Mr Diabetes reaches Bradenton nearing end of 10,000-mile walk

Donna Wright

Nov. 14, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- MANATEE -- Mr. Diabetes is a man with a passionate mission -- to raise awareness that diabetes is an epidemic out of control.

On Dec. 1, 2000, Andy Mandell launched his 10,000 walk around the perimeter of the nation from San Diego.

On Thursday, Mandell, 63, reached Bradenton on the last leg of his journey as he stopped for the night after logging 9,954.1 miles. If all goes well, Mandell plans to reach his hometown of Madeira Beach in Pinellas County on Dec. 21, and walk into the Gulf of Mexico.

His journey has taken eight years.

"After I left San Diego, I headed north to Seattle, then hung a right, walking over the Cascades and then over the Rocky Mountains, then onto Maine, then south to Key Largo and up to the Everglades and today I reached downtown Bradenton," a happy but tired Mandell said.

Along the way, he has talked to more than 76,000 people, many of whom are diabetic -- just like Mandell.

His friends Russell and Shirley Barriger have ridden beside Mandell every step of the way in their SUV.

"While I am walking the roadways, we have this rolling billboard to let people know there is something going on here," Mandell said. "We've got a big banner with our website, www.DefeatDiabetes, and we give people basic information." He wants to reach the people who have diabetes but don't know it.

"There are 24 million diabetics in the United States and up to one third -- that's more than 8 million people -- don't know it," said Mandell. "Another 54 million people are pre-diabetic, which means they are going to get it unless they do something to prevent it."

Type 1 diabetes, a medical condition people are born with, accounts for just 10 percent of the nation's 24 million diabetics. The others, like Mandell, have Type 2 diabetes, linked to obesity and inactivity. Type 2 can be prevented, but only with education and proper medical testing. Mandell knows the high risks of letting diabetes get out of control.

After his diagnosis in 1985, Mandell says he continued to live as he always had, working hard, playing even harder, eating whatever he wanted. He did make some modifications, following his doctor's advice to read ingredient labels and not eat anything that had sugar as one of the top three ingredients. For years, he was just as well as he had been before his diagnosis.

Then, in 1996, while training for a marathon walk across Florida, he woke up one morning to find that he couldn't move without excruciating pain.

As his disease progressed, he lost more than 75 pounds and developed diabetic neuropathy or nerve damage so severe that he could not stand to have anything against his skin.

Mandell says he faced the choice that comes to all diabetics, take control of the disease or die.

Today he checks his blood sugar five or six times a day.

He also has to give himself insulin injections at least that often.

"Diabetes is a life sentence, but it doesn't need to be a death sentence," said Mandell. "My walk proves life goes on."

And he has found life can be good. He has made many friends along the way and feeling is starting to return to his feet.

Committed to being a role model for others, Mandell is working with the Defeat Diabetes Foundation to spread the prevention message and he has gone through many pairs of shoes to make sure that message gets across the nation.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0027-29566479