Author: Staff Writers

Halloween and the Diabetic Child: With a holiday dedicated to the giving and receiving of candy we thought it important to look at Halloween through the eyes of a diabetic family. It’s possible some families will consider keeping their diabetic children from participation in Halloween activities. Is this the right approach?

Obviously there will be some differences in how you treat the holiday based on whether your child has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, however we found some great information from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) that may help you keep it fun for your diabetic children while keeping their condition in mind.

• The best part of Halloween is the “dressing up.”  Put extra effort into your child’s costume.  Get the whole family involved.
• Plan a party on Halloween night.  That way, friends and family can get together AND you can plan a healthy menu.
• Go to a Halloween activity in the community such as a haunted house, hayride or bonfire.
• There’s no reason not to allow your child with diabetes to go trick-or-treating.  Just take some age-appropriate measures to ensure her safety (both with diabetes, and in general!).  Younger children should always trick-or-treat with a parent.  Older kids can often go with friends or siblings, depending on where you live.  If you think your older child might need to check his blood glucose while he’s out, remind him before he goes or ask him to wear a cell phone or pager. (His testing supplies may not “wear well” with his costume and you may want to make arrangements to meet him for a quick check en route.)
• Kids with diabetes can have treats. Of course, the rule is moderation with foods high in carbohydrate (including sweets and starches). Suggest that your child select a few favorite treats and trade the rest in for a present or money.
• If your children do eat candy, remember to check the carbohydrate in their meal plan, check their blood glucose and plan for more activity to help counteract any elevated blood glucose levels. Checking blood glucose levels helps to teach the lesson that candy causes elevations in blood glucose. Kids do want to have blood glucose numbers in normal ranges! They feel better!
• A little extra physical activity on Halloween and the following days may allow your child to have some Halloween treats without taking extra insulin. Talk to your doctor, diabetes educator, or dietitian about how to work these treats into her meal plan safely.
• Substitute candy with treats lower in carbohydrate. At home, you can pass out toys and trinkets, like false teeth, superballs, “slime,” necklaces, temporary tattoos, etc. Kids often like these more than candy anyway! Visit your local dime store or go to an online toy vendor to stock up!
• Remember that candy has a long shelf-life. You can keep some of your child’s favorites for him or her to enjoy at other times. Put some in the freezer or refrigerator too.
• Treats low in fat can be used to treat lows throughout the year. Chocolate and other higher-fat treats don’t work well for treating lows, though, as the fat slows the progress of glucose into the blood stream. Stick to hard candies, gum drops, lollipops, and the like. (Source: ADA)

Alternatives will be important in the celebration of Halloween, but the extra effort can keep the holiday fun – and safe – for your diabetic children.

Phillies Manager on His Own Diabetes Win Streak: Charlie Manuel is a big man, and he took a big team to the World Series in 2008. The Phillies manager guided his team to an incredible year, but excessive weight and Type 2 diabetes found him on a collision course with disaster.

It should be noted that the following information is derived from information provided by Nutrisystem, a company that provides dietary meals to customers and who also happens to have a food-based program for diabetics. We use this information as a means of providing encouragement to gain control over your diabetes and are not necessarily endorsing Nutrisystem products.

Manuel recalls the moment he knew he needed to make a change, “Last year’s championship was such a huge personal and professional accomplishment, but during the victory parade through the streets of Philadelphia, I remember one lady asking for a photo of us together and then immediately showing it to me and I thought, ‘Man, I’m BIG!’ I looked huge compared to her and in every picture I saw of myself. I knew I had to do something to lose weight.”

Through a process of diet and exercise Manuel lost 50 pounds and has led his baseball team to another championship run. Even though his team is on track for another stellar seasons Manuel reflects, “In the past I wouldn’t think about what I was eating and when. I would go all day in meetings and forget to eat and then eat ballpark food before the game. I tried dieting on my own, but that never worked. I didn’t make it a priority and it caught up to me to the point where my doctor told me I had diabetes and put me on medication. That just gave me another list of things to manage like checking my blood sugars and remembering to take my medication.”

The diet program Manuel used was Nutrisystem D. A press release for Manuel indicates, “The program is specifically designed to help overweight people with Type 2 diabetes lose weight and control their blood sugar. The Nutrisystem D program incorporates more than three decades of scientific research and…experience on…weight loss with exercise.”

Reflecting on the past year Manuel said, “I wanted a program specifically designed to support my diabetes and that I could stick to whether on the road or at home. When I travel, I have a microwave sent to my room. I order my salad, fruits and vegetables from room service so I can stay with program. I eat six times a day and never feel hungry. When I do eat out, I know what choices to make and what a real portion is. The best part is, besides losing 50 pounds, I feel better. I look better. Even the umps notice that I’ve lost weight. I tell my players that I feel like I can still play.” The Phillies have proven to Manuel that they can still play – and they are – for a much slimmer manager.

Dr. Gary Foster, Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education of the Temple University School of Medicine said of Manuel, “Like so many people with diabetes, Charlie was confronted with the complexities of managing diabetes and losing weight. Counting calories and carbs all while trying to keep your blood sugar in check is quite a challenge. For someone like Charlie, appropriately portioned meals throughout the day provide the structure to lose weight while maintaining his blood sugar levels.”

A State-By-State Statistical Look at Diabetes: Where in the United States is diabetes most prevalent? According to a BioMed Central publication released in late September the greatest incidence of diabetes is found in the southeast.

The report states, “We estimated undiagnosed diabetes prevalence as a function of a set of health system and sociodemographic variables using a logistic regression in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2006). We applied this relationship to identical variables from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2003-2007) to estimate state-level prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes by age group and sex.”

Highlights of the report suggest, “Age-standardized diabetes prevalence was highest in Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia (15.8 to 16.6% for men and 12.4 to 14.8% for women). Vermont, Minnesota, Montana, and Colorado had the lowest prevalence (11.0 to 12.2% for men and 7.3 to 8.4% for women). Men in all states had higher diabetes prevalence than women. The absolute prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, as a percent of total population, was highest in New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and California (3.5 to 3.7 percentage points) and lowest in Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alaska, Vermont, Utah, Washington, and Hawaii (2.1 to 3 percentage points). Among those with no established diabetes diagnosis, being obese, being Hispanic, not having insurance and being ? 60 years old were significantly associated with a higher risk of having undiagnosed diabetes.”

What follows is a state by state listing of citizen percentages for diabetes combining both men and women averages.

State               30-59          60+

Alabama              10.1%         25%
Alaska                6%         21.8%
Arizona               8.4%           22.1%
Arkansas               9.1%           21.4%
California                 8.3%           25%
Colorado               5.7%          18.9%
Connecticut              6.5%           20.6%
Delaware               8.3%           23.1%
District of Columbia          8.1%           26.3%
Florida              9%          23.1%
Georgia                9.2%          26.5%
Hawaii               7.6%          20.8%
Idaho                  7.7%           21.7%
Illinois               8.6%          23.8%
Indiana               8.4%           24.8%
Iowa                   6.9%          22.1%
Kansas               7.3%           21.7%
Kentucky               9.8%          24.7%
Louisiana              10%          26.6%
Maine                  7.6%          22.2%
Maryland                7.7%           24.7%
Massachusetts           6.4%        20.5%
Michigan                8.7%           25.1%
Minnesota               5.9%           20.1%
Mississippi               11.4%       27.7%
Missouri                7.7%           22.9%
Montana               6.5%           19.3%
Nebraska               7.3%           22.4%
Nevada               7.5%           23.3%
New Hampshire            6.5%           22.2%
New Jersey                7.9%           23.9%
New Mexico               8.4%           22.3%
New York               8.5%           23.9%
North Carolina           9.3%           25.6%
North Dakota               6.5%           21.7%
Ohio                   8.3%           24.6%
Oklahoma               9.7%           24.1%
Oregon               7.1%          21.1%
Pennsylvania               8.1%           24.1%
Rhode Island               7%           22.7%
South Carolina           10%          26%
South Dakota               7%           21.5%
Tennessee               10.5%          26.3%
Texas               10.1%       25.4%
Utah                   6.3%           22.7%
Vermont               6.1%           19.9%
Virginia               7.7%           23.6%
Washington               7.4%           21.3%
West Virginia           11.1%          27.3%
Wisconsin               6.3%           21.6%
Wyoming               7.3%           21.2%

The highest rate of statistically undiagnosed diabetes is in New Mexico. This information is essentially hard data provided for statistical comparisons. It is not intended to be either positive or negative. The basis for articles like this is to paint the most accurate picture possible for this disease.

This report used a series of questions answered by respondents as a means of determining the number of individuals who may be undiagnosed as diabetic. This included whether they had health insurance, whether they visited their primary care physician in the last year or whether they smoke. The questions also included weight, race and age questions relevant to the analysis. This information allowed researchers to make an informed analysis for undiagnosed diabetes.

Data like this can be used in calculating potential health insurance rates and also may provide clues as to regional habits that may impact the incidence of diabetes. The BioMed Central publication adds, “Increasing the coverage of lifestyle, e.g., physical activity and pharmacological interventions for diabetes, should be a priority in states with high diabetes prevalence.”

Jon Stanton: No Wonder He’s an ADA Ambassador: What do you say to a guy who’s lost more than 200 pounds and wants to address the subject of diabetes? Nothing. You simply sit and listen because he probably has something important to say.

Argus-Press.com was there when Jon Stanton gave a speech to walkers who participated in this year’s “Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes” event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The Ovid, Michigan resident once weight 430 pounds and was a Type 2 diabetic and is now an ambassador for ADA’s Michigan branch. His team raised $700 for the 2-mile walk.

Here are some highlights from Stanton’s speech. It should be noted that Stanton no longer has symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, but he does not feel his battle is over.

“(Type 2 diabetes) is almost entirely lifestyle driven with being overweight probably being the most significant risk factor. The statistic that hit the most home with me was that one in three children in America can be expected to develop diabetes if we keep going at our current rate.”

“If you’ve had it at some point, it is likely to come back, but if you use common sense with eating and exercise on a regular basis, it is largely treatable until late in life.”

“I was a heavy kid while growing up, but I was rare. Now it is more of the norm. If you go back 30 or 40 years ago, people weren’t developing Type 2 diabetes until they were in their 60s or 70s – it was a late-in-life disease. We have kids now 10, 11 and 12 years old who are being diagnosed with this and they are setting themselves up for a life of pain and limitations. No kid deserves that, especially when it can be prevented.”

Stanton also speaks out on his personal website.

“Did you know that the current generation of children will likely be the first since the Great Depression to have a LOWER life expectancy than their parents – because of poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle?”

“The average American is now consuming 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily. Teenagers consume 34 teaspoons on average. What is especially disturbing is that these measures include only “added” sugar – meaning that naturally occurring sugars (such as “fructose” in fruit and “lactose” in dairy) are not included. Experts say that ideally, women should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily and men should not consume more than 9. Obviously, we have a LONG road before us to get to those numbers!”

“On August 5, 2007, I paid a visit to my doctor that changed my life forever. At that time, I weighed 430 pounds, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, early-stage congestive heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. Today, I suffer from NONE of those ailments, I am medication-free (except for a pill for acid reflux) and I have lost 230 pounds! God is so good, and I am BLESSED to be alive and healthy!”

Stanton adds one final bit of advice most of us can follow, “Get out there and walk, and save yourself and the nation’s health care system some money! Remember – start slowly if you have not been exercising regularly.”

After reading the things that Stanton has to say it is very clear why he was asked to be the ADA ambassador for Michigan. Anyone care for a walk?

The Diabetic Climate of Sandy Lake: One of the truisms about diabetes is it requires a healthy diet with emphasis on certain food types. This can be difficult in poor economics times, perhaps more so when your ethnicity and geographical location places you on a collision course with diabetes.

In Sandy Lake, Canada the Oji-Cree Indians have a rich history, but multiple changes over the last 50+ years have placed them in a treacherous predicament. According to The Vancouver Sun, “A quarter of the people [in Sandy Lake] have diabetes, the highest rate in Canada and third highest in the world.”

Fresh fruit and vegetables in this fly in community are more than twice what the rest of Canada pays. A half-gallon of milk costs nearly $7 Canadian. This has resident Lucy Day saying, “Way too expensive.” She’s not alone and options are almost nonexistent.

The Oji-Cree Indians have lived in the Sandy Lake area since at least the 1800’s. They had to work hard just to stay alive, but in the 1950’s modern conveniences came to Sandy Lake and the Oji-Cree Indians did not have to work as hard. The more sedentary lifestyle coupled with a hereditary that is prone to diabetes has meant that this people group are experiencing profound health difficulties. They don’t want to leave, but it’s getting harder to stay.

They have watched as friends and family are forced to move away from Sandy Lake to receive late stage diabetes care.

More than 10% of their children (under 19) have developed diabetes and much of it is linked to diet, exercise and heredity. More than 40% of residents in their 40’s develop diabetes in Sandy Lake.

Are the changes experienced by the Oji-Cree Indians a result of macroevolution (changes or adaptations within an individual or people group)? The Vancouver Sun report said, “Researchers suspect the survivors of such “merciless” food scarcity were genetically and metabolically tuned to make the most of food. It was a distinct advantage to have a metabolism good at packing away extra calories as fat reserves that could be used as energy when food ran scarce.”

In other words this people group may have experienced metabolic adaptations during years when food was extremely scarce (many died during that part of their history). This may sound far fetched, but one of the reasons diets can often backfire (if they aren’t a lifestyle change) is that your body remembers what it is used to having so when it finally gets it there is a process where those nutrients (and even fat) can be horded by the body because it believes it may again be deprived of them at some point.

The isolated community of Sandy Lake continues to make strides toward helping the hundreds of residents who have diabetes learn to make better choices. This includes schools, radio programs and after school athletic events. Leaders are working to gain a dialysis machine to allow residents to stay in town instead of making a long journey to Winnipeg for regular treatment.

Residents seem very aware they need to make healthy choices, yet the exorbitant prices assigned to fresh food in Sandy Lake can make it difficult to afford the healthiest alternatives, “Everyone tells us to eat better, but look at how much everything costs,” laments resident Anne Meekis.

Progress has come to Sandy Lake, but a new direction is needed and change always seems to take time – and money. While funds are in short supply the community continues to work to make corrections where they can.

Through Adversity to Encouragement: It can be easy to become depressed if you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. However, for Frank Thielmann it is just another challenge – especially in light of the fact he has lost both legs to the disease.

Thielmann is 71 years of age, a car salesman, he loves to hunt and he’s lived with diabetes for 25 years. The Sheboyganpress.com says, “He functions well on prosthetic legs, takes insulin four times a day, religiously watches his diet, works closely with his doctors, and above all, prefers staying active to the alternative.”

Thielmann tells the publication, “I haven’t got time to sit around.” This energetic man visits St. Nicolas Hospital to monitor his diabetes and Mary Roethel, lead nurse at the St. Nicholas Diabetes Center says of Thielmann, “He actually does a very good self-management and that’s really the core of diabetes. Our goal of our certified nurse educators is they help them live well with their diabetes. Diabetes doesn’t control them, they are in control of it.”

Thielmann seems to be an ambassador of that belief. He manages his disease through diet, but he also takes multiple insulin injections each day.

It’s important to note that Thielmann was in his 40’s when diagnosed with diabetes. The Sheboyganpress.com report said, “About 90 percent of diabetics are Type 2 patients, which sets in at middle age. Type 1 diabetes patients are diagnosed at a much younger age. Roethel said diabetes is a ‘silent killer,’ as about a quarter of the people who have the disease are unaware they have it, and she recommends people who may be at risk, with elevated blood sugar levels, be screened for diabetes.”

Thielmann has recognized the value of friends by inviting two mentors to help keep him moving in the right direction. This means managing his diabetes so he can still enjoy bow hunting and his 4 days per week job as a salesman at a respected car dealership in Sheboygan.

To describe the alternative to the work he puts in at management of his disease Thielmann told the Sheboyganpress.com, “If I sat at home I’d probably be dead right now.”

He has the respect and admiration of the staff at St. Nicolas. Nurse Mary Roethel said, “He’s just been really focused and really positive. The attitude of a patient can bring to it that determination of being in control of it.”

With depression as a frequent companion to Type 2 diabetes it is valuable to see how Thielmann works through the issues related to his disease in order to thrive. It would have been easy for him to give up after the loss of both legs, but he has been determined to learn how to manage his interest in LIFE by managing his treatment of diabetes.

He has come to understand the significance of a support team who can cheer him on and hold him accountable. It may feel as if he is training for a marathon, but the truth is the team is likely one of the primary reasons he continues to be such an encouragement to others.

We search to find men and women who not only struggle with diabetes, but also have important stories that can serve to inspire when we may be thinking that giving up is a great alternative. There is life beyond diabetes. The treatment and managed care you attend to is simply the best way to ensure a shot at enjoying all the things you really do care about.

Predicting Type 2 Diabetes May Have Gotten Easier: It is widely known that type 2 diabetes is typically developed as a byproduct of lifestyle and diet choice. It is also prone to development due to certain health conditions. However, there may be a predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes that may open new strategies in diabetic health care.

Globes Online reported that drug developer Compugen, “Found and experimentally confirmed a genetic biomarker, CGEN-40001, for predisposition to type 2 diabetes.”

According to Wikipedia a biomarker (biological marker), “Is in general a substance used as an indicator of a biological state. It is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. It is used in many scientific fields.”

What this means is the CGEN-4001 biomarker has the potential to be used as a preemptive test for the development of type 2 diabetes.

Globes Online reported, “Following diagnosis, high-risk patients may benefit from more aggressive management either through lifestyle modification or drug treatment. There are an estimated 24 million people in the US with diabetes, 90% of whom have type 2 diabetes.”

The CGEN-4001 biomarker is essentially an enzyme that naturally occurs in your body. Globes Online said, “From the approximately 350,000 multiple nucleotide genetic variations… a very small set of 135 variations was selected as being potentially related to type 2 diabetes in Caucasians. Compugen studied this set and found a specific enzyme CGEN-4001 which demonstrated the predicted correlation with type 2 diabetes in Caucasians. Lab studies showed that adding the enzyme increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50-80%.”

While the presence of CGEN-4001 can be a predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes it may also lead some medical scientists to wonder if therapies may be developed that could remove CGEN-4001 from the body as a means of reducing the incidence of diabetes.

However, this can be little more than conjecture as studies and research continue into this novel and still potential method of diabetes prediction.

The CGEN-4001 is an enzyme variation of what is known as Phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP), which is used to effectively deal with glucose. The variation may have something to do with the alterations within the bodies of those who are developing type 2 diabetes.

Compugen, and Israeli based pharmaceutical company gained as much as $2.00 per share on the stock exchange in response to these new findings. According to their website, “Compugen’s mission is to be the world leader in the discovery and licensing of product candidates to the drug and diagnostic industries under milestone and revenue sharing agreements. The Company’s increasing inventory of powerful and proprietary discovery platforms is enabling the predictive discovery – field after field – of numerous therapeutic and diagnostic product candidates. These discovery platforms are based on the Company’s decade-long focus on the predictive understanding of important biological phenomena at the molecular level. Compugen’s current collaborations include Biosite, Medarex, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company), Roche, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.”

This current research is in line with their stated mission; “Compugen’s research and discovery efforts are focused on developing unique predictive biology capabilities, which utilize computational technologies and experimental processes, to obtain deeper understandings of life at the molecular level and to incorporate these understandings in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic discovery engines.”

He is a 21st century cattle rustler, a baby-faced cowboy and owes a few years behind bars. Oh, did we mention he has brittle diabetes?

Roddy Dean Pippin is a mere 25 years of age and already a convicted criminal. He sports a bright smile and a cowboy hat. According to the American-Statesman, “Despite cries that to send him back behind bars might be a death sentence, Pippin was headed back to a state jail… to serve the remaining four years of his sentence. Pippin had been freed from state lockups and placed on house arrest about two years ago after questions were raised about whether he could receive proper medical care in prison because of the volatility of his diabetes.”

Pippen surrendered to officials in North Texas recently on horseback. Pippen was quoted last week as saying, “I wasn’t this nervous going in the first time. I’m scared. But now I know what I’m facing. I hope I survive this. I don’t know. I’m just praying. That’s all I know to do.”

Pippen was convicted when he was just 21 years old. He was eventually released on house arrest (wearing an ankle monitor) because of his diabetic condition.

There have been those who have lobbied to get Pippen released from jail so his health conditions can be monitored more easily, but District Attorney John Staley Heatly told the American-Statesman, “It was a plea-bargained sentence (Pippin) agreed to. If he in fact cannot receive proper care (in prison), the law allows him to apply for a medical release. … Instead, he’s trying to get his sentence changed. He owes four years.”

Texas has done an admirable job in seeking to assure critics that Pippen will be monitored in relation to his brittle diabetes.

In a 2005 article Pippen told reporters, “I deserve a lot worse. One hundred years ago, I would have gotten the rope.” Four years later Pippen uses social media to keep in touch with supporters, has a publicity firm managing publicity and he has a video out. District Attorney John Staley Heatly responded to that last bit of news by saying, “”The conditions of his probation required him to be confined to his mother’s home and the immediate vicinity — not out riding along the highways and through the woods. Too bad I didn’t see that two weeks ago. I could’ve filed to revoke him.”

Heatly was responding to the fact that the video was made in a location that was in direct violation of the conditions of his house arrest.

Still, there remains concern for the health of convicted felon Pippen. Robert McCausland, a Dallas-area tech official was quoted by the American-Statesman as saying, “The last time he was in prison, he had to become deathly ill to get help. There is a real possibility he could die. Roddy should not have to pay with his life.”

Pippen has had type 1 diabetes since the age of six and seizures have been common since that time. He agrees that not being able to hold a job due to his condition caused him to make some bad choices, and families who had cattle stolen from them agree. However, Pippen has become something of a darling among a growing fan base because as the American-Stateman said, “He is polite and engaging, speaks often about his religious faith, about riding the plains on his horse Baby Face, about his love of the Texas cowboy legends.”

This perhaps only adds to the debate surrounding diabetes care among prison inmates where the issues are real and easy answers are hard to come by.

A Diabetic’s Birthday Gift: In a slight twist on an old story one young man is providing an example to others that giving means more than getting. The beneficiaries of his idea are diabetics and his ability to give rests on the celebration of his birthday.

There is an old story that tells of a young boy who had never experienced the idea of receiving gifts on his birthday. The idea was foreign to him. During wartime his family took in boarders and when one guest learned that it was the boys birthday he offered him a handful of coins. The boy had no idea why the man would give him money. The man simply said, “These are for gifts.”

The boy smiled and ran from the house in the direction of the General Store. That afternoon he asked all the boarders in the home to come to the kitchen. There the little boy presented each with a ‘gift’. He had understood that the money for gifts was to embrace the joy of purchasing a small gift for those who had made an impact on his life.

We may smile at the naïve nature of the boy, yet there is another young man – this time a flesh and bone counterpart that has placed his own spin on this story. Tanner Fincher is only 8 years old and yet he understands giving in a way most of us do not.

According to El Paso’s KVIS-TV, “For two years now, Tanner has asked people to donate money to a camp scholarship fund instead of giving him a birthday present.”

Tanner’s selfless gesture has brought out the generosity in others. So far the young boy has been able to donate more than $1,000 to the scholarship program. Tanner told KVIS, “I got to see different people who have the same thing as me. Some kids can’t afford to go to diabetes camp so I donated some money for them.”

The generosity of young people like Tanner can work to encourage hardened cynics as to the benefits of generosity for a cause.

Meanwhile, Twilight star Kristen Stewart participated in a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes event recently. The even kicked off at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Stewart was quoted as saying, “It’s amazing to be around such inspiring people.”

Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and actor Dorian Gregory who were also using their star power to provide a platform for diabetes awareness joined Stewart.

The JDRF indicates, “As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood that strikes suddenly, lasts a lifetime, and carries the constant threat of deadly complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and amputation. JDRF’s mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Thanks to dramatic research progress, a cure is now within our reach.

”The Walk draws people together in a healthy activity for a worthy cause, raising money to help find a cure for diabetes. It’s fun for families and builds camaraderie among company employees. Above all, it’s an event you will feel good about being a part of.”

And in the end whether it is raising awareness or using birthday money to support diabetic causes we are finding many young people willing to rise to the occasion and answer the call.

Thank you.