DALLAS — Former Colorado College center Toby Petersen, now with the Dallas Stars, recently heard the news that Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler had been diagnosed with diabetes. His sympathy was especially heartfelt because Petersen also has Type 1 diabetes, and has managed to progress through the ranks of youth hockey in his native Minnesota, to a solid four seasons at CC, and then to a journeyman’s pro career.
“It was kind of, ‘Whoa,’ ” Petersen said Wednesday, after the Stars’ morning skate at the American Airlines Center. “I understand what he’s going to go through, and I understand what he has gone through. It’s nothing he can’t overcome. He’ll be just fine.”
Petersen, now 29, was 5 when he was diagnosed.
“He’s more mature, and maybe he’s able to adapt a little quicker because of the life knowledge he has,” Petersen said several hours before Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against Detroit. “When you’re a kid, you’re still learning about life in general and that was just one more thing for me to have to get over, learn about.
“It’s been a long journey, obviously, but it’s something I’ve been able to overcome.”
Petersen used to inject himself several times a day to get his blood sugar level up. Now he uses an insulin pump.
“It’s still a lot of work. It still takes a lot of looking after, but it’s a routine that I’m used to and it works for me.”
Petersen said the diabetes hasn’t held him back as an athlete. “If anything, it’s maybe made me a better hockey player,” he said. “It’s because of the discipline level when I was young, when I was 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, every day I had to have that discipline to stay out of trouble and the discipline to make sure my blood sugars were always in check.
“I’m not saying it’s a good thing, I would never hope that someone else had to do it, but to me, I try and look on the bright side. The bright side is it’s given me more discipline.”
