Full speed ahead

By Ryan Yemen
Published: July 22, 2008

Life as a teenager is probably hard enough without having to worry about your blood sugar levels. But Albemarle goalkeeper Gus Cramer and Western Albemarle pole vaulter Tyler Lewandowski aren’t that lucky.

Thirty years ago, neither Cramer nor Lewandowski would have been pushed to pursue competitive athletics because of type 1 diabetes. While plenty of athletes managed the disease while playing, it was a difficult task. Today, things are vastly different.

“There was no quick way to check your blood sugar,” said Susan Kirk, an endocrinologist at the University of Virginia. “There were only one or two types of insulin. Today, the insulin we use works much more like the insulin in our bodies. Now we try not to restrict anyone from exercising because any exercise is beneficial. They still have to be very careful. They have to compensate for the event.”

Modern technology has made life with type one diabetes as manageable as ever, as glucose monitors, insulin pens, insulin pumps and even the insulin itself have all made great strides.  In the case of these two athletes, dealing with diabetes might be troublesome, and often tiresome, but it’s not much more than a bump in the road.

Cramer was 15 years old when he was unable to quench his thirst and was frequently urinating. He melted away, slimming down to 122 pounds as his body was unable to digest sugar and began eating fat and muscle tissue as a source of energy. The symptoms triggered his father, Gary, to take him to Martha Jefferson Hospital to get checked out.

‘Here you go. Live with it.’

“I went to the doctor two days before Christmas and they just told me right away that I had type 1 diabetes,” said Gus Cramer. “I spent the next 24 hours there and then they sent me home and said, ‘Here you go. Live with it.’”

Lewandowski was just 10 years old when he was diagnosed. Just like Cramer, Lewandowski’s body was in a fury to find a fuel source. The process of breaking down fat and muscle tissue winds up dramatically changing the blood’s pH, a result known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which eventually can lead to nausea — and, if untreated, can lead to coma and possibly death.

Lewandowski didn’t fall into a coma, but by the time he was admitted to a hospital in New York, where his family was living at the time, his blood sugar level was above 600. A healthy blood sugar level is between 80 and 150 for type 1 diabetics..

Flash forward to today and Cramer and Lewandowski are both in tip-top shape and just a few short weeks away from heading to college — James Madison for Cramer and Virginia Tech for Lewandowski.

As one of just four seniors, Cramer was a cornerstone of an Albemarle lacrosse team that went 18-3 and made it all the way to the VHSL state semifinals. Cramer’s play in net was good enough to merit first team All-Central Virginia, Northwest Region and Commonwealth District honors.

Lewandowski was a pivotal piece of two state titles this year that helped Western Albemarle take home the Wachovia Cup for Group AA schools. He vaulted for both the indoor team during the winter and the outdoor team in the spring, placing fourth in the indoor state meet in March and fifth in the outdoor state meet in June. Western won both events.

While the success on the lacrosse field and on the track speaks for itself, the fact that both successfully managed their blood sugar levels during competition is all the more remarkable.

Kirk explains that regulating the sugars is hardly an exact science.

“One thing I say to all of my patients is that everyone is different,” Kirk said. “I always emphasize that they get to know their own body. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. And of course, I tell them to check their sugars before, during and after anything they do.”

It’s a difficult task.

“It’s hard because you’ve got to find a medium,” Cramer said. “If [my blood sugar] level is over 300, I’m not allowed to exercise. If it’s below 100 before I start, it’s not good.”

If either Cramer or Lewandowski’s sugars are high, their vision becomes blurred and confusion sets in. If there isn’t enough sugar, both are at risk to pass out.

“I’m pretty good at knowing how I feel, so twice I’ve pulled myself out of game because I felt low,” Cramer said. “But we always have some Gatorade on the sideline, so I just throw some down real quick and get back in there. It doesn’t really scare me that much.”

A daily math test

Before every meal and every event, a diabetic must count the carbohydrates he or she are about to consume, calculate the appropriate amount of insulin and give him or herself a shot. While Cramer administers the shot himself, Lewandowski prefers to use an insulin pump that he carries with him that injects the right amount of the hormone through a tube, which is directly inserted into his side.

While the pump provides a little flexibility by reducing shots, it can be obtrusive and requires constant attention in case the cord becomes crimped or is removed altogether. It’s matter of choice.

Lewandowski removes his pump before competing.

“The first month or two, I wore my pump,” Lewandowski said. “But after the first or second time of my pole getting stuck on the wire, I just took it out and put it to the side for a bit.”

Like Cramer, Lewandowski also is constantly battling to find a comfort zone when competing.

“If I’m at 80, I’ll just drink some juice,” Lewandowski said. “I try and aim for 150 when I start. Sometimes it’s really annoying because I’ll test and be at 150 then I’ll check an hour later and I’m at 300. I had a track meet at Virginia Tech and I was really happy because I knew I was going there for college and I wanted to jump well. Right before the meet started, I felt kind of OK and ended up having a really bad meet. I went and checked my sugars and they were at 350. It was really annoying.”

While neither athlete plans to play his sport on the collegiate level, the blood sugar battle will continue everyday for the rest of their lives. Yet in spite of this, the two don’t seem to be too bothered by the continuous minutiae the disease presents. If anything, they have a down-to-earth and mature outlook to a problem that would make many people crumble.

“It’s pretty easy to manage,” Lewandowski said. “It feels like it’s a lot of deal with, but once you get used to it, it’s just a part of your daily schedule. I was 10 and they gave me all these charts and pages of this food is this and this food is that. Now it’s simple. For every 15 carbs I take one unit of insulin. I feel like [this disease] has matured me. I feel older than my friends.”

Cramer thinks it could be a lot worse.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a Slurpee,” Cramer jokes. “But you have to live with this knowing there are plenty of worse things that can happen to you. If you just take care of yourself now, you’ll be fine going down the line. It’s just not that hard to keep up with, and it’s going to make you a better person in the long run because you’ll be more responsible.”

It’s just not often that you find that kind of wisdom at such a young age, but both Cramer and Lewandowski aren’t your average teenagers.