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Fifteen months after agreeing to continue her lacrosse career at Maryland, Kayla Gilmore was diagnosed with diabetes. Her health obviously loomed as the top significance, but the sophomore midfielder from New York also worried about her offer to play for the Terps.
“I was definitely really nervous,” Gilmore recalled after receiving her diabetes diagnosis in December 2023. “I didn’t really know what to expect, especially not knowing a lot about diabetes. It was like, ‘Can people play with this? Is this something that I’m going to be able to manage?’”
Fortunately for Gilmore, she found a welcoming community at Maryland. Graduate student defender Kennedy Major, who is three years older, has been managing her own bout with diabetes. And coach Cathy Reese’s oldest son Riley is dealing with diabetes as a senior defenseman for the Terps men’s lacrosse team.
“I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone, but knowing that Kayla was coming in and knowing that we could lean on each other was really nice,” Major said. “And then I was also here with Riley. So sometimes we’d be out, and we’d just talk about our numbers and things like that. It’s just some things you can’t talk to other people about but you can talk to them about it that is really nice.”
For the second year in a row, the No. 3 Maryland women (5-0) will host a diabetes awareness game on Saturday at noon when James Madison (2-3) visits SECU Stadium in College Park. The team launched an online fundraiser with Breakthrough T1D, formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to find a cure for diabetes.
Diabetes is an autoimmune reaction that inhibits how the body uses glucose from insulin-producing cells, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition includes Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes with the former often starting during childhood or teen years and the latter becoming more common among people older than 40 years of age.
For Major and Gilmore, their battle with Type 1 diabetes began after getting over what they thought were minor colds. But in the aftermath, both players consumed gallons of water to quench a persistent thirst, urinated frequently and lost weight.
Like Gilmore, Major — who was diagnosed in December 2018 — was concerned how diabetes would impact her career. But both players refused to surrender.
“It never crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to be able to play sports again,” Major said. “I think that is what fueled me to get to get better faster, to make sure that I figured everything out.”
Major and Gilmore have a companion in Reese, whose son was diagnosed when he was 7 years old. Having been through the ordeal of changing habits, nutrition and treatments, Reese understood their needs. She also prioritized comforting their parents.
“To the parents, [I said,] ‘You’re sending your kid to college, and I know what you’re dealing with. I know how hard this is, I know what life changes there are, I know what we need to do to have our eye on them,’” she said. “For me, it was like, ‘I got you.’”
Major and Gilmore said their teammates, coaches and trainers are a second family in many respects, but especially with their diabetes. Gilmore recalled complaining to her teammates about the lack of sugar-free syrup in the dining hall and then being called into Reese’s office the next day where Reese gave her a bottle of sugar-free syrup.
Major and Gilmore wear glucose transmitters on their bodies during practices and games. When the sensors sound alerting low blood sugar, teammates retrieve sugar tablets (for Major) and fruit snacks (for Gilmore).
Allie Boll, the team’s trainer, checks their blood sugar before games and during halftimes. She pricks their fingers and then administers insulin injections if their bodies need them.
Major and Gilmore said they are grateful to participate in events that promote diabetes awareness such as Saturday’s game. And while they embrace their roles as models for young girls, they look forward to a future when diabetes is not dreaded.
“It’s just another thing that Kennedy and myself do on a day-to-day basis,” Gilmore said. “It doesn’t make us superheroes, but it doesn’t make us abnormal or anything like that. We use diabetes as our own power.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
“I was definitely really nervous,” Gilmore recalled after receiving her diabetes diagnosis in December 2023. “I didn’t really know what to expect, especially not knowing a lot about diabetes. It was like, ‘Can people play with this? Is this something that I’m going to be able to manage?’”
Fortunately for Gilmore, she found a welcoming community at Maryland. Graduate student defender Kennedy Major, who is three years older, has been managing her own bout with diabetes. And coach Cathy Reese’s oldest son Riley is dealing with diabetes as a senior defenseman for the Terps men’s lacrosse team.
“I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone, but knowing that Kayla was coming in and knowing that we could lean on each other was really nice,” Major said. “And then I was also here with Riley. So sometimes we’d be out, and we’d just talk about our numbers and things like that. It’s just some things you can’t talk to other people about but you can talk to them about it that is really nice.”
For the second year in a row, the No. 3 Maryland women (5-0) will host a diabetes awareness game on Saturday at noon when James Madison (2-3) visits SECU Stadium in College Park. The team launched an online fundraiser with Breakthrough T1D, formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to find a cure for diabetes.
Diabetes is an autoimmune reaction that inhibits how the body uses glucose from insulin-producing cells, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition includes Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes with the former often starting during childhood or teen years and the latter becoming more common among people older than 40 years of age.
For Major and Gilmore, their battle with Type 1 diabetes began after getting over what they thought were minor colds. But in the aftermath, both players consumed gallons of water to quench a persistent thirst, urinated frequently and lost weight.
Like Gilmore, Major — who was diagnosed in December 2018 — was concerned how diabetes would impact her career. But both players refused to surrender.
“It never crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to be able to play sports again,” Major said. “I think that is what fueled me to get to get better faster, to make sure that I figured everything out.”
Major and Gilmore have a companion in Reese, whose son was diagnosed when he was 7 years old. Having been through the ordeal of changing habits, nutrition and treatments, Reese understood their needs. She also prioritized comforting their parents.
“To the parents, [I said,] ‘You’re sending your kid to college, and I know what you’re dealing with. I know how hard this is, I know what life changes there are, I know what we need to do to have our eye on them,’” she said. “For me, it was like, ‘I got you.’”
Major and Gilmore said their teammates, coaches and trainers are a second family in many respects, but especially with their diabetes. Gilmore recalled complaining to her teammates about the lack of sugar-free syrup in the dining hall and then being called into Reese’s office the next day where Reese gave her a bottle of sugar-free syrup.
Major and Gilmore wear glucose transmitters on their bodies during practices and games. When the sensors sound alerting low blood sugar, teammates retrieve sugar tablets (for Major) and fruit snacks (for Gilmore).
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Allie Boll, the team’s trainer, checks their blood sugar before games and during halftimes. She pricks their fingers and then administers insulin injections if their bodies need them.
Major and Gilmore said they are grateful to participate in events that promote diabetes awareness such as Saturday’s game. And while they embrace their roles as models for young girls, they look forward to a future when diabetes is not dreaded.
“It’s just another thing that Kennedy and myself do on a day-to-day basis,” Gilmore said. “It doesn’t make us superheroes, but it doesn’t make us abnormal or anything like that. We use diabetes as our own power.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
