an outside view

We hear coaches and broadcasters talk about the battles on the field of play. The offensive line battles charging defensive linemen in the trenches. A hitter with two strikes battles a flame-throwing pitcher.  Two big men battle it out in the paint on the basketball court. Two NASCAR drivers battle to the checkered flag.

These are not battles at all. Matching your skills against another’s is just the nature of competition. And when the competition is over, the athletes return to their everyday lives.  That’s not so for a growing number of athletes.

Some athletes face much bigger challenges than hitting an 0-2 curveball or avoiding an onrushing tackler.

Jay Cutler is an NFL quarterback. Adam Morrison was the third overall draft pick of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats in 2007. Jason Johnson is a Major League pitcher. Missy Foy is a professional ultra-distance runner. Phil Southerland is a professional cyclist. What do they have in common? They are all Type 1 Diabetics. 

They compete with other athletes but face a greater challenge in battling a potentially deadly disease.

Type 1 Diabetes, also known as Juvenile Diabetes, is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is needed for the body to use glucose. Type 1 Diabetics must rely on insulin injections in order to survive. If the disease is not controlled, it can result in such complications as renal failure, heart problems, and blindness. 

According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, there are over 2 million diabetics in the U.S. today and a growing number are athletes. Still, these athletes excel at their respective sports.

Jay Cutler, the former Vanderbilt and current Denver Bronco quarterback, is the latest high profile sports figure to be diagnosed with the disease. According to the Associated Press, Cutler lost 35 pounds and a lot of his strength before being diagnosed. He had all the warning signs, unexplained weight loss, constant thirst, and frequent urination. But he didn’t put 2 and 2 together until a routine blood test detected the problem.

As a football player, Cutler’s routine will change. He will constantly have to monitor his blood sugar level during games. If it gets too low, he will have to eat or drink something.  If it gets too high, he will have to be injected with insulin. All of this while trying to read opposing defenses and lead his team’s offense. Cutler entered the NFL with great expectations and those expectations don’t go away just because he’s diabetic. He is still the strong-armed kid with the smarts to be a great NFL QB.  He just has a little more to overcome now.

Diabetics are not rare breeds in sports. Visit Bower Field in the summer and you can bet there is a kid out there somewhere facing the same challenge as Cutler. Our local high schools have had diabetic players. College rosters across the country are dotted with them.

Cutler, like so many other athletes with Type 1 Diabetes, will have to battle but the fight isn’t against opposing defenses. His battle is real but like so many diabetics one that he will win.