By: centraljersey.com
Amanda Mae Donohue looks and plays no different, but has to pay much closer attention to her body than any of her Princeton Day School field hockey teammates.
The Panthers sophomore must monitor her blood sugar while she lives with Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes.
"Exercising has been a struggle because exercise tends to lower your blood sugar pretty quickly," Donohue said. "It’s definitely a struggle. I’ll want to play in a whole game and my blood sugar is low. I have to treat it.
"I’m so lucky to be a part of PDS field hockey though. Everyone is so willing to learn and support me, especially my coaches. It makes it so much easier."
The Panthers are showing their support by dedicating their Wednesday game against visiting Solebury to Juvenile Diabetes Awareness. The game will be held on their turf field.
"There isn’t anything being addressed with juvenile diabetes," said PDS head coach MC Heller. "I thought how nice it would be to do something. It’s something that immediately affects our field hockey family. It’s a way to honor what she has to go through."
The Panthers also hope to participate with Donohue as a team in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk on Oct. 24 in Camden. Donohue, who primarily plays on the PDS junior varsity, has been thrilled by the gestures.
"I’m super excited about it, and super appreciative to MC too for getting this in motion," Donohue said. "I definitely think it’s something that people will understand a little more once they realize there are other people in the community that have Type 1. I think we need to bring it out in the public a little more. This is the perfect opportunity to do it."
Donohue notes that are several important distinctions between the rarer Type 1 diabetes and the Type 2 diabetes that accounts for close to 95 percent of all cases. Either type can lead to serious health complications if left unchecked.
"Type 1 is not genetic and I didn’t get it from being overweight or eating badly," Donohue said. "They think I got it from a virus. Instead of the antibodies attacking the virus, instead they attacked my pancreas to eliminate the production of insulin.
"Another one would be how different it is to handle it nowadays than 15-20 years ago. It doesn’t mean I can’t eat sugar. I just have to check my blood sugar and monitor myself. If I do that, I can technically eat anything I want."
Donohue began learning all she could and raising awareness about diabetes almost as soon as she was diagnosed one week after her 10th birthday. Donohue participated in her first Walk to Cure Diabetes after she was diagnosed, then organized her own team to be a part of the walk next year. She started her own foundation, Amanda Mae’s Miracles, which has raised $25,000 toward funding research on Type 1 diabetes.
"I’m so absolutely impressed that she has a foundation and T-shirts and everything," Heller said. "Our team tries to encourage a community service project and what better way than to support a teammate?"
Said Donohue: "I come from a family that really likes to help people. I automatically thought I’d try to help people like myself with diabetes."
Donohue has learned to manager her diabetes while contributing for the Panthers. For the first two years after diagnosis, Donohue had to take insulin shots.
"It was somewhat cumbersome and somewhat painful," she said. Donohue now wears an insulin pump, which helps automatically calculate how much insulin she needs. She disconnects it during games.
"I still have to check my blood sugar before and after games," Donohue said. "Having it for five years has given me the practice and knowledge to be doing it on my own and know what needs to be done."
If her blood sugar is not in the right range, she has to stop playing to treat it. When her blood sugar is too low, she can eat or drink something. When it’s too high, she needs more insulin to bring it down. It can take 15-30 minutes for her body to adjust and allow her to resume playing. Then, she can worry about becoming a better player, but only after she knows she is fit to play.
"It’s definitely one more thing on my mind," Donohue said.
The Panthers see a bright future for Donohue. The midfielder is expected to contribute more in the coming years.
"She’s definitely one of our standout JV players," Heller said. "I can see her contributing junior, definitely senior year. It all depends on how under control her blood sugar is. Sometimes, it’s so fickle.
"She’s very responsible about it. It’s so tempting, for any player, when I say, ‘Amanda, go in,’ to just go in. She has to have the right count. She has her head on straight. Her health comes first. It’s unfortunate. She could definitely contribute, and if she would play in the varsity game, she would gain experience."
The PDS varsity is off to a 6-2 start. They lost two of their last three games, to powers Peddie and Lawrenceville. "Peddie and Lawrenceville are extremely respectable teams," Heller said. "They got there by doing the same sort of work we’re doing now. They’re a great role model for our program. We want to get at that level where even if you’re having a successful season, we’re still going to win.
"I don’t want it to be a fluke season," she added. "Mentally, our team is doing really well. They’re coming along. I’m proud of the efforts they’ve given."
Heller has focused on teaching the Panthers this year, and Donohue has helped teach her plenty about managing diabetes.
"She’s so responsible with it," Heller said. "That’s really important."
Donohue isn’t letting it slow her down. She also rows for the Mercer Junior Rowing Club, and plays tennis in her spare time. She plans on staying active for a long time.
"I have the mentality that I would be doing the same stuff if I didn’t have Type 1 diabetes," Donohue said. "One day, they’ll find a cure. So I might as well get used to it."

