Point Loma Cabrillo Drug-Good Neighbor Pharmacy will host “Iron Andy” Holder on Friday, Nov. 12 as part of the store’s latest wellness event. Holder, an Ironman competitor and the national spokesman for Good Neighbor, will host the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Holder is traveling the country speaking at events to raise awareness for diabetes — a disease he was diagnosed with in 2005 — and one that hasn’t slowed him down. “I was 36, so to be diagnosed with Type 1, which is also juvenile diabetes, was pretty shocking, to say the least,” Holder said. “But, I felt sorry for myself for about five minutes and then realized I couldn’t change it.” Using his wife and two young sons as inspiration, he set out to prove the disease wouldn’t limit their lives. Although he had never competed in a triathlon before, nor even owned a bike, Holder competed in his first Ironman Competition just a year after his diagnosis. “I wanted to do something to inspire people and reach as many people as I could, so I picked the hardest thing that I could think to do at the time,” Holder said. He went on to compete in seven ironman events. Holder has inspired other adults, too. Jerry Armstrong, a 33-year-old Colorado cop and an “ultra runner” put his inspiration to the pavement. “He [Armstrong] wanted to do something and use his resources and his talents to help out, and he came up with this idea, to run from San Francisco to San Diego, and do it to raise awareness and raise money for my foundation,” Holder said. Although the Iron Andy Foundation is separate from Good Neighbor, Armstrong’s 500-mile run will conclude at the Wellness Event. Armstrong’s goal was to raise $20,000 to send kids with diabetes to summer camp. Armstrong, whose wife has Type 1 diabetes, was near the $4,000 mark at the end of October. “These kids go through a lot,” Holder said. “It’s all day. It’s every day. The disease never goes away. “The great thing about these camps, is that you get to spend a week with 50, 100, 150 other kids that know exactly what you are going through and they can just be a normal kid for a week,” he said. “What I’ve learned of how cool these camps are, I’ve also learned that some families can’t afford them, so, to me, that was tragic. If the least I can do is raise some money to send kids to camp, that was easy to me.” Holder also makes it a priority to speak of the preventable diabetes, Type 2. “They use to call them juvenile diabetes and adult onset diabetes,” Holder said, “and now they are sticking to calling it Type 1 and Type 2 because what we are seeing, unfortunately, are young teenagers, and younger, getting what we call adult onset and that is happening because of poor lifestyle choices.” Holder said some kids and adults are pre-disposed to Type 2 because of family history and/or certain ethnic backgrounds. “The best thing they can do to prevent it from ever happening, is to live a healthy and active lifestyle,” Holder said. “There is nothing that I could have done to stop myself from getting diabetes. With Type 2 diabetes, you can make a difference through the choices that you make every day.” One choice that can prove invaluable is attending community wellness events. “I’ve actually been to these screenings where people find out that they have diabetes right there, which is pretty scary,” Holder said. “But, it’s a great thing that the store is providing the community.” To learn more about the Iron Andy Foundation, or to donate, visit www.ironandyfoundation.org. The address for the Wellness Event is 955 Catalina Blvd. in Point Loma.