It took just eight words and the support of a Toku Oranga health coach for Kathleen Fisher to change her life and take her diabetes seriously.

Diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes more than nine years ago, the Invercargill woman acknowledges she didn’t really understand what it meant or what she needed to do to keep healthy.

“I didn’t have a clue. I got stubborn. I was listening to all these people but the biggest thing I got out of it was that I was sitting there with other diabetics that were ‘woe, poor me’ and that sort of stuck in my head.”

By September 2021, the former chef’s health had deteriorated because of her sedentary lifestyle and she was called in to urgently see her doctor. Her blood sugar level was 129 – dangerously high.

“My niece is a nurse and terribly brutal. I told her what was happening and asked what it all meant.”

The eight-word response was a huge wakeup call: ‘You’re dying. What are you going to do?’

“I felt crappy and sick but I didn’t know what was happening.”

She was referred to Toku Oranga health coach Chayse Leith – who Kathleen describes as “her savior” – and that’s when the magic began to happen.

“I saw two doctors and nurses and then Chayse. I was getting told all this information and it was just fuzzy. He broke it into simpler terms and helped me understand the numbers and how serious it was.”

Chayse said they discussed her health and what she wanted from it, and then worked out a plan to support her.

“We talked about managing stress and physical activity. Things started off pretty slow and it’s pretty hard to make these changes in lifestyle,” he said.

“We made small steps and then the small steps kept on growing. Then it came to a point where she was really physically active each day. She was walking herself out of shoes and doing big walks out in the bush.”

Six months later, her blood sugar number had more than halved to 51 and she was well out of the red zone, but still needing support to manage her illness.

Not surprisingly, Kathleen is full of praise for Chayse and the Toku Oranga scheme.

“Chayse gave me ownership of my health. He was there because I was in a bad place. I was very ill and they weren’t sure how I’d react. I needed help.

“If he hadn’t been gentle, I probably could have gone into that ‘woe is me’ state. But he opened the door and explained it all to me and showed me I needed to do it for myself because no one else could do it.”

After reading that walking was a good option, she discussed it with Chayse. “He said ‘do 5000 steps’. So I did 7000.”

She’s now walking 12.6 kilometres daily – 5.3km in the morning and evening, and a 2km lunchtime walk with a dog.

“I do that every day and I ask that no one interferes with my walking because it makes me grumpy,” Kathleen said laughing.

She started experimenting with food to work out what the right options were for her to keep her levels stable, while the internet become an invaluable source of information, especially Scandinavian websites.

“One day it dawned on me – the cure is preventative. I need to get back to that state before diabetes, so that’s my challenge and that’s where I’m at.”

Kathleen has also taken on an advocacy role, encouraging others to manage their health, and wants more people to know about Toku Oranga, a new initiative in primary care.

Chayse said the free service provided support and motivation in a non-judgmental way that enabled people to take active control on what their day-to-day life looks like.

“It does sound funny when I say I work as a health coach, but we what do isn’t an intervention to force people to do things but help them to find their own values and what’s important to them, and then helping them live in a way that’s true to them.”

Previously, if someone had diabetes they would go to the doctor who would tell them to lose weight, exercise and eat healthy.

“But this new approach comes a from a patient’s perspective. It’s patient-led care and the whole goal is that the person who is being cared for has a say in what that care looks like. That really helps people get a sense of control of their life,” he said.

“When it comes to chronic long-term health conditions, that control can disappear pretty quickly. Giving people that control back can be really motivating and help them stick to lifestyle changes.”

It’s about empowering people, rather than dictating what they need to do, Chayse said.

Kathleen was a great example of what could be achieved when the patient understood what was happening and could identify achievable goals. .

“People find it easier to commit to a goal when they have a vested interest in what they’re going to achieve … in Kathleen’s case it was increasing activity and making good decisions around nutrition,” Chayse said.

“Kathleen’s story is so awesome because the number decline is huge. And it shows the more that people are empowered the more results we get out of it.”

The service was seeing a 30 per cent drop in secondary referrals to mental health and other services, he said.

“We’re catching these things earlier in the process – more at the top of the hill than the ambulance at the bottom. That is so rewarding as a health practitioner.”

What is Tōku Oranga? 

Tōku Oranga (Access and Choice) is a primary mental health and addiction service based in general practices in the Southern region.  Tōku Oranga is delivered by a collaborative partnership across existing health and wellbeing providers in the region, including Active Southland.  

Health Coaches are based in general practices and work alongside Health Improvement Practitioners (HIPs) and the general practice teams. Like HIPs, they accept same-day, ‘warm handovers’ from GP staff of clients and patients needing their help. They come from a range of health and wellbeing backgrounds, supporting people to take positive steps forward for improving their health. This includes: 

·         Empowers you to take control of your health and wellbeing 

·         Helping you develop realistic goals   

·         Encouraging good management of various health issues that you want addressed 

·         Discuss how to be more active by doing things you enjoy 

Article added: Tuesday 15 August 2023