BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado star defensive lineman Will Pericak (PRE-check) faces two opponents every Saturday: the opposing quarterback and diabetes.
After every other series, he goes to the sideline for finger pricks to test his blood sugars. High-fructose energy drinks are on hand if he needs them.
Pericak was diagnosed at 15 when he was a freshman at Boulder High School, but his older brother was diagnosed much younger, "so I kind of grew up with it throughout my youth, so I kind of knew what it was all about."
Like many diabetics, Pericak, a senior who packs 285 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame, uses a proper balance of diet, medication and exercise to control his disease, which he has come to view as more a blessing than a curse.
©2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
