Knocking Down Pins—Without Needles

Ryan Shafer has been bowling professionally since he was 20 years old, more than half of his life. It's a feat that's even more impressive when you consider that at 19, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

"Most people when they're diagnosed with diabetes, they think they can't live the life they want to live," Shafer said. "That's not true at all as long as you take care of yourself, test your blood sugar, see your doctor regularly, you can live your life the way you want to do it."

Shafer, 45, who is competing in this weekend's PBA Cheetah Open at Fountain Bowl, has become as a household name among bowling fans in his 26 years on tour. A seemingly endless stream of those fans stop by to greet him and wish him luck as we sit down to talk before his late-morning practice session. He has four PBA titles and three top 10 finishes in the past year alone, and it's not like he didn't have other career options—as valedictorian of his high school, he was all set to attend Cornell and study law before fate intervened.

"When I was diagnosed as a diabetic, that kind of changed my plans," Shafer said. "Back then, the advances weren't what they are today, so I had to take into account how long I was going to be able to bowl competitively. So I thought I'd delay the school, go out on tour, see how I did, and I could always go back to school. 26 years later, I'm still bowling."

For most of his early career, Shafer was private about being a diabetic, quietly maintaining the usual regimen of insulin shots and meals the best he could despite a grueling travel schedule. Multiple time zones and busy days often threw off his routine, and in 2004, fate intervened once again when the PBA changed its format, packing even more competition into each event.

That's when Shafer made the decision to try an insulin pump, and when he found himself bowling deep into the tournament that first week, with a national television audience wondering what he was wearing on his hip, he made another decision—to reveal his condition in the hopes that he could help others.

"I thought this would be a good way for me to help some kids or people who are struggling with their diabetes because they see me as a professional doing what I like to do, and being able to do it well," Shafer said. "They can do what they like to do as long as they take care of themselves. I wear the pump visible for that reason."

Shafer has since taken an even more active role in raising diabetes awareness. His ball sponsor, Storm, sells a limited edition ball with his photo on it, wih all proceeds going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and a recent fundraiser at is home alley in New York state raised $2,300.