Transitioning off the field was one of the hardest decisions Simmons ever made. He played in 70 games and two Super Bowls (20) while balancing his Type 1 diabetes, checking his sugar levels eight to 10 times per game and taking insulin shots. Released by the Steelers in 2009, he spent time with the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills until he realized it was time to leave the game.
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He endured 14 surgeries for football-related injuries during his college and pro careers. Simmons was selected in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Steelers. “They’d dealt with players before me that had diabetes, so they knew what I needed.” He’s thankful to the team for supporting him and providing resources to help him.
As a lineman, maintaining a healthy weight of 315 pounds was ideal. Simmons dealt with the emotional shock of his diagnosis and anxiety surrounding the illness. I know I had a long road ahead of me, and I was up for the challenge.” “Growing up in some families, it’s not a topic that is always discussed.
“I didn’t understand what that meant at the time,” Simmons said. Facing a diabetic coma, he was given IV fluids to lower his blood sugar levels. A normal blood sugar level two hours after eating is less than 140. A normal fasting (no food for eight hours) blood sugar level is between 70 and 99. He had a dangerously high blood sugar level of more than 1,000. He was sent to the emergency room immediately. The team doctor tested his blood sugar and he was told he may have diabetes. Simmons made it to Pittsburgh and told his trainer, John Norwig, about his symptoms. I was working out twice a day and thought I was just overdoing it.” I was tired and I had dry mouth, all symptoms of diabetes. He’d just finished his first season with the Steelers. When Simmons was first diagnosed, it was an eye-opening experience. “Back then we called it ‘the sugar,’ ” he said. He grew up around his grandmother, who had Type 2 diabetes and often kept peppermint candy around her home, which he now knows was to maintain her sugar levels when they got a little low.
Simmons was raised in Ripley, Mississippi, where Southern cuisine was part of his daily menu. I was nervous my first time, but the Novo Nordisk team and the doctors on the panel with me encouraged me every step of the way.” Usually donning custom suits and his larger-than-life Super Bowl ring, he masks his glucose monitor. He makes dozens of appearances annually for Novo Nordisk, spreading a message of hope to those living with diabetes and encouraging others to familiarize themselves with diabetes risk factors. “I got the call from my agent about the opportunity, and I’ve been part of the team since,” Simmons said. Since retiring from the NFL in 2011, he travels around the country as a paid patient ambassador for pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. Simmons, 39, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2003 when he was 23 and going into his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The gift, from a child he never knew was paying attention to his struggle, is a reminder that his journey means a lot to others and his story needs to be heard. “I still have that same pack of M&M’s today.” “An 8-year-old kid who wore the same number as me sent it in case I needed energy or my sugar got low,” Simmons said. He received a bag of plain M&M’s with a message of encouragement. But one time, the retired lineman and two-time Super Bowl champ made an exception. Kendall Simmons rarely keeps gifts from fans.
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