Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is revealing his battle with diabetes in a new series of videos entitled “Jay Cutler on Diabetes.” The first three videos were released this week with more to follow in November.
The goal of the videos is to inspire kids that get diabetes to chase their dreams and not let the disease get in the way. In the videos, Cutler speaks about how he got sick before he was diagnosed with diabetes, how he felt when he was diagnosed, and living with the disease today.
In the first episode, Cutler describes losing 35 pounds for apparently no reason in 2007 and thinking that he might be dying. “I kept it a secret for a while — obviously a lot longer than I should have,” Cutler said. “I thought it was something I was just going to bounce back from. A part of me just didn’t want to know. I didn’t know if I was going to continue to be able to play football.”
Cutler talks about life on and off the field, including his favorite “cheat foods” (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) and learning to leave a Coca Cola on his nightstand in case of an overnight low blood sugar event.
Diabetes is “there every day, no matter where you go. You wake up with it, you go to sleep with it. Over time, you get used to it, and it becomes part of you. I’m not to that point yet,” he says.
The videos are part of Cutler’s work with drug-maker Eli Lilly on the Touchdowns for Diabetes camp scholarship program. For every touchdown pass Cutler throws this season, Eli Lilly will donate $1,000 to the American Diabetes Association’s ‘Camp Scholarship’ fund, which is roughly the cost of sending one child to a week-long camp. In addition. Eli Lilly will donate $100 for every pass Cutler completes during the season. Through the first four games Cutler has thrown for eight touchdowns and completed 83 passes. That’s enough to send 17 kids to camp next year.
You can check out the videos below:
Episode 1: Journey with Diabetes
Episode 2: Diagnosis (Click on the second video icon)
Episode 3: Learning to Manage
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