Two women with an eye on community service and good health are teaming up to provide a special telephone wellness conference this evening to discuss the importance of identifying underlying health concerns – hypertension and diabetes – even amid a global pandemic.

Tonight’s conference, “Understanding Hypertension and Diabetes Effect on Blood Vessels,” is the result of a collaboration between registered nurse Toni Wilson and the Rev. Ola Thorpe-Cooper, pastor of Holy Temple Church on East Avenue in Henderson.

“This Conference is for anyone 21 years and over with a goal of good health consciousness,” stated Rev. Cooper, in a statement to WIZS. She and Wilson appeared on today’s Town Talk with John C. Rose and underscored the importance of keeping medical appointments to stay on top of existing health conditions and learning how to prevent problems from affecting good health.

To join the conference, which begins at 6 p.m., dial 425.436.6330. The access code is 8605811#. This is a free event, although long-distance charges apply if those calls are not included in the caller’s calling plan.

Rev. Cooper is the newest member of the Henderson City Council, filling the unexpired term of the late Fearldine Simmons. She returned to Henderson in 2007 after a four-decades long career with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She reached out to Wilson upon learning that she operates a YouTube channel called Talk to Toni Wilson.

“Vance County has a high incidence of high blood pressure and diabetes,” Wilson said during the Town Talk interview. Although a predisposition to both conditions could be hereditary, Wilson said, they also can be preventable. She emphasized the importance of keeping regular doctor visits and checkups, even during a pandemic.

For TownTalk audio click play…

Wilson had been having a weekly call with family members to help them understand about the effect of diabetes. “Then, as we heard more about COVID-19 and all the chronic illnesses, the co-morbidities, the secondary illnesses that put us at risk for COVID-19…my thought pattern was, ‘wait a minute,’ I need to get something out there so people understand what’s going on,” Wilson added. “They need to know that all these chronic illnesses they have are putting them at greater risk.”

In June or July, she began doing video programs with people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

“(People) are not going to the doctor and being checked like they should…they’re having symptoms like increased thirst, or increased urination, unintended weight loss, of feeling very tired, their vision is blurred, or they have these constant headaches…they’re simply not feeling well.” More severe health complications may arise just because they aren’t going to the doctor like they should, Wilson added, saying that some of those complications could be prevented.

Going to the doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, could cause some people some anxiety. Increased cleaning of the offices, spacing out appointments so patients don’t come into contact with one another, and mask wearing are just a few of the precautions that medical offices are using to ensure safety of patients and staff. “It’s still very important that you get those checkups, very important,” Wilson said. High blood pressure has been called the “silent killer,” so a person may not experience symptoms associated with it, including dizziness or pounding in the chest, Wilson said. “So whether you feel good or you do not feel good, you still need your checkups,” she said.

It is so important for health care providers to have a good medical history, Wilson noted, “asking about your family, your diet, taking into consideration your weight, the type of food that you’re eating, what type of medicines that you’re on and your activities, if you do any regular scheduled activities,” she continued. The question to ask your doctor, however is this: How do I prevent it if I don’t already have the condition, as well as the chances of developing the condition if it already exists in your family, Wilson added.

Tonight’s conference will examine the job of blood vessels in the body and the negative effect of hypertension and diabetes. High blood pressure can cause the blood vessel walls to weaken and can create aneurisms. With diabetes, unregulated blood sugar levels contribute to the buildup of plaque which limits elasticity of the vessels. The heart then must work harder to pump the blood, further breaking down the blood vessels. All this can lead to major health events such as heart attack, stroke and limb amputations. “You need to keep those vessels in good shape,” Wilson said.

As for diabetes, Wilson said Type 2 is a result of what we do to our own bodies. “Not exercising, not watching our weight, and just eating anything we want to eat,” she said, all contribute to diabetes Type 2. The pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels steady. Wilson sees patients with both hypertension and diabetes, and sometimes heredity is a factor. Despite this predisposition, however, she says they can be prevented. Wilson hopes to be able to educate people on how to avoid these health conditions.

“I believe you cannot help people when you don’t feel good about yourself, when you have some kind of medical condition,” Rev. Cooper said. “I think you have to be well in order to take care of people to help them to stay well,” she said.  By the way, both Wilson and Rev. Cooper encourage having the COVID-19 vaccinations – Wilson has had her first shot and is ready for the second one next week, she said. Rev. Cooper will have her vaccination as soon as she is able to, she said.

Wilson and Rev. Cooper have never met in person, but upon recommendation by a family member, Wilson tuned in to Rev. Cooper’s virtual church service; then Rev. Cooper viewed one of Wilson’s programs on YouTube “and she was talking about COVID-19 and she interviewed a couple from Henderson, North Carolina. So I contacted her and I wanted some more information about COVID-19,” Rev. Cooper said. The dialogue between the two resulted in tonight’s telephone wellness conference.