Thousands walk for diabetes cure

Over 3,000 people participated in a juvenile diabetes walk in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on Sunday, October 26. The participants raised about $650,000, which will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to conduct research for a cure for type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, said Joe Mure, treasurer of JDRF’s New York Chapter.
The goal for every walker was to raise $100 by asking 10 people to donate $10, explained Mure.
With the money raised in the 11th annual Queens walk, JDRF’s funds collected through walks in the entire city this year amounted to about $4 million, Mure added.
One of the Queens walk participants was John Baroudos, who came with his wife, two sons and their dog from the Rockaways. “It’s fun - it’s a family outing. It’s for a nice cause,” he said, explaining that the best friend of one of his sons is diabetic.
After the participants returned from their walk of about three miles they were welcomed by a live performance of No Mersey, a New York City rock band.
Each walker also received a free ticket to the Queens Zoo, located in the park.
Type 1 diabetes often develops in children, adolescents and young adults and that’s why it is commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes.
The pancreas of a person with type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin, a hormone the body uses to transform glucose in the blood into energy. This causes the glucose to build up in the blood, raising its sugar level. Having very high sugar levels for a long period of time can lead to coma and death.
This condition cannot be cured, but it can be controlled by injecting insulin into the blood stream.
Another major form of diabetes is type 2, which tends to develop in people after 40. In this case, the pancreas produces insulin, but it’s either insufficient or the body is not able to use it effectively. It’s treated with exercise, diet control and sometimes with drugs or insulin.