Sunday, Nov. 3, the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi will be holding their annual walk-a-thon at the Wellness Center at the Oktibbeha County Hospital to help earn money for diabetes patients in the state of Mississippi. Anyone who would like to walk will need to arrive at the hospital between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to register for the walk. Also, each participant must have a minimum of $20 in donations to be able to participate in the walk.
Each participant will have a choice of either walking one mile or walking three miles.
“Each fall, the Diabetes foundation holds a series of walks,” Patti Drapala, Public Relations director for Bureau of Plant Industry, said. “This year, Starkville, who is holding the eleventh walk, is the last to participate in this annual event. Ole Miss held their walk-a-thon about two to three weeks ago, and we are expecting MSU to be able to raise more funds than them.”
“We are expecting quarterback, Kevin Fant, to cut the blue ribbon to open the walk,” Drapala said. “We will also have MSU’s ROTC volunteering that day to set up snack and water stations along the walk.”
For everyone’s hard work, there will be prizes to be given out also.
“Everyone who participates will receive a t-shirt that features, Sugar, a golden retriever who is the official mascot of the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, ” Drapala said.
According to Drapala, there will also be door prizes, and there will be a grand prize of two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. for the participant who raises the most money.
These are all good reasons to come out and participate, but the benefits that diabetes patients will receive is the real reason everyone should participate.
Mississippi has a higher rate of diabetic patients than any other state in the U.S., and this is currently Mississippi’s number one health problem. Currently, over 240, 000 people in Mississippi have this disease. This costs the state more than 1.8 billion in direct and indirect health care expenses each year.
All of the funds raised will stay in the state of MS. These funds help pay for educational programs for diabetics, counseling, tuition for summer diabetes camp (Camp Hopewell in Oxford), medical supplies for diabetics, and it also funds research at the University Medical Center in Jackson.
Current research shows that there are two types of diabetes. Type one diabetes is often diagnosed in childhood. Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys the cells of the pancreas that make insulin. Type one diabetics have to take insulin supplements in order to survive.
Then, there are type two diabetics, who are usually diagnosed around age 40. In this case, cells may become resistant to insulin or the body may not make enough insulin.
For every one type one diabetic, there are nine type two diabetics.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in the walk-a-thon to help fight diabetes.
“Everyone is welcome to come out and participate in this event,” Drapala said.