National Post (National Edition)
Humboldt Broncos hockey player Kaleb Dahlgren and his Diabeauties.
ADEPT AT JUGGLING PUCKS, BLOOD-SUGAR LEVELS, NEEDLES AND STICKS.
IF THEY HAVE ANY PROBLEMS ... THEY CAN COME TALK TO ME.
Kaleb Dahlgren lives every day with pokes, pricks, and emergency food stashes. The 20-year-old Humboldt Broncos hockey player, who is a Type 1 diabetic, sometimes gives himself a quick treatment on the bench during games by digging into a package of Welch’s Fruit Snacks. Between periods, he diagnoses himself and administers a needle if necessary.
He says he’s lucky he can judge his blood sugar levels by feel. Some Type 1 diabetics can’t.
“If I’m high, I feel very agitated; a tingling sensation, which is weird,” he says. “When I’m low, I feel really shaky, and tired, and weak — just not into it.”
Dahlgren tried a pump, but never felt comfortable. So needles it is. Four or five finger pokes every day, six or seven when a game is coming up. He alternates fingers, but doesn’t prick his thumb — that’s the most painful digit.
There’s also four or five needles a day “to tweak my blood sugars,” he says. He prefers his arm, his abdomen and his buttocks, but keeps away from his legs.
“I’m scared of doing my legs,” says the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League veteran. “I’ve just never been a fan of the legs.”
For Dahlgren, the game’s the thing, and he’s adept at juggling pucks, blood-sugar levels, needles and sticks.
He’s fastidious about diet and exercise. He’ll do his pokes in front of friends and teammates, who after the first flurry of questions, quickly settle into a general acceptance. It is what it is. No big deal.
Dahlgren had no diabetic role models while growing up but he figures he’s in a position to be one. He requested a trade from the Notre Dame Hounds this past off-season so he could move into a bigger community and launch a program he calls Dahlgren’s Diabeauties.
The Hounds and Broncos worked it out, and Dahlgren is partnering with the team to support area kids who have diabetes. He’s been through it; he understands the challenges.
When he was four, after his diagnosis, things were much worse. Dahlgren loathed the needles. The doctor told his parents things would get better but in the weeks after his first hospital visit, he’d hide from his parents at needle time. But he soon grasped the basic, hard subtext: Without needles, he’d die.
In Grade 1, he had a flip phone, and would call his parents from school. He’d tell them his bloodsugar levels, and they’d tell him how much insulin to take.
By that time, Dahlgren loved hockey.
“As soon as I put on the skates, I fell in love,” he says.”
The kid who moved from Moose Jaw to Saskatoon at age six was a good hockey player.
Dahlgren left home at age 16 to play midget AAA hockey. His parents weren’t worried; he’d already proven that he could handle diabetes like a star. Now, he’s a three-year SJHL veteran, tied for second in Broncos scoring with six goals, nine assists and 15 points through 20 games.
Last Christmas, Dahlgren met NHL player Max Domi, who also has Type 1 diabetes. The players spent 20 minutes comparing notes; they talked about handling life on the road, about the pros and cons of needles versus pumps.
Domi’s an outspoken advocate, using his platform well. Back home in Humboldt, there’s Dahlgren’s Diabeauties.
Kids who sign up (visit humboldtbroncos.com for more information) receive a complimentary ticket to a Broncos game, get an on-ice picture with Dahlgren, receive Broncos souvenirs, and chat with the player about the disease and its challenges.
Dahlgren came up with the idea and is passionate about its delivery. He’s also developed a presentation for schools.
“I’m helping them, and they’re helping me,” he says. “If they have any problems at all, they can come talk to me. Any questions, they can talk to me. I’m always available for them. I know the struggles they’re going through. There’s going to be people who tell them they can’t do certain things, but they have to push through it, and prove them wrong.”