Marshall competes despite diabetes

Victoria Sun

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

Needles used to be scary instruments that made Jamie Marshall cringe.

Now, they're not only a big part of the Silverado High tennis player's life.

They're lifesavers.

During Marshall's first round match of the Muterspaw Championships against Alexis Prousis at the TPC at Summerlin Thursday, she periodically checked her blood sugar.

"I'm getting used to it," Marshall said. "I don't even think about it too much now.

"Before, I hated needles. When they first came in to give me a shot, I was like, 'Nooo. Get out of here.' "

Two weeks before the USTA Easter Bowl Super National Championships April 12-19, Marshall unintentionally lost nine pounds.

She had chronic fatigue and her vision became blurred.

"I just thought she was overdoing it," Marshall's dad, John, said. "She was working 32 hours a week, studying, going to school and practicing her butt off."

It was much more serious.

After going to a doctor, Marshall learned she had Type I diabetes.

"I was so scared and shocked," Marshall said. "We don't have any family history of it.

"When he told me, I was bawling."

Marshall spent five days in the hospital and couldn't see because the level of sugar in her blood was elevated to 485. The blood sugar level in a healthy person is between 70-110.

As she got better, Marshall's thoughts were on returning to the tennis court and getting ready for the Easter Bowl.

"I still couldn't see the balls when they were hit to me, so my dad would just slowly toss me balls to help my vision," Marshall remembered.

The Thursday before the Easter Bowl, she was finally able to see almost normally, but her doctor advised against traveling to Palm Springs to play because of the trauma she just endured.

Instead, he suggested she play in the Intermountain Section Easter Circuit featuring the top players from the six Intermountain states held the same time in Las Vegas.

Marshall not only played, she won the girls 18s.

"Qualifying for the Easter Bowl was special," Marshall said. "This one was more special because of everything that had just happened.

"I was so happy my vision was back and I could see. I just relaxed and had a good time."

Although playing tennis gives her great joy, Marshall must now be careful not to overexert herself which is why she checks her blood periodically to make sure she is OK.

Off the court, she follows another routine.

Marshall is up at 5:45 for breakfast and a shot of insulin, has to eat lunch promptly at 11 a.m. followed by a snack at 2:30 p.m., another shot of insulin at 5:30 p.m. and one more at 9:30 p.m.

Despite all of the changes, Marshall has adapted well.

"You can really live a normal life as long as you take care of it," she said. "I'm not the type of person to mope around.

"But I want people to know that you can get diabetes at any time. And if you start feeling tired and get really, really dehydrated like water just goes through your body, you should get checked out."

After easily winning the first set Thursday, fatigue slowly wore Marshall down.

Prousis, of Lake Forest, Ill., hung on for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

"I was getting tired," Marshall conceded. "I didn't feel as good as I did in the beginning."

In other matches, second-seeded Katrina Thompson of Bishop Gorman High crushed Erica Sauer, of Somin, Calif., 6-0, 6-0 in the second round while sister Cristian lost 7-6 (5), 6-4 to Veronica Fermin of Yorba Linda, Calif.

Other results for the national junior tournament sponsored by the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation were not available.