Jacob Hunter

I'm Jacob Hunter, 
and I run for the track and cross
country teams,
and I'm also a Type 1 diabetic.

For a lot of my childhood, my life
sort of revolved around sports.
In the middle of one of my baseball games
was when I realized
I probably had something going on with diabetes.

I checked my blood sugar.
I think it was in the 300s.
And then they drove me to the hospital,
and then, I was officially diagnosed.

That was really frustrating
because sports just meant so much to me.
I just didn't feel like my real self.

I'm happy to look back on it now
and see how I've grown from that moment
and didn't think of it as something
that would hinder my ability
to get back on my feet.

People just assume
diabetes equals unhealthy lifestyle.
This is just not true.
I always wake up, and
check my blood sugar right away.

Let's give it a check.
It is 92.

And then I usually have my morning
practice, take insulin for all my meals

My team has helped me out a lot.
They don't ever look at me
as like the guy with diabetes.
They just look at me
as their friend, very supportive group of guys.

The feeling after a good, long, hard fought race,
putting in all those miles and seeing team
success and individual success...
There's just not a better feeling.