A marathon ‘miracle’
Molly Shore
The past year has been life-altering for resident Donna German. In
that time, German, who once topped the scales at nearly 300 pounds,
lost more than 100 pounds through Weight Watchers and is preparing to
walk in Sunday’s City of Rome Marathon in Italy, as a member of Team
Diabetes.
“Between [the marathon] and Weight Watchers, my whole life has
changed,” said German, 61. “I consider doing a marathon a miracle.”
German, a systems analyst at the Nestle headquarters in Glendale,
said she waited until she lost 50 pounds before she started daily
lunchtime walks in July.
When German entered a 10K event in Pasadena in October, she
learned about Team Diabetes, a group that trains and participates in
marathons to raise money for diabetes research. Because her father
and grandmother had the disease, German has a personal interest in
raising money for the cause.
Diabetes affects children and adults, said Minh Mach, an
endocrinologist and geriatrician at Providence St. Joseph Medical
Center.
“Diabetes is the No. 1 cause of blindness in this country ... and
it’s also the No. 1 cause of lower extremity amputations not related
to trauma,” Mach said.
Although clinical trials and research to combat diabetes are
ongoing, they are labor intensive and expensive, Mach said.
German collected $5,290 in donations and said all of that money
will benefit diabetes research.
“She’s pretty much done an incredible thing for herself and the
marathon,” said Michelle Verdugo, the Los Angeles area Team Diabetes
Coordinator.
German chose to walk in the Rome marathon because she has never
been to Italy. She said she and her mother, who is traveling with
her, will visit the city’s antiquities for several days before
returning home.
German isn’t worried that she might be stranded in the Eternal
City due to the war in Iraq.
“I figure if I get stranded in Rome, I couldn’t be in a better
place,” she said.