Jay Leeuwenburg was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes only days after his 12th birthday. From his first day in an unfamiliar Oregon hospital, 2,200 miles from his suburban St. Louis home, Jay's attitude toward living his life to the fullest was, "Yes I Can!"
He quickly accepted responsibility for managing his disease. Blessed with a combination of competitiveness, intelligence, confidence and athletic ability, he took charge of his diabetes, and thus took charge of his life.
Testing his parents' patience and his doctors' knowledge, Jay pushed ahead with every imaginable athletic and competitive interest - even winning a pie-eating contest in high school. "Not participating would have been like saying, `Don't breathe,' '' he says.
He almost lost a foot to infection his senior year in high school, but persevered to become a first-team all-state football player and a qualifier for the state wrestling tournament - in his first and only attempt at the sport.
Recruited by the University of Colorado after other major colleges were scared away by his diabetes, he started at center on Colorado's national champion team in 1990, then capped his third straight season as a starter by being named first-team center on every All-American team chosen the following year. He played in four bowl games and two national championship games during his career, and was team captain his senior season.
In 2005 Jay was one of 13 players - and the only interior offensive lineman - voted to the Orange Bowl Championship Legends honor squad chosen to recognize the most outstanding players who participated in the 17 Orange Bowl games that decided college football's national championship.
Despite his unanimous recognition as one of the top linemen in college football, however, National Football League teams passed on him until the Ninth Round of the 1992 college draft. "My goal immediately became to play the number of years in the NFL for the round in which I was drafted," he says. Overcoming the ignorance about diabetes that he found throughout pro football, Jay not only accomplished his goal but also started at every interior line position, a distinction few NFL linemen share.
During a nine-year career that included four seasons with the Chicago Bears, three with the Indianapolis Colts and one each with the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins, Jay lined up against Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White; shared a sideline with the immortal Walter Payton; made headlines as one of pro football's first big-money free agents; and experienced the playoffs as both winner and loser.
Bothered by the absence of diabetic athletes as positive examples during his own childhood, Jay decided that his stardom presented both an opportunity and a responsibility: to become a role model for other diabetics, especially children. While playing for the Indianapolis Colts, he established "Jay's Corner" and provided game tickets for children with diabetes, their family members and others instrumental in their diabetes management and education
Jay and his wife Ingher produced a life-sized poster of Jay in uniform and filled it with facts about Jay that were intended to educate youngsters with diabetes and motivate them to take responsibility for controlling their disease and living a full life. It was distributed nationwide, and he became the subject of national magazine articles and public television documentaries, and even testified before the United State Congress. He remains an active supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
His message: "Yes You Can!!" is equally applicable to everyone dealing with diabetes, regardless of age.
"Yes I Can! Yes You Can!!" is filled with entertaining and touching stories that will span the range of every reader's emotions. For anyone with diabetes, as well as their family members and friends, it delivers a motivating message that this potentially debilitating disease can be managed; can be controlled; can be conquered.
Ask Jay Leeuwenburg if a person with diabetes can enjoy life as completely as anyone without it, and he'll answer, "Yes I Can! Yes You Can!!"
