Skip to Content

Two CSU Pueblo women’s lacrosse players are playing college lacrosse while trying to manage their diabetes

Olivia Tener and Madeline Miller have something in common, "It's an everyday thing and that kind of took a while to set in and once it did it was eye opening, that there's never gonna be a day that I'm not going to have test my blood sugar," says CSU Pueblo women's lacrosse player, Olivia Tener.

Olivia and Madeline both have type one diabetes, "I think I was little scared because I'm afraid of shots," says CSU Pueblo women's lacrosse player, Maddie Miller.

They have to take shots of insulin to try and control their blood sugar, because when it come to their blood sugar they always have to know the score. But trying to navigate diabetes is a complex situation, "Liv tells me that every time well Maddie this and she's like coach, it's not like a cold we all have the same thing each diabetic is different," says CSU Pueblo women's lacrosse coach, Monica Potter.

Before the game starts, they try to have their blood sugar at a healthy and safe level, "It frustrates me a little because I just want to go out and play but I need to take care of myself first," says Miller. Tener adds, "It's frustrated that you can't control these outside factors that affect your blood sugar, then inevitably effect your game and you have no control over it."

On game day they get hyped but unlike their teammates they have more to think about, "It's affected me a lot cuz waking up on game day the first thing you think of is diabetes instead of what the normal girls about which is our opponent," says Tener.

Depending on what their blood sugar is it can have a profound affect on their performance, "When I'm high, when my blood sugar is high I just look slow," says Tener. Miller describes how she feels, "It's just weird cuz I feel like I'm fine but then it's saying I'm low so we figure it out."

Olivia and Madeline figure it out together, "I love having Olivia on the team cuz I know that someone else is going through the same thing as me," says Miller.

They say they won't let type one diabetes push them around, "It's not gonna stop you from doing everyday things or playing sports. It's just like a little bump but you get over it," says Miller. "Honestly you can do anything anyone else without diabetes can do. I think that's the biggest message here," says Tener. "I admire both of those girls cuz you know you're taking on another task as a collegiate athlete and they managing great and their an inspiration to everybody," says Potter.

Article Topic Follows: News

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Rob Namnoum

Rob is the Sports Director at KRDO-TV. He started working at KRDO in 1999. He has covered the NFL since 1998. Learn more about Rob here.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content