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As the familiar “Pomp and Circumstance” rang through Escambia County Health Care Authority Nurse Jessica Fountain’s phone, those who were attending the final session of the Got Sugar? free diabetes class couldn’t help but smile.

Six were handed certificates of completion of the free class Sept. 7 at Atmore Community Hospital’s Mayson Center.

The class met Saturday afternoons over the last six weeks.

The free diabetes class is for those with diabetes or pre-diabetes, family members or caregivers, and goes over diabetes and its risks, healthy eating and exercise, communication with their health care team and managing medications.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the body can’t produce enough insulin or can’t use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Class Member Julia Strack said the class, which is led by Fountain, has helped her become more informed about diabetes.

“We went over what to eat, we went over exercise and we went over how it affects all of your organs,” Strack said. “And what to look for in the future.”

Strack said the class has helped make her life a lot easier.

“It’s kind of hard to put in the words, but I’ll try,” she said. “She (Fountain) broke it down into meals. What we should look for, and what our plate should look like.”

Strack, and other class members said through this class, they learned just how much sugar is in food of restaurants that are frequently visited.

Class Member Becky Reed said Fountain helped make the reality of her having diabetes not so scary.

“Even though you may know something or have read something, when it hit, you know, when it hits you and it’s you, it’s like, ‘oh Lord,’” Reed said. “There’s a lot of the unknown, right. I can’t think of a way to put it, but it’s not so scary. Now, you know when we eat wrong, we understand that.”

Strack said the class helped them understand what Type I and II diabetes is. She added that Type I diabetics require insulin, and Type II diabetics require certain medications.

All class members agreed that the class helped them stand up for themselves, given their diagnoses.

Fountain, who is based out of Brewton, said this is her first time in Atmore to offer the diabetes class.

She said she just wants people to know that she’s here, and ready to help.

“This is a completely free class,” Fountain said. “I have not gotten anything like personal information to speak of, like their name and their phone numbers. I haven’t asked for anything from the experience, and I’ll be starting up again in January.”

To register for the diabetes classes, or for more information, contact Fountain at 205-233-1613 or email jfountain@echca.org.