When Christopher Cowart reminds his son Cory of the importance of checking his blood sugar, it’s not just a typical parental lecture. Chris knows exactly what he’s talking about. He and his son both have Type I diabetes. Chris was diagnosed at age 23 in 1989, while Cory received his diagnosis two years ago. So in this family, a pep talk from Dad is not just a pep talk. It has years of experience in coping with diabetes behind it.
 
“I told him, ‘I know it’s not a fun thing,’” Chris said. “You’ve just got to fight it day to day. You have to get up tomorrow.” Chris takes his role as a mentor seriously. He knows that he needs to set a good example for his son. And he tries to tell his son about his own experiences, to pass on the lessons that he’s learned. “I hope that it helps him that I have it, and I’ve been through a lot of things that he’s going to have to deal with,” he said.

Every three months, the two Cowarts pile into their vehicle and drive from their Mayfield, Kentucky home to Vanderbilt Medical Center so Cory can be seen by Dr. Amy Potter. Chris was so impressed with his son’s treatment that he asked to be switched to the adult clinic, where he also sees Dr. Potter.
“Every time I come to Vanderbilt, I learn something,” Chris said. “I really think a lot of Dr. Potter.”

Chris is glad he has the chance to be with his son when he visits his doctor, too. He remembers wishing he had someone with him, someone who knew what he as going through. He let his son accompany him on his own doctor’s visits, too.

“It kind of helps him to see that I’m not perfect,” he said. “My blood sugar is not always right. My A1C is not where I always want it to be…He’s not the only one that’s fighting it.”  But it is a struggle sometimes.

Just like every other 12-year-old, Cory has his own opinions on how to run his life. Every once in awhile, he and his dad butt heads over his treatment. Perhaps Cory wants to eat a big bowl of cereal, and Chris isn’t so sure that’s a good idea, or maybe they disagree about Cory’s level of preparation to handle a blood sugar low when he’s not at home.  Chris jokingly refers to those incidents as “the knock-down dragouts.” However, he realizes that there will be moments like that between any father and son. The important thing is to keep everything in perspective. Yet that can be a challenge for a concerned parent.

“Some of that stuff he’s going to have to learn from experience,” he said. “There are some things you’ve got to experience for yourself, but I just don’t want to him experience a lot of the bad stuff that I did.” Sometimes Chris tries to impress Cory with how much better he and his son have it now. Chris has had an insulin pump for about five years, and Cory has had a pump for almost two years. Chris vividly remembers when he had to give himself two shots of insulin each day, something his son has never had to do. It’s easier to correct errors with a pump, he tells his son, although he reminds him that it’s better to work harder to maintain his blood sugar levels in the first place.

One of the most effective ways of reaching his son is appealing to his love of basketball. Cory played basketball on his fifth and sixth grade team that won a county championship. He attended a basketball camp in May, and his parents hope to enroll him in another one later this summer. So Chris compares life with diabetes to a basketball game. “You get up and you make a plan for how you’re going to win the game,” he said. “That’s what you’ve got to do during the day.”  

“The longer you do it, the easier it will be,” he added. “It will be second nature.”