The Atlantic League’s York Revolution Manager Mark Mason will have his awesome, legendary long, grey locks cut on Opening Day at PeoplesBank Park on Tuesday, May 3, on the field before their game versus the Gastonia Honey Hunters, to help fundraise for juvenile diabetes.
Juvenile diabetes is chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone that helps regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into liver, fat and skeletal muscle cells.
It can lead to devastated results if not managed properly, which Mason has witnessed the disease wreak havoc in his own personal life.
“I watched my grandmother inject herself with insulin every day and the complications of diabetes ended up costing her to pass away when I was 11 years old,” Mason recalled on YorkRevolution.com. “26 years later, my youngest daughter, who was nine years old at the time, was diagnosed with juvenile or type 1 diabetes.
“I watched her take four injections per day and mix insulins for two of those injections during the day, in addition to the amount of finger pricks to test her sugar levels that happened daily. We spent a week in Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital, and she had to be able to draw up her own shots and administer them to herself before we could get her discharged.
Mason is all for improving a diabetic’s life and the people around them through better medical management. And if it takes him living without his long mane, then so be it, he noted.
“Over the years, there have been many positive strides made to the way diabetes can be controlled and the way insulin can be administered, and I want to see that those changes continue to happen for everyone who has either the juvenile or type 1 diabetes or the type 2 or adult diabetes,” he said. “I watched this firsthand and saw how tough it was, especially for a child. So, if a little haircut can help to make life better for everyone’s life that has been directly or indirectly affected by this disease, then that’s a no brainer for me.
“I want to thank our amazing fans, our organization and everyone who will help make a difference by contributing to this great cause,” Mason added.
To make a donation to the worthy cause, go to YorkRevolution.com.
Please support this effort, as I have been a Type I diabetic for over 40 years.
–Jerry Del Priore
Photos: York Revolution.
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 