Residents Walk To Raise Money For Diabetes

11/4/2012 (Updated 10:48:42 PM)

Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes and 359 thousand of them are located in Upstate New York according the American Diabetes Association.
   
On Sunday at the Oakdale Mall hundreds of Southern Tier residents put on their walking shoes to raise money to fight this deadly disease.  Organizers say there are 2 types of diabetes, Type 1 which is an auto-immune disease in where a person stops producing insulin, and Type 2 is when a person becomes resistant to insulin.

The Step Out Walk to Cure Diabetes raises thousands of dollars for research, education, and diabetic camps.

"We always hope long and pray that someday she won't have to wear the pump and deal with pricking herself 5 or 6 times a day." said Todd Thomas, father of a Type 1 diabetic.

"Its important because its becoming an epidemic.  Every 17 seconds someone is diagnosed with this disease.  Its 216 people every hour so its really important we get the message out about what were doing and what we need to do." said Kris Alexich, Manager of the walk.

If you would like to get involved with the American Diabetes Association, you can visit Diabetes.Org or call 1-888-diabetes.