Adam Morrison is a shining example of what a young man can do with
his life. Not only did he lead the nation in college basketball scoring for
2006, he did it as a Type 1 diabetic. Testing his BG's during the game is
his game plan. He determines if he needs any insulin, or if he is doing
fine and off he runs right back into the thick of things. As a long time
diabetic, his goal is to reduce the wild swings that can occur in any
diabetic's blood glucose. The symptoms that may side track him include
the old familiar ones....blurred vision - how do you hit a hoop that is
fuzzy? Fainting or even seizures can occur, so his BG's must be
foremost in his mind as he gets a few seconds to check his blood.
Generally with a high performance player like Adam, he is going to be
running low due to the over expenditure of energy necessary to win and
bring his team to victory.
Adam no doubt learned his game ethics from his father, John, who was
the head coach at Dawson Community College in Glendive where Adam
was born. This 6'8" long drink of water, along with his dad, organized
the H-O-R-S-E and Bar-B-Q Tournament for the American Diabetes
Association.
This young man, Adam Morrison, is not the only young diabetic to make
the jump to the highest levels of sports. Another young man to be proud
of, Yale University standout Chris Dudley also played an exemplary
game and was an NBA star for 16 years. He always felt that
"Having diabetes, if you take care of it, can make you more
disciplined". One of his major influences was a hockey star
by the name of Bobby Clarke who was a Philadelphia Flyers
Hall of Famers. Also a diabetic, he played with candy bars
hidden in his uniform!
Knowing all he knows about diabetes, he has decided to help the
younger set of diabetics. A camp, run by Dudley, allows diabetic
children the experience of being with a professional sports player who
also knows the difficulty of keeping your blood glucose where it needs to
be and still have the ability to do exactly what they want to do with their
lives. This endeavor also allows Dudley to put into practice his Yale
degree in economics, wealth management.
Not to leave out baseball, Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo
managed to rack up 342 career home runs and broke into the major
leagues in 1960. He was one of the first diabetics that actually made it
into professional sports, opening the door for so many more to follow.
These are all young men to be proud of, leaders for our kids to follow
19th Edition March 2007
