There have been many stories about the breakthroughs medicine has been achieving in finding the cure for diabetes. In the meantime though, many diabetics suffer through the pernicious effects of the condition in their daily lives. Many individuals though have seen the condition as a mere hurdle on their way to success. Much like Brandon Morrow, one can be living the dream despite diabetes.

Brandon Morrow has a routine before he starts his work as starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. He takes time to dress, time to eat, time to stretch, time to throw. His routine though, because of his Type 1 diabetes, has a few more steps, time to test, time to adjust and time to monitor. This he has been doing since he was diagnosed back in high school, all through college and now in the Major League.

“I was losing a lot of weight and drinking a lot of water and my mom thought I put myself on some strange diet or something,” Morrow said. “I was complaining about my symptoms to a friend who actually had just done a research project on diabetes and he told me my symptoms matched up. That’s when we started looking at this seriously. At first there was just this disbelief. You just don’t want to believe it.”

Morrow had himself diagnosed at the hospital and left with training on insulin shots. He also has an insulin pump. The pump works to provide a steady drip of insulin to the diabetic depending upon their needs. For Morrow, he has to monitor himself constantly especially right before he steps on the pitcher’s mound, so that he can still be the athlete that he is even if he has the condition.

This hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his dream of pitching in the majors. “I check my blood sugar more on a start day because I have a tendency to get low during warmups,” said Morrow, a first-round pick of the Mariners in 2006. “Sometimes I try to be too perfect in keeping my blood sugar levels right and I give myself a touch too much insulin and I fall a little low and I’ll need a Gatorade before the game starts. Then I have to check again after the first inning and after the second and usually from there I’m all right.”

Then again, it’s just one of the challenges a big league pitcher faces each day. Aside from pitching low and away to the game’s best hitters, he faces the daily problems many Type 1 diabetics face each day. He has sound advice though, “Right off the bat it’s all about routine,” Morrow said. “You’ve got to keep your sugar levels stable and in a good range. So develop your routine, especially on game days. It doesn’t have to be a worry. Find what works for you so then you don’t have to worry about, ‘Man, am I going to go low during a game?’ Once you have that routine down, you’re fine.”

While at first site 6′3″ and 240 pound Jay Cutler may be just another face in the Denver Broncos American football team there is much more to this young man than meets the eye. He starred in last week’s game although many people are unaware he actually suffers from type I diabetes, a condition which has seen many athletes throw in the towel and call it a day. So what does Jay Cutler do which is so special?

Those who watch the Denver Broncos American football games will note that the star quarterback can leave the field between six and seven times in a game for mystery “checkups”. Few will be aware that each time he leaves the field he uses a finger prick kit to check his blood sugar levels as the game is progressing. If his levels are too low he will take in special fluids to increase them and if they are too high he has his traditional diabetic medication at hand.

Cutler was diagnosed with type I diabetes just over a year ago prior to its 25th birthday and while it has caused some concern among members of his team he appears determined that it will not affect what is turning out to be a highly successful American football career. The fact that Cutler is able to go on “as normal” strengthens the growing belief that sport and exercise can work together to reduce the impact of conditions such as type I diabetes. Even though type I diabetes sufferers only account for between 5% and 10% of all diabetics, in many ways they have the hardest problems maintaining their sugar levels and ensuring they are protected as much as possible.

In everyday life a type I diabetic needs to ensure constant snacking, hydrating and the protection of various parts of the body but these factors are multiplied for any type of athlete. It’s difficult enough to compete in professional sports and athletics in today’s age but doing so with the constant threat of diabetes in their mind shows how determined and focused these leaders must be. While Jay Cutler is not the only sports star to suffer from either type I or type II diabetes he appears to be something of a role model for many in a similar situation.

Unfortunately for many people the thought of developing diabetes type I or diabetes type II is often seen as the end of the world as they know it. However, many of the stigmas attached to the condition in years gone by have now disappeared with more and more treatments available and a greater chance of catching the developing condition at an early stage. This year has seen a record number of potential breakthroughs in the treatment of diabetes and its associated medical conditions which all bode very well for the future.

The more sports star and superstar diabetic role models there are the more chance of younger sufferers realising that life does not end with the condition and a well-planned diet and constant monitoring of blood sugar levels should allow the vast majority of people to lead a relatively normal life.

While in many ways the sign of a great director is the standard of their films there are very few directors who are larger than even their best movies. George Lucas is the director who created Star Wars and has gone on to have a great career as an independent director/producer with a personal fortune estimated in the region of $4 billion. Unfortunate, as with so many of the more famous diabetics his condition receives little comment in the press which is a little disappointing as it could well be an inspiration to many sufferers.

Born on 14 May 1944 George Walton Lucas developed a very early passion for fast cars and motor racing although a near fatal accident just prior to his high school graduation soon saw him looking for new ventures. It was then that he took up an interest in cinematography, experimenting with a number of home movies during his time at college. As luck would have it the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts opened just as George Lucas was looking to take his movie ambitions to a new level. This is where he toned his moviemaking skills which went on to bring him fame and a massive fortune.

Lucas managed to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film in 1967 although he then tried to join the United States Air Force as an officer only to be turned down because of numerous speeding tickets and referred to the U.S. Army. It was during a routine medical test with the Army that he was shown to be suffering from a mild form of diabetes for which he was prescribed medication for the rest of his life – he does not require insulin injections. In hindsight, the fact he was not able to join the army because of his diabetes meant that he was able to pursue his first love of movie and films and the George Lucas saga started to take shape.

Initially George Lucas’s first major success was American Graffiti in 1973 although as luck would have it he then proposed a new Flash Gordon film but was unable to secure the rights for the production. It was then that he looked at his own film which we now know as Star Wars. As with so many of the great films of today Lucas had great difficulty arranging finance to produce and distribute the film and it was only because one of the directors at Fox Studios was a fan of American Graffiti that he was able to sign a contract to produce Star Wars.

George Lucas took the strange and uncommon step of waving his up-front directors fees in relation to Star Wars and instead negotiated ownership of the licensing rights which Fox Studios believed to be worthless at the time. When Star Wars literally took off, that inspired move by George Lucas earned him hundreds of millions of dollars as he was able to retain the profits from licensed games, toys and collectables. While he went on to make a number of Star Wars movies he has also been involved in many more well-known and well loved films in the past but Star Wars has never been surpassed in his career and remains one of the more lucrative movie franchises of all time.

Elvis Aaron Presley is without doubt the most popular and most famous singer of all time but many people are not aware that Elvis was actually one of the most famous diabetics of all time. He lived the life of a true rockabilly rockstar which many believe to be the main reason for his premature death on 16 August 1977 aged just 42.

The King of rock ‘n’ roll began his career in 1954 with a controversial mix of an up-tempo country and rhythm and blues beat which was hailed as bringing together “black” and “white” music styles. Songs such as “hound dog” and “jailhouse rock” are as popular now as they were when Elvis was in full flow, such is the popularity of the one and only Elvis Presley.

The future King of rock ‘n’ roll came from a very humble background with his father Vernon Elvis Presley holding down a number of low paid jobs and his mother a sewing machinist to try and make ends meet. Born in East Tupelo in a house which his father built many people may be surprised to learn he had an identical twin who was stillborn but given the name Jesse Garon Presley. The death of his identical twin appeared to push Elvis towards his mother with whom he enjoyed a very close relationship until her death.

His first singing experience came on 3 October 1945 when the age just 10 he performed at the Mississippi Alabama Fair and Dairy show, singing the classic “Old Shep” and while he came fifth in the competition few could ever have imagined the career and future which Elvis Presley would experience. He is known to have done much work for the American Diabetes Society and if there was ever one example of how diabetes could not and should not take over your life this was the man!

When Presley died of health-related complications he left a legacy which continues to this day and an income which has given his immediate family a very comfortable lifestyle. Elvis had, and continues to have even after his death, number-one hits around the world with remixes of his old songs dominating the charts. He had a style and presence which many artists of today can only dream of and everything seemed to come so natural to the King.

The fact that it was never widely commented that Elvis Presley was in fact a diabetic is a compliment to how he was able to overcome this condition and even today he gives hope to many in a similar situation. It would be near impossible to quote all of the sales records which he broke, the successful films which he participated in, the awards he has received (both in life and in death) and the number of music icons of today who see Elvis as an inspiration.

While his death has been shrouded in mystery for many years it appears that diabetes did not play any part with prescription drugs said to be his downfall as well as an unhealthy lifestyle toward the end. Many say that he never got over the death of his mother but whatever the reason there is no doubt that the King lives on!

Diabetes fear is a condition which can hit anybody at any time in their life and upon diagnosis can be a very stressful period when many thoughts will go through a suffers mind. However, a look around the world today shows that many famous people from all walks of life are diabetes sufferers and can often be an inspiration to many. One such person is James Brown the musician who went on to lead a full and highly successful life despite being diagnosed with diabetes at a very early stage.

Born in May 1933, James Brown was, referred to as the “Godfather of Soul”, the “King of funk” and was deemed by many to be one of the hardest working men in show business. He was not only a singer but a songwriter and bandleader and he opened new music avenues for ethnic minorities at a time when it was very difficult to make the break through.

Despite his diabetes James Brown began his music career in 1953 and until the day he died in December 2006 he was still very active in both in music and politics. While many artists of today have a sob story to tell there can be few to match the early life of James Brown who came from extreme poverty in the small town of Barnwell, South Carolina in the era of the depression. It is not common knowledge but James Brown was actually mistakenly called James Joseph Brown Jr on his birth certificate, when in fact he should have been Joseph James Brown Jr after his father.

While James Brown was very keen to make people aware of his diabetes condition, it was not something which was heavily reported in the press. To say his life was full and exciting would be an understatement in the extreme as James Brown is known to have lived life to the full until the day he died. Not only does he have six of his song in the Rolling Stones Magazine top 500 of all time but he also appeared in numerous films and documentaries over the years.

Rather bizarrely he holds the record for the most number of singles on the Billboard Hot 100 although he never actually hit number one on that particular chart. The rate at which he was able to churn out award-winning and popular records is unprecedented and something which is unlikely to be repeated in the modern era. Despite the fact that he required daily injections of insulin and life on the road could not have been easy, James Brown never ever mentioned his diabetes in a negative manner and has been an inspiration to many.

James Brown is just one of many stars of today and yesteryear who learned at a very young age of their diabetes condition but overcame initial concerns and obvious worry to become superstars and an inspiration to many. We will be covering a number of sports stars, politicians, business people and other well-known figures of today and yesteryear who have a connection with various forms of the condition yet never let this impinge on their lifestyle.