McKinney Prosthetics

As a color commentator on the Chicago Cubs radio broadcast, 66-year-old Ron Santo is like family for Cub fans everywhere. But, it's not just his regular guy personality that keeps his fan loyal; its his personal story of triumph in the face of a terrible disease - a disease that has claimed both of his legs in the last five years. I was diagnosed at the age of 18, says Santo. I had just signed a professional contract.

I was 6' tall weighing 175 lbs. I was very healthy. The first thing I did was go to the library and I read about diabetes. And at that time in 1950 it said, life expectancy of a juvenile diabetes, which is Type I, was 25 years. The legendary third baseman whose story is told in the feature film "This Old Cub" rose to fame when no one else in baseball had diabetes. In fact, Santo thought he'd be forced to retire if anyone knew.

Ron said he never did tell the organization. "Because I wanted to make sure. I was worried that if I didn't make the big leagues or stay in the big leagues that it would be because of diabetes. I wanted to prove that I could play with this disease." Not much was known about how to regulate insulin levels at that time. Santo would take injections and eat chocolate bars based on how he felt from moment to moment. One time the bases were loaded, Santo was up to bat and seeing three of everything. I see one scoreboard, two scoreboards, three scoreboards. And I go, "Oh my gosh!" And three pitches... I took the one in the middle. I said "I'm gonna swing at every pitch." And that one in the middle was right here and I hit it out of the ball park. It was a grand slam. The crowd went wild. Santo ran the bases and no one was the wiser.

Today, Ron Santo is a spokesperson for the disease he once kept a secret. And, the Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes is an annual event in Chicago, raising more than $50 million over the years.
-Reprinted from Health Corner, by Dr. Lisa Thornton.