Diabetes Forecast Magazine
American Diabetes Association- People to Know 2013
Back in 1997 in the North Shore Chicago suburbs, Merle Gleeson was passionate about starting a support group for adults with type 1 diabetes. Frustrated by the lack of information available during short doctor visits, she decided to provide educational meetings as part of her mission. She saw a need to bring adults together to talk about their struggles of living with this chronic disease, so she created the Type 1 Diabetes Lounge. Read more here.
Group Supports Those with Type 1 Diabetes
Pioneer Press – Wilmette Life
Gather together people with Type 1 diabetes and chances are they won’t look a bit alike.
People with what was once called juvenile diabetes will be young, old, male, female and of every ethnicity. Some will have learned as children and others as adults that their pancreas has betrayed them, refusing to produce the insulin they need to control sugar levels in their blood and derive energy from food. Read more here.
Diabetes Mine “Amazing Advocate”
Diabetes Mine Blog
We love grassroots advocates — regular folks who recognize a need in their community and step up to the plate! Earlier this year, we decided these unsung heroes of the diabetes community deserved a spotlight of their own, which is why we launched our Amazing Advocates series. This month, we’re highlighting Merle Gleeson, a PWD for nearly 50 (!) years who founded the Type 1 Diabetes Lounge almost 15 years ago. As far as diabetes support groups go, Merle is a veteran! Read more here.
No Sugar Added – Straight Talk From Those Living With Diabetes”
The Wilmette Beacon
It’s something that’s touched so many of us… mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, siblings and friends. You don’t have to be diagnosed with diabetes to understand the challenges that come from living with the disease. And you don’t have to know what it’s like to live with diabetes, to be inspired by the stories of those who are doing it every day.
That’s exactly what you’ll find in “No Sugar Added – Straight Talk From Those Living With Diabetes.”Merle Gleeson, of Wilmette, shares her story about how she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10 in the new full-color book “No Sugar Added – Straight Talk from Those Living with Type 1 Diabetes,” available at www.nosugaradded.org
Wilmette Woman Guides Type 1 Diabetes Group at Library
The Wilmette Beacon
Frustrated by a lack of information and resources available during short doctor visits, she focused on creating a means to facilitate peer support and education needed to manage Type 1 diabetes effectively. What began in 1997 as occasional get-togethers with three or four others in coffee shops has evolved into meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at the Wilmette Public Library, attended by an average of 18 people from a support group that numbers roughly 80 people. Read more here.