Care in the South Bay can be outstanding and still leave you alone with a printout. Your endocrinologist may be booked three months out, and in the meantime you're the one living with the diagnosis every day. I'm Cheri Sacks, a registered nurse and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and I offer chronic illness coaching and education for people in the South Bay, by video across California and in person by arrangement. I don't replace your specialists. I help you make their plan work in your real week.
Who is this support for?
It's for people in San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell and nearby towns who want help without adding another commute. It's for the person with the diagnosis, and it's also for the person holding the household together. If you live farther south in Gilroy or Morgan Hill, we can meet by video, as long as you live in California.
If your diagnosis is diabetes, start with living well with type 2. If you're the one keeping everyone's care organized, my pages on building a care team and on caregiving may help, and caring for an aging parent goes into more depth. You can be the patient and the backup in the same week, and that's okay.
What does support between visits look like?
Chronic illness support in the South Bay is one person who helps you follow the plan between appointments.
You don't need more referrals. What helps most is one person for the time between appointments, someone who knows the difference between a plan that looks good on paper and a plan you can actually follow after a long drive on the 101.
The American Diabetes Association's 2026 Standards call for diabetes self-management education at diagnosis and whenever life changes. A three-month wait for a specialist is a long time, and education and coaching can fill that wait without replacing the specialist. The NIDDK's managing diabetes page says the most important member of your care team is you. When I talk about support, I mean you don't have to be the only member.
Please talk with your physician before you change a medicine, a meal plan or an activity plan that could lower your blood sugar. I work with your doctors, not instead of them.
How coaching with me works
You can choose private or group chronic illness support in the South Bay, and either way it's steady and ongoing.
I offer private coaching and, when it's a better fit, group coaching. If isolation is the real problem, being with others in a similar season can help, so we can talk about group. If your story feels too personal for a room, we keep it one-to-one. My page on group vs private explains the choice, and you can read what happens in a first session.
This isn't a drop-in group or a crisis line. It's steady, ongoing support from one nurse who gets to know you.
The PATH approach
The PATH approach to chronic illness support in the South Bay starts with your real week and one small step you can keep.
I coach through a simple framework I call PATH: Personalized care, Awareness, Transformation and Health.
- Personalized care starts with your real life here: the drive, the wait for your specialist, and who at home is helping hold the plan.
- Awareness means we name the gap between your appointments so we can work on it.
- Transformation is one small step that fits your week, rather than another referral you can't use.
- Health means the plan holds up through the week and you feel enough like yourself to keep it. Better labs are welcome, and so is not feeling alone with all of this.
You can read the longer version in the chronic illness coaching guide.
A moment from practice
Chronic illness support in the South Bay can mean one person between visits and one clear question for your next appointment.
A couple in Campbell came to me with a stack of specialist names and no idea who to call when a question came up midweek. We didn't add another name. We picked one person for the time between visits and one question to bring to the next appointment. They kept both, and things got simpler.
What to expect from the free call
The first conversation is a free call. Bring the printout and tell me about your week. Ask about cost, whether someone from your household can join, and what to do while you wait for your endocrinologist. You don't need a tidy list or to look like you have it all together. Together, we'll choose one step that can carry you until your next visit. You can book the call here.
If you'd like to read about your own town first, I have pages for health coaching in San Jose, Los Gatos and Saratoga, plus a guide to your care team. When you're ready for the hour itself, here's what happens in a first session.
A final thought
You don't need to collect more referrals or do more. You need one person beside you between visits and a plan that works for your body. I'd be glad to be that person.
With Care, Cheri Sacks, R.N., C.D.C.E.S. Your Neighbor, The Nurse
This article is education, not medical care. Please talk with your physician before you change a medicine, a meal plan, or an activity plan.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
I offer private coaching and, when it fits, group coaching. This page is not a drop-in group.
Video, yes, if you live in California.
No. I help the plan survive until you see them, and after.
Personalized to this commute and this wait. Awareness of the gap after the printout. One step you can do on a Tuesday. Health as being accompanied, not as another name on a list.
