Minutes - Apr 09

NATAL BYPASS MEETING 02/2009 HELD ONWEDNESDAY 1ST OF APRIL 2009AT ENTABENI HOSPITALat 17:30
PRESENT:Shane Newman (Chairman) Shirley Piek (Treasurer)Shirley Willet (Secretary)As per attendance register - 37 names recorded
1. OPENING AND WELCOMEThe chairman thanked everybody for their attendance & welcomed the speaker Ms Jenny Russell from Diabetes South Africa & thanked her for accepting the invitation to speak to the club at such short notice, due to last minute cancellations & unavailability by other speakers – thanks Jenny!
2. APOLOGIES: The following people had tendered their apologies:o Muriel Adams, Neville Farr, Athol Willet, Ken Howell, Basanth Bodasing, Peter Kinnard, Jim & Marie Brown, Les Veckrange, Jeannette Whitehorn, Tony Thomas, Dennis Metcalfe, Mrs Enid Phillips & Fiona Seager, Roy Craze, June Dale, Doug Gelling, Tony Arnot, Hilton Diehl.Shane went on to add that Mr Don Phillips (late husband to Mrs Enid Phillips) passed away from multiple organ failure on 28 Feb 2009. Tony Arnot had also personally called in before the meeting to pass on his apologies & to let the club know that he was moving to Anchor Bay in Cape Town.
3. TESTIMONIES FROM NEW VISITORSMs Belinda Barlow came forward on behalf of her father who had recently undergone a bypass, to establish what the club was about. Thanks Belinda for coming forward & we look forward to meeting your dad, Mr Barlow.
4. GENERALThe following items were brought to the attention of all in attendance :· Financeo Treasurer’s report – § Shirley Piek advised that the finances were still stable§ Subs for 2009 to be please be paid to Shirley asapv Natal Bypass Club banking details – Account Name – Natal Bypass club, Standard Bank of SA, Branch code 042826, Account number 257360549§ Club will be invoiced at club evening for snacks & from next month will include the costs of the previous meetings drinks from the fridge§ Impilo tablets – George Barnes came forward & advised that he had joined Shirley to assist in trying to establish the problem with our members not being able to receive the Anti-Oxidant tablets. George advised that he had managed to possibly secure an order for the club & will advise once the negotiations have been finalized. Thank you George for taking this upon yourself, together with Shirley, to assist others in the club, by making this tablet available, once again.· Administrationo Secretary’s report -§ The chairman brought up the club’s name “Natal Bypass Club” and enquired if the name should stay or be referred to as the Kwazulu-Natal Cardiac Support Group – the members opposed any name change and therefore the name of the club will remain “The Natal Bypass Club”§ Membership - the club membership stands as at 31 March 2009 is 167 as per the list that is retained by the chairman. That by simple calculation is an amount of R6 680 per annum in subs, which is far from what is being received.§ The following members have names have been removed during 2009§ Dennis Metcalf, Mrs M Leslie, Gerd Ockert, Lawrence Sanders· Unilevero Ms Lanice De Rosnay kindly re-issued 20 Pro Activ vouchers for those whose took vouchers at last meeting, only for us to realize that the vouchers had expired. The 20 vouchers were handed out to those who required. · PACE Support Groupo Prof AO started running a 7 day 243 km desert race, called the Marathon des Sables in Morocco from 20 March to 4 April 2009 to establish a Patient Support Fund for SA’s only Heart Rhythm Charity Race – they are asking for donations. It was agree by those present to make a donation of R200 from the club? This amount was changed to R243 to tie up at a donation of R1 per kilometer. Shirley to deposit the money into the account of PACE.o Remember the PACE meetings - the next one is the 5th of June at EHHC at 17:15 – all are welcome.o Check out their website at www.paceafrica.org.za· Heart Foundation books – the chairman had 20 copies of the latest magazine ?, which were available at a donation of R10 eachThe chairman advised that a telephone playback has been made available, about the Natal Bypass Club, should you be put on hold when phoning Entabeni hospital, which will hopefully provide more exposure to the club & cardiac disease.
5. VISITATION REPORTS5.1. EntabeniStan Weinstein advised that all is going well with the visitations at Entabeni.5.2. St AugustinesStan Weinstein advised that he was not well received at the hospital. The chairman will look into the possibility of a club coordinator doing visits at St Augustines.5.3. WestvilleShane mentioned that Westville Cardiac section, still have the monthly walk on the beach front from North Beach Promenade (outside Mini Town) to Addington hospital on the last Wednesday of every month at 17:00 – contact Sister Rita Naidoo at Westville hospital – please support5.4. St AnnesBasanth Bodasing advises that he has seen 3 patients and has handed out our membership cards.5.5. Ethekweni Health & Heart Centre (EHHC)Jim Brown advised that all is in order.
6. RAFFEL DRAWThe raffle, was won by George Barness. Note that this was not “rigged” due to the efforts of George, referred to in item under Treasurer’s report, above.
7. GUEST SPEAKERThe chairman introduced Ms Jenny Russel & thanked her for taking the time to come & speak to our members. Well done Jenny! - keep up this unselfish, devoted work you are doing.Jenny introduced herself & advised that Diabetes SA is a Non-Profit organization, which is part of 147 diabetes organizations in 121 countries and that she has dedicated her time to helping others with diabetes.She stated some facts about diabetes, in that there are more people dying of diabetes than Aids and every 10 seconds somebody is dying from diabetes, every 10 seconds 2 people are being diagnosed with diabetes and every 30 seconds a lower limb of a person is being amputated. Fifty percent of diabetes sufferers die from a heart attack, 50% of people who have diabetes are not aware that they have the disease and 80% of diabetes sufferers are type 2 diabetes. Type 2 sufferers are usually people who are diagnosed with the disease, if they are 30 years or older. The largest cause of problems with diabetes is with the kidney and bladder, in that damaged is caused by elevated blood sugar levels, which is not reversible, but can be controlled with medication and therefore patients face, in most cases, premature death. A further complication of diabetes in the human body is that the pancreas fails to supply insulin and the pancreas becomes damaged by the bodies own immune system.The main contributing problems that cause diabetes is with overweight, an unhealthy life style & stress. With the weight problem, the body cannot produce sufficient insulin required for the excess body fat & causes the pancreas to “over work”. An ideal diabetic reading is in the region of 4.5 to 6.5 and if it is above 8 then one should consult a doctor immediately.Some of the symptoms of diabetes are :v Very thirstyv Excess urinationv Tirednessv Sores that don’t healv Dry itchy skinv Rapid gain loss or weight gainv Blurred visionThe following are complications as a result of diabetes :v Cardiovascular disease – heart has to pump “syrup”v High blood pressurev Eye disease – cataractsv Kidney disease – patients who have to be on a dialyses machine 4 hours at a time 3 times a weekv Nerve damagev Sexual dysfunctionThe following are recommendations of what to do, should you be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes :v Test your sugar level every dayv Take medicationv Exercise at least 15 minutes every dayv Eat healthilyv Check feet every dayThe following are people who you should consult with if you have diabetes :v Endocrinologistv Dietitianv PodiatristThe following are some of the foods to eat & the quantityv Plenty vegetables & saladsv Some starch – this is converted to sugar in the blood stream & if the kilojoules are not burnt off by exercise, the sugar turns to fatv "Madumbies" & Sweet potatoes are better to eatv Quantity of starch should be the size of clenched fistv Quantity of protein (meat) should be the size of a open hand (excluding fingers)v Oils – little oil as possible & this includes olive oil, etcv Fruit & vegetables – much as you want, but be careful the sweet fruitsv Bread & pastries – cut outv Eat small portions – i.e. 6 meals instead of 3Should you have any queries or require any further information, Jenny Russell can be contacted on 084 717 7443.
8. NEXT MEETINGThe next meeting would be on Wednesday the 3rd of June 2009 at the Conference suite at the Entabeni Hospital at 17:00 for 17:30.Complimentary drinks and snacks will be available, to club members.Kindly note that dates of the meetings for the rest of 2009, which will continue to be held at Entabeni hospital, conference room at 17:00 for 17:30 –v 3 June 2009v 5 August 2009v 7 October 2009v 29 November 2009 – Christmas & End Year function at Durban Country ClubPlease support your club.
A copy of these minutes has been placed on the Clubs Blog site at - http://natalbypass.blogspot.com/ to view.Issued by Shane Newman – 084 510 8738 or 031 204 5633 (office hours) or shane.newman@absamail.co.zaKindly note that Shane’s telephone number at home 031 708 5629, no longer exists.Chairman – Natal Bypass Club…………………………………………………………….. Date : …………………………..