{"id":3152,"date":"2025-03-01T15:19:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T15:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-oliviasayer\/?p=3152"},"modified":"2025-05-01T15:29:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:29:41","slug":"georgia-basketballs-roxane-makolo-overcomes-type-1-diabetes-to-fulfill-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-oliviasayer\/georgia-basketballs-roxane-makolo-overcomes-type-1-diabetes-to-fulfill-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia basketball’s Roxane Makolo overcomes Type 1 Diabetes to fulfill dream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Olivia Sayer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Roxane Makolo on Nov. 4, 2024 during Georgia women\u2019s basketball\u2019s game against NC Central. (Courtesy\/Tony Walsh\/UGAAA)<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is 1 a.m. in Athens, Georgia, and the alarms are blaring in Roxane Makolo\u2019s apartment. Awakened from her sleep, she checks her phone to find a message from her trainer, making sure she is ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To any other person, the alarms \u2014 which can range from a police car siren to the sound of a baby crying \u2014 would be concerning. To Makolo, they are just another part of living with Type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makolo, a fifth-year guard for Georgia women\u2019s basketball, was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition in March 2023 when she was 22 years old. She said she first noticed something was off around the time that Texas Christian University \u2014 the school she spent her second year of eligibility with \u2014 entered the latter portion of its conference play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething just didn\u2019t feel right,\u201d Makolo said. \u201cFor someone who really has a good conditioning, I would get tired so easily. I’m really someone that can go forever, but that second part of the season, I just felt tired, like I had no energy, so I kind of knew something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diagnosis: \u201cI knew something was wrong\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feeling, which was quickly followed by excessive thirst and frequent trips to the restroom, was enough to make the typically spirited Makolo confide in the team\u2019s athletic trainer. However, at first, the staff noticed nothing amiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey didn’t think anything was really wrong, but I knew something was wrong,\u201d Makolo said. \u201cSo I kept talking to her and telling her I just don’t feel right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her persistence led to the training staff running multiple tests and advising her to visit the university\u2019s healthcare center. There, they tested Makolo\u2019s blood sugar, and the one finger prick forever changed her life. The number came back around 535, which was strikingly higher than the average person\u2019s blood sugar range of 70-100. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s like coma [range],\u201d said Makolo, referencing the ketoacidosis that can quickly occur if high blood sugar is left untreated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, it was a whirlwind for Makolo. She spent three days in the emergency room since the medical staff deemed it unsafe for her to immediately return to her apartment, where she lived alone. During that time, she was officially diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first it was hard because that\u2019s literally life-changing,\u201d Makolo said. \u201cIt changes everything\u2026I can\u2019t do certain stuff that I could do before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where one\u2019s pancreas stops producing insulin, which is a hormone that moves glucose \u2014 a fancy term for sugar \u2014 to the body\u2019s cells. As a result, one\u2019s blood sugar must be managed manually using devices such as insulin pens and continuous glucose monitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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