BLOOD BROTHERS

Modesto Junior College FOOTBALL PLAYERS BROWN, HARRISON

HELPING EACH OTHER TACKLE DIABETES

Reprinted with permission from the Modesto Bee orginailly published October 17, 2003

. By: BRIAN VANDERBEEK, BEE STAFF WRITER

Less than a month ago, defensive lineman Berk Brown stepped on the scale and didn't like what he saw. The Modesto Junior College sophomore, who opened the football season at 302 pounds, was training to maintain weight and build muscle mass and strength. Instead, the Central Catholic graduate was feeling increasingly weak and ill, and the scale shouted back an ugly number: 267 pounds.

"It was very scary," Brown said. "I couldn't eat. I was constantly thirsty and constantly going to the bathroom." He made a visit to his family doctor, and a blood test revealed a blood sugar level in the upper 400s (milligrams per deciliter), a figure well over the danger level and more than four times the normal range of 80-115. Brown was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, generally treatable through oral medication. He was scared, but he didn't have to look beyond his own roster to find a willing source of support.

David Harrison, a freshman defensive back from Turlock, has been living with the more severe Type 1 diabetes for eight years. His body produces no insulin, which requires him to perform frequent self-testing and to administer six daily injections. "I found out about Berk and I was shocked," Harrison said. "I've never played football with another diabetic. I talked to him about it, and explained how I had to regulate it with shots. We both understand what we're going through." Brown sat out the Sept. 27 game against Sierra, but both he and Harrison will be in the lineup Saturday night when the Pirates open Valley Conference play against rival Merced College.

Diabetes is relatively common in the general public. According to the National Institutes of Health, 6.2 percent of the population suffers from some variation of the condition. But in the under-20 age group, in which roughly 90 percent of community college athletes fall, the rate of occurrence is one in 500, or 0.2 percent. So for one community college football team to have diabetic teammates is quite a rarity.

"In 26 years here, I can remember four diabetics among the athletes, including these two," said MJC head trainer Bob Boswell. "We've never had a situation where there has been a problem because of diabetes, but we do keep glucose tabs on hand just in case." Cal State Stanislaus trainer Gary Hogan said he has not seen a diabetic athlete in his program during his four years at the school. Merced College assistant trainer Scott Lemberger has seen one, a women's soccer player, in his eight years at the school.

NO ADDITIONAL RISKS

According to Paula Harper, who in 1985 founded the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association in Nashville, Tenn., diabetics face no additional risks while playing football as long as they are able to maintain proper blood sugar levels. She was able to point out several Type 1 diabetic athletes who have enjoyed long professional careers, including Wade Wilson, Jonathan Hayes and Jay Leeuwenburg in the NFL, NBA center Chris Dudley and NHL player and coach Curt Frasier.

"What diabetic athletes find out is that instead of high blood sugar counts, during competition it can be difficult to keep your blood sugar high enough," Harper said. That's exactly what Harrison battled while playing for Turlock High. "I would start to feel run-down during games and I would signal up to my parents in the stands to throw down some candy bars," Harrison said. Now, Harrison is rarely found without his backpack, which always contains a bottle of sports drink and a quick energy snack, such as a Power Bar or granola bar. But because he's Type 1, he also never goes anywhere without his testing device and his insulin. Eventually, he hopes to be fitted with an insulin pump, a delivery device worn around the clock on the abdomen, but no one yet has developed one compatible with contact sports.

"Sometimes I have to give myself a shot at practice,' Harrison said. "At first, that freaked out my teammates, but they've gotten used to it." Harrison understands how people can feel uneasy watching somebody stick himself with a syringe. When he was 12, that was a foreign notion to him. "At first, it was hard and I didn't understand it," he said. "This is my eighth year of football and my seventh year of playing football with diabetes. So far, this is my best year of being in control."

After three weeks of oral medication, Brown's blood sugar levels have stabilized within the normal range and he's back up to 282 pounds. But both Brown and Harrison still will get the extra occasional glance from the MJC training staff, "David's good to go," Boswell said. "He can tell you long before you see anything that might suggest a problem if anything is not right. But Burke, being so new to this, is still trying to figure out how he's supposed to feel." In the meantime, Brown and Harrison have become more than teammates. Call them blood (sugar) brothers.

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at 578-2300 or at bvanderbeek@modbee.com. ------------------------