Juan’s Story
Juan Lugo, a church pastor who suffers from diabetes, was having trouble reading his bible. “I couldn’t read the small letters on the page,”
recalls the 47-year-old West Side resident, “so my doctor at Erie sent me to see an optometrist.
The optometrist was very nice. But she saw drops of blood in the back of my eye and sent me to a specialist. The specialist told me that everything was okay for now, but he warned me to keep my blood sugar low. I did and thankfully everything has worked out okay.” Since then, Juan has monitored his diet closely to help prevent the high blood glucose levels that can ultimately lead to diabetic retinopathy and vision loss.He’s also been fitted with reading glasses—and his bible passages are no longer blurry.
“Now I can read for hours and prepare my sermons for church,” he says with a smile. Lugo’s high-blood glucose levels might have caused more serious damage if he hadn’t had a medical home at Erie. “I’ve been a patient at Erie for more than 20 years,” Lugo states, “since my family came to the U.S. from Mexico. The doctors at Erie have been very attentive. It’s very affordable and I feel comfortable there, so I don’t put off going to see my doctor if I have a problem. It’s good to have one place to go for everything.”
A devoted family man and devout pastor who cares deeply about the well-being of his community, Lugo also preaches the gospel of good health care to his congregation. “I have referred many members of my church to Erie,” he says with a chuckle. “Currently, I have three new mothers in my congregation and they all go to Erie for their care. I refer them to Erie too.”