Living and swimming as a diabetic: Tanner Barton's story

<p>Junior swimmer Tanner Barton is one of approximately 1.25 million people in America who suffer from Type 1 diabetes. Barton also serves on the international council for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. <em>PHOTO PROVIDED BY JENNA&nbsp;JORGENSEN</em></p>

Junior swimmer Tanner Barton is one of approximately 1.25 million people in America who suffer from Type 1 diabetes. Barton also serves on the international council for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JENNA JORGENSEN

Sept. 2, 2003, is a day that will forever stick in the mind of Tanner Barton. It was the day the then eight-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Barton is a junior captain on the men's swimming and diving team, and one of the approximately 1.25 million people in America who suffer from Type 1 diabetes, according to diabetes.org.

Barton, a Dublin, Ohio, native, lounges back in his first-class seat as the plane cruises 35,000 feet in the air en route to Copenhagen. Many can only dream of visiting such a destination, but this will be the second time Barton has traveled there in three months.

Barton serves on an international council for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) called the Type 1 Diabetes Voices Council. The 17 members who make up the council each represents and speak on behalf of a different population. Barton is the youngest in the council and represents all young adults and athletes living with Type 1 diabetes. 

“When I was younger, I never saw myself being such an advocate," Barton said. "I was always in an advocacy position, and I was always a spokesperson for the disease."

Barton was one of four members on the council invited to represent the United States on Nov. 14 for World Diabetes Day at a national convention held right outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company, Novo Nordisk, hosts the event as an insulin manufacturer. The initiative of the Voices Council is to bridge the gap between patients who use the products and the scientists who create them.

Advocating for finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes was something that did not always interest Barton. He was once an angry, sick 8-year-old who had his world flipped upside down.

The 'Diaversary'

“It’s such a profound event in your life that it becomes engraved in your memory,” Barton said.

Sept. 2, 2003, is Tanner’s "diaversary": the anniversary of his diagnosis. 

As a swimmer and gymnast from a young age, he was always active. It was the first week of school during his third grade year. The gymnastics gym was closed for annual cleaning while the outdoor pools were closed, but indoor swim season had not began yet.

“So I go from being so active during my practices, to going back to school and sitting down for seven to eight hours a day,” Barton said.

That's when the symptoms arose. Barton became unusually thirsty, fatigued, irritable and began losing weight. The symptom that alerted his parents was the bed wetting, a habit not normal for a third grader.

“It was a normal afternoon,” Tanner's mother Andrea Barton said. “Tanner was going to the doctor; his dad was taking him because I had a repair man at my house fixing my refrigerator. We weren’t expecting it.”

After arriving at the hospital, the doctor instructed Tanner and his family to immediately pack a bag and drive to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. 

The third grader grabbed a stuffed animal and went on his way, not knowing that his world was about to change forever.

After arrival, his body was in diabetic ketoacidosis, a state when the body produces extra ketone's, raising blood sugar levels, and in Tanner's case, attacking his muscles. Average blood sugar levels range from 80-100. His was at 600.

Tanner's hiatus in activity allowed the symptoms to show. His exercise and activity hid the fact that he had diabetes. Exercise acts as a hidden insulin, converting sugar into energy.

“Everything was being masked,” Tanner said.

Why Me?

Six days and five nights were spent in the hospital between him and his family. During this time, they went through extensive training sessions learning everything they would need to know about living with Type 1 diabetes. The Bartons learned how to count carbohydrates, test blood sugar and give Tanner shots.

“At that point in time, never did it occur to me that this would be something that I would live with 24/7,” Tanner said. 

He remembers two distinct memories from the stay. During one of his “how to count carbs” sessions, he became sweaty, irritable and angry. The nurses explained that he was experiencing his first low blood sugar episode.

“That was an eye-opener for [my parents]. They said, 'Wow, he really does have this disease, and look, this insulin is working,'” Tanner said. “I felt very lifeless in that moment, because I couldn’t control my swing from high to low, but it was also a time for me to understand ... I need to be cognizant of it from here on now.”

Once he was released from the hospital, he was ready to move on with his life, but he couldn't escape the single question that loomed in his mind.

“'Why me?' That’s the initial emotion I felt,” Tanner said.

He grew up as the only diabetic in his elementary and middle school; he was one of three diabetics in his high school.

When his mother goes to his swim meets, there's something more on her mind than just his performance. 

“I’m the only mom sitting up there watching [him] swim worrying about [his] blood sugar. I’m the only mom every night who has to write down everything that’s in [his] lunch and all of the carbs in there," Andrea said. “It’s not why [Tanner], it’s why all of us.”

Tanner's parents noticed the new bouts of anger in their son and had him speak to their priest, Monsignor Hendricks.

“Why me?" Barton asked. “God is supposed to look out for you and take care of you, and here I am thinking I am being punished.”

The response was that God only deals the cards that he could handle, and Tanner asked for new cards to be dealt.

Hendricks tried a new approach.

“The way you need to look at this is like, 'Why not me?'" Hendricks said. "God gave you this disease for some reason, the reason we do not know, but why not you? He gave it to you for a purpose, and there’s something you can do now that you’re a Type 1 diabetic, and you may be able to do it now, you may be able to do it in two years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, but there is a reason, so why not you?” 

It was because of those words that Tanner changed his attitude and brought the positive out of a negative situation.

The Purpose

Barton became an advocate for finding a cure for juvenile diabetes not long after his diagnosis, becoming a youth ambassador for JDRF. At 14 years old, he was elected to the program's Children’s Congress. As a member, he spoke with legislators about life with Type 1 diabetes and funding efforts.

In the sixth grade, he was asked to speak about his life with Type 1 diabetes at a political rally to increase National Institute of Health (NIH) funding.

He was among elite company, sitting next to actor Michael J. Fox, who spoke for Parkinson’s disease. During Fox’s presentation, he mentioned how much of an inspiration Tanner was.

“Hearing this from Michael J. Fox was surreal,” Tanner said.

Two years later, he was featured in Fox’s autobiography.

In "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incredible Optimist," Fox wrote, “It’s obvious that he’s a tough kid, but it’s also easy to discern the uncertainty beneath his boyish bravado.”

Following his Dream

Swimming at the collegiate level was a dream Tanner would not let go of because of his diagnosis. At Ball State, Tanner swims the butterfly, free and individual medley. His 200 fly time of 1:50.86 set at the 2014 MAC Championships ranks second in program history.

Men’s swimming and diving head coach Rob Thomas had never coached a diabetic before, so Tanner made sure to explain to him and his teammates about the condition.

“I wanted them to understand that this is a chronic condition, but I can still be competitive and be the best. I won’t let diabetes hold me back, and my coach and teammates see this drive and determination,” he said.

Tanner is studying health sciences in hopes of becoming a certified diabetes educator, meeting with newly diagnosed patients in the hospital just like he once was.

“I live with diabetes 24/7, and I never thought that I would want to be doing something focused on diabetes as a career because its already with me 24/7,” Tanner said.

Tanner continues to advocate for finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and mentoring younger kids who have the disease as well.

“Now, from where I stand as a junior at Ball State and an international advocate for diabetes, I can see, honestly, why I was diagnosed,” Tanner said. “In a sense that I am a spokesperson not for myself, but for so many people.” 

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