Business
Welcome to episode #8 of the Dreaming of Cooperstown Podcast with my guest Eric Tozer. ERIC MADE HISTORY, BECOMING THE FIRST PERSON WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES (T1D) TO COMPLETE THE WORLD MARATHON CHALLENGE, RUNNING 7 MARATHONS ON 7 CONTINENTS IN 7 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. Eric Tozer is an endurance athlete and a diabetes ambassador who inspires the community through sports and utilizes his athletic accomplishments as a platform to be a role model in the diabetes community. Eric was diagnosed with T1D in 2006, while traveling in Europe. He had the classic symptoms of diabetes including constant thirst, increased appetite, frequent urination, blurred vision, lethargy and weight loss. Eric had always lived a very active and healthy lifestyle, so the sudden 20-pound weight loss made him aware that something was seriously wrong. Upon returning home, a visit to his doctor revealed the devastating and life changing news of his diagnosis. Eric’s life was quickly turned upside down: checking his blood sugar levels up to 10 times a day, calculating carbohydrate intake and taking varying units of insulin shots with every meal. But Eric wasn’t going to let diabetes control his life and decided to take charge. Soon after his diagnosis, he completed his first half Ironman and hasn’t stopped since. He co-founded non-profit organization, Diabetes Sports Project, comprised of hundreds of T1D athletes around the globe, demonstrating how through proper diet, exercise, a positive outlook and effective blood glucose management, dreams can be achieved. Eric’s Athletic Accomplishments: World Marathon Challenge 2019 (7 Marathons, 7 Continents, 7 Days) Run Across America (3,000+ mile run across USA in 15 days with ten T1Ds) 6 mile Ironman distance triathlons 3 mile Half-Ironman distance triathlons Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons 2 mile Marathons 1 mile Half-Marathons NCAA Men's Soccer Final Four All-Tournament Team (2004) Diabetes Sports Project Diabetes Sports Project (DSP) was co-founded by fellow T1Ds and friends, Eric Tozer and Casey Boren. DSP is comprised of the world’s elite diabetic athlete ambassadors who inspire and educate the diabetes community to achieve their goals and aspirations. These ambassadors demonstrate how through proper diet, exercise, a positive outlook and effective blood glucose management dreams can be achieved. The DSP ambassadors are directly engaged in community events within the diabetes and healthcare industry around the world. They participate in diabetes camps, JDRF & ADA events, industry conferences and trade shows, hospital visits, patient support groups, medical professional events and much more. Additionally, their athletes compete at the highest levels of sports to demonstrate that goals can be achieved with diabetes. DSP is dedicated to empowering the nearly 26 million affected by type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the United States. Through inspirational and educational community engagement along with competition in the biggest sporting events in the world, DSP will inspire and educate millions of people affected by diabetes. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Their vision is a world without type 1 diabetes. Their mission is improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure. In T1D, your pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires your daily attention and manual intervention. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night. However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes. Even with the most vigilant disease management, a significant portion of your day will be spent with either high or low blood-sugar levels. These fluctuations place people with T1D at risk for potentially life-threatening hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes as well as devastating long-term complications such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness and amputation. Connect with Eric http://www.erictozer.com/http://www.diabetessportsproject.com/ Connect with JDRFhttps://www.jdrf.org/ JDRF Ride-to-Cure Diabeteshttps://www2.jdrf.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ride_homepage