Ellen
06-30-2006, 09:05 PM
Pitcher Jason Johnson is taking the mound Friday for the Red Sox as they take on the Marlins in Miami.
NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that Johnson, 32, was acquired from Cleveland one week ago. On the mound, he'll be wearing a device to keep a medical condition in check.
"I ended up signing autographs. They were all wonderful. They said, 'Dood luck.' 'We're glad you're here.' They're tremendous," Johnson said.
What some people think is tremendous is the way Johnson has persisted in the majors, despite having Type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 11, and in 2000, he started wearing an insulin pump. The pump can deliver the hormone into his body, as needed, 24 hours a day.
"I'd always just disconnect it when I went out there and pitched, and my blood sugar would go high, which is not good -- definitely not good -- when you're pitching," Johnson said. But that changed during his stint with the Tigers. Because everything a player wears needs to be approved by Major League Baseball, Tiger management convinced Johnson to ask if he could wear it on the mound.
The league agreed. He keeps it clipped to the back of his belt to protect it from any hard-hit balls.
"Now that I have it on all the time, I'm able to stay in the game longer, and I feel like I have more stamina later in games," Johnson said.
Cristina Frank, 22, relies on an insulin pump to keep her Type 1 diabetes in check. She said Johnson was inspirational.
"That he wears it all the time shows he's not really worried about it. It's not holding him back. I think it just kind of shows that there really are no barriers to doing what you want to do," Frank said.
There was reportedly only one time Johnson had a problem during a game. He motioned to the catcher that he wasn't feeling too well, and the pitching coach snuck a soda out to mound to help stabilize his blood sugar levels. Johnson also said he looks forward to working with kids with diabetes in Boston -- something he's done in other cities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20060630/lo_wcvb/9455977
NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that Johnson, 32, was acquired from Cleveland one week ago. On the mound, he'll be wearing a device to keep a medical condition in check.
"I ended up signing autographs. They were all wonderful. They said, 'Dood luck.' 'We're glad you're here.' They're tremendous," Johnson said.
What some people think is tremendous is the way Johnson has persisted in the majors, despite having Type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 11, and in 2000, he started wearing an insulin pump. The pump can deliver the hormone into his body, as needed, 24 hours a day.
"I'd always just disconnect it when I went out there and pitched, and my blood sugar would go high, which is not good -- definitely not good -- when you're pitching," Johnson said. But that changed during his stint with the Tigers. Because everything a player wears needs to be approved by Major League Baseball, Tiger management convinced Johnson to ask if he could wear it on the mound.
The league agreed. He keeps it clipped to the back of his belt to protect it from any hard-hit balls.
"Now that I have it on all the time, I'm able to stay in the game longer, and I feel like I have more stamina later in games," Johnson said.
Cristina Frank, 22, relies on an insulin pump to keep her Type 1 diabetes in check. She said Johnson was inspirational.
"That he wears it all the time shows he's not really worried about it. It's not holding him back. I think it just kind of shows that there really are no barriers to doing what you want to do," Frank said.
There was reportedly only one time Johnson had a problem during a game. He motioned to the catcher that he wasn't feeling too well, and the pitching coach snuck a soda out to mound to help stabilize his blood sugar levels. Johnson also said he looks forward to working with kids with diabetes in Boston -- something he's done in other cities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20060630/lo_wcvb/9455977