This is a copy of an article that was posted in the The Hutt News. The link.
Ironman Heidi-Jane James (nee Humphries) has more reason than most to be grumpy about life. The 32-year-old is a Type 1 diabetic and lives with the constant threat of dying if her $7000 insulin pump doesn’t do its job. To make matters worse, she was a top junior athlete before contracting diabetes at 14.
For the last eight years she has competed in serious triathlon and duathlon events with success and dreams of one day competing in the Hawaii Ironman.
She could have used diabetes as an excuse but her attitude is she has to live with it and nothing will be gained by sitting around and complaining. Coming from a family with a background in running, she began as a sprinter and started to record placings. “I could not sprint to save myself but I just loved it, so I kept going.” When she tried longer races, she quickly found her niche and at 14 she went in to the national championships as the favourite for both the 800m and 1500m. Before racing she was not feeling well and she finished fifth in both events.
After the championship, her health deteriorated rapidly to the point where weight was falling off her already skinny frame and she was urinating five times a night. “On Christmas Day Mum was really worried and they took me to a sports doctor. He got some tests done and within three hours we got the results and I knew I was a diabetic.”
James is a Type 1 diabetic, which means her body produces no insulin. At 14, she didn’t realise the magnitude of the diagnosis. “I didn’t really understand it and I didn’t know any diabetics but Mum and Dad were really upset. I didn’t understand why so I just got on with it and injected myself.”
The majority of diabetics are Type 2, which is often related to lifestyle and obesity. Most people do not understand the difference and that causes her some frustration. Without insulin she would die and she cannot try to contain the symptoms with healthy eating and lifestyle.
She returned to running and won a national steeplechase title at age 17. Her athletics then drifted for a while but at 24 she returned to serious competition. It was partly a lifestyle choice but multi-sport also suited her competitive attitude, she says. Insulin puts weight on and she initially used running to help control that. Her highly competitive nature was a further spur. Her best result has been sixth in her age group in the IT World Duathlon Championship. She did her first ironman at 29 and dreams of competing in the holy grail of the sport, the famous Ironman Hawaii.
Very few Type 1 diabetics compete seriously in New Zealand. That has meant she’s largely had to work things out for herself. Her training schedule is tough. She spends 12-15 hours each week running, cycling and swimming. As events approach, her schedule increases to 25 hours. Before she trains she has to first measure her blood sugar and then programme the pump to deliver the right amount of insulin. She describes the risk of a mistake “as quite high” and says she has had some scary moments. “It gets quite dangerous. I know two people whose sugars got so low overnight that they just did not wake up.” If she is running and her sugars get low, it “scrambles” her brain and she does not recognise that she has a problem. In those circumstances, she is reliant on other people to save her and says that is not a nice feeling.
If she had not developed diabetes James planned to get a scholarship to an American university. She is confident she could have done well and with her supportive parents, believes she had a bright future in the sport. She admits to being a “little bit pissed off” and angry with the cards life has dealt her. As a school teacher and successful athlete, she sees herself as a role model but says life would be much easier without diabetes. At the same time diabetes has also left her fiercely independent. During the recent debate over whether the government should pay for stomach operations for the obese, she found herself becoming really angry. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to keep herself fit and active. She believes the obese need to take more personal responsibility. The debate over the cost of stomach stapling raises a very personal issue for James. Her pump, which keeps her alive, cost her $7000 and there is a further monthly charge of $400 to keep it running. She contracted diabetes from a virus and it had nothing to do with her lifestyle or eating habits. The government will fund the minimum treatment, which in her case is injections, but the pump is much more efficient and allows her to be an athlete. Despite such issues she is determined not to give up and says her ambition is to get to Hawaii and to continue to be a role model for other diabetics.
Check out her website: sweetsixteen-diabetes.blogspot.com/