High Blood Pressure: A Case Study

“Sometimes life strikes me down but that doesn’t mean I give up, no I get right back up and keep going” (Grant, 2015). Life throws everyone a hard ball, and how someone copes with their situations tends to be left up to individual. Those words are used to offer encouragement and motivation to keep someone striving and pushing beyond any situation that is placed upon them.

In 2008, Vernita Grant, age 48, was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and later on High Blood Pressure. “Type 2 Diabetes, known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar (glucose)…” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). High Blood Pressure is a condition known to lead to other serious illnesses. It is the force of blood pushing

against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood (NHLBI). Both diseases are harmful and life threatening, which is enough to cause someone to withdraw from reality. Today, Vernita Grant is a missionary and on the mother board at Holy Temple Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. She is has mothered one child and 6 beautiful grandchildren. She works at Sunrise Daycare tending after children from ages 1-6. She graduated from Northeastern College in Blytheville Arkansas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Care in 2005. She never thought that she would have to fight diabetes and experience the troubles that came with staying healthy but, she did. This story will show how she her struggles with it and the faith she kept to withstand diabetes and high blood pressure.
Vernita Grant has been an inspiration in my life ever since the first moment we met. She is my mother’s best friend and a godmother to me and my siblings. My mother invited her to our Christmas dinner and the family was warmly introduced to her. Since, it was Christmas time snow covered the grounds and rooftops of every house like a white curtain. I remember exactly how Vernita walked into our home. Vernita sauntered into the house like an angel sent from God
dressed in all white. Nobody within foot distance could help but admire the warmth she radiated from her graceful smile and beautiful gray hair. She’s filled with such wisdom and courage that one could fill it shining from her miles away. As dinner continued on our family rejoiced in the mirthful stories and ideas she shared. Not one soul could resist the laughter that spread throughout the room. She became a new addition within our home that night.
As the relationship between Vernita and my mother grew tighter, they developed a friendship that was unbreakable. She started visiting me and my siblings more and I became so fondly attached to her. One thing that brought us so close together was a relationship with God. She was always quick to implement a scripture whenever I came to her for advice. Anytime that I felt I needed to open up to someone she was only a call away. It was almost like she was a grandmother I never had.
Vernita seemed as if she was in good health on the times we spent together little did I know that her body was weakening day by day.

On March 08, 2009 Grant took illness worse than she ever did. Her condition was so horrible that she had to be hospitalized. All the frequent vomiting, dehydrating, and the fluctuating of her blood pressure and diabetic state were taking a toll on her body. When Vernita, was first diagnosed with diabetes she had no insurance to cover the medicine to buy her insulin. As her diabetic state continued on as she growth in age, her body began to fight against the condition it was in. Her doctor told her that her glucose levels had dropped extremely low and that they needed to get her elevated as quickly as

possible.
While at this crisis, Ms. Grant had developed a sugar sore on the tip of her behind and puss was forming it creating an infection within her body. This was one of the most horrific times forfor Vernita but she would look through her pain and smile at me saying, God’s not done
with me yet I’ll pull through child don’t worry yourself.

Continue going to school and keeping your grades up. I’ll be out of here before you know it” (2009). Vernita’s condition improved even through seizures and faints. She explained to me that when she was first diagnosed she felt like giving up in 2008. The up and downs that go with fighting diabetes was not only emotionally draining her but physically and mentally as well. She knew that she wasn’t taking care of herself by not taking the medicine required to treat the condition. In that process various things began to get affected from the lack of consideration for her condition. In 2010, Vernita Grant, age 50, was diagnosed with Glaucoma in both eyes. Vernita lost some of her eyesight though she is still able to see objects in a silhouette form. Her condition has improved a lot within the span of years that since she’s been taking the required dosage of insulin. “The constant surgeries and visits to hospital made me think about life itself. It’s too precious and God has brought me through some rough times”

(Grant).
I interviewed Vernita enlightening her of my ideas to discuss the fight diabetes put her through and how it has affected her life. By her being an inspiration to I and I’ve witness the toll it has taken on her, her testimony was a unique example. I asked her several questions inquiring about her strength to undergo the surgeries on her eyes and the fluctuation of high blood pressure as well as her glucose levels caused by Diabetes Type 2. Vernita stated that, “Everyone goes through the same test and trials just in different ways. You have to have the mindset and the courage to look past the bad times and notice the good times lying ahead” (2015). Vernita looks at her life and cherishes each moment, the good, the bad, and the unthinkable. Vernita emphasized the importance she’s felt on helping the young. Leading them and guiding them so that maybe they can have the same courage she has to live on. She always wanted to accomplish the goal of starting a feeder program within her church. After getting back in good health that is
exactly what she did. Holy Temple Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has been sponsoring this event for children for years now and it has been a successful program for the young. Vernita didn’t allow her fight on diabetes to stop her dreams from becoming a reality. I asked her what the bad thing about having Type 2 Diabetes was, she wistfully stated that, “When I don’t keep my glucose levels up; there is always an urge to throw up and faint” (2015). The feeder program is what’s kept her going and seeing the interaction with the kids and the members of her church with her emphasizes the dynamic impact she has on them. Her believe in the Savior of Christ and determination to move past diabetes is a perfect example that life is what you make out of it.
Wisdom, determination, and Vernita’s religious beliefs paved a way for her to fight through her test and trials. She was faced with multiple circumstances with High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and Glaucoma but she never gave up. Each of these diseases and conditions are life-threatening and can physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually detain someone from wanting to live again. There is nothing that I am more thankful for than having Ms. Grant as a part of my life. She’s truly been an inspiration and dynamic role models for others. With her courage I know that I can withstand anything that life throws my way.