A Blessing in Disguise
By: Dan List, senior, football, Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
When I was growing up, I thought it would limit everything. I wouldn't be able to live the life I wanted to. Always be different than others…

Fortunately, I was dead wrong about that.

My name is Dan List. I'm a senior offensive lineman at CSU Pueblo. It doesn't define me, but I have type-1 diabetes. Over time, I've learned to live with it, even embraced it to a degree, but it sure wasn't an easy ride to get there.  

If you told me when I was 10 years old that diabetes would be kind of a "blessing in disguise", I wouldn't have believed you. No doubt!

But today, I look at it differently. Diabetes and the sport of football have given me an opportunity to leverage my disease for something bigger… to impact the lives of many young kids.
 
Finding Out
My family moved from Florida to Colorado Springs when I was three. I don't really remember this, but it ended up being a significant point in my life.

The second week or so of living in Colorado, my parents noticed something wrong with me. I was losing weight. Drinking a lot of water. They even said they could see my rib cage. 

At first, they thought it was simply an adjustment to the altitude.

It wasn't.

We went to the doctor where they ran some blood tests. Now, the normal blood sugar level is somewhere between 100 and 125. 

Mine was at 600.

I was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. It came as a shock to my family. It was pretty tough on them, especially for my mom. With all those shots and pricks she had to give. She didn't want to do it. But once the doctor told her that I would die unless she gave me these shots, well, it obviously changed her mind.

So, it became a part of life for them. Then it became a way of life for me.
 
Burnout Phase
It was tough growing up with diabetes. I could clearly tell I was different than most kids.

I remember a birthday party I went to in fourth grade. Almost the whole class was there, like nineteen kids. During the party, one of the parents brings out a tray of cupcakes. I get handed my own special cupcake, a sugar-free carrot cake cupcake.

And here was the thing. Not everyone understood what type-1 diabetes is and was misinformed. And heck, even I didn't fully understand it at that point in my life, but it all came down to this - I was different. 

Especially to a kid, this didn't make sense.

I think it was these types of experiences that led to what I call my "burnout phase".

When I was about thirteen, I really stopped caring about my disease. Stopped taking care of myself. I wouldn't watch my sugars closely. I would even lie to my parents about my levels. It got to the point where I just really got fed up with the whole process.

That's when a doctor set me straight. I was always big into sports and the doctor knew that. When he saw me start to have a little withdrawal, he told me that sports would never happen if I didn't figure out a way to refocus. Quickly.

My body and my health had to be priority number one. 

It kind of got my mind back on track.

My dad was super helpful with that as well. He's such a big influence in my life. He helped set my mind straight. He told me even though there may be bumps in the road, I can get through it, no matter how much I got going on. 

I really took that to heart. If it weren't for this "refocus", this burnout phase, I'm convinced I wouldn't be the athlete I'm today. Frankly, I probably wouldn't be any kind of athlete.
 
Strength on the Field
Since I got myself back on track and started taking care of myself again, I could reset my mind on sports.

My older brother really inspired me to play football. He ended up going to Wyoming, but it was one of his early campus visits that really made an impression on me.

We were touring a school back in 2013 that had everything I cared about. It had a great winning tradition, a beautiful campus, the football guys on the team were super nice... 

That school was CSU Pueblo.

Little did I know that just a few years later, I'd be playing there.

Playing football has come with it's share of growing pains, even aside from the diabetes.

I initially was supposed to play defensive line, but I had to work up to it to play. I spent my first year on the practice squad. It was during that time that a coach saw potential in me to play offensive line.

I had never played offensive line before, so that took a lot learning. The footwork. The blocking technique. The overall experience was just different. Because of that, I spent another year on the practice squad.

Eventually, the practice payed off and I was able to make an impact on the team. Last year, we made it to the second round of the playoffs. In my senior year now, it's really all or nothing. We really want to go for it. We have big expectations of ourselves individually, but also as a team. I really feel like this is the best culture I've been around.

Of course, playing football has been a joy of mine, because I obviously love to play. But through the platform college football has given me, I've been able to help so many people off the field as well.
 
Inspiring and Teaching
I've gotten involved with a bunch of community projects over the years but one that really stands out to me is "Camp Colorado". This event is put together by the American Diabetes Association and I got invited to be a Camp Counselor as well as a featured speaker. 

It's been so rewarding for me going to these events and being able to talk with kids who remind me a lot of myself.

I do this to educate kids and parents about what it's like to live with diabetes; hopefully even inspire some of them. And when some of them approach me after the events or reach out to me on social media, thanking me for sharing my story, it's one of the greatest feelings ever. 

I just want to let these kids know that this disease isn't going to stop them. Yeah, there's ups and downs, there's good days and bad days, but you have to keep your head up and power through. They need to know that if I can do it, they can do it.

In the near future, I'm planning on joining a fundraiser called "Tour de Cure". It's essentially a bike race to raise money for children with diabetes. My friend Will, who I met at Camp Colorado, put this amazing event together. 

At the end of the day, my advice to everyone out there is: diabetes cannot stop you. 

I know, it's painful. It's repetitive. It's on-going. But keep your head up. You'll get through it. Don't let it define you.

It will, like many other things in life, just be a part of you.