BARBARA DAVIS CENTER: MEET THE DOCTOR

This edition of Meet the Doctor features Dr. Andrea Gerard Gonzales, MD, Pediatric Endocrinology.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO DIABETES CARE?

I went to medical school in Mexico City. When you graduate in Mexico there are not enough spots for every doctor to do a residency since the government pays for them. For a resident to become a doctor, the government requires every new graduate to do social service for one year to an underserved community of the country. I decided to go to Chapas because it was very far from my hometown. Chapas is very beautiful mountainous land with indigenous communities.

DO YOU HAVE PERSONAL A TYPE 1 CONNECTION?

Thankfully, I do not have any family members with a personal connection, so my patients are my type 1 connection.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH THE BDC?

I have been at the Barabara Davis Center for Diabetes going on 11 years. Back then there was a huge gap in care for the Spanish-speaking communities in Denver. Rob Slover was looking for a doctor to serve the community, so I went to interview. Everyone was kind and welcoming. It was a dream come true to help the Latino and Spanish-speaking community with such a huge gap in care at one of the top diabetes centers in the USA.

WHAT MAKES YOUR DEPARTMENT AND TEAM AT THE BDC SO UNIQUE?

Through the BDC program we bring the whole community together around the type 1 children, not just the parents. We invite the neighbors, siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. It is a community building peer-to-peer interaction and learning experience.

TELL ME ABOUT A PATIENT EXPERIENCE THAT HAS REALLY IMPACTED YOU AS A PROVIDER?

While I was serving the community in Chapas there was a very shocking story that happened and lead me down the path of being a pediatrician. There was a boy in there who had diabetes, and they didn't know. The indigenous communities have their own culture and religion, and thought he was cursed, and nobody understood what was going on. His blood sugar was severely high, and he was very sick, so they were literally just waiting for him to die. A compassionate neighbor thought maybe there was something I could do, so she brought me to the house. I could smell the ketones but didn’t have any insulin with me and needed to take him to the hospital. The family was scared and felt it was dangerous. They had already resigned to the fact they were going to lose this child. After talking them through it, they finally agreed to let me take him in my car to the hospital two hours away. Once we got there, they gave him insulin, he responded well, and survived. I was able to keep the insulin cold without refrigeration by digging holes in the river and we were able to keep the child alive.

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN WHEN YOU ARE NOT AT THE BDC? HOBBIES?

I have 11-year-old twins, a boy and girl. Sophia and Alex, they're the love of my life and they're very smart and active. So, after I'm done with clinic, I'm literally like an Uber driver running them around town.

TELL ME ONE FUN FACT ABOUT YOURSELF.

I like to exercise very early in the morning because if I don’t do it then, it won’t get done. We also love skiing. I learned as an adult but was a water-skier my whole life in Mexico.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

I’m a colorful person and like so many. I like blue, black, and red.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD OR DISH TO MAKE?

That depends on who I am cooking for! I make four meals a day, every day for the family.

WHAT MOTIVATIONAL OR INSPIRATIONAL ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR TYPE 1S?

The research is moving at a very advanced pace, like with the new technologies and the new discoveries that we're making. For instance, there's Tzield and that's come out of basic T cell biology research. And insulin cells made from human stem cells. Most people only think of advancements in technology, but there have been so many advancements in science. We know so much more about the biology than we did 20 years ago, and we know more about the disease. I think that's going to help us, not only for better care, but for a cure as well.

WHAT ARE YOUR PETS' NAMES?

Sue is our little dog, and we have another dog from my mom that we named Denver. Alex has two crested geckos, Cooper and Jumpy, and they're laying eggs now, so hopefully we'll have some babies. Sophia has a bearded lizard, which she named it Tiny because he was not tiny at all. We have a Russian tortoise that we adopted.

WHAT MOTIVATIONAL OR INSPIRATIONAL ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR TYPE 1S?

I would say you can do it! You are no different than anybody else. You deserve the same kind of achievements, and you are so bright, smart, and strong and you know so much more about yourself and your body than anyone in this world that doesn't have diabetes. I know that there's going to be times and days that you feel that this is the end of the world, and you cannot keep going. Then you're going to realize when you are looking back, you're awesome. You're healthy and stronger than any of your peers.

We're always very proud of everything that you do, and you are teaching us as doctors way more than what we can teach you from our training and learning because that's what makes my life worthwhile. Seeing you in clinic and you teaching me how you're dealing with, you know, life and expectations and doing all the sports that you guys are doing and still having an A1C that sometimes are great, and sometimes they're not that great. You know how to push and we bring it down, life goes on, and you are amazing.