Written by: Bailey Hemphill
Young Hero: Grant Nichter
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ine-year-old Grant Nichter goes to school at Fullerton Magnet Center in the Omaha Public Schools district. In March 2012, Grant was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes, even though he was a very active child with no family history of diabetes. His mom, Lisa, explains that she grew curious to know Grant’s blood sugar count one day after he began coming in every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom while playing outside. As a medical nutrition therapist specialist and certified diabetes educator with The Nebraska Medical Center, Lisa always carried a meter in her bag, so she decided to test Grant. His blood sugar was over 600. “Normal is 80-120,” she says. “So I checked mine…95.” Quickly, Lisa rushed him to the hospital. “When measured at the ER, [his blood sugar] was 849…It’s astonishing how simple the diagnosis is for Type 1 juvenile diabetes. No scans, no labs that take days to run— just a random blood sugar of more than 200 plus symptoms.” And Grant did have symptoms. When asked if he had noticed anything different, Grant said that he hadn’t been running as fast as the other boys at baseball practice. After his blood sugar was brought back down, Lisa and Grant went home to begin their plan of attack. Because Grant is a competitive and smart kid, Lisa says he was driven to start managing his disease. “I told him diabetes is a big math problem with lots of numbers—units of insulin, grams of carbs, [and] blood sugar numbers. His interest was peaked; after all, math is his favorite subject,” she adds. Lisa believes her son is a great role model for other children because he has a lot of extra responsibilities with his diabetes, and he is well prepared for and good at managing those responsibilities. “While [Grant] knows what can happen to him if he doesn’t take care of his diabetes, he doesn’t let that limit him.” She says that Grant once came up to her and said, “Mom, I think God gave a mom, who is a diabetes educator, a kid with diabetes to help her learn more and help others.” This is why Lisa is so inspired by her son—because he has such a positive attitude throughout all of this. “This disease takes away the spontaneity that goes with being a kid. If he wants to go on a bike ride, he has to take a meter to check his blood sugars and snacks for low blood sugars.”
Fortunately, that is where the American Diabetes Association (ADA) steps in. “Not only do they help disseminate and fund research and education on the professional side, but the ADA also sponsors camps, so kids like Grant can have these experiences,” explains Lisa. The ADA makes sure kids like Grant aren’t discriminated against for having diabetes. “They have programs, like ‘Safe at School’, so kids can get the education they have a right to get in a safe environment.” Prior to his diagnosis, Grant knew the importance of finding a cure for diabetes after attending a diabetes camp two years earlier with his mom. For the past three years now, Grant, Lisa, his dad Josh, and his younger sister Ava have participated in the ADA’s Tour de Cure, a bike ride to raise funds for diabetes research and education. “[Grant] biked 20 miles this year!” Lisa SPECTRUM exclaims.
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Family Spectrum and Omaha Storm Chasers would like to honor your Young Hero. Send nominations to Bailey@OmahaPublications.com. • readonlinenow.com November 2012 • • • •
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