Diligence, discipline required for tennis star with diabetes

In the finals of the 5A women's tennis tournament, Jenni Mathews knew her poor play wasn't just nerves or fatigue.

"I knew it was my diabetes because I play really badly when my insulin gets too low," she said. Her partner helped her to a bench while her coaches tried to find her some candy. It was hot, and Mathews and her partner played the longest match of the day in claiming the first doubles title.

"The brain runs on sugar exclusively, and so you don't think as clearly," said her father, Morris Mathews, who is a doctor. "It's difficult to regulate insulin while exercising because exercise lowers insulin requirements."

Jenni Mathews won two state titles despite suffering problems related to her diabetes two years in a row. This year, her win meant the Huskies earned the 5A state title.

Diabetic athletes are nothing new, but it requires discipline that diabetics who don't play sports don't face. Though she was diagnosed at age 13, Mathews has been diligent about regulating her insulin because she loves tennis so much.

"I took a lesson when I was little and just played for fun," she said. "Then it became a lot more serious."

Even after learning she had Type I diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, she never considered giving up the game she loved.

Her mom, Patsy, first noticed the symptoms that led to her diagnosis.

It was the summer after seventh grade, and she and Jenni were at a violin camp. She noticed her daughter was constantly thirsty and had to use the bathroom all the time. She immediately reported this to her husband.

"She said something seems to be wrong," Morris recalled. "I knew those to be classic symptoms of diabetes."

So the family had some tests run, and the diagnosis was diabetes.

"She'd had it just a few weeks, and her skin was gray, and she'd lost 15 pounds," Morris Mathews said of Jenni, who is a senior at Hillcrest High. "The tissues start to starve; they can't get nutrition. They're not sure what causes it; it may be a virus, and it tends to be reasonably sudden onset. It's not genetic."

The family was immediately concerned with teaching Jenni to consistently regulate her insulin to avoid debilitating health problems and maybe live longer. Because exercise lowers blood sugar, Patsy was initially worried about Jenni playing tennis competitively.