At age six and a half, Zippora Karz took her first ballet lesson because her older sister was interested in dancing. In the coming years, Karz would win accolades in such leading roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky's classic The Nutcracker. The Sugarless Plum: A Ballerina's Triumph Over Diabetes is Karz's memoir that chronicles her struggle to deal with a diabetes diagnosis, a problem that could have potentially cost her the career as a ballerina that many young girls only dream about.
Dancing for the New York City Ballet
Zippora Karz enjoyed ballet. She always pushed herself to be able to do the things her older sister was able to do in class. This drive and determination led to many accomplishments. She was given scholarships to attend the school of the San Francisco Ballet and Balanchine's School of American Ballet. Despite these successes, Karz never assumed she had the potential to make this a career. She merely wanted to be noticed by her teachers and directors.
And she was noticed. At the age of fifteen, she was offered entrance into the School of American Ballet full time. At the age of eighteen, Karz was chosen to perform her first role with the New York City Ballet. This was during a difficult transitional time for the company, as its founder and director George Balanchine had passed away and a new director, Peter Martins, was taking over.
Karz struggled through periods of highs and lows that affected her dancing. She suffered several injuries and personal losses. It was the diagnosis of a potentially debilitating disease that had the most profound impact on her ballet career.
Diagnosed With Diabetes
In the beginning, Karz ignored a lot of the symptoms that something was amiss with her body. As many athletes would have done, she brushed off the feelings of exhaustion, dizziness, constant thirst and frequent urination as a result of the constant stresses she put upon herself to perfect her movements as a ballerina. It was sores under her arms that would not heal that finally sent her to a doctor.
Karz details her struggles to first accept the diagnosis and treat it. With the help of her grandmother, she tried to treat it strictly with diet. Karz was not hesitant to try alternative treatments either. Several years and several doctors later, she was placed on insulin injections to help regulate her blood sugar levels. This also was a learning process for her, as it was hard for Karz to determine the exact amounts that would be required to maintain her level of physical activity that changed from performance to performance.
As she did when she was a young child, Karz met this obstacle head on with determination and perseverance, resulting in the continuation of her time with the New York City Ballet, until the time she was ready to leave it on her terms.
Understanding Type 1 (Juvenile Diabetes) and Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that involves increased levels of glucose or blood sugar. The pancreas normally produces insulin, allowing the body to be able to use glucose for energy. If the glucose is not absorbed and used, it can lead to serious complications including kidney failure, amputation and blindness.
Because Karz was already an adult when she experienced symptoms, she was originally (incorrectly) diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes and is usually adult onset. In this case, the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Type 2 diabetes is often controlled by diet, exercise and medication.
After several years of struggling with her symptoms, Karz's diagnosis was corrected to Type 1 diabetes. In this case, the body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas and destroys them, thus eliminating the production of insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes, also referred to as juvenile diabetes, are required to inject themselves with insulin and monitor themselves very carefully to avoid both high blood sugar and low blood sugar levels.
About the Author, Zippora Karz
Zippora Karz performed as a soloist ballerina with the New York City Ballet from 1983 until 1999. She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 21. Retired from the New York City Ballet after sixteen years, she is now a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Children With Diabetes and Take Control of Your Diabetes. Currently living in Los Angeles, CA, she continues to teach and stage George Balanchine's choreography for dance companies the world over. The Sugarless Plum: A Ballerina's Triumph Over Diabetes (Harlequin, 2009, ISBN 978-0-373-89203-7) is her first book.
Krista Sadlers - Krista Sadlers is a freelance writer, based out of Sebastian, FL whose education, work and hobbies have given her areas of expertise in a ...
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