Members of Kauai Diabetes Today are on a mission. Their mission is to reduce the incidence of diabetes on the island through preventive services. The task they face is huge. There are an estimated 4,000 people on Kaua‘i with diabetes,
Members of Kauai Diabetes Today are on a mission.
Their mission is to reduce the incidence of diabetes on the island through preventive services.
The task they face is huge. There are an estimated 4,000 people on Kaua‘i with diabetes, countless others who probably have the disease and don’t know it, and a known connection between diabetes and heart disease, stroke and other debilitating illnesses.
Though the volunteer citizens know they can’t necessarily do much toward finding a cure, their goal is awareness about the importance of a proper diet, exercise, and medication in treating and preventing the onset of diabetes in both chil-dren and adults, they said.
Through fund-raising gatherings like last weekend’s successful Sweetheart Ball at the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort near Hanama‘ulu, the group has leveraged donations into a $2,000 grant to Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i to help provide diabetic test strips and medications through the Waimea and Kapa‘a clinics to Kauaians who otherwise could not afford those needs, said Eric Nordmeier, Kauai Diabetes Today treasurer.
Through the kindness of members of the Kauai Visayan Club, another $1,000 through Kauai Diabetes Today also went to leaders of Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i for the same purpose, he said.
Diabetes affects people across the ethnic spectrum on the island, afflicting anyone who eats too much and doesn’t watch what he or she eats, Nordmeier said.
He said the three E’s are the group’s focus: eating (sensibly), education, and exercise.
More than simply a fundraiser, the annual Sweetheart Ball is more an awareness-raiser, encouraging people to dance all night (which many of them did) to the music of Natural Harmony, and come out and get information about the disease, he added.
“We’re just concerned citizens. We want to hit everybody” with information, he continued.
A pair of grants got Kauai Diabetes Today going, and the Valentine’s weekend event made the natural tiein of the connections between how diabetes affects the heart, and those with diabetes having an increased chance of heart disease or heart attack.
Nordmeier, who works as an employment and training counselor in the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Workforce Development Division, is a diabetic who does not yet need to take medication for his illness.
Angel Acorda, group president, is maintenance supervisor at the Lihue Elderly Housing complex.
Aida Pascual is vice president, and Jean Iida, a retiree, is secretary and event chair.
Remy Rea, a loan officer at Kauai Mortgage Company, Inc., was event co-chair.
Many prizes, including Aloha Airlines coupons, were given away via random drawing.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
