Teenager Emily from Saginaw, Michigan (it’s 13 degrees there right now—yikes!) has a unique distinction among our Champion Athletes With Diabetes.
She’s our first swimmer!
Emily just finished her second season swimming for her high school team, and if they swim around the same time of year that we did when I swam on my high school team in Ohio, her third season should be coming up soon.
According to her Mom Karyn:
”Not a day went by that she didn’t improve by dropping seconds of her best times. Never a day that she would hide her pod or let diabetes interfere. She is my hero.”
Is it just me, or are kids more loud and proud and accomplishing more than all of us adults living with diabetes? Let me tell you: Swimming is hard. To be consistently good, you have to consistently be in the pool, doing laps, day after day, month after month.
The payoff, of course, is great muscle tone and awesome, efficient use of insulin. But to get there, you can’t be half-hearted. You have to really commit to working hard on a regular basis. As a former competitive swimmer myself, I understand just how big Emily’s accomplishments really are.
Congratulations Emily! Your hard work, your fearlessness, and your dedication set an excellent example for others, and it makes you a most worthy Champion Athlete With Diabetes.
If you’re living with diabetes, and you’re active; or if someone close to you is living with D and is active, we’ve got an honest-to-goodness medal we’d like to award you.
There are only four simple things to do to get yours:
1. The athlete receiving the award must be living with diabetes.
2. The athletic event must have taken place in the last six months. For now, we’re going with a pretty loose interpretation of the word “event”. If you feel you’ve accomplished something important to you, that’s an event. ‘Nuf said.
3. Send me an e-mail at champswithdiabetes@gmail.com. Tell me your name, name of the athlete (it’s okay if it’s you), and your address (gotta know where to send the medal). Most important, tell me what athletic goal was accomplished, and when. Extra points if you tell me how you felt accomplishing the goal. Full disclosure: I reserve the right to use your testimonial here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. I will not use your name if you don’t want me to. As always, I will never share private information.
4. When you receive your medal, it would be great if you post a photo of it around the athlete’s neck. You can send a Tweet to @ChampsWithD (hashtag: #champdathletes) or post it on the Champion Athletes With Diabetes Facebook Page.
I think D-Athletes are amazing. If it’s a big deal to you, it’s a big deal to me too. I want to support you, or support the Athlete With Diabetes in your life.
Click here to find out more.
Diabetes Blog - Happy-Medium.net 