds, and she has had
dramatic improvements
in her neuropathy and in
controlling her diabetes.
More importantly she feels
good and is able to be more
active with her three grand
children, Brantlee, Levi and
Chloe.
Diane said that on Aug. 6
she literally died when she
had an allergic reaction to
medicine she was taking
for her diabetes. She coded,
but the healthcare team at
Monroe County Hospital
saved her. Now she is saving
herself day by day.
“I had done diets be
fore, but this is a lifestyle
change,” she said. “You have
to be willing to make the
change—not just for a week
or two. Once I was healthier,
I was not going back. Any
thing you like to eat, you can
find a healthy choice.”
Diane has gone from
wearing a size 26-28 in Au
gust to a size 14-16. Where
she wore size 3X shirts, she
now wears large or extra
large. Her daughter-in-law
handed some clothes down
to her and she has made
some fun shopping trips to
the Good Will store. She
isn’t going to invest in a new
wardrobe, yet, because she’s
still losing weight.
Diane is happy with the
healthy strides she has
already made, but she
would like to see the scale
stop below 200 pounds this
summer; she feels like 190
is a realistic goal now, only
37 pounds away. She and
her grandchildren, ages 7,8
and 9, are planning a trip to
the beach. She said she feels
like building sandcastles this
year and is as excited as the
grandchildren are.
She took her 9-year-old
grandson to the mother-son
dance recently. “We had so
much fun,” she said. “Well
do it again!”
Now she feels like going to
her seven-year-old grand
son’s football games, as well
as playing two-hand-touch
football with him at home.
She says he may be her big
gest cheerleader in her pur
suit of better health. What
could be more motivating
than hearing your grandson
say, “Grandma, you look so
pretty today!”
She played with her
grandkids in the snow,
which is something she
couldn’t have done before
she committed to a healthier
lifestyle. Not only is she able
to be more involved with
her grandchildren, she is
also teaching them by her
example. She said they are
happy with sugar-free and
reduced sugar treats because
that is what grandma eats.
She said one grandson says
his favorite food is collard
greens because grandma
loves collard greens.
Diane learned she was dia
betic 15 years ago, when she
was 41, through a routine
screening at her job. Her
mother and grandmother
were also diabetic, but Diane
didn’t heed the message that
she needed to take better
care of herself.
She goes to a clinic in
Stockbridge that monitors
her medicine. Her medical
team is very pleased with
her lifestyle change. They
tried not to be too optimis
tic at first, but were excited
when her A1C dropped
from 9.6 to 7.1 between
August and October. They
reduced the dosage of her
diabetes medicine. She goes
for a check next week and
feels sure she has maintained
the improvement if not got
ten better.
“They’re awesome; they
make sure I get the medicine
I need” she said. “They fea
tured me in the newsletter.”
Diane is walking more
now that the nerve pain
in her legs and feet, which
made her feel like she was
walking on glass, has less
ened, and she has gotten the
exercise bike out of storage
and plans to start riding 10
minutes each morning and
10 minutes each evening
this week.
She said her daughter-in-
law, who has an amazing
weight loss success story of
her own, has been awesome
in helping her make the
lifestyle change as well as
her son, Christopher, who
“takes care of mama,” but it’s
a decision you have to make
for yourself.
“I won’t say it’s easy’ said
Diane, but she said it’s defi
nitely worth it. Her daughter
tells her how proud of her
she is, a niece who visited at
Christmas said she couldn’t
believe how good Aunt
Diane looks, Brantlee says
he is glad he can sit in her
lap now. Diane said she is
able to clean house and she
sleeps a lot better at the end
of the day. And friends tell
her how proud her husband,
“Pawpaw” would be that
she is taking care of herself
and making sure she will
be there for the rest of the
family.
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Juliette
man wins
Stage 3
cancer
battle
By Will Davis
pubisher@mymcr.net
A Juliette father of three
only missed one day of
work through 6 months of
cancer treatments and is
now cancer free after hav
ing Stage 3 throat cancer.
“I think the world of him
and his battle that he won,”
said Shawna Atkinson, wife
of Timothy Atkinson.
When he went to the doc
tor in 2019 complaining
that he could barely speak,
one doctor told Timothy
Atkinson it was just aller
gies. When he didn’t get
better, his wife took him
for a second opinion. That
doctor referred him to
an ENT doctor. It turned
out he had Stage 3 throat
cancer.
Timothy, now 43, en
dured countless surgeries,
doctor visits and specialist
appointments, including 39
rounds of radiation and 2
chemotherapy treatments.
In all that time Timothy,
a welder, only missed
one day of work, after the
second chemo treatment
because he was so sick.
“I’m so proud of him,”
said Shawna Atkinson.
Shawna said they don’t
know whether his smoking,
the well water in Juliette
or many years of welding
caused his cancer, but she
said they’re so thankful
he’s healed. Perhaps his
story will encourage others
facing cancer, or inspire
someone with a problem to
get it checked out so they
can be treated.
Timothy Atkinson kept working as a welder during treat
ments for Stage 3 throat cancer, and is now cancer-free.
The father of three lives in Juliette with his wife Shawna.
(Special to the Reporter)
Pictured left to right: Haley Vinson, Shasta Herndon, RDH, Daphne Harrison,
Kenley Morris, Clell Morris, Hailey Mitchell, RDH, Meredith Davis, Macy Morris
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