Fwd: A type one diabetic From: METAYLOROKC@...

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METAYLOROKC@... wrote:From: METAYLOROKC@...

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 00:03:47 EDT

Subject: A type one diabetic

To: alldiabeticinternational-owner

Article Last Updated: Friday, August 13, 2004 - 3:37:12 AM PST

San Mateo County Times

THE UNORDAINED minister is preaching, his voice rising and falling, his cadence

varying as he delivers a sermon on the life he knows and lives and obviously is

eager to share.He tells of days and nights when he felt so weak he would start

to tremble, his entire body shaking.

He tells of syringes filled with the substance that makes him feel better.

Hall Jr. is a drug addict. He is a world-class athlete. He is an advocate.

He is a crusader.

Hall is many things for many people, but he is silent for no one. Show him a

good cause, and he'll take it and run. He'll grab the microphone. He'll shout in

the streets, ring bells, bang on doors and might even grab your collar.

It's just that there are these things he wants you to know.

Things, honestly, you might need to know.

" There are a lot of people out there, millions of people in the United States

who have diabetes and don't know that they have it, " Hall is saying.

" And I was one of those people. "

Hall, 29, is a member of the U.S. Olympics swimming team for the third time.

Having qualified last month in 50-meter freestyle, the 100 freestyle and the 400

freestyle relay, Hall seeks to add to his collection of eight medals won in

previous Olympics.

As a diabetic diagnosed five years ago, Hall also seeks to use the Games as a

platform to educate the world about the condition.

" If I can make that diagnosis of diabetes -- which was the scariest day of my

life, I'm not afraid to admit -- if I can make it a little bit easier for

somebody being diagnosed with diabetes, that's more of an accomplishment than

the medal that I've won at the Olympic Games, " he is saying.

" Letting people know that if I'm able to compete against the best athletes in

the world at the Olympic level, you can certainly go out and join the high

school football team. Or the soccer team. "

Hall added: " And that diabetes isn't a liability. It's a very serious disease,

but it's a manageable disease. If that

person is going through the effort to manage the disease, they are capable of

doing anything a person without diabetes can do. "

Hall says this minutes after giving himself a dose of insulin, one of six or

eight or 10 or 12 doses he might require each day.

" It's what I need to do in order to control my diabetes, " he says. " It's a small

price to pay. It may seem like an inconvenience --you have to give yourself

eight shots in a day, that's a pain in the ass, literally -- and the truth is,

it is an inconvenience. But it is a small price when you consider the serious

complications that can (be triggered by diabetes). "

Hall pauses. He's rolling now, and you get the feeling if he were in the pulpit

he'd pound it for emphasis. The words tumble out, an urgent and passionate plea

to be heard.

And to be taken seriously.

" Diabetes (directly and indirectly) kills more people each year than AIDS and

breast cancer combined, " he rails, ticking off the medical statistics. " Diabetes

is the sixth-leading cause of death. It's the No.1 cause of blindness. It's the

No.1 cause of non-traumatic amputation. It's the No.1 cause of kidney failure.

The list goes on and on and on. Heart attacks. Strokes. All these things happen

on a daily basis to people with diabetes.

" So when you look at giving yourself six or eight shots of insulin, it's not

that big a deal. "

The man knows his stuff. Hall knows the numbers because he follows the research

religiously. He can lecture on pilot-cell transplants, data-cell encapsulation

and stem-cell research -- as well as discuss the study of gene therapy and beta

cells that destroy insulin.

Hall was diagnosed at age 24, having endured classic symptoms for almost six

months. He was thirsty all the time. He was fatigued most of the time. He was

urinating way too often. His vision was blurred.

He initially fought back by guzzling sports drinks, which contained enough sugar

to make him feel better. Temporarily.

" It would literally be like a fuel, " Hall says. " I felt better, and I could

resume what I was doing. This was starting to happen more and more.

" With diabetes, the scary thing is you don't wake up one morning and say, 'I

feel like bleep, and I need to go to the hospital.' It's a gradual thing. "

The disease easily could have ended Hall's career, which began as a teenager in

Phoenix, where he was following in the strokes of his father, Sr., himself

a three-time Olympic swimmer.

But the younger Hall is as relentless as he is talented, outspoken and colorful.

He hardly slowed down, bouncing back to win two gold medals, one silver and one

bronze in the 2000 Games at Sydney.

Asked if swimming in any way helps him cope with the disease, Hall shakes his

head vigorously.

" It's much more difficult, " he says. " It sends (my blood sugar) all out of

whack. "

Hall is driven by purpose. He monitors all things about diabetes as closely as

he does his competition.

So he is back for more, the man to beat in the 50. His need to compete -- and to

command the stage, shouting if need be --is his way of calling attention to

himself, to the disease and to others who might be affected.

" I've done a lot of work, but there's still a lot more work to be done, " he

says. " This disease, though it is manageable, will not be licked until we have a

cure. "

Monte Poole can be reached at or by e-mail at

mpoole@...

-Ellen

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

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