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Show TheSaltLake @ LANDERS, C-5 PROFILES ybreak yl C-6 FOTIy 2 NOVEMBER 1, 2001 @ TELEVISION, C-7 » HEALTH BY DAN EGAN RoxAnnBall Career Makes Her Feel Like A Lucky Dog Adam Schwerdt, 14, is among a growing num- RoxAnnBall confesses to being “a little obsessed with dogs.” ber of youngsters nationwide diagnosed with “adult-onset” Type 2 diabetes. He takes insulin daily and adheres to a strict diet to “When I was youngerI would find dogs wanderingonthe street, and 1 would start crying for them,” she says. 5 Shefigures that predicamentleft herwith two career choices. “I was either going to be a vet ora dogtrainer,” says the 22-year-old Hillcrest High School graduate.“And I can’t handle blood.” So she surprised her family and friends and opted to skip college and control his type of diabetes, which was once rare in headstraight to work teaching dogs ‘ to behave. “T excelled in school, and when I ‘decided to do this, a lot of people | | { t i | | { | { i | { i j | people his were shocked,”she says. Four years and one apprenticeshiplater, Ball is a partner in a dog obedience and age. Schwerdt, below,uses a drop of his kennel business, Shesays she never sweated the decision. “When youlove something,it blood to determine his blood sugarlevels, doesn’t take guts to doit,” she says, using a glucose meter. adding that her 13-hour work days “go by like a dream.” “T'd say it is mycalling. People cometo Ball withtall kinds of dog problems. Sometimes,the ani- mals are simply puppies in need of basic house training: “Doggy bootcamp,”shecalls it. Other,animals have more vexing issue: 'y bite, bark or bounce upon ‘iture. Some owners simply want to add somepizazz to their pooch,andask herto teach their = to dance, crawlor walk on hind “ewe teachall the tricks. You know, wave,shake, bow,” she says. Ball says time and patience can rehabilitate most any canine. Butit isn’t always easy, and when asked if sheeversuffered a bite, she smiles aed replies, “Of course. That’s a givput she is bugged aboutthe bad rap certain bre ds get. “The biggest imsth] that.I hate is thatall pitbulls are aggressive and mean. It all depends on the owner,” she says. “Suppose someone knows howto do karate. That does not makethatperson aggressive.” She notes she ownsa pitbull herself. Ball says another common mis- perception is that dogs can understand humans. “Mostpeoplethinktheir dogs automatically know whatthey are saying,”shesays. “Thereality is,it’s like that Far Side cartoon, whereall the dog hearsis ‘Blah,blah,blah, Gin- ger. Blah.blah blah, Ginger’ ” Still, she confesses, even she subconsciously projects human charac- teristics onto herpets. “Once I had a dream that I was getting married,” she says, “And my dog cameand saved me,” Sugarskulls adomed with names of deceased friends and relatives, like the oneat right, are a sta- ple of Day of the Dead celebrations,a holiday thousands of years old, which remembers departed loved ones, Al- INJEGTI OF YOUTH Photos by Ryan Galbraith/TheSalt Lake Tribune Disturbing numberofchildren, teens being diagnosed with ‘adult-onset’ diabetes BY HEATHER SIMONSEN SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE It’s hard enoughtelling a teen-ager to do his homework and come home at a decent hour. Try making sure he takes two shots of insulin and two pills each day, and adheresto a strict diet required to keep his blood glucose levels in check. “Teen-agers are probably the mostdifficult diabetics,” says Nora Schwerdt, whose 14-year- old stepson, Adam,has Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Commonly known‘ as“adult-onset diabetes,” Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common in children — what the Journalof the American Medical Association calls, “An unprecedented epidemicof childhood obesity and its most serious complication, Type 2 diabetes mellitus. “As a-result of this epidemic, we face the prospect of coronary heart disease becoming a youngas8 years old,” says David Donaldson, a DIABETES PROGRAMS New clinics geared exclusively forall diabetics C-2 professorofpediatric endocrinology at the University of Utah Schoolof Medicine. “It’s because of lifestyle — more television, less exercise,” says Donaldson. There are three times as many kids who are disease of young adulthood,” the journal said. Without treatment, diabetes — a complex overweight now than there were 20 years ago, disease affecting sugar use by the body — can Many kids today are taking in more calories and not burning them up. cause serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and cardiovascular problems. In extreme cases, if left unchecked, the disease couldleadto difficulty with circulation, requiring amputations. Until recently, doctors believed children only had Type 1 diabetes, also known as according to recent health studies. Simply: Anxiety and stress also can, cause kids to overeat, Donaldson says. And some children have a “thrifty gene” that causes their bodies to store fat and sugars moreeasily than other kids. Butweightisn’t the only factorfor children, experts say. A family history of diabetes makes insulin-dependent diabetes. But that is changing in the United States. achild more likely to get the disease. In both adults and children, Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with obesity. “We've seen some [Type 2 diabetics] as for Adam Schwerdt of West Valley City. His A weight problem and heredity are factors See TYPE 2 DIABETES,Page C-2 Day of the Dead: Bring Out the Skulls, Dust Off Headstones of Loved Ones BY JESUS LOPEZ JR. e ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE For thousandsof years, the people’ Mexico havecelebrated the memories uv their departed loved ones on Dia De Los Muertos, day ofthe dead. This Friday, families will clear graves’ of weeds, fix tombstones and decorate burial mounds with fresh flowers. In parts of Mexico, the fragrance of marigoldsfills the air, candlesflicker and toys for children and liquor bottles for adults line the graves. Dancers wear wooden skull masks called calacas. This celebration almost disappeared in Mexico, however. When Spanish conquistadors landed in the Americas,they tried to cyte the religious traditions used var the fecs, MayansandToltecs for 3,000 yeh coeur originally fell about the beginning of August in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar called Miccailhuitontli. ‘The Catholic Church found it could not eradicate the holiday, but the church did @ Art for the Dead Rico Mexican Market, 779 S. 500 Eastin Salt Lake City, has a Dia De Los Muertos art exhibit Friday, to + 8p.m., featuring works byPil: il, Ruby Chacon, and Guillermo and Marla Colmenero. The Mexican Consulate, 230 W. 400 South in Salt LakeCity, will display an altar on Friday and Saturday. manage to moveit to coincide with All Souls’ Day (Nov,2), In Mexican homes,altars topped with food, sugar skulls and marigolds greet the dead on their annualreturn. Schools com- pete for the honorofbestaltar. Some Mexicans living in Utah still honor the tradition, and shops like Rico Mexican Market even stock the necessary ¢ See DAY OF DEAD,Page C-3 |
