Monitoring Type 1 diabetes has become 'second nature' for Hopkinton jumper Logan Sullivan
HOPKINTON – His devices are never far away. Eye roll if you want, but this is one case where screen time has no limits.
Yes, an iPhone is involved. Also never far from reach: a Dexcom, an Omnipod ...
And granola bars.
Logan Sullivan is sure to count his steps before launch. Another important tally is his blood sugar level before lunch.
The Hopkinton High junior high jumper has Type 1 diabetes; he was diagnosed just days after his 13th birthday. Initial treatment included finger pricks and injections – five times per day. Needles: cringeworthy.
“My biggest phobia,” said Sullivan, 17, before Wednesday’s practice at Hopkinton’s bustling fieldhouse.
Those days are over, replaced by a patch (the Omnipod, which needs replacing every three days, that he wears on his left arm) and a phone-like Dexcom monitor that allows Sullivan to keep track of the amount of insulin his body requires. The items needed to combat diabetes fit neatly into a small, black case he unzips when checking his blood sugar.
“The technology has been amazing for me,” he said. “Me and my family talk about it all the time. I’ve always had a fear of needles, so I had to get over that. Once I got over that, it’s just amazing that I can always see my levels.”
“Logan just made managing diabetes part of his life,” said his mother, Kim. “He didn’t become defeated by it. He just has to manage it.”
He does so with a proper diet and a backpack loaded with the snacks required when his blood sugar dips below the normal level of 80 milligrams per deciliter. His go-to: a chocolate chip granola bar.
Needles part of 'diabetes boot camp’
Logan was an active eighth-grader who played basketball and lacrosse when he noticed an increase in thirst and visits from Mother Nature. “He just felt something was off,” Kim Sullivan said.
The diagnosis in what began as a routine doctor’s appointment floored the family.
“We were blown away by it,” Kim said. “We didn’t expect to hear that news.”
The next stop was Boston Children’s Hospital to learn how to manage Type 1 diabetes, which affects nearly 9 million people worldwide, according to beyondtype1.org. For six months, before allowing him to use technology to combat the disease, BCH required Logan to prick his finger and check his blood sugar, leading to an insulin injection into his arm.
“Diabetes boot camp,” in Kim Sullivan’s words.
The needles Logan feared during annual vaccinations became a five-times-a-day routine.
“When they’d give me my shots, I always struggled to get over the fear of putting the needle in me and getting it over with,” he said. “Once I got over that, it became a breeze and it’s second nature for me.”
His blood sugar levels not only show up on his phone, but his parents’ as well. Logan does well during the day to keep the levels in a healthy range (between 80 and 120 mg/dl), but there have been times when he needs to be awakened during the night for yet another granola bar.
If diabetes was a life-changer, the Dexcom and Omnipod were game-changers.
“He went from needles and finger-pricking to this phenomenal technology that the diabetes community has,” Kim Sullivan said. “It has made his life as normal as it can be.”
Logan Sullivan has clinched two meets with high jumps
Logan first tried high jumping during the last outdoor meet as an eighth-grader. He played basketball (he currently stands 6-foot-4) through his freshman year before participating in indoor track. He runs cross-country in the fall and was a Hiller captain last year.
He cleared 6 feet during last spring’s outdoor season and is threatening Hopkinton’s indoor record of 6 feet, 5 inches by 2023 grad Sean Golembiewski. The outdoor record, one of the school’s oldest at 6-3, was set by Garrett Coffin in ‘99.
Logan’s successful jumps have twice provided the meet-clinching points for Hopkinton. He closed 2023 with his current personal best of 6-4 on Dec. 29 at the Reggie Lewis Center in a 49-46 win over Medfield. A week later, his 6-2 clearing resulted in a 48-47 victory over Holliston.
Sullivan also won the Tri-Valley League Showcase with a 6-2 mark. (Hopkinton competes Friday at the Division 2 state meet at the Reggie. Sullivan's 6-4 mark is second-best in D2 behind North Attleborough's Carson Crump, who has cleared 6-5, which is the qualifying mark for Nationals).
High jump is usually the final event to finish in a boys meet, leading to a crowd around the landing mat and a spotlight on the jumpers.
“And for many athletes, that pressure with everyone watching you – it's you versus the bar – that usually leads to disaster,” said Hopkinton coach Brian Prescott.
“I like the pressure sometimes, but I can get a little worried,” Sullivan admitted. “When I’m ready to do my high jump, I usually get into a little zone and I do it. It’s amazing.”
His coaches are also amazed.
“We were shocked that in the highest-pressure moments of the season, he was cool, he was collected and he performed better each week,” Prescott said.
Sullivan’s friendly demeanor and jumping prowess have inspired his teammates. Successful jumps bring the bar up two inches, but the difference from clearing 5-10 to attempting the all-important 6-feet threshold can be daunting.
But on the day Sullivan won the TVL Showcase, senior Connor Cho, another former basketball player and a first-year jumper, set a PR of 6 feet to place second.
“Everyone starts to aim a little higher,” Prescott said. “When (Sullivan is) jumping 6-4, 6 feet doesn’t seem so bad: ‘Ok, I can do that.’ When you have an athlete – it's like the rising tide and he’s the tide. Logan is able to encourage and bring everybody along.”
If you see Logan Sullivan with what looks like a phone in each hand or notice a patch on his arm or spot him binging on granola bars, don’t be shy about asking him about how he handles a life with Type 1 diabetes.
He’ll jump at the chance to share.
“I’d love to show people that you can manage it,” he says. “Once you get it under control, it’s almost like nothing’s wrong because you’ve got all this technology that can help you.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hopkinton's Logan Sullivan: Type 1 diabetes monitoring 'second nature'
