Cutler videos detail fight with diabetes

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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is riding the high of a three-game win streak, but in a series of videos released Thursday, the 26-year-old detailed a period in 2007 when he thought he might be dying.

It was during that period -- which included constant fatigue and severe weight loss while he was playing for the Denver Broncos -- that Cutler was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

"I kept it a secret for a while -- obviously a lot longer than I should have," Cutler said in the videos. "I thought it was something I was just going to bounce back from.

"A part of me just didn't want to know. ... I didn't know if I was going to continue to be able to play football."

Cutler did the "Jay Cutler on Diabetes" videos -- which were produced by Eli Lilly and Company -- to help educate people about the disease.

"I'd like to use my story to be able to inspire kids that get diabetes," he said in the videos. "They think it's the end of the world. They think can't have dreams, do what they want to do. But that's entirely false."

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Jeff Dickerson | email

Chicago Bears beat reporter

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Dickerson has been the Bears beat reporter for ESPN Chicago since 2004. He also hosts weeknight radio shows on ESPN 1000.