News 12 at 6 O'clock--February 19, 2009

AUGUSTA--More than 26 million Americans are living with diabetes now, but some estimates say almost 6 million have it and don't even realize it. Maybe that's you or a friend or family member.

"I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990 when I was pregnant with my first child." and Sandy McCorkle has been living with it ever since then.

"Pretty much since my pregnancy. I've been on some sort of treatment: medicine, diet, exercise, or trying to lose weight" she told us.

That means checking her blood with regularity and and having plenty of snacks around to maintain her blood sugar.

There have been a lot of changes in her life to keep her illness in check.

"It's great when it's under control." she says with a smile.

Physicians Assistant David Brown has a form of diabetes too.

But he has the unique perspective of not only having it, but also treating other people who have it too. But even with his medical expertise and knowledge of it, it was a tough transition.

"I was in my late 30's. I had all the bad habits of life that I had acquired throughout adult hood that I had to change radically" he said.

Those are things most diabetics have to alterations to. Things like eating right, exercising, watching your weight just come with the territory. But they don't have to consume you.

"It's not a death sentence at all. Look at me, I've had diabetes for 20 years" David said.

That means an occasional piece of cake or regular soda can be had.
The key is moderation.

For Sandy and David, they both say along with diabetes come some down times, but you can manage.
"Unless you feel the lows, you can never understand how great the highs can be."

David Kuehl is an admitted carb watcher. But not because he's on the latest version of the Atkins diet. He has to watch them to control his diabetes.

"I was in the 4th grade" he said.

Yep, David was a little tyke when he was diagnosed with diabetes.

"A virus attacked my pancreas and shut everything down" he told us.

That means his pancreas wasn't producing any more insulin and that rendered David diabetic.

David has type one diabetes. Type one happens when the pancreas produces no insulin. In type two, the body just doesn't produce enough insulin.

Because of the insulin issue, David wears a device that can put in as much or as little insulin in his body as he may need.

But modern technology can't do everything. And if you're not being diligent, bad things can happen. That's something David knows all too well.

"I ended up in the hospital. They said you almost died if it wasn't for the people at MCG." he remembered.

All because he was careless with his illness. It has caused big changes, but David says he's handling things just fine.

"Even with the insulin, I can play sports. I can eat what I want as long as I know what's in the food." he said.

In other words, he's not confined to a wheel chair at some medical facility.
In fact, he's far from it.

There will be a big diabetes conference a week from this Saturday at the Augusta Marriott. Call 800 998 2693 for more info on it or you can click here