Diabetes Doesn't Hold Him Back
Photo/Kukla Vera
But to Andy Holder, the event was the ultimate challenge he set for himself soon after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Just a little over a year ago, Holder realized this dream and completed his first Ironman race in Lake Placid, N.Y. Now he’s building on that experience as he travels around the country participating in races and inspiring others at various gatherings, including a presentation at the USC School of Pharmacy on Sept. 7.
“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 36. I realized I couldn’t change that diagnosis, but I could change my attitude,” Holder told an audience of students, faculty and participants in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge. “I also looked at my two young sons and knew I did not want them to see their dad as diseased.”
Although Holder was always athletic, he had not been an endurance athlete, so his Ironman aspirations required a highly structured training regimen. In addition, his diabetes required constant measurement of blood glucose levels as well as insulin treatment.
“During training and on race days, I had to develop a very definite ritual to ready myself for the race,” Holder said. “I also had to learn (to) swim, which I didn’t know how to do before I began training for the Ironman.”
Holder, who participated in the Los Angeles Triathlon on Sept. 9, credited his health care team with making it possible for him to achieve his athletic goals.
Telling the audience how his pharmacist plays a central role in making his goals a reality, Holder encouraged the students to seize their roles as pharmacists, helping their patients to manage their diabetes and live without limits.
He also encouraged the Diabetes Ten City Challenge participants to not let the disease control their lives. The challenge is a national, employer-based self-management program that USC offers to employees and dependents covered by the university’s Network Medical Plan.
The program was supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy/Diabetes Shoppe, Holder’s sponsors on his national tour.
Latest stories
- Ray Irani, Michael Waterman Elected to NAE February 10, 2012 10:35 AM
- MSW@USC Student to Compete in 2012 Paralympics February 10, 2012 9:22 AM
- Judy Woodruff: Public Broadcasting Has Changed for the Good February 10, 2012 8:49 AM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries