Tampa Bay Rays Reserve Outfielder, Sam Fuld, Speaks to USF Nursing Students at Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays Reserve Outfielder, Sam Fuld, spoke to more than 50 students and faculty from University of South Florida College of Nursing about his Type I diabetes at Tropicana Field on April 4, 2013.

USF College of Nursing Instructor and Team Coordinator at Morton Plant Mease, Cassandra Vonnes, invited Fuld to speak to undergraduate students in the Medical Surgical Nursing 1 course to discuss how he incorporates managing his diabetes into his daily activities. But, since Rays were playing the Baltimore Orioles, Fuld invited the students to the Tropicana Field instead to listen to him speak and stay for the game. Students couldn’t be more thrilled!

Fuld spoke to students on being diagnosed since he was 10-years-old, growing up with diabetes, and how his parents dealt with it when he was growing up. He also spoke about his experience as a professional baseball player living with diabetes, and how he deals with it every day.

Fox Sports Florida’s Andrew Astleford highlighted the event in an extensive story published on TV Channels’ Web site on April 4, 2013.

“A lot of times, the diagnosis is harder on the parents than it is on the actual kid,” Fuld told the students, according to the Fox Sports Florida article. “I know my parents definitely had a lot of long nights worrying about me, definitely more so than I did. But they did a good job of keeping track of what I ate, counting carbs and helping me learn that whole part of managing the disease. … It set the tone for how to manage the disease for the rest of my life.”

Rita D’Aoust, PhD, ACNP, ANP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Interprofessional Initiatives at USF Nursing, was also quoted in Astleford article. “He portrays health. … He showed the nursing students what you can achieve with good management and good knowledge,” said Dr. D’Aoust in the article.

Tampa Bay Times’ Sport Reporter, Mark Topkin, tweeted a photo of Sam Fuld speaking to USF Nursing students and faculty. Topkin’s tweet can be seen here.

Fuld is always giving back to the community. Recently, Fuld held his second annual “USF Diabetes Sports Camps” in February, where 115 kids ages 8 to 18 with Type I diabetes took part in a number of activities that included baseball, football and basketball. For more information on the USF Diabetes Center click here.

To read Fox Sports Florida’s article in its entirety visit, “Fuld gains discipline from diabetic lifestyle.”