Straus reporter to run half-marathon in honor of husband
STILLWATER On Sunday, Oct. 14, 44-year-old Laurie Gordon, of Stillwater, will be running The Shades of Death Half Marathon, in Allamuchy.
A former US Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier and winner of numerous marathons around the US, Gordon hasnt raced in a number of years, preferring to run for fun and to stay in shape and to volunteer to coach area kids. Why come out of retirement for this half marathon? This run is to honor my husband, Guy, and to raise funds for research for Type 1 (or Juvenile) Diabetes, she said.
Guy Gordon, a 54-year-old-distance runner, was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Though it generally shows up in children, Type 1 Diabetes can also develop in adulthood. Who would have thought that a man who runs every day and still holds several masters course records in the marathon distance across the country, could develop diabetes? Laurie Gordon said.
The first hint In mid-April, Guy Gordon wasnt feeling so well. He had to urinate all the time, and after a few days, checked his weight to discover he had lost nine pounds in just four days. He had some other odd symptoms too. The culmination was a visit to the doctor who said his sugar was high and gave him a glucose monitor to check his levels. That was Tuesday, April 24.
Gordon owns a business called Back on Track through which he counsels kids and teens who are dealing with all sorts of adversities in the context of fitness, guidance and motivation. Though he mostly goes to the kids homes, some of the kids come to the Gordons house to work with him in their home gym. That was the case that Thursday, April 26. Guy arrived home a few minutes before the client was to arrive. He looked terribly thin, appeared gray and said he felt horrible, his wife said, I insisted he take a sugar test. Rather than registering a number, the monitor read Hi.
Emergency Guy Gordon insisted on proceeding with his session, while Laurie Gordon scrambled to get him one of the Metformin tablets the doctor had given him on Tuesday. He took it as he headed downstairs with the client, and she raced for the computer. My Google search for what does HI mean on a glucose monitor gave me multiple answers all of which either said Go immediately to the emergency room, or Medical Emergency, she said. Some were even in red. I grabbed things for him and put them in a bag as I tried my best to calmly explain to our six-year-old daughter that we were going to the emergency room.
When his session was done he finally got in the car and she drove him Newton Memorial Hospital. The Gordons later learned that if he had made it through dinner which would have raised the number yet higher he most likely would have gone into a comma in his sleep. His wife would have assumed he was sleeping and he could easily have died that night.
Four days later, Guy Gordon was released from the hospital a Type One Diabetic. His love of fast food was to be turned in for an exceptionally healthy and regulated diet and his wife was to become a carb-counting personal chef in charge of every morsel that enters his mouth.
Getting used to a new life Gordon is now dependent on insulin to live. He has to test his blood sugar multiple times a day and react accordingly if its too high or, in most cases, too low due to the insulin. He must always carry glucose tablets and his test kit, and instead of driving through Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds, brings his lunch box with the food his wife has prepared for the day.
The running he so loves has changed dramatically too. Running generally quickly causes his sugar to plummet, and because his carbs are restricted, his energy fades much faster than it used to.
Our lives are very much changed because of the diabetes, and at first Guy was pretty bummed out, said Laurie Gordon, But after a few weeks, his true character broke through, and hes now using his diabetes as a way of showing the kids with whom he works how he handles adversity in the form of his disease every single day.
On Oct. 14, Laurie Gordon who writes for Straus Newspapers, is a personal trainer and administrator for her husbands business will run the Shades of Death Half Marathon, in Allamuchy, in honor of her husband and how hes dealing with his diabetes. She is also doing it as a fund raiser for Type 1 Diabetes research (otherwise known as Juvenile Diabetes as it generally appears in children). The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is the worldwide leader in funding research to find better treatments and a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
Several of Lauries friends will be running in the event as well, and her 71-year-old mother Trudy Parton will be run/walking it. Her father, Charlie Parton, will be the support crew.
To support Laurie in her quest, e-mail her at LaurieGordonRun@aol.com.