Toddlers, teenagers, bikers and seniors were among the hundreds of people walking on Saturday to fight two diseases that affect millions of people.

Despite some windy and cloudy weather, two separate walks that were organized on the same day had good attendance.

Organizers of a walk to raise funds to fight multiple sclerosis estimated between 150 and 200 people were on hand for the 3.2-mile walk that began at the Elks Club.

Organizers of a diabetes walk expected a similar turnout for their walk, which took place at the Dakota Zoo.

Kelly Boeddeker, development director for the Dakota Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, was pleased with Saturday's attendance.

"This is an exceptional turnout," Boeddeker said.

Boeddeker said the goal was to raise $11,000 to fund research and client programs for 2,500 people living with multiple sclerosis in the Dakotas.

Sheri Omlid, an volunteer at the American Diabetes Association walk, said there goal was to raise $100 for each person who walked.

Omlid's daughter, Kalyn, 11, has diabetes and was one of the walkers in the event.

Kalyn said she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 11/2 years old.

"I want to help raise money to find a cure," Kalyn said.

Although raising money was a big reason for the walks, awareness of the diseases was another goal.

Bob Meckle, a Bismarck resident who has multiple sclerosis, said for as common of a disease as it is, most people don't know a lot about multiple sclerosis.

Meckle's main side effect of the disease is diphtheria, which causes him to have double vision.

"I lead a normal life besides that," Meckle said.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. The symptoms occur after myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system, is affected by attacks of the immune system.

Symptoms can be much more severe than Meckle's and can include blindness, loss of balance, slurred speech, numbness, fatigue and paralysis.

According to a fact sheet developed the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 400,000 Americans have the disease.

Multiple sclerosis is not fatal. In fact, most people with it can live a normal life span.

Diabetes is quite different from multiple sclerosis, but it, too, is manageable.

According to the American Diabetes Associ-ation, 18.2 million people in the United States have the disease.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, which is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

Tim Moe, a pharmacist who has had diabetes for 35 years, offers this advice to people diagnosed with the disease: "It's a disease that's easy to control, but you have to control it. Don't let it control your life."

Moe was one of several members of the Freewheel-ers motorcycle club in Bismarck who took part in the walk.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@bismarcktribune.com.)