By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
This weekend more than 50,000 runners from around the world will be converging on New York City for the largest marathon in the world, the New York City Marathon. On Friday, Wyoming resident Beth Kiurski will be heading out to join the crowd.
Kiurski is part of a group of 30 runners who make up the estimated 9,000 charity runners attending this year’s race. She will be running for the Beyond Type 1, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those live with Type 1 diabetes, a condition that Kiurski herself was diagnosed with about 16 months ago. Type 1 Diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, which the body needs to allow sugar to enter cells to produce energy.
“I remember the exact spot on the freeway when I got the call,” she said about when she received the news on June 4, 2018. “The nurse called and she said my blood sugar is 800. I said ‘Is this bad?’ and she responded, ‘Oh honey, you are diabetic.’”
Looking back, Kiurski said she noticed signs such as running had become “so much harder,” the excessive amount of water she was drinking (more than 100 ounces outside of other beverages), and her fiancé noticed she was losing weight.
“I kept saying it was because I was running so hard,” she said.
None of it was due to the running, but to the Type 1 diabetes.
“That night [of the diagnosis] I learned how hard it was going to be right away as they gave us a prescription for insulin and when we stopped to get it filled. It was $700,” Kiurski said. “They don’t ease you into diabetes.”
As Kiurski learned how to manage her Type 1 diagnosis she found herself becoming restrictive on her diet, reducing it to certain items such as lettuce, spinach, cheese, and sunflower seeds.
“I just decided to eat certain items because that would mean I would not have to have insulin and I just was not comfortable with stopping everything so I could give myself a shot,” said Kiurski, who is a teacher at Holland’s Black River Public School.
A scheduled backpacking trip had Kiurski researching how people with Type 1 diabetes handle these types of adventures. She discovered the Dexcom CGM System, which provides continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management. The Dexcom CGM System consists of three parts: a small sensor that measure glucose levels just underneath the skin, a transmitter that fits onto the sensor and sends data wirelessly to a display device, and a small receiver or compatible smart device that displays real-time glucose information.
“No one wants to stop and check their sugar in front of everybody” said Kiurski, who has a Dexcom G6. “It tells me when I going low so I know to eat something. In fact, I have an Applewatch, so I can just look at my watch and no one knows that I am checking my sugar.”
Within months after being diagnosed, Kiurski was asking for a Dexcom and an insulin pump.
“It’s a little unusual in that most people get those in a year,” she said. “There are number of reasons why, such as insurance, but they also want you to know how to do it by hand in case the technology does not work.”
About a year and half later, Kiurski has discovered she does not have to stop running — or living — because she has Type 1 diabetes, something she hopes others will learn from her story.
“People with diabetes don’t have to be limited because of the disease,” Kiurski said. “As a teacher, you don’t want anyone to be based on their ability or their disability. You see everyday that there are different challenges and different struggles and people can do what they want to do.
“In the end, it’s what you bring to the table.”
Or in Kiurski’s case, to the road. As she prepares to take to the New York City streets for the 26.22-mile marathon on Nov. 3, Kiurski revealed that along with demonstrating that people can live with Type 1 diabetes and raising money for Beyond Type 1, she does have a personal marathon goal as well.
“For my first marathon, my goal was between 4 and 4:20 [hours] and I did it in 4:24,” she said. “My second one, which during training I was diagnosed, I did it in 4:40. I am hoping to do this one in 4 or 4:20,” and with a laugh, “but I heard the hills in New York can be tough.”
