"I Owe a Large Part of My Future
to Fairview"
I’ve had Type 1 diabetes since I was 19 years old. I thought I was taking proper care of myself, but I’d often experience extremely low glucose levels.
In 2007, my Fairview nurse practitioner recommended I schedule an appointment with a Medication Therapy Management (MTM) pharmacist. It was the same thing my Fairview retail pharmacist had been saying so I decided to give it a try.
The MTM pharmacist, Paull Rukavina, spent a whole hour talking with me. He gave me a new glucose monitor and made sure I understood the importance of testing my levels regularly.
Later, Paull recommended I start using an insulin pump. I refused, thinking it would be the final step in losing control of
my life. But, when the inhaled insulin I was using was discontinued, I talked with Paull and my nurse practitioner and decided to start using a pump.
It was a turning point in my life: within a few months, I was able to get my diabetes to a controlled stage.
I owe a large part of my future to Fairview MTM and the time, effort and dedication that Paull put into my case for 18 months. It’s the main reason I am now controlling the diabetes and it is not controlling me.
I am thankful that my daughters will not have to spend their childhoods watching their father’s health fail due to diabetes. And I can’t thank Paull enough for taking the time to listen to me and work the diabetes around my lifestyle, instead of making me work my life around diabetes.
-Matthew O’Keefe
