Get a free glucose screening in Ammon on World Diabetes Awareness Day



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Health & Fitness

Rocky Mountains Diabetes' 2017 glucose screening event | Courtesy photo

AMMON – As a 10-year-old experiencing weight loss and pale skin, David Batt figured he was just sick or feeling under the weather.

Otherwise, he seemed normal and healthy.

"Battles says," I was eating like five meals a day. "Which at the time my parents thought … I was growing, it's normal."

But his parents also noticed that despite the excessive eating, the weight gain

They discussed to doctors, and even though they were having a diagnosis of a problem. Battles blood sugar levels were skyrocketing – he had Type 1 Diabetes, a genetic autoimmune disease that affects insulin production.

"My blood sugar was so high that they wanted to admit me to the hospital to get my blood sugars under control so that I did not have any damage done internally," Batt said.

Now, 25 years later, Batt has been diagnosed with the disease. His two oldest children Emmitt, 7, and Bailey, 6, have also been diagnosed with type 1. As a result, the family is in favor of the disease and is encouraging other families to participate in free glucose screening.

The screening will be hosted by Rocky Mountain Diabetes Center at the Ammon Broulim from 11 am to 3 pm on Wednesday. The date coincides with World Diabetes Awareness Day.

"Being aware is a big part of the battle," Batt says. "I just think it's important for people to understand what diabetes is."

David Batt's two children Emmitt, 7, and Bailey, 6, were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. | Courtesy photo

"They can take advantage of the event if they're curious about it. It's been around for a long time, but I'm not sure it's really focused on it, "Batt says.

Medical professionals for the Idaho Falls Express Lab will be conducting blood glucose testing and providing results. Rocky Mountain's diabetes educators will be able to interpret numbers. No diagnoses will be made.

Rocky Mountain's pediatric endocrinologist, Joshua Smith, says this is the second year they've done an event like this.

"Anybody can get their blood sugar checked," Smith says. "It's mainly just bringing awareness about diabetes: it's a big problem, and it often goes undiagnosed until people have complications."

Rocky Mountains Diabetes' 2017 glucose screening event | Courtesy photo

Research coordinators from Rocky Mountain Diabetes Center will be in attendance for new research questions. Representatives from TrialNeta, the international network of the world's leading type 1 diabetes researchers, will also be at the risk of free of charge. The screenings show a person in the early stages of Type 1.

Smith says about 10 percent of the population has a form of diabetes, type 1 (genetic) or type 2, and about 25 percent of those people are not aware of it. Click here to learn about the difference between the two types of diabetes.

"Smith says," You're not going to be able to treat anything, we need to know, so we need to catch more people and treat them, "says Smith.

To learn more about the free glucose screening at the Rocky Mountain Diabetes Center's website.

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