Bears' Lovie Smith and Wife to Chair Diabetes Association Event

Lovie Smith and his wife, MaryAnne, are going to be honorary "chairs" today. They will be chairing the "Seventh Annual Care to Cure" held at Soldier Field with respect to finding a cure for diabetes.. As with many articles the news lies beneath the headline.

Larry Mayer has posted an article titled "Bears coach co-chairing ADA fundraiser at Soldier Field. And that is a good thing. As Mayer reports Lovie Smith lost his mother to diabetes earlier this year on Jan. 31.

I have adult-onset diabetes also known as Type 2 diabetes. It is thought that it came on as a result from Agent Orange when I was in Vietnam.

I try to control mine with diet and exercise but it isn't easy. It's hard to give up Polish sausage, ham, bacon, ribs, pizza and eggs over-easy among other things. Did I mention ice cream? You get the picture.

Larry Mayer shares some interesting information with us. "It is now estimated that 25.8 million Americans have diabetes. That's 8.3 percent of the population." I knew this: Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in history.

The American Diabetes Association is trying to mobilize people in a grass roots movement to try and find a cure for the illness.

This is the type of notoriety that the Diabetes Association needs and this is the way pro football folks should use their celebrity. It is certainly better than some of the press some players get. It pulls people to sites where they can make donations and volunteer.

The type of diabetes that kids are born with is called "Juvenile diabetes" or Type 1. My best friend's son was born with this wicked condition. Parents must draw blood by pricking the youngster's fingers which, as I can attest to, is very uncomfortable; children scream and tear a parent's heart out.

Keep in mind that this goes on the child's entire life.

Diabetes organizations have made progress. I remember as a grade-school football player I watched as one of my teammates passed out and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. It took three weeks for him to be diagnosed and treated and brought under control.

Today situations rarely go to that extreme.

What Chicago Coach Smith is doing along with his wife is to be commended.

References:

Chicago Bears' Website, Larry Mayer, "Bears coach co-chairing ADA fundraiser at Soldier Field"

American Diabetes Website, "For Parents & Kids"