Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and Super Bowl XL champion Jerome Bettis ran over linebackers for 13 seasons, while managing asthma, a condition he has spoken about openly. Fans saw the Bus, but they rarely saw the inhaler. Like Bettis, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews lives with a similar invisible companion.
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During a recent conversation on Football Unfiltered with Rob Maaddi, Mark Andrews recalled an incident where his medical routine once turned terrifying for his family.
“I’ve had multiple instances of real serious lows, and you know, that’s one of the things that really got me into wearing a Dexcom. I was in college and had a real bad low incident. While I was sleeping, I kind of went unconscious, and that was really scary moment for me and my family and it was kind of a wake-up call. So, my dad, who’s a doctor, found Dexcom, and yeah, I’ve been using it ever since, and it’s really helped change my life.”
Andrews has managed Type 1 diabetes since he was diagnosed when he was 9 years old. However, the incident dates back to September 2014, during his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, when Andrews suffered a severe, life-threatening hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episode while in his dorm room.
His roommate, Oklahoma long snapper Wesley Horky, found Andrews motionless with his eyes fixed straight ahead. Because an unconscious person cannot safely swallow liquids, Horky followed emergency instructions from Mark’s mother, Martha, and rubbed emergency glucose gel and fruit chews into his gums until paramedics arrived.
Although Andrews had managed his condition since age nine with help from his father (who is a physician), the dorm room scare prompted him and his family to adopt continuous glucose monitoring technology so he and his support system could track his levels 24/7.
Mark Andrews credited his diabetic management to Dexcom, a medical technology company that develops Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems, wearable devices that track blood sugar levels in real time without routine finger pricks.
While monitoring his sugar levels through Dexcom, Andrews has managed to play a 9-season NFL career so far. The 31-year-old tight end has spent his entire career in Baltimore and holds the franchise’s all-time receiving triple crown, leading the team in career receptions (515), receiving yards (6,189), and receiving touchdowns (57).
For the ongoing regular season, Mark is listed as healthy on the Ravens’ active 53-man roster. Although he dealt with a minor hand injury earlier in the season, he has played in all nine games so far.
Andrews and the Ravens are currently 4-5 and have four consecutive losses under their belt. Now, the Baltimore Ravens are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Chargers on November 16, where Andrews will make an appearance once again.