Texas is turning to number-crunching in an effort to contain soaring Type 2 diabetes rates. San Antonio will be the first city there to operate a diabetes registry designed to improve both the cost and quality of diabetes care in the state. The Texas state legislature approved the initiative this past spring. The project, which will be administered by the local health department, has been given the extremely imaginative title of Diabetes Registry. (Hey, makes it easy to find in the phone book.) The registry will gather its statistics from labs that perform diabetes blood tests.

The idea behind the project is not new: a similar scheme is already underway in New York City. Makes sense: before you decide how to cope with widespread Type 2 diabetes, you first need to assess exactly what the problems are. Who is missing out on care? Who are most likely to go undiagnosed? What could healthcare providers, teachers, or parents be doing differently?

Officials say that if the registry is successful in San Antonio, the registry may be extended throughout the entire state of Texas. Click here to read more on the community news site My San Antonio.

The Detroit Free Press is running a nice piece by columnist Drew Sharp about golfing pro and Type 1 diabetic Scott Verplank. Titled "Golfer Verplank an inspiration to fellow diabetics," Sharp observes that athletes with diabetes are in a unique situation. "Athletes are taught to fight through pain, to develop a higher threshold for it. But diabetics don't get that luxury, because maintaining the proper blood glucose equilibrium is mandatory," Sharp writes.

Verplank is forty-two years old and hails from Texas. According to his Wikipedia entry, he was honored in 2002 with the Ben Hogan Award, which is given by the Golf Writers Association of America to golfers who continue with the game despite a major illness or injury. Talking about his ability, as a sports pro with diabetes, to positively influence the lives of others, especially youngsters, Verplank remarked: "If what I went through can inspire even one kid to run his own life and not let diabetes run his own life, then it was all worth it." He says determination is key, adding: "whenever you can find positives out of the challenges thrown at you in life, it makes you stronger." I don't know much about golf, but this is an ethos that Verplank clearly lives, with the columnist Sharp describing him as "the ultimate grinder."

One last thing: I was checking out readers' comments on this article and this one made my jaw drop: "Verplank is not an inspiration. I have diabetes and I get know [sic] hope from some lame golfer that [sic] is mediocre at best." Wow. How mean-spirited can you be?