Winning an NBA championship is on the mind of literally every player once they enter the league–and some even have dreams of it growing up. So it was no different with NBA All Star Ray Allen.
Allen’s pregame routine and ritual are the most precise and detailed in the league. Allen is nearly OCD about his routine — he doesn’t like it changed. He wants that structure in his life.
But when his son, Walker, just 17 months old, became sick–very sick–during the NBA Finals Ray was playing in, Ray’s wife Shannon had to step in. Shannon took him to a hospital in Los Angeles for a blood test. Typically, a person’s blood sugar level is between 70 and 120. Walkers was 639. The doctor told Shannon that Walker’s blood sugar was literally poisoning him to death.
“It was like the rug was pulled out from under us,” Shannon said. The doctor said that if Walker didn’t get insulin soon, he would die.
Fortunately Walker got that insulin. And three days later was well enough to celebrate the NBA Championship with his father.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen him (Ray) terrified,” Shannon said. She said that Ray was grateful it was something that could be treated.
Shannon has worked hard to educate herself and those around her about diabetes. It’s come at a cost – especially to her sleep schedule. They have three other boys and a daughter at college, but still Shannon gets up every two hours every single night to make sure that Walker’s blood sugar level is where it needs to be and that he’s okay. She also stays with him at school to administer his insulin shots. He gets between five to seven a day.
She also carefully watches what Walker, and the rest of the family, eats.
“We’re so diligent about everything we put in our mouths,” she said.
Shannon said she is glad Ray’s job in the spotlight allows her to shine light onto diabetes.
“Parents have to know we almost lost our child. And that 40 percent of the time parents bury their baby because of a simple blood test.”
Allen knows this is one place his celebrity and status can help his child and others like him — Allen and his wife…
… have done a number of public service announcements with Walker, and they are personally involved in the cause. Which includes going to Washington every couple years to talk to congress about the realities of the disease and the need for research.
“I just tell them a little bit about who we are as a family and who Walker is,” Allen said. “Basically giving a human side to the story — diabetes is not just a word or a disease, there are people who fight every day to keep their children alive. There are families all across America like that.
“I’m just a dad just trying to make sure his son gets the proper care that he deserves and hope that one day they find a cure,” reiterates Allen. “It just so happens that I do have a high profile job and I walk into a room of high profile people and let them know this what I deal with regardless of what I’m dealing with professionally.”
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