Andy Mandell, also known as "Mr. Diabetes," walked through Bulloch County this week as part of his "Wake up and Walk" tour, an effort to raise awareness about the incidence and preventability of diabetes and the importance of early detection of the disease. Mandell is the founder of the  Defeat Diabetes Foundation. He began walking Dec. 1, 2000, in Madeira Beach, Fla. as a trial walk of 450 miles, then began his current walking tour Jan. 2002 from East Milton, Fla. According to his web site (www.defeatdiabetes.org), Mandell will continue walking until he is back in Madeira. Mandell is an insulin dependent diabetic, diagnosed in 1985. He estimates he will take 21 million steps during his  tour.
    Mandell  sleeps in an RV at night and is "linked to the world by a cell phone, satellite dish and a lap top computer," according to his web site. His tour managers  Russ and Shirley Barriger, travel with him and monitor his safety , map the route, and document the tour on video as well as communicate with the media.  Donations to Mandell's cause can be made online through a link on  the web site.