Kansas City,
19
January
2016
|
09:29 AM
America/Chicago

Children's Mercy clinics team up to fight diabetes

Two clinics at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital are teaming up to fight Type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that is diagnosed in thousands of children every year.

One of those children, second-grader Mya Johnson, just learned the results of a test that will change her life.

“I kind of tell her, ‘It’s not going to be easy, but we have to make changes so you don’t end up like me,’” said her mother, Tina Hicks-Johnson.

Diabetes causes the body’s blood sugar levels to rise higher than normal. It can cause serious health problems, including blindness, heart disease and stroke.

Tina Hicks-Johnson lives with Type 2 diabetes. She said she teaches her girls that sugar is bad and exercise is a must.

Mya, 13, said she had to fast and then get some shots.

“I wasn’t crying,” she said. “I’m a big girl now.”

Doctors from the diabetes and weight management clinics are teaming up to identify children like Mya who are at risk for Type 2 diabetes.

“It’s not just a simple matter of overeating. We’re understanding that there are a lot of genetics involved in it,” said Dr. Wayne Moore, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

See the full story via KMBC 9.

Read more about Children's Mercy Endocrinology & Diabetes Clinic.

Read more about Children's Mercy Weight Management Clinic.