For many years after her fifth child’s birth in 1987, Stephanie Roberson stopped getting any medical care. “Every time I went to the doctor, something was wrong,” she says, “so I told myself after that last kid, I’m not going …. ”

When she finally visited a doctor again, she discovered she had diabetes. For Roberson, that diagnosis was personal. A woman who had helped raise her had died from the disease, she says.

Suddenly, Roberson, who had worked so much in daycare and in retirement homes that she describes caregiving as “my DNA,” needed to turn that care toward herself.

It wasn’t easy. Roberson admits she’s stubborn, with a history of ignoring medical advice. Remembering her own caregiver’s loss, however, inspired her to start heeding the suggestions of Ellen Fan, M.D., physician at Eskenazi Health Center Grande.

Roberson appreciated Fan’s directness about changes she needed to make to her health habits. “Dr. Fan,” she explains, “was just straight up with me.” After becoming a westside resident, Roberson traveled to the east side to continue appointments with her.

Dr. Fan was not the only reason Roberson kept returning to Eskenazi Health Center Grande. “I like the dietitians. I like the wellness [team]. I just like everybody over there,” she says. “I even like the staff when I come in.”

“Everybody explains stuff,” she says, adding that she doesn’t have to wonder after an appointment why a provider “didn’t tell me about this or that.”

She is also grateful for tips she’s received from wellness coaches through the Eskenazi Health Healthy Me program and the organization’s other dietitian nutrition groups. One of those coaches told Roberson that she should start exercising gradually, with just ten minutes of walking in place after each meal. Learning Roberson loved music, another Eskenazi Health coach suggested she exercise to it. As a lifelong fan of The Temptations, other “old-school” bands and gospel music, Roberson was excited by this possibility.

Starting with those ten minutes of physical activity after each meal, Roberson began working out to her favorite tunes, building up to 30 to 45 minutes of exercise after dinner. In addition to alternately walking in place and running, she also does floor exercises and strength work with bands. She repeats this routine six to seven days a week.

Reflecting on the years before she began care with Eskenazi Health, Roberson says, “You would have never seen me exercise. Never. Never.” In contrast, now exercising has become “just a routine,” she says. “I have the nerve to like it,” she adds.

Roberson has also “totally” revamped her diet, which formerly included junk food. She’s now eating more vegetables and fruit.

Not all of Roberson’s habits have changed, of course. She has always preferred “not being noticeable,” she says, joking, “You could work with me 10, 13, 14 years, and all you know is my name is Stephanie.” Except for her group sessions at Eskenazi Health, she prefers privacy while exercising, reminding her granddaughter not to enter her room while Earth, Wind & Fire; Motown classics; or gospel favorites are playing. Roberson is also reserved in bringing up her health, preferring to discuss her health with a relative who is coping with the same condition.

She is, however, eager to chat about her progress with her health care providers, especially Nichole Flaspohler, clinical pharmacist specialist. “I love Nichole,” she says. Flaspohler encouraged Roberson to talk to Eskenazi Health Financial Eligibility Services. Michael Zingale, financial counselor, helped Roberson apply for financial assistance to lower her prescription costs.

Flaspohler also tells Roberson her A1C test results during check-ups, tests measuring the average amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood during a three-month period. Those check-ups have become something Roberson anticipates because her numbers, she says, “have tremendously improved.” The 64-year-old learned from Flaspohler in March that her A1C percentage is 6.3, a pre-diabetic level, which is significantly lower than her percentages last year.

“I’m sooooo happy,” Roberson shares upon hearing that result, clearly an outcome of her new health regimen. “I lost 28 pounds since July,” she adds, “and I’m striving for 30 more.”

Her new health habits have also led to renewed strength. “I can do a whole lot of stuff now that I couldn’t do before,” she says. “I can just move better.”

Describing her current health, Roberson says, “It just feels so good.”