Diabetes is nothing. You have too much living to do to let it get in the way.

With five children of her own as well as 10 grandchildren, the 68-year-old mother of former New York Giants’ star running back Rodney Hampton was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1991. But she is not alone in her struggle. There is family history associated with the disease. Eva’s 88-year-old mother has lived with diabetes for more than 50 years, and two of Eva’s sons—Kevin, 43, and Randy, 42—must also deal with the challenge of the disease.

“I walk four or five days a week and also take aerobics,” said a smiling Eva, who was interviewed alongside daughters Debbie and Angela on a recent trip to New York City. “And I test my blood sugar once in the morning, but after that I really don’t need to do it again unless I’m not feeling right.”

For many people, like Eva, testing once a day is all that is needed. Varying the times to learn about the effects of food, exercise, and medications is important for pattern management.

Support system
Of course, strong family support also goes a long way toward aiding Eva’s daily effort to control her diabetes. The entire Hampton family still lives in the Houston, Texas, area and home visits are a regular occurrence, especially on the weekends. Her children make certain their mom is following her daily routine and step in whenever help is needed.

“I encourage her to exercise, but she’s very active on her own,” said Rodney, who played in the National Football League for the New York Giants from 1990 to 1997 and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. “She takes trips with her senior groups and does a lot of aerobics and water exercise. We also walk sometimes around the track at my old high school together. She really does seem to have it under control.”

“We don’t really focus on [diabetes],” added daughter Debbie, who has two children of her own, ages 13 and 10. “We laugh a lot, which is good medicine, and we don’t let it get her down. We just try to go on with our daily lives as best we can.”

Eva recognizes how important support from her family has been in helping her deal with the ongoing challenge of diabetes.

“We have a lot of family gatherings where we talk to one another and tell each other how important that is,” said Eva. “I value the support of my family, and it’s great to have all my kids around.”

One of seven children herself, Eva is the only sibling among her brothers and sisters with diabetes, and while neither one of her daughters, Debbie or Angela, currently has the disease, they both developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy and understand the daily challenge.

“We both had it while we were pregnant,” the sisters recollected. “It definitely calls for some lifestyle adjustments.”

Family focus
Randy and Kevin, two of Eva’s three sons both in their early 40s, have also taken up the challenge of living with type 2 diabetes daily. Kevin was diagnosed only within the past five years.

For Eva, living with her diabetes means getting enough exercise, including swimming lessons with the rest of the family, and not necessarily watching everything she eats, but instead learning to manage the portions.

“Everyone [with diabetes] is different,” said Eva. “My doctor sent me to a diabetes therapist, and he told me to eat what I want but eat small portions. I try to follow a diet and exercise program and live to be happy one day at a time.”

Eva also suffers with arthritis but doesn’t let that slow her down much either.

“We all have our down days, but you can’t let it keep you down,” she said. “Diabetes is nothing. You have too much living to do to let it get in the way.”