Hope’s d-Nav Journey

by Israel Hodish, M.D., Ph.D., Hygieia Medical Director and Co-founder

August 10, 2022

d-Nav Patient Hope with her nurse Kelly

Connecting to Hope
Between a busy lifestyle, demanding career and unmanageable diabetes, Hope wasn’t feeling optimistic the day she stumbled across d-Nav. On a recent visit to her endocrinologist, she got the crushing news that her type 2 diabetes was out of control and her blood sugars were dangerously high.
“I felt like a lost cause … guilty and hopeless,” Hope shared.


Feeling Overwhelmed
After navigating the complexities of type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, and failing to achieve consistency in her insulin therapy, Hope didn’t know where to turn. The sliding scale she used to calculate breakfast, lunch and dinner boluses was confusing and she never felt confident adjusting her own insulin doses.


“Diabetes is hard. It’s hard to plan your meals, it’s hard to schedule your shots. It’s no joke,” Hope said.
But then she found the d-Nav Insulin Management Program, its simple-to-use technology, and compassionate clinical support. With her first call to d-Nav, Hope connected with Kelly Kessler, a registered nurse on the d-Nav Care Team.


“When I first spoke to Hope, I could hear the sense of defeat in her voice,” said Kessler. “And when I met her for our initial consult, I saw sadness and frustration with her inability to manage both a complicated therapy and a potentially devastating disease.”


The Kindness Quotient
“I was welcomed with kindness and support from the moment I walked into the d-Nav clinic. Kelly showed me the technology, which was incredibly simple and intuitive to use. But more than that, Kelly doesn’t judge me or make me feel like diabetes is my fault. She is my cheerleader and I need that,” Hope said.


Hope has been using d-Nav consistently for nearly a year. She credits a new-found therapy adherence to d-Nav’s ease of use and provider support. Kessler shares that she created a communication plan for Hope that began with weekly discussions and tapered off to bi-weekly check-in and frequent texting.


A New Hope
“When Hope completed her enrollment and I welcomed her to the d-Nav family, her face lit up. I knew right then that her life was going to change for the better,” Kessler said.


The d-Nav clinical team also contacted Hope’s primary care physician and pharmacist to establish a working relationship among the providers involved in her care. In this way, Kessler says, the d-Nav Insulin Management Program has a better chance of patient success.


Hope’s second month in the d-Nav program yielded amazing results. In just six weeks she had gone from an A1C of 10.8 to 6.8.


When Hope gave the results to her primary care doctor, She was skeptical and ordered another A1C test. The results matched, proving the d-Nav program, along with Hope’s inspirational persistence, was working.


“d-Nav is so easy that it’s become a daily routine for me,” Hope shared. “I don’t think twice about it. I just do it. And to me, that’s a miracle. I’ve been diabetic for 20-plus years and never had results like this, ever. I’m proud of myself. Joining the d-Nav program has been a life changing experience.”

You can watch Hope’s testimonial video here: