North Scott's Higgins balances athletics with diabetes
Добавлено: 23.09.2008, 9:18
Like a lot of athletes, Jenna Higgins is driven by numbers.
But her main concern isn’t the digits on the scoreboard, the conference standings or the North Scott volleyball box score.
Those numbers mean plenty to the three-sport senior, but her score is derived from within. Literally.
For nearly a decade, Higgins’ days have been built around checking and balancing her blood sugar levels every few hours. Such is life for a diabetic.
As an athlete, those glucose checks are far more frequent, and the levels far more varied. Near obsessive monitoring is a must.
Higgins has executed quite the balancing act since her diagnosis at age 8, and she’s developed into one of Iowa’s premier high school athletes.
Tuning in
The adventure began with an episode of “ER.”
As Higgins remembers it, her parents, Brett and Diane, watched an episode of the popular TV drama in which a patient had diabetes. The show opened their eyes, and Jenna was rushed off for immediate diagnosis.
Brett and Diane tell a slightly less impulsive tale.
“They used to have a follow-up to the show on the Channel 6 news,” Brett said. “They did a piece on diabetes, and we listened. We’d been through so many other tests.”
Jenna had been drinking excessive amounts of fluids and figured that was why she was making more frequent trips to the bathroom.
Her situation proved a little more complex, and soon after she got a crash course in math as she began checking her own blood sugar and administering her own insulin injections.
Soon, the process was second nature.
“I’ve had some tough spots before, because it’s a totally different life, but once you get past that stage, you’re just like any other kid,” Higgins said.
Sticking with sports
Before her diagnosis, Higgins already had begun her athletic career.
She hadn’t yet found her passion, but youth league basketball and tee ball sparked a keen interest — one that wasn’t going to dissipate because of an insulin reliance.
“My parents have driven me to not think that I am restricted in any sort of way,” Higgins said. “If I really want to do it, I’ll get to it.”
A determined Higgins expanded her athletic repertoire, and she quickly made an impact upon reaching the high school ranks.
She qualified for the Class 4A state track meet in the 100-meter run as a freshman.
But the entire Higgins family forgot one of her four daily insulin shots before the meet, and at the end of the race her number had skyrocketed. She still finished sixth.
“It’s a learning experience,” Brett Higgins said. “But it’s more about life than it is about sports.”
Sometimes, incidents can’t be avoided, as was the case at last spring’s Drake Relays in Des Moines.
Before the 400 relay, Higgins started “feeling low,” so she had the requisite juice and snack to boost her glucose level. But the number didn’t rise, so she repeated the procedure, again to no avail. Her dad brought her a pop from the concession stand.
“She ended up getting to run, but she had 32 ounces of juice in her,” Diane recalled.
The relay team placed fourth.
Daily chores
Higgins begins and ends each day by pricking her finger.
It’s also how she approaches practices, games, or any other rigorous activity.
The palm-sized glucose meter tells her exactly where she stands.
She checks her number and injects herself with insulin before each meal and before bed.
Many Type 1 diabetics avoid this hassle by wearing an insulin pump, but not Higgins.
The ever-present pump provides fast-acting insulin on its own, offering much more freedom and discretion.
As an athlete, Higgins isn’t interested.
“I wouldn’t get the benefits out of it,” she said. “I would have to take it out all the time, and it would be more of a pain.”
So she maintains an even stricter regimen of carbohydrate and sugar counting.
In spite of all Higgins’ efforts, the disease holds some consequences beyond her control.
About seven or eight year ago, she had a seizure while flying to visit her grandmother in Florida.
That’s been the lone hiccup for Higgins, though, and in some ways, diabetes has had an unintended benefit.
“Quite honestly, I think what she’s gone through has helped her mature faster than some of her peers,” Diane Higgins said. “The responsibility of having to take such good care of herself has gone a long way.”
Ready for whatever
For years, Jenna Higgins wanted to be a veterinarian.
She loves animals, and in large part, that’s what steered her away from the profession.
“I couldn’t watch them be put down,” she said.
As that epiphany unfolded, Higgins was cozying up to the medical profession as a patient. She knew how to take great care of herself, so why not others?
She’s strongly considering a career as a nurse. Maybe it goes back to that “ER” episode.
Higgins still has nearly a full year of high school sports ahead of her, and, she’s hoping, college athletics beyond that.
Even with the extra headaches it can cause a diabetic, exercise always will remain a priority for Higgins. The rest of life’s details will iron themselves out in time, but Higgins doesn’t expect to be caught off guard.
“I don’t think (life) will come too hard for me,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of good teaching by my parents and my doctor. There are going to be those times where it’s going to be hard to control, but I know I can always count on my parents to help me.”
Her coaches, too.
North Scott volleyball coach Dawn Rheingans has plenty of experience with diabetics, in the classroom and on the court. Five years ago, Dana Kirby showed the coach how gritty a diabetic could be, and Rheingans has seen the same determination from Higgins.
“She’s going to persevere through anything,” Rheingans said. “She’s going to overcome obstacles, no matter what it is. She’s that type of kid.”
But her main concern isn’t the digits on the scoreboard, the conference standings or the North Scott volleyball box score.
Those numbers mean plenty to the three-sport senior, but her score is derived from within. Literally.
For nearly a decade, Higgins’ days have been built around checking and balancing her blood sugar levels every few hours. Such is life for a diabetic.
As an athlete, those glucose checks are far more frequent, and the levels far more varied. Near obsessive monitoring is a must.
Higgins has executed quite the balancing act since her diagnosis at age 8, and she’s developed into one of Iowa’s premier high school athletes.
Tuning in
The adventure began with an episode of “ER.”
As Higgins remembers it, her parents, Brett and Diane, watched an episode of the popular TV drama in which a patient had diabetes. The show opened their eyes, and Jenna was rushed off for immediate diagnosis.
Brett and Diane tell a slightly less impulsive tale.
“They used to have a follow-up to the show on the Channel 6 news,” Brett said. “They did a piece on diabetes, and we listened. We’d been through so many other tests.”
Jenna had been drinking excessive amounts of fluids and figured that was why she was making more frequent trips to the bathroom.
Her situation proved a little more complex, and soon after she got a crash course in math as she began checking her own blood sugar and administering her own insulin injections.
Soon, the process was second nature.
“I’ve had some tough spots before, because it’s a totally different life, but once you get past that stage, you’re just like any other kid,” Higgins said.
Sticking with sports
Before her diagnosis, Higgins already had begun her athletic career.
She hadn’t yet found her passion, but youth league basketball and tee ball sparked a keen interest — one that wasn’t going to dissipate because of an insulin reliance.
“My parents have driven me to not think that I am restricted in any sort of way,” Higgins said. “If I really want to do it, I’ll get to it.”
A determined Higgins expanded her athletic repertoire, and she quickly made an impact upon reaching the high school ranks.
She qualified for the Class 4A state track meet in the 100-meter run as a freshman.
But the entire Higgins family forgot one of her four daily insulin shots before the meet, and at the end of the race her number had skyrocketed. She still finished sixth.
“It’s a learning experience,” Brett Higgins said. “But it’s more about life than it is about sports.”
Sometimes, incidents can’t be avoided, as was the case at last spring’s Drake Relays in Des Moines.
Before the 400 relay, Higgins started “feeling low,” so she had the requisite juice and snack to boost her glucose level. But the number didn’t rise, so she repeated the procedure, again to no avail. Her dad brought her a pop from the concession stand.
“She ended up getting to run, but she had 32 ounces of juice in her,” Diane recalled.
The relay team placed fourth.
Daily chores
Higgins begins and ends each day by pricking her finger.
It’s also how she approaches practices, games, or any other rigorous activity.
The palm-sized glucose meter tells her exactly where she stands.
She checks her number and injects herself with insulin before each meal and before bed.
Many Type 1 diabetics avoid this hassle by wearing an insulin pump, but not Higgins.
The ever-present pump provides fast-acting insulin on its own, offering much more freedom and discretion.
As an athlete, Higgins isn’t interested.
“I wouldn’t get the benefits out of it,” she said. “I would have to take it out all the time, and it would be more of a pain.”
So she maintains an even stricter regimen of carbohydrate and sugar counting.
In spite of all Higgins’ efforts, the disease holds some consequences beyond her control.
About seven or eight year ago, she had a seizure while flying to visit her grandmother in Florida.
That’s been the lone hiccup for Higgins, though, and in some ways, diabetes has had an unintended benefit.
“Quite honestly, I think what she’s gone through has helped her mature faster than some of her peers,” Diane Higgins said. “The responsibility of having to take such good care of herself has gone a long way.”
Ready for whatever
For years, Jenna Higgins wanted to be a veterinarian.
She loves animals, and in large part, that’s what steered her away from the profession.
“I couldn’t watch them be put down,” she said.
As that epiphany unfolded, Higgins was cozying up to the medical profession as a patient. She knew how to take great care of herself, so why not others?
She’s strongly considering a career as a nurse. Maybe it goes back to that “ER” episode.
Higgins still has nearly a full year of high school sports ahead of her, and, she’s hoping, college athletics beyond that.
Even with the extra headaches it can cause a diabetic, exercise always will remain a priority for Higgins. The rest of life’s details will iron themselves out in time, but Higgins doesn’t expect to be caught off guard.
“I don’t think (life) will come too hard for me,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of good teaching by my parents and my doctor. There are going to be those times where it’s going to be hard to control, but I know I can always count on my parents to help me.”
Her coaches, too.
North Scott volleyball coach Dawn Rheingans has plenty of experience with diabetics, in the classroom and on the court. Five years ago, Dana Kirby showed the coach how gritty a diabetic could be, and Rheingans has seen the same determination from Higgins.
“She’s going to persevere through anything,” Rheingans said. “She’s going to overcome obstacles, no matter what it is. She’s that type of kid.”