Barrow County Middle Schooler Named Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Comeback Athlete for March

Brandon Clinton hasn't let a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, which came just 10 days after his 13th birthday in November 2012, keep him from pursuing his passion for the sport of baseball. 

A seventh-grade student at Haymon-Morris Middle, Brandon has been recognized by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for his dedication to getting back to the game. He has been named the pediatric hospital's Comeback Athlete of the Month for March 2013. 

For those with type 1 diabetes, which is typically diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously known as juvenile diabetes, their bodies don't produce enough insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy. Insulin injections are necessary to maintain proper blood sugar levels.

According to the American Diabetes Association, only 5 percent of people with diabetes have this form of the disease.

When Brandon was diagnosed he missed just one baseball tournament — because he was hospitalized at the time — before returning to the field as a player with South East Baseball. He checks his blood sugar levels before and after practices, counts carbohydrates and sugars regularly and gives himself insulin shots. 

"I was really scared about it at first," Brandon, an honor roll student, said in a video posted to YouTube. "It took time for me to get used to it, but it's second nature now." 

Brandon and his family spent two days taking classes at Children's Healthcare learning, step by step, how to manage his condition on a daily basis. 

Brandon, who plays third base, catcher and pitcher, and practices three to four times a week with games almost every weekend, says his favorite baseball players are Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves’ Brian McCann. He is the son of Richard and Amber Clinton of Bethlehem. 

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