JONAS BROTHERS HANDLE DIABETES

The Hit Group 'Jonas Brothers'

Nick Jonas, 14 (left), who sings vocals and plays guitar and drums for the band, took center stage after the band’s opening song and asked for a show of hands of people in the audience, especially kids, who have diabetes. He then raised his own hand, acknowledging for the first time publicly that he has type 1 diabetes, a disease that results when the body does not produce the hormone insulin that is needed to convert sugar into energy. Nick, who performs music around the country and in Europe with his older brothers Kevin, 19, and Joe, 17, told the families at New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion he was diagnosed while on tour in November 2005. Exhibiting the classic symptoms of the disease, he was thirsty all the time, lost a lot of weight, and was acting uncharacteristically moody. When his doctor told him his sugar level was 700, meaning he had diabetes, his first thought was that he might die. “I had an emotional breakdown since I really had no idea what diabetes was all about,” said Nick. “I wondered, ‘why me?’ Then I asked myself, ‘why not me?’ and realized that I might be able to help other kids with diabetes.”
Nick spent three days in the hospital learning how to manage his diabetes, including how to give himself insulin injections several times a day. The band’s busy tour schedule as a Disney Channel and teen and tween-aged pop rock band favorite, made managing his diabetes with injections a challenge. After reviewing different insulin therapy options including conventional insulin pumps that deliver insulin via long tubing attached to a pump typically worn on the belt, Nick opted instead for a relatively new insulin delivery system called the OmniPod® Insulin Management System, developed by Insulet Corporation. One of Nick’s Pediatric Diabetes Educators, Carolyn Gershenson, RN, CPT of New York Pediatric Diabetes Consultants met with him and taught him how to use and administer insulin using the OmniPod System. The OmniPod System is a wireless continuous insulin delivery system that eliminates the need for injections and offers the same functions as a conventional insulin pump without the cumbersome tubing or pump worn on the belt. Nick was actually among the first consumers in the country to use the OmniPod System. “The important thing for Nick was that he be able to manage his insulin in a way that complemented his lifestyle,” Gershenson said.