MILWAUKEE – When Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell slides into second base legging out a double, makes a diving catch in the outfield, or circles the bases during a home run, he always has something in his back pocket that no one else on the field has.
Not batting gloves or seeds. But rather a small medical device that keeps him alive.
“You will notice it in his back left pocket. It never leaves his body, even when he’s playing,” Mitchell’s mother Shannon Van Dyke told WTMJ.
Garrett Mitchell lives with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).
Garrett was nine years old when he told his mother he wasn’t feeling well.
“He was going to the bathroom every hour,” Shannon said. “He was complaining of a horrible stomach ache. I said ‘Something’s wrong.'”
RELATED: Click to hear WTMJ’s Erik Bilstad’s T1D story
A healthy blood sugar level is 80. Garrett’s levels tested higher than 600.
“The meter said ‘HIGH,'” Shannon recalled. Garrett was immediately diagnosed with T1D.
“I remember my heart dropping, being afraid, and not knowing what to do or what our future looked like,” Shannon explained. “I also knew I needed to be strong for him and we were going to face this head-on.”
Garrett would learn to live with T1D. He began wearing an insulin pump when he was 10 years old.
“He literally had a bag [full of diabetes supplies] with him everywhere he went,” said his mother. “Snacks, insulin, and sugars.”
T1D is different than Type 2 Diabetes. For T1D, the pancreas no longer functions. Insulin is necessary in order to balance blood sugars. A blood sugar level that goes too high can cause long-term damage to the body. A level that goes too low can send someone into a coma, or worse.
“The lows are scary,” Shannon said. “I would liken it to having a newborn child. I would set my alarm every night between two or three to test his blood sugars.”
RELATED: Hear Morgan Kahl’s T1D Story
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) raises funds for research, technology, and hopefully a cure for T1D.
In Milwaukee, a Breakthrough T1D Walk is being held on Saturday, October 19th at Greenfield Park in West Allis. Click to donate to WTMJ’s Erik Bilstad’s T1d Walk Team!
“(Breakthrough T1D) is making so many advances in research,” Shannon explained. “The Walk reminds people with T1D that they are not alone. There are so many families out there doing through the same things.”
When he played baseball as a kid, “Garrett was always counted out,” according to his mother. However, he refused to let T1D prevent him from achieving his goals.
“I wasn’t going to let it stop me,” the outfielder told WTMJ’s Greg Matzek during spring training 2023. “The mindset was always [to] continue moving forward and prove people wrong. It doesn’t matter if you have diabetes, just trust and believe in yourself.”
Translation: Keep swinging for the fences, just like Garrett Mitchell.
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