cutlerfan
02-05-2009, 08:01 AM
Pro Bowl QB Shares Bond with Local Kids
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/13804/40/
Click on the Video from the URL
More than 23 million people in the United States are living with diabetes. Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler is one of them. Wednesday he met with some young diabetics in Hawaii to encourage and inspire them.
"How you guys doing? Does anyone wear a pump?" Cutler said as he approached the kids after a light Pro Bowl practice on the Kapolei High School football field.
The children crowded around Cutler to get autographs and meet a big time NFL star who is dealing with the same disease they are dealing with.
"How old were you when you found out you had type one?" Cutler asked. "Five. Eight. Six. Two." the Children answered.
Cutler was no kid when he was diagnosed. He was 24 years old and had just completed his second year with the Denver Broncos. During the 2007 season he started feeling run down.
"I lost 30 pounds towards the end of the year. I was weighing 200 pounds. I was always tired, going to the bathroom a lot. You know, all the symptoms of type one diabetes," Cutler told KGMB9.
Now that he knows what was slowing him down, Cutler manages his diabetes. He draws blood from a finger to check his sugar level several times a game. When he has to he takes insulin. And he often wears a device under an ace bandage on his left arm that continuously monitors his glucose.
Cutler is feeling better and playing better these days. So well that he has been named to his first Pro Bowl.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation arranged for the kids to meet Cutler after practice.
"I just like to pass along that I still do what I love to do. You know, and they can accomplish anything they want to accomplish," Cutler said.
We asked a few of the children what they will remember about the experience.
"Just meeting him, and he has diabetes too so it's just cool to see someone who has the same thing be so high ranked," said ten year old Mililani B.J. Yap, who plays quarterback for a youth team in Waipio.
"Any kid, as an athlete, can accomplish any dream they have," added Devin Rettke, an Aliamanu resident.
Some of the kids who met Cutler are hooked up to insulin pumps 24-hours a day. The pumps are a constant reminder of their condition.
Cutler is a reminder that they are not alone.
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/13804/40/
Click on the Video from the URL
More than 23 million people in the United States are living with diabetes. Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler is one of them. Wednesday he met with some young diabetics in Hawaii to encourage and inspire them.
"How you guys doing? Does anyone wear a pump?" Cutler said as he approached the kids after a light Pro Bowl practice on the Kapolei High School football field.
The children crowded around Cutler to get autographs and meet a big time NFL star who is dealing with the same disease they are dealing with.
"How old were you when you found out you had type one?" Cutler asked. "Five. Eight. Six. Two." the Children answered.
Cutler was no kid when he was diagnosed. He was 24 years old and had just completed his second year with the Denver Broncos. During the 2007 season he started feeling run down.
"I lost 30 pounds towards the end of the year. I was weighing 200 pounds. I was always tired, going to the bathroom a lot. You know, all the symptoms of type one diabetes," Cutler told KGMB9.
Now that he knows what was slowing him down, Cutler manages his diabetes. He draws blood from a finger to check his sugar level several times a game. When he has to he takes insulin. And he often wears a device under an ace bandage on his left arm that continuously monitors his glucose.
Cutler is feeling better and playing better these days. So well that he has been named to his first Pro Bowl.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation arranged for the kids to meet Cutler after practice.
"I just like to pass along that I still do what I love to do. You know, and they can accomplish anything they want to accomplish," Cutler said.
We asked a few of the children what they will remember about the experience.
"Just meeting him, and he has diabetes too so it's just cool to see someone who has the same thing be so high ranked," said ten year old Mililani B.J. Yap, who plays quarterback for a youth team in Waipio.
"Any kid, as an athlete, can accomplish any dream they have," added Devin Rettke, an Aliamanu resident.
Some of the kids who met Cutler are hooked up to insulin pumps 24-hours a day. The pumps are a constant reminder of their condition.
Cutler is a reminder that they are not alone.