Young Mt. Prospect triathlete overcoming diabetes
On Saturday, 12-year-old Andrew Lopez of Mount Prospect will be among the more than 1,000 children hitting the lakefront in the 20th annual Chicago Kids' Triathlon.
Another 8,500 adults take off in the Chicago Triathlon on Sunday, making it one of the largest in the country.
Yet, despite being a competitive swimmer and cross country runner, Andrew faces a unique set of obstacles: Less than a year ago he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Consequently, while other competitors are putting together their best times in the kid's version of the sport - 200 meter swim, 5-mile bike and 1-mile run - Andrew will be paying close attention to his blood sugar readings during the race, to make sure his body can perform.
"I test my blood sugar in transition," says Andrew, who pricks his finger to get readings after the swim and bike portions of the race. "If it's low, I have to wait. If it's high, I have to take insulin."
His parents, Ed and Mary, watched him closely at a triathlon in June in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. He competed last summer in the Chicago Kids' Triathlon, but this was his first since being diagnosed with diabetes.
"We loaded him up with carbs right before the race, and tested him in transition," says his mother, Mary, a social studies teacher at Schaumburg High School. "He was in good shape."
Also planning to watch Andrew at Saturday's race will be another fan, familiar with the rigors of competing while managing diabetes. "Iron Andy" Holder, a triathlete and six-time Ironman competitor, will be on the sidelines cheering for Andrew.
Holder, of Collegeville, PA was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, at age 36. Rather than think of the disease as an illness, he treated it as a challenge, he says.
Although he did not know how to swim, and hadn't ridden a bike since he was a child, Holder started training to do a triathlon.
"I took it as an opportunity to do something extraordinary, with the hopes of inspiring every single child who has the disease," Holder said. "So in a way, meeting Andrew, really brings me full circle."
The two met last week, when Holder was in town filming a promotional video for his role as national spokesman for the Good Neighbor Pharmacy company and its diabetes shoppe, located in independent stores across the country.
His motto? "Living without limits."
"It was really cool to meet an athlete who has the same disease that I do, and he does the same sport that I do," Andrew said. "He told me that having a disability doesn't mean you can't do things. He said having a disability inspired him."
Last month, Holder completed the Coeur d'Alene Ironman in Idaho in 11 hours and 20 minutes, while testing his blood sugar as many as 68 times. He has a blood sugar meter on the handlebars of his bike, and he carries one on his belt while he runs.
"I want to offer some comfort to parents," Holder adds, "that their child will be OK. This disease is hard and it takes a lot of work, but their children really can do something extraordinary."
Meet Andy Holder"Iron Andy" Holder, a 6-time Ironman competitor, talks about being a triathlete with diabetes and how a chronic condition does not have to limit your life. bull; When: 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26. Holder talks to patients at 3 p.m. bull; Where: The Medicine Stop, a Good Neighbor Pharmacy/Diabetes Shoppe, 5525 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago.bull; Cost: bull; Information: (773) 585-3434.False20001500Andrew Lopez, with "Iron Andy" Holder, his mother, Mary, and sister, Mary Kate when the family met Holder last week.Courtesy Lopez familyFalse