Boys Lacrosse: Geneva’s Alex Porter learns how to manage diabetes while starring in football, lacrosse

For Alex Porter, the warning signs were profound.

He was thirsty. Really thirsty. So much so that he was drinking up to four gallons of water a day. Not surprisingly, he also was asking Geneva boys lacrosse coach Lucas Rojas for permission to use the bathroom multiple times during practice.

“I was doing that for a month and my parents looked it up and [learned] it might be diabetes,” Porter, a senior defenseman and captain, said of his spring 2021 lacrosse campaign, which overlapped for two weeks with football.

He and his parents went to the doctor and he was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic.

“I didn’t know what to think,” said Porter, who was Geneva’s quarterback in football. “My grandpa is a Type 2 diabetic. In the moment, I wasn’t sure how that would impact me. I was sitting there and looked over at my parents and they were a lot more impacted than I was.

“When I saw that, I’m like, ‘This is a lot bigger deal than I thought it would be.’ ”

Did he let it stop him? No.

“He missed only one game and was back at practice after only a weekend off,” Rojas said. “I got to see him manage and handle his diabetes. He was wearing a patch and when we had water breaks, he had an app on his phone which he checked and he kept snacks in his bag.”

Rojas has known Porter since his freshman year and said Porter’s goal has been to play sports in college. Porter will play in college next year. He’ll participate in football and lacrosse at North Central College in Naperville.

“He didn’t let that deter his goal,” Rojas said. “He’s used this to adapt and get better. He’s a mature and tough kid.”

Porter said his coaches in both football and lacrosse have been extremely helpful and understanding.

It was an adjustment, of course. He always carries his phone with him, along with a bag with needles and sugar. If he feels a little off, he’ll go to the sideline and check things out.

Now he’s on the cusp of big things post-high school, including the pursuit of an education degree at North Central because he wants to coach either football or lacrosse.

He has some advice for other kids who might be experiencing what he went through, particularly the excessive thirst and bathroom runs.

“Always talk to your doctor and talk to your parents, too,” he said. “Like most things in life, you don’t want to battle it alone.

“If you have diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2, it’s manageable. It’s going to take an adjustment, but everyone I know who has it is doing a phenomenal job with it.”

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