This Web site is a chronicle of that walk as he progressed along the way. Narrative and photos were added via a laptop computer, a digital camera, and a portable telephone.

Two years earlier, in September, 2000, Dudley underwent quadruple cardiac bypass surgery. Before his surgery, he couldn't even walk 50 steps to his mailbox. A few days after the operation, the nurses had him up and walking back and forth, up and down the hallway. Three days later he was released from the hospital with the admonition that he must get regular exercise. He started walking every day. Within weeks he was walking half a mile and within a month, he made it to a mile. Then he got up to at least three to five miles a day, five days a week. He feels great and his latest cardiac stress tests showed a remarkable recovery of his heart's functioning.

Diabetes is a major contributor to vascular disease and coronary heart failure, as well as the leading cause of blindness, limb amputation, and kidney failure. He knows first hand how devastating the disease can be. Watching his diabetic mother struggling with blindness and dialysis were sobering experiences for Dudley and has been one of his incentives for taking care of himself. He was determined not to let it happen to him. He decided to walk to save his life. And now he's hoping to inspire others to walk to save theirs.