CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A nonprofit organization is helping people manage diabetes with vision loss.

Metrolina Association for the Blind provided tools and education to diabetics with vision loss

Katelyn Wackerman who is legally blind is grateful for the free tools

A Mecklenburg County grant made the program possible

Metrolina Association for the Blind held a program for 19 participants at no cost.

The organization partnered with Novant Health to provide education and tools to help people manage their chronic condition.  

Katelyn Wackerman is one of the program participants. The 28-year-old is legally blind after having diabetic retinopathy, a diabetes complication.

“I didn’t have health insurance for seven years, and I was rationing insulin, because I couldn’t afford it out of pocket,” Wackerman said. “If you don't have your health, you have, you have nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

As part of MAB’s program, Wackerman received a free Fitbit, a yoga mat, a talking scale and a talking blood pressure monitor. The large print, the voice features and the apps help her manage her diabetes.

MAB’s Chief Program Officer Dana Draa said from working with people with vision loss for 15 years she’s noticed many of them also have a chronic disease.

“Diabetes is top on that list. It's a real big to able to manage that in the best of times so to manage that successfully with vision loss, you have to overcome a lot of obstacles,” Draa said. “We wanted to provide some more education and to more tools for those individuals that really want to just get back on track, give them a leg up for, um, their path and journey towards being more healthy.”

Wackerman, who is grateful for the tools, said she wouldn’t have been able to afford them if it weren’t for the program.

“Accountability, like I said, self-discipline. It kind of motivates you,” Wackerman said.

A grant from Mecklenburg County Public Health made the program possible.