August 7th, 2008
Jonas Brothers Partner With Bayer Diabetes Care
The Jonas Brothers have teamed up with Bayer Diabetes Care to offer encouragement and support to young people with diabetes in an effort to spread awareness about the disease. Nick was diagnosed at age 13 with Type 1 in November 2005, after experiencing behavioral changes and sudden weight loss. Hopefully this will help the many many young people living with this disease. I have a cousin who was recently diagnosed and he’s been in and out of hospital for treatment because of difficulty keeping his levels regulated.
Nick Jonas told PEOPLE:
“I thought, ‘Why me?’ I didn’t know how to handle it.”
He went on to say:
“I didn’t know anyone with diabetes, there was no familiar face in music or sports that I could connect with … [but] I started to see it as an opportunity to be an inspiration to a generation that doesn’t openly talk about having diabetes and not feeling embarrassed by the disease.”
He has to keep checking his blood sugar levels whenever necessary – even while performing.
“At a concert a couple of days ago Nick had a low onstage,” said his big brother Kevin, 20. “He said, ‘I need a second to stall,’ so I kept talking [to the audience] until he gave us the sign that he was O.K.”
Nick hopes to share this message:
“To be able to live my dream by being in a band shows that anything is possible,” he said. “Even if you have diabetes.”
