Support me in America's Walk for Diabetes!
We all know someone who's been affected by Diabetes, whether it is a family member, co-worker, or friend. But, between providing for our families, the soaring gas prices, sending care packages to beloved troops overseas, and the victims of Hurricane Katrina still taking top priority, it may seem difficult for us to find spare pennies to donate to the American Diabetes Association.
As a single mother, I know too well how difficult it is to make ends meet right now.
Yet, I will donate to this cause to help find a cure for the disease that shortened and diminished the quality of my mom's life. And I ask that you please consider making a small donation -- even $1 -- to help improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.
After personally seeing how Diabetes debilitated my mom, I want to make a difference by walking in the America's Walk for Diabetes fund-raising event. Please sponsor me with a small donation -- just a $1 -- by selecting the "Click Here to Sponsor Me" button. For less than the price of a soda, smokes, or candy bar, you can help fund research to find a cure.
If you want to do even more to help, you can join me. The walk event is fun and great for the whole family! Our efforts will help set the pace in the fight against diabetes. Let's get moving and beat this disease!
America's Walk for Diabetes
Date: November 4, 2006
(my dad's birthday!)
Location: Loch Haven Park
Winter Park, Florida
For more Information call: 1-888-DIABETES
You can make a difference!
Where will your dollars go at the American Diabetes Association?
This year, the ADA will invest 40 million dollars in diabetes research.
Ninety-six ($ .96) cents of every dollar you donate to the ADA goes to research, education, or advocacy for people affected by diabetes.
Listed below are just a few ways your money is being put to the best use!
$79.00 Pays for a child to go to camp for one day.
$50.00 Pays for one hour of diabetes research.
$37.00 Pays for educational materials for a newly-diagnosed child and their family
$26.00 Provides diabetes risk tests for 1000 individuals.
$25.00 Pays for materials necessary for a health fair.
$11.25 Covers one hour of an advocate's visit to Washington.
$2.75 Pays to send a diabetes information kit to a newly diagnosed individual.
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WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO FIND A CURE?
The Center for Disease Control has named diabetes as the epidemic of the century. There is an alarming growth rate of 1% per year and an increase of type 2 diabetes in children as young as 10 years old. Statistics show that one in three children born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
Scientists are also seeing a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, both of which are expected to triple within the next 50 years. Dr. Charles Ouimet, Professor of Biomedical Sciences in FSU's College of Medicine, states that 65 per cent of Alzheimer's patients also suffer from diabetes.
There are currently 18.2 million people in the United States who have diabetes. Although African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are at a greater risk than Caucasions, no one is immune; the prevalence of this disease has increased across all ethnic groups over the decade. And currently, diabetes kills more people than AIDS and Cancer combined.
Diabetes affects one's health in many ways that can greatly lessen life expectancy.
Did you know that if you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you are at a much higher risk than the general population for damage to the eyes, kidney, nerves, and blood vessels? In diabetes, sugar (glucose) accumulates in the blood to very high levels. This excess glucose attaches to proteins in the blood vessels and alters their normal structure and function, making the vessels thicker, and less elastic for blood to travel through.
* With Diabetes, blindness is a real risk, as diabetic eye disease is very prevalent. It starts when blood vessels in the retina become damaged,and can progress to a more serious form as damaged blood vessels close off and new, weaker vessels take their place. These new vessels can leak blood, blocking vision, and often causing scar tissue to grow and distort the retina. Because the retina can be irreversibly damaged before you can notice any change in vision, it is important, as a diabetic, to have regular eye exams.
* Kidney disease is also a side effect of diabetes. It starts when the blood vessels in the kidney become leaky. These leaky vessels allow protein from the blood to be excreted with urine. Eventually, some vessels collapse and place more pressure on those that remain. Under this increased load, the remaining blood vessels are also be damaged and the kidney may fail, forcing a diabetic to go on dialysis, where a machine performs the role of the kidney; or receive a kidney transplant. The American Diabetes Association recommends screening for protein in the urine every year starting at the time of diagnosis, or five years after the diagnosis in Type 1 diabetics.
* As a diabetic, you have two to four times the risk of developing heart disease or stroke than the general population. Blocked vessels in the legs can cause pain and can also impair circulation so that small cuts or infections are less likely to heal. Eventually, 0.6 percent of all diabetics have lower limb amputations because of damage to the feet or lower legs.
* In addition to heart and blood vessel disease, most diabetics also suffer from nerve disease that effects the feet and lower legs, causing numbness or tingling. The problems arise when numbness allows injuries to the foot to go unnoticed. The American Diabetes Association recommends that all people with diabetes have a thorough foot exam every year.
My Mom's Story
Diabetes has affected me personally because my maternal grandparents, several of my uncles and aunts, and my mother, were all diagnosed with the disease.
My mom was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2 at the age of 37. Diabetes ravaged her health, causing her to lose sight in one eye, as well as suffer toe amputations. While still in her 50s, my mom suffered kidney damage and loss of sensation in her feet so that she had trouble walking and was forced to stop driving. By age 60, she was on Oxygen. In 2004, after battling Diabetes for over 25 years, my mom passed away from Congestive Heart Failure at age 63. (Heart failure is a silent killer of diabetics, as there are often no advance warning signs or symptoms.)
My mom with her three eldest kids, my brother Al, my sister Lily, and me (1965).
Diabetes limited and shortened my mom's life, curtailing my parent's dreams of traveling together when dad retired, and preventing the youngest grandchildren from truly getting to know the loving person that she was. My mom will never help my youngest sister plan her wedding, nor will she know any children she may have. My mom wasn't present at my sister's college graduation or her eldest grandchild's high school graduation. At the time of her death, my parents had been married for 44 years. Without our mom, there is a great void in our lives. We have have not only lost our mom, but our best friend.
In the last few years, my father has also been diagnosed with Diabetes 2.
If you are diabetic, you can help to control your disease by maintaining a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise, monitoring your blood sugar daily, and keeping all doctor appointments to monitor your vision, kidney function, cardiovascular health, and feet.
If you have a loved one with diabetes, you can donate to the American Diabetes Association to educate Americans on prevention and control of this disease, as well as to fund research to some day find a cure.
No matter how small, your generous gift will help improve the lives of the more than 18 million Americans who suffer from diabetes and the 41 million people with pre-diabetes, in the hope that future generations can live in a world without this disease.
Together, we can all make a difference!
Thank you for making a generous contribution to this cause that is so important to so many of us!