Sports

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Jay Cutler is more than the face of the Chicago Bears franchise, he's also one of Chicago's most famous diabetics.

Since being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year, Cutler has been very active with kids with diabetes, inspiring them to achieve their goals and letting them see that diabetes doesn't have to stop them from being who they want to be. He visited with some kids last weekend at the University of Chicago to raise awareness because November is National Diabetes Month.

CBS 2's Megan Mawicke had a rare chat with Cutler's parents, who gave some insight into who he really is.

Cutler is fighting more than opposing defenses. His biggest opponent is Type 1 diabetes, the rarest and most serious form of the disease.

"I think being diabetic is very personal. You can talk to all the doctors, meet with as many people as you want and at the end of the day you're the one waking up with it. You're the one going to sleep with it, so I think it's just the daily grind of it and checking your sugars. I think that is the hardest part and it weights on you," Cutler said.

For six months Cutler didn't know what was wrong.

"I lost 30 pounds in 2007 in about three weeks," Cutler said.

He had lost so much weight, along with the zip on his famous fastball. He was diagnosed with diabetes just last year when he was 24. The news was hard for his parents, Jack and Sandy, to take as well.

"You want to fix it and you can't. Plus, he kept telling me he was 24 years old but as a mom you just want to fix everything that is broke," said Jay's mother Sandy Cutler.

"The first thing we did was we got books and read up on diabetes and tried to learn. We knew a little bit about diabetes but not the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 so we tried to educate ourselves. But Jay is a very independent person and he wanted to handle this himself. I would ask him questions and he was like 'Dad I'm fine, I can deal with this, you and mom don't worry about it,'" said Jay's father Jack Cutler.

Jay has had to drastically change his diet and takes insulin shots daily, but he said the hardest part is monitoring his blood sugar levels during games. He pricks his fingers 10 to 15 times to make sure his levels are ok.

"Immediately after I come off from the first series of a game we check it (blood sugar levels) because that is when I am the most anxious and the most stressed. I usually drop 50 points in five minutes," Jay said.

"They (fans) see him out on the field and the fact he has diabetes, they forget about that. They just want to see the quarterback that throws the touchdowns and tend to forget what he's dealing with behind the scenes but that's the way it is. It's a tough business and he's going to do well in it," said Jack Cutler.

CBS 2 asked his mother if she still worries even though he's a grown man.

"Yes, absolutely. Every day, Every day," Sandy said.

Despite his busy schedule, Jay spends a lot of time talking with kids who have diabetes. Just this past weekend, he was stumped when a kid asked him what he would be doing if he wasn't playing football.

"That is a good question. What would I be doing? I don't know," said a perplexed Jay Cutler.

But his Dad knows one thing Jay probably wouldn't be doing: working for him at his concrete company in Indiana called Cutler and Son.

"Jay worked for me since he was 8 years old," said Jack Cutler. "I think that is one reason why he went to Vanderbilt and excelled in football because he saw early on that he didn't want to be out there on a hot summer day pouring concrete. He was good at it, though – a great help to me."

Now Jay, along with his parents, is helping tackle a cure for diabetes and inspire young kids.

"Diabetes has given me and my foundation a purpose to help out kids. It is tough for them to deal with this at such a young age. I just want to help them out and let them know there is somebody who is making it and is successful. I want them to know they can do whatever they want to do. Type 1 diabetes doesn't have to restrict you or hold you down forever. You can do anything you want to do," said Jay Cutler.

Jay's success means more to just the Bears. The Jay Cutler Foundation has teamed up with Eli Lilly for the "Touchdown for Diabetes" campaign.

For every touchdown pass Cutler throws during the season, Lilly will send a child to diabetes camp by donating $1,000 to the ADA's Camp Scholarship fund —roughly the cost of providing tuition for one child to attend a week of diabetes camp. And for every pass Jay completes this season, Lilly with donate $100 to the ADA Camp Scholarship fund to allow even more kids the chance to attend camp next summer.

Other professional athletes who dealt with diabetes and had successful careers include NFL quarterback Wade Wilson, Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, tennis stars Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King, Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr., NHL star Bobby Clarke, baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb and boxing greats Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Robinson.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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