THE DAY AFTER Melbourne’s first win of the season against Essendon on June 2 was one of relief and excitement for all who follow the red and blue.
But for youngster Jack Fitzpatrick it was the start of a life-changing experience.
The Demon tall, who had featured in one game for the season (he has played two AFL matches overall), noticed something wasn’t quite right. But it wasn’t until later in the week that it came to fruition.
“It was that Sunday after our first win, I came and did recovery with all of the boys and was fine, but from that Sunday afternoon, things got a bit different,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I was really thirsty and I had to go to the toilet to pass urine every half an hour and I was drinking a litre of water in an hour and still thirsty. I was parched with dry lips.
“By Tuesday morning, I was weighing 86kg [from my usual 92kg] and I thought ‘hang on a minute, you don’t lose six kilos in three days’. I thought something might be a bit strange.
“So I spoke to the doctor and had a blood test on Wednesday morning and it went from there.”
When Fitzpatrick consulted club doctor Dan Bates, he immediately took action.
“[Bates said] ‘you have to hang around, we need to get this sorted’,” he said.
“It turned out that when I went into hospital the first time - [my blood sugar reading was] supposed to be between five and 10, but it was too high to read on their machines, when they tested it.
“After a bit of insulin the second time, it was 46.7, so the doctors say that if you’re about 35 to 40, you can generally go into intensive care and drop into a coma. I was probably pretty lucky there.”
It turned out Fitzpatrick was diagnosed with diabetes.
Since receiving the news, Fitzpatrick said the past two weeks had been “weird to say the least” and “pretty full on”.
“I came into the club two Wednesdays ago and was ready to go down to Torquay with the rest of the boys and lucky I ended up packing, because I was going to hospital for two nights,” he said.
“I found out I’ve got type one diabetes and the last two weeks have been full of education about diabetes and how to manage and how to incorporate it back into footy.”
Now, Fitzpatrick has to test his blood sugar four times a day.
He has three insulin shots a day with food and another at night before he goes to bed.
But Fitzpatrick, who has also suffered chronic fatigue syndrome, said his diabetes was not connected.
“The doctors say that they are both related to the immune system, but the two illnesses, if you want to call them, aren’t linked themselves,” he said.
“I’ve just been a bit unlucky or unfortunate that I’ve managed to get both in the last 20 or so years, but you can’t do much about.”
Richmond great Dale ‘The Flea’ Weightman, former Crow and All-Australian Nathan Bassett and ex-Bulldog and now Giant Sam Reid are other diabetics to play at the highest level.
Fitzpatrick said he would seek out those and other diabetics who have played in the AFL.
“It was nice of ‘The Flea’ to put it out there in the media that he was more than happy to help me, if I need that, which is nice and appreciated,” he said.
The ruckman/forward remains confident he can continue building a career at the highest level, despite his condition.
“In terms of footy, if mismanaged, it can certainly be dangerous, but with proper treatment it can be dealt with,” he said.
Despite having had chronic fatigue syndrome and now diabetes by the tender age of almost 21 (he birthday is on June 26), Fitzpatrick remains upbeat about the future.
“At the end of the day, there are people worse off than I am. I consider myself lucky that I got into hospital before anything more serious happened - 46.7 is pretty high when you think about it, and chronic fatigue, I’ve had since five,” he said.
“You learn to deal with … diabetes, which I’ve just got. I’ve been asked by a few people ‘are you upset or are you annoyed or angry?’ To a degree, you think ‘why is this happening to me?’
“But I’ve always been a big one for believing that there is no point worrying about something that you can’t control. No matter what I did or what I do from here on in, there is no point sooking up about it, so now I’ll just manage it the best way I can to make it as little an issue as possible, which I believe I’ve done with chronic fatigue over the journey.”
Fitzpatrick indicated he would like to be a role model for diabetics who have played at the elite level.
“Hopefully for my playing career … that lasts as long as possible, because that’s been done by other blokes and is still being done by players in the AFL,” he said.
“Life after football as well, if I can manage it whilst playing football, I think life will be easy after that, because the demands on your body physically and even mentally aren’t as high. Your routine is more consistent.
“You’ll be able to start eating at the same time of day, whereas with training and travel [it can be difficult]. If I can learn to manage it during my footy career, life after that will be fairly easy in comparison.”
In terms of his immediate future, Fitzpatrick said he had received plenty of support and was even hoping to play for Casey this weekend.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but the amount of texts, phone calls, Facebook messages … getting support from random people … obviously family, friends, players, coaches and staff here [at Melbourne] - you’re thankful and you appreciate it a lot,” he said.
“It’s easy to send someone a text when they’ve played a good game or they’ve just made their debut … that’s easy. Are you there for them when they really need you?
“That in itself has been very encouraging.”
But for youngster Jack Fitzpatrick it was the start of a life-changing experience.
The Demon tall, who had featured in one game for the season (he has played two AFL matches overall), noticed something wasn’t quite right. But it wasn’t until later in the week that it came to fruition.
“It was that Sunday after our first win, I came and did recovery with all of the boys and was fine, but from that Sunday afternoon, things got a bit different,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I was really thirsty and I had to go to the toilet to pass urine every half an hour and I was drinking a litre of water in an hour and still thirsty. I was parched with dry lips.
“By Tuesday morning, I was weighing 86kg [from my usual 92kg] and I thought ‘hang on a minute, you don’t lose six kilos in three days’. I thought something might be a bit strange.
“So I spoke to the doctor and had a blood test on Wednesday morning and it went from there.”
When Fitzpatrick consulted club doctor Dan Bates, he immediately took action.
“[Bates said] ‘you have to hang around, we need to get this sorted’,” he said.
“It turned out that when I went into hospital the first time - [my blood sugar reading was] supposed to be between five and 10, but it was too high to read on their machines, when they tested it.
“After a bit of insulin the second time, it was 46.7, so the doctors say that if you’re about 35 to 40, you can generally go into intensive care and drop into a coma. I was probably pretty lucky there.”
It turned out Fitzpatrick was diagnosed with diabetes.
Since receiving the news, Fitzpatrick said the past two weeks had been “weird to say the least” and “pretty full on”.
“I came into the club two Wednesdays ago and was ready to go down to Torquay with the rest of the boys and lucky I ended up packing, because I was going to hospital for two nights,” he said.
“I found out I’ve got type one diabetes and the last two weeks have been full of education about diabetes and how to manage and how to incorporate it back into footy.”
Now, Fitzpatrick has to test his blood sugar four times a day.
He has three insulin shots a day with food and another at night before he goes to bed.
But Fitzpatrick, who has also suffered chronic fatigue syndrome, said his diabetes was not connected.
“The doctors say that they are both related to the immune system, but the two illnesses, if you want to call them, aren’t linked themselves,” he said.
“I’ve just been a bit unlucky or unfortunate that I’ve managed to get both in the last 20 or so years, but you can’t do much about.”
Richmond great Dale ‘The Flea’ Weightman, former Crow and All-Australian Nathan Bassett and ex-Bulldog and now Giant Sam Reid are other diabetics to play at the highest level.
Fitzpatrick said he would seek out those and other diabetics who have played in the AFL.
“It was nice of ‘The Flea’ to put it out there in the media that he was more than happy to help me, if I need that, which is nice and appreciated,” he said.
The ruckman/forward remains confident he can continue building a career at the highest level, despite his condition.
“In terms of footy, if mismanaged, it can certainly be dangerous, but with proper treatment it can be dealt with,” he said.
Despite having had chronic fatigue syndrome and now diabetes by the tender age of almost 21 (he birthday is on June 26), Fitzpatrick remains upbeat about the future.
“At the end of the day, there are people worse off than I am. I consider myself lucky that I got into hospital before anything more serious happened - 46.7 is pretty high when you think about it, and chronic fatigue, I’ve had since five,” he said.
“You learn to deal with … diabetes, which I’ve just got. I’ve been asked by a few people ‘are you upset or are you annoyed or angry?’ To a degree, you think ‘why is this happening to me?’
“But I’ve always been a big one for believing that there is no point worrying about something that you can’t control. No matter what I did or what I do from here on in, there is no point sooking up about it, so now I’ll just manage it the best way I can to make it as little an issue as possible, which I believe I’ve done with chronic fatigue over the journey.”
Fitzpatrick indicated he would like to be a role model for diabetics who have played at the elite level.
“Hopefully for my playing career … that lasts as long as possible, because that’s been done by other blokes and is still being done by players in the AFL,” he said.
“Life after football as well, if I can manage it whilst playing football, I think life will be easy after that, because the demands on your body physically and even mentally aren’t as high. Your routine is more consistent.
“You’ll be able to start eating at the same time of day, whereas with training and travel [it can be difficult]. If I can learn to manage it during my footy career, life after that will be fairly easy in comparison.”
In terms of his immediate future, Fitzpatrick said he had received plenty of support and was even hoping to play for Casey this weekend.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but the amount of texts, phone calls, Facebook messages … getting support from random people … obviously family, friends, players, coaches and staff here [at Melbourne] - you’re thankful and you appreciate it a lot,” he said.
“It’s easy to send someone a text when they’ve played a good game or they’ve just made their debut … that’s easy. Are you there for them when they really need you?
“That in itself has been very encouraging.”
