Meet Mr. Diabetes^®

posted 01/09/03

By Shelly Escalante-Cone - City Editor

He contends with wild dogs, boar and foxes. He gets beat by the elements and traverses terrain that is extreme in its diversity. A prickly numbness in his legs and a long stick he uses for balance keeps him focused on the reason he's walked 2,800 miles - to raise awareness of diabetes and its effects on lives.

Andy Mandell, the executive director of Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Inc., walked through Lompoc Thursday on his Wake Up and Walk^® Tour, sharing his message.

"We need to take a preventative approach to diabetes rather than a curative approach. The reality is it's 75 percent preventable," Mandell said.

Also known as Mr. Diabetes^®, Mandell knows first hand the effects of the disease. The marathon runner and triathlete discovered he had diabetes at age 40. He eventually developed severe diabetic neuropathy; a disease of the nervous system that characterizes itself as numbing, tingling and/or producing excruciating pain. Mandell's condition became so severe that he couldn't bear to have anything touch his skin. Wearing clothes was painful and difficult, he said, explaining there was a period of time when he couldn't wear clothes at all.

He also developed diabetic retinopathy in both eyes, a disease of the small blood vessels of the retina of the eye that can cause blurred vision and even blindness.

Before his condition could get any worse, Mandell mustered the strength to undergo intense corrective treatment. Exercising through his physical pain, re-learning to walk and balance, monitoring his food, vigorous testing of his blood glucose levels and taking insulin injections - as many as eight times a day - finally lead Mandell to recovery.

Then Mandell decided to take his message to the public by embarking on a three-year trek - on foot - around the perimeter of the country.

He left from Madeira Beach, on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Jan. 15, 2002. He plans to finish back in Florida.

His effort also tells the other part of his message.

"As diabetics we're not hopeless, we're not helpless, we can still get out and do things," he said.

Although doing physical things for Mandell takes a lot of strength.

He walks at a quick gait with a long stick for balance. When he walks he has a constant "pins and needles" feeling in what are otherwise numb legs. He's worn out about seven pairs of walking shoes. He's met interesting people along the way as he hands out diabetes screening tests and brochures.

"I've received an incredible response. It has been supportive, marvelous," Mandell said.

Mandell said along with the good, he's faced the bad on his extended stroll. He's had his run-ins with reckless drivers, extreme weather and wild dogs.

Still, after nearly a year of walking he can still say in his booming voice, "I feel great."

City Editor Shelly Escalane-Cone can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 104, or by e-mail at shellycone@pulitzer.net.

Source: The Lompoc Record, 01/03/03.

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