RESIDENTS TAKE TO THE STREETS TO RAISE MONEY FOR DIABETES.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

As the sound speakers around the Spectrum Club in Valencia belted out the song to that 1996 dance craze the Macarena, Chip Marcus began the countdown to the 1997 Walktoberfest to benefit the American Diabetes Association.

More than 400 people turned out Saturday morning for the 6-mile walk to raise money and awareness for fighting the illness.

``My stepson was diagnosed three years ago and that's how I first got involved with this,'' Marcus said. Michael Neswald, Marcus's 9-year-old stepson, was one of the more eager participants in the walk. Family members said his illness has altered the lives of all those around him.

``We have to live by the clock. There is a feeding schedule and other things,'' said Michael's mother, Norma Neswald.

The Canyon Country family members often carry around an extra bag of treats and medicine for Michael. ``It's like having a diaper bag. He needs his things,'' Neswald said.

Diabetes is a disease that affects the way the body uses food. It causes glucose levels in the blood to be too high, officials said. Normally, during digestion, the body changes sugars, starches and other foods into a form of sugar called glucose. Then the blood carries this glucose to cells throughout the body. In diabetes, something goes wrong with the normal process of turning food into energy.

Bruce Cuddy, who served on the state and national board of the ADA, said he was pleased to see the turnout Saturday.

``We are happy, and we've just formed a board of directors here in Santa Clarita,'' he said. Cuddy's 16-year-old daughter Cheryl has had diabetes for 10 years and now baby-sits for youngsters with the disease.

``Thanks to ADA she's able to do a lot,'' Cuddy said. ``The disease is really a tough one, especially on the parents, because the kids are so young.''

ADA's field service manager, Lori Stevens, said more than $30,000 will be raised this year to benefit research, information and advocacy of the disease.

Officials said approximately 16 million Americans, half of whom don't yet realize it, have diabetes. Complications of the disease include heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage and severe infections leading to limb amputations.

``There are two main types of diabetes people need to be aware of,'' Cuddy said.

Officials said the first type, formerly referred to as juvenile-onset diabetes because it occurs most often in children and young adults, causes the pancreas to stop making insulin or makes only a small amount. The second type, which is often referred to as maturity-onset because it occurs most often in adults, happens when the pancreas produces some insulin but it is not used very well.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (color) More than 400 people took part in the Walktoberfest to benefit the American Diabetes Association in Valencia on Saturday.

Terri Thuente/Daily News