ACTIVE LIFESTYLES KEEP KIDS WITH DIABETES HAVING FUN AND STAYING HEALTHY

Madison, Miss. – John Matthew wanted to be just like his older sister Emily, who stayed busy with endless school and sports activities. He wanted to be just like her even after she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in November 2004.

With a persistent feeling of sweet admiration and respect for his sister, John Matthew didn’t know that 11 months after his sister’s diagnosis, he and his sister would share more than an interest in sports.

“John Matthew started kindergarten with a sense of pride in knowing that he had diabetes,” his mom Angela Carpenter said. “He’s always been very positive and easy-going,” she said.

While Emily keeps her competitive spirit alive with cheerleading, track, basketball and tournament fast-pitch softball, John Matthew plays recreational football, baseball and basketball.

“They can do whatever they want,” Carpenter said proudly.

And even though her kids’ busy schedules often create chaos of her own, Carpenter sits on the sidelines of all of Emily and John Matthew’s sporting events rooting them on, emergency diabetes management supplies in hand. Sometimes, she checks their blood sugar four or five times during a game, she said.

But Carpenter and her husband are not alone in keeping an eye on the health of Emily and John Matthew. Teachers and coaches alike have been supportive and helpful with the kids. They look for warning signs, such as changes in emotion, and really have the good health of Emily and John Matthew in mind, which is good because both Emily and John Matthew put a 110 percent into everything they do, Carpenter said. They really play with their whole heart.

Carpenter and her husband Brian have their hands full with not only their careers as nurses but also with two healthy and growing children. And Emily and John Matthew’s diabetes management is no easy job either.

“It can be overwhelming as a mom,” she said. “Until you live it, you really don’t understand it. No one quite knows what it’s like more than a mom and a dad.”

Because diabetes management can be stressful, in stepped the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi (DFM). DFM representatives visited Emily in the hospital after doctors diagnosed her with diabetes in 2004.

“They provided us with education,” Carpenter said. “And when I needed help with planning meals for Emily and John Matthew, the DFM was there for me, offering me both help and advice.”

The transition into a life of healthy diabetes management from a life without diabetes has not come without its share of difficulties.

Emily worried whether her friends would still like her once they found out that she had diabetes. Her mother told her that diabetes is a lifelong commitment, something that she will juggle for the rest of her life, but if she starts living an active and healthy life now, diabetes will not defeat her.

“It’s so important to remain optimistic and to remain active,” Carpenter said. The DFM encourages everyone, especially people with diabetes, to exercise regularly. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes should exercise daily for at least 30 minutes. Exercise along with insulin or oral medications, food and stress is one of the four primary ways that blood-sugar levels are affected. By making individuals more sensitive to insulin, exercise helps keeps blood sugars in a good range.

However, it is also important to drink extra water during exercise to prevent dehydration, and exercise can cause low blood sugars, which means that it is important to plan ahead. Extra snacks or less insulin may be needed, and sports drinks can be helpful during hard exercise.

One way to get further in sync with good cardiovascular health and diabetes management while raising money and awareness for the cause of diabetes is to participate in Mississippi’s Walk for Diabetes on Sunday, Oct. 21. The 14th annual DFM-sponsored walk will draw hundreds of people from the tri-county area to walk for a cure. The walk, which will be held at Southern Farm Bureau off Interstate 220 at the Watkins Drive exit, will feature not only the walk, but also kids’ activities, food, music and more.

“The DFM has always been there for me and my family, and I know that they will continue to always be there for me when I need them,” Carpenter said.

The DFM is the state’s only nonprofit health organization that provides diabetes research, information, patient services and advocacy, and its mission is to provide hope through research, programs and service to the 346,500 Mississippians with diabetes. Every dollar raised by the DFM stays in the state to support these efforts. In addition, 90 cents of every dollar raised goes towards the organization’s charitable purposes. The DFM is the one diabetes organization totally dedicated to all Mississippians– from our children to our seniors– who live with diabetes.

Please walk in Mississippi’s Walk for Diabetes on Oct. 21 at Southern Farm Bureau. For a team or individual walk packet, call the DFM at 601-957-7878, or visit the DFM Web site, www.msdiabetes.org