For many of us, the thought of mixing food and exercise may make your stomach turn. However, for junior swimmer Annie Shackelford, food can be her lifesaver as she treads the water.

Just over a year ago, Shackelford was diagnosed with diabetes.

“I was showing some of the signs like drinking a lot,” said Shackelford. “My roommates and I joked that I had it like last Christmas. Over Christmas break, my mom, who is a nurse, noticed it and made my grandmother bring over a blood testing kit.”

What the results showed was that Shackelford’s blood sugar level was very high and confirmed that she had diabetes.

“I was mostly angry when I first found out because I couldn’t go on our training trip, so that was ten days that I wasn’t going to get to train and would set me back,” said Shackelford. “I trained really hard the summer before, so I felt that this was my year to swim really well, and here I was in the middle of the season not getting to train because I wasn’t allowed to go down.”

Flash forward one year, and Shackelford is swimming some of the best times during her collegiate career. This season, the junior has had five top-five individual finishes and has helped three of her relay teams to top times. Now Shackelford will help lead the Aces on Saturday when the team travels to Western Kentucky at 1:00 p.m.

“Before I was diagnosed, I was swimming horribly, like times from my junior high years,” Shackelford said. “So it was nice to have a reason for swimming bad, even though it was diabetes. It was nice to know that I wasn’t just swimming bad.”

Originally from Newburgh, Shackelford now has to keep her blood sugar level in check during practices and meets and keeps food on deck in case she feels she needs it since swimming is a strenuous exercise. There is always a risk that if her blood level is out of check and she gets too low in the water that Shackelford could drown.

“She does a great job of monitoring herself from day-to-day,” said Evansville head coach Rickey Perkins. “She knows to stay hydrated and knows how to help yourself. She knows if she needs to stop and get out of the pool. She jumps back in when she can. She’s on top of it.”

Although she does a great job of paying attention to her levels and body, Shackelford knows that her teammates and coaches are right beside her.

“They have been amazing,” said Shackelford. “I came down when they left for the training trip to tell everyone when I was first diagnosed, and they were just the most supportive bunch of people that I have known or met. They also know what to look for if something does go wrong, so they are there to help me if I can’t help myself.”