Former Saskatchewan Roughrider John Chick told a diabetes conference in Moose Jaw about his experience living with the disease and the difference an insulin pump has made in his life.
He spoke at the Tackling Diabetes: Innovations and Inspirations event organized by Medtronic, Bayer and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at the Heritage Inn on Monday.
Chick, who will soon leave for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, told the audience he was always an active kid.
“That was my passion,” he said, “I really loved football.”
But in grade eight, Chick started feeling tired and was not growing as much as he should have been.
“I received the best and the worst news of my life,” he said, “I was diagnosed with type one diabetes.”
Chick, who was named the CFL’s most outstanding defensive player in 2009, said it was good because there was now a reason why he felt sick and there was treatment for it.
But he was also faced with the news he had diabetes.
Read more on this story in a future Times-Herald edition.
