July, 2015 Edition 
Count Down to 2015 CDBasketball Camp is ON:)
V this way pt sept
28 Days
23 Hours
22 Minutes 
19 Seconds
Are you ready? 
Vernonia or Bust! 

July 31
Chris Dudley Basketball Camp invites all past and current campers, parents and staff to join us to celebrate 20 years of camp. McMenamins Ringlers Pub is a family friendly environment. We look forward to having you join us for the celebration. 

Host: Chris Dudley Foundation
Where: McMenamins Ringlers               Pub - 1332 West                     Burnside Street                       Portland, OR
When: Friday, July 31st 
           6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Summer Soccer

As the Women's FIFA World Cup advances in Canada, at least one nearby soccer player with diabetes is watching and dreaming of his potential day on the international fields. Jordan Morris, Seattle t1d soccer star athlete and Stanford student, 

has made a statement both with his performances, with his noteworthy supply of gummy bears for during-game-blood-sugar-pick-me-ups and with his t1d tattoo.

While he recently suffered an injury, fans can expect Jordan to be back this fall.

 

Dominating Diabetes- in a good way!

Scott Johnson of Scott's Diabetes helps to inspire himself and energize his readers and followers through his personal interview with Daniele Hargenrader better known as the Diabetes Dominator. They discuss how hard it has been to be diagnosed with t1d and how each has chosen to make the most of their diabetes and their health. 

Teddy Bear Picnic Day
July 10

Not everyone is lucky enough to know that July 10 is actually Teddy Bear Picnic Day! There are very special bears out there who are helping children, and adults, embrace their diabetes with cuddly bear hugs. "Jerry," the interactive bear, not only helps teach about diabetes but gives families the opportunity to talk about this difficult topic. "Rufus," another bear, was invented by a mom who was incredibly and maddeningly moved by how brave her young son was in enduring so much at mere age 3. Be sure to give your own teddy bears, and your loved ones, a hug for supporting your diabetes. Better yet, take them on a picnic!

JDRF Children's Congress 
July 13-15

Dozens of children will meet with congressional leaders at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children's Congress to describe what life is like with diabetes; and to advocate for help, advocacy and funding for this cause! You can find and read about the delegates from your state, including Annika, Ewan and Henry from Oregon.
Moon Day 
July 20

Moon Day is an incredibly patriotic day as it commemorates the first day man walked on the moon in 1969 and flew the American flag in space!! But this month the moon takes us even further as we will experience the very unusual phenomenon of two full moons in one month, giving us a blue moon on July 1st and another full moon on the 31st! Many myths and truths are out there about the moon, including how it impacts sleep, which can then impact diabetes. Then there is Claire Moon, with her dog "Magic," who is helping to shed some moonlight on the not-very-well-known fact that there are actually multiple types of Type 1 diabetes. These unusual types can require slightly different types of care, including a condition known as "brittle diabetes". Magic has been critical in helping keep Moon alive since, with her brittle diabetes, her blood sugars no longer give her obvious warning signs. She depends on Magic to smell blood sugar changes in her breath - just like magic! 

Recipe of the Month: 
Sugar - Free 
4th of July Cookie Dessert Pizza 

Red, White and Blue
Dessert pizza perfect for the 4th of July made sugar-free with a gluten free cookie crust!

Directions:

Click here! 



E
njoy

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Diabetes Doesn't Have You

By Roy Collins

 

Chris Dudley played basketball in the NBA for 16 years. The Yale graduate gained notoriety around the league as a voracious defender, energetic rebounder, and formidable shot blocker. He played Center as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and the Phoenix Suns. 

Dudley was born in Connecticut, but grew up primarily in the San Diego area of California where he started playing basketball. A bit of a late bloomer, Dudley played Junior Varsity basketball through his junior year of high school when he was first diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 16. Committing to Yale University during his senior year, Chris Dudley played for the Bulldogs from 1983 to 1987 before becoming the first ever Type-1 Diabetic to play in the NBA when we was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth round of the 1987 draft.

 

Dudley's professional career

achievements include playing in a total of 886 games, scoring 3,473 points, 375 assists, 1,027 blocked shots, and 5,457 rebounds. The NBA rewarded Dudley with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1996, and USA Today named him the Most Caring Athlete in 1997.

 

I was fortunate enough to interview Chris Dudley about his experience playing basketball as a type-1 diabetic.

 

It was in his spring semester in 1981 after his sophomore year that Chris Dudley started to experience the classic symptoms of increased thirst and frequent trips to the bathroom. His close uncle had diabetes, so after advising Dudley and his dad to test his blood glucose level (BS) at a home test kit from the local pharmacy, he realized he had T1D.

 

Initially shocked, Dudley remembered that the life expectancy for diabetics was well below that of non-diabetics in the early 80's. Nearly as important to the 16-year-old was the question of whether or not he would be able to keep playing basketball.

 

Chris Dudley dunk Lucky for Dudley two main factors kept his spirits high in this tumultuous time. One, his endocrinologists in San Diego were fairly progressive in that knew the value of athletics in maintaining steady glucose levels. Although not a lot had been confirmed in this time as it related to the effect on sports and diabetes, his doctors did not deter Dudley from continuing to play. Second, Dudley looked to National Hockey League star Bobby Clarke for inspiration. Bobby Clarke was drafted into the NHL in 1969 as a diabetic, ultimately winning two Stanley Cup Championships and being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. Clarke inspired confidence in Dudley that achieving athletic success was possible for a type 1 diabetic.

 

Most diabetics typically receive their insulin through two methods: multiple injections via an insulin pen or syringe, or through an insulin pump. Through the bulk of Dudley's career, he received his insulin through multiple injections, as pump use had not been as highly advertised until the early 2000's. Dudley commented that he wears the pump to receive his insulin currently, and would have considered wearing the modern day pumps back in his playing days, had they been available.

 

Other than his impressive doctors

Chris Chris May pt

back in San Diego, Chris Dudley credits a particular nurse, Molly Meyer (who worked at Yale where Chris played in college) as incredibly instrumental in helping him out to manage his diabetes when it was most important and the level of play was at its highest. When asked about the most important person who currently helps Dudley the most with his diabetes management, he notes that his wife, also named Chris, is responsible for keeping him on top of his health.

 

Exercise of any kind with diabetes can be arduous. Playing basketball at the highest level for 16 seasons certainly presented unique challenges for Chris Dudley. When I asked him what the hardest aspects of his career were, he spoke about all the spikes in bis blood sugar from adrenaline he experienced, playing night after night in front of ten of thousands of screaming fans. The schedule of an NBA player also presents plenty of variables that may affect his glucose level management, from altitude of certain cities to back-to-back games on the calendar. The lag time for insulin in the 1990's was also closer to 45 minutes, rather than the 15 to 20 minute absorption rate diabetics are blessed with today. This meant Dudley had to operate with a tremendous amount of foresight to try and keep optimum BS levels for game time.

 

I asked Dudley to share with me his average game day

schedule, including testing times, in order to get a better sense on how regimented an NBA player with diabetes' agenda must be.

 

Assuming the game was at home:

    • Dudley would wake up and test
    • Eat Breakfast
    • Prepare to drive into the arena for a pregame shootaround and test
    • Arrive at the arena and test
    • Participate in the pregame shootaround and test
    • Complete a quick workout, this might include a light lift and/or a solid stretching session, all while testing
    • Drive back home and test
    • Take a nap, wake up and test
    • Eat a balanced meal, chock full of protein
    • Relax for a bit and test
    • Drive back to the arena for the actual game and test
    • Get more shots up, complete pregame workout is necessary to get loose andtest
    • Prayer/Mediation in the pregame Chapel and test
    • Pregame meeting with the team and test
    • Right before game time test
    • The Trainer will test (4x) throughout game
    • At Halftime test
    • After the game, get changed, test, and drive home
    • At Bedtime, test
If you're counting at home, that's roughly 20 times a day that Dudley tested his blood sugar. He notes how convenient it would have been to have been playing professional basketball in the Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) era where he could read a continuous plotting of his blood glucose levels.

Unlike golf, swimming, or singles tennis, playing basketball as a diabetic is complicated in that you are a member or a team. With that team aspect, comes a level of responsibility and accountability to your teammates. It can certainly be intimidating to talk about your issues as it relates to your disease when you are the only diabetic surrounded by others who know very little about your
 needs. A member of many different teams in many different cities, Dudley asserts that his teammates everywhere were largely supportive. Even though many of peers never quite understood his condition, they showed a genuine interest. When I asked Dudley what may have contributed to such a positive response, he recalled back to early in his career, when he purposively didn't miss any games or practices. Dudley credits his durability, at a time when his reputation had yet to be fully molded, to be responsible for players around the league to recognizing Dudley would not lean on diabetes as a crutch or excuse to not work hard and hustle.

Despite an incredible display of toughness and durability, like all diabetics, Chris Dudley has certainly had his fair share of hypoglycemic (or low blood sugar) incidents. One can
imagine how stressful it must be to in the heat of the moment in a big game, unsure of whether or not you are just tried form running up and down to court or if you're experiencing an issue beyond your control. What Dudley feared most wasn't just playing terribly, it was letting his teammates down and embarrassing himself in front of 20,000 fans...Read more of Chris' story here!
 
Happy 4th of July!
   
Chris Dudley Head shot PT   
Sincerely,

Chris Dudley and  
Chris Dudley Foundation