Faith in the Freshman

Guard attacks diabetes, foes with great determination

by Anthony Witrado, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Originally published on January 28, 2008

Halftime is always a little different for Andrew Ferry.

When the Milwaukee Lutheran boys basketball players head to the locker room and take a seat, awaiting their mid-game speech, Ferry slips off to the side.

He takes out a hand-held machine and pushes a button.  A small needle shoots from the device and into Ferry’s finger and quickly retracts, drawing a tiny blood sample.  The machine then gives Ferry his blood-sugar level, and depending on the reading, he injects a certain amount of insulin into his body before returning to the team.

“When I play, I have adrenaline, which brings my level up,” Ferry said.  “The insulin brings it back down.”

Ferry is a senior guard for Lutheran and leads the team at 18.2 points per game after averaging fewer than 10 a season ago.  He is the team’s do-it-all player and leader.

Ferry is also a diabetic.

He was diagnosed with the disease Jan. 1, 2006.  He didn’t know how to react because he wasn’t sure exactly what diabetes was, but when he found out, his daily routine, diet, attention and purpose changed.

That small prick on his finger happens anywhere between 10 and 15 times a day, depending on how active he is.  The insulin shots follow if needed.  Ferry is always cognizant of his level, checking it before each time he eats, and sometimes adjusting his menu because of it.  He eats more vegetables now.

If blood sugar is too high or low, he can get dizzy, lethargic and light-headed.  “Sometimes it’s annoying,” he said.  “It’s not a big deal.  I just always have to be aware of it.”

It never really interferes with his basketball though.

“There are times when he might have to check his levels, but that’s it,” Lutheran coach Jason Moesch said.  “The kid is such a competitor, I think if he was feeling weird, he might not tell us because he’d have to come out.”

His teammates razz him occasionally, trash talk or call him names; one of the more memorable ones is “Sugar Boy.”  It is all playful and Ferry said it made dealing with things easier.  It is simple locker room high jinks, the same way a kid with a botched haircut might not hear the end of it until the hair grows out.

Except there is no waiting for diabetes to grow out.  It is with him forever.  There is no cure.

The disease has changed the way he attacks life and the game.  Ferry learned to better focus and pay attention in counting his carbohydrate or sugar intake daily.  It is a work ethic and discipline that translates to the gym.

“It helps with everything, basketball and school,” Ferry said.  “Everything I do now has to have a purpose, whether it is eating or making a move (on the court).”

Ferry stood 5 feet 2 inches and weighed 90 pounds as a freshman and was a three-point specialist.  But after last season, he had a ridiculous growth spurt, shooting up 4 inches to 5-11, although he likes to smile and call himself a 6-footer.

With body growth came skill development.  He improved his ball-handling, defense, and one-on-one game.

Now Ferry is an all-around player and earning college interest.  But, those around him say he is an all-around person, not just a ballplayer.

“If I had a son,” Moesch said, “he’d be the kind of son I’d want.  That’s just the person he is.”