This was one of the few things Lauren Cox was allowed to do. With the world closing as the new coronavirus spread, the Baylor attacker enjoyed her regular trip to the grocery store with her mother.
Now Cox, whose type 1 diabetes puts her at high risk of complications from the virus, can’t even have that. Her parents just want to be extra careful.
“It’s kind of scary,” said Cox, “but we don’t live in fear.”
Whether she’s winning a national championship or battling a global pandemic, the Big 12 Player of the Year has never left her restrained by fear. After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 7, Cox is willing to realize a lifelong dream in Friday’s WNBA concept.
Cox could go as high as number 2 to her hometown of Dallas Wings after Sabrina Ionescu in Oregon, which is likely New York Liberty’s number 1.
With an average of 12.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this year, Cox was the fourth player in program history to be selected as All-American from four different organizations in the same season. She earned the honor of the first team of the Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and the John Wooden Team.
Baylor finished third in the Associated Press rankings after the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season on March 12. Unable to defend the national championship, Cox said she cried several days after the decision. She is grateful that she also did not have to lose the WNBA concept, which was moved to a virtual format during the pandemic.
“They are doing their best to still make it fun and give us a good experience,” said Cox, who spent much of the virtual meetings with ESPN on Thursday morning to ensure the network had the correct camera angles. from her house. “This is something a lot of us have been dreaming about since we were little girls and started playing basketball, so I’m just excited and grateful.”
Baylor striker Lauren Cox catches a pass for Iowa State Guard Ashley Joens during a game in March.
(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)
Cox became one of the most decorated players in Baylor’s history playing with a continuous glucose monitor in her arm and an insulin pump on her hip. She learned to manage her diabetes with apps on her phone that alerted her to irregular blood sugar levels.
Type 1 diabetes, unlike type 2, which can develop over time due to unhealthy habits, is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas does not make enough insulin, a hormone needed to regulate blood sugar. Along with those over 65, people with underlying medical conditions such as lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes are at high risk for serious disease from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
With Cox and her younger sister Whitney both managing Type 1 Diabetes, the family stays away from large crowds. They wash their hands regularly. Cox said her father, Dennis, both her and Whitney, a freshman on the Lubbock Christian University basketball team, encouraged to give up supermarket runs, rather than suspend their parents or younger sisters Kaylee and Maddie.
But Cox has not let the loss of trips to the supermarket delay her preparations for the design. She and Whitney still find hills to sprint and outdoor courts to shoot at. When interviewing potential WNBA teams via Zoom or FaceTime, Cox proudly tells them of her passion to advocate for diabetes awareness.
“I want to show people that they can do anything they want, regardless of diabetes or not,” said Cox. “It’s just a big part of my life.”
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