Stephanie's blood sugar levels were six times above normal, Velez says, a dangerous condition because diabetes increases susceptibility to infectious diseases and makes them harder to cure. "When she passed, they said if her diabetes hadn't been so out of control, maybe something could have been done," she said.

That was when Velez began to take control of her own health, though she didn't change overnight. "I said I cannot continue like this. I would be sometimes very depressed, say "The heck with it, I'm going to have a cheesecake,' " she says. She weighed 240 pounds and is 5 feet 4 inches tall. She took daily insulin shots to control her blood sugar.

Finally she realized "I was really harming myself." She got an exercise bike and some hand weights. At first, "I used them two minutes and gave up," she says. "But in the last few months, I've been using them every night. I started doing half an hour, now I'm up to 45 to 50 minutes a night." Now she spends her lunch hour walking and window-shopping. The result: Her blood sugar level is in the normal range and she has lost almost 65 pounds. She still takes medication, but "they took my insulin away."

She watches out for her brother, a former cabdriver, who is having symptoms of nerve damage in his feet. Before she insisted he get a physical exam a year and a half ago, when his diabetes finally was diagnosed, Felix hadn't seen a doctor in 28 years. Now, she makes sure he checks his blood and takes his medicine. "I taught him about diet," she says. "He was upset in the beginning. He said, "Why can't I eat cake?' But I said it's not my fault."

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