Published: May 29, 2008 11:27 pm      

No slowing down

Insulin pump helps Kats catcher do whatever he wants

A lot of folks probably have been wondering what that little gadget is that Sam Houston State catcher Heath Pugh wears on the back of his belt.

No, it’s not a pager or an MP3 player. It’s a nifty little device that helps the junior from Crockett live an everyday normal life and continue to pursue his dreams on the baseball diamond.

When Pugh was in the eighth grade, he was diagnosed with Type 1, or as it is better known, juvenile diabetes. It’s a medical condition that occurs when the pancreas stops making insulin. While it is controlled through diet and exercise, people who have the condition are also forced to receive daily insulin injections.

For someone as active as Pugh, those shots can be a huge nuisance. But thanks to an insulin pump (that nifty little gadget), the Bearkats’ backstop doesn’t have to worry about giving himself shots several times each day.

“It’s become a part of who I am,” Pugh said after Wednesday morning’s practice in preparation for the Bearkats’ Houston Regional matchup with Rice tonight. “When I was taking injections, I was taking four or five (injections) a day and was on a time schedule where I had to get up every day at a certain time and eat breakfast and lunch at a certain time.

“Being an athlete and a student, you aren’t always going to be available at 7:30 in the morning or 12 o’clock noon. So with the pump, I can basically eat whenever I want and I don’t have to worry about a schedule. I can do whatever I want.”

A few months after Pugh was diagnosed with diabetes, he attended a baseball camp at Baylor University. At the time, the Bears had an assistant coach who also had Type 1 diabetes and wore a pump.

That gave Pugh and his family a chance to ask questions, find out more information and get introduced to the device that would change his life.

It’s funny how fate works out sometimes. That young coach who answered tons of questions was none other than Chris Berry, Sam Houston State’s current pitching coach.

Pugh and Berry have been reunited and are a part of school history as the Bearkats are making back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“Heath’s father came up to me during the camp and started asking questions about the pump,” Berry said. “He introduced himself and told me about Heath, and we started talking about it and what it had done for me. They started doing their own research and next thing you know, he was on the pump.

“Six years later, we coincidentally run back into each other, so that is kind of a neat deal,” the coach added. “It all started with some questions and about Heath’s struggles being diabetic and playing football and baseball and being active. They were looking for something better and it just so happened to be that I was there at the time and was a model of what (the pump) could do for you.”

The pump has been a blessing, allowing Pugh to be a big part of Sam Houston State’s run to two NCAA regionals. This season, he has started 35 games behind the plate and is one of 10 Bearkats batting over .300 this season (he is hitting a solid .311). He has driven in 29 runs and belted three homers and seven doubles.

Pugh has also been a key in helping break in a young pitching staff, which is loaded with underclassmen and junior college transfers and was a big reason the Kats went 4-0 in the SLC Tournament last weekend at Don Sanders Stadium.

“We have a lot of talent on our pitching staff, and as long as we keep the ball down, we are as good as anybody,” Pugh said. “I try to help them out as best as I can. We have one of the top offenses in the country, but our pitching staff has gotten a lot better throughout the year, and I think we are going to do good this weekend.”

Pugh does it all for the Bearkats, but he has an even bigger purpose than just playing baseball. Like that coach who helped make a difference in that eighth-grader’s life, Pugh is now a role model for youngsters in the same boat he was in years ago.

“Last season we went to Northwestern (State) for the (SLC) tournament and a lady called and asked if she could bring her son out and talk to Heath because he had just gotten a pump,” SHSU head coach Mark Johnson said. “It was really encouraging and it happened again this year when we went to Hammond (La.).

“Heath was able to talk to a a young man — a 10-year-old — and encourage him. That’s just one of those things that is warm-hearted and good to see. Heath is an important part of what we are doing because of his personality. He has been very valuable.”