CAMP PERRY, OHIO – His name says it all. “Amore,” the Italian word for “love” captures one junior shooter’s passion for participating in his first appearance at the National Matches and CMP Games.

But his love of the sport requires Mathew Amore, 14, of Howell, New Jersey to overcome the thorny obstacle of being a Type 1 insulin-dependent diabetic, a condition he has had since birth but wasn’t properly diagnosed until he was 14 months old.

“He almost died,” says Mathew’s dad Richard who explained that his son survived a diabetic coma. “Until then, the doctors weren’t sure what was wrong with him,” he said.

But Mathew has overcome his infant woes and now enjoys high power shooting despite constant monitoring of his blood chemistry and his dependence on a high-tech insulin pump, which provides the proper amount of insulin as needed through a tube inserted under the skin in his rear end. He’s been using the pump for about four years.

Insulin is a hormone that causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose (“sugar”) from the blood and storing it, and stops the use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source. When control of insulin levels fail, as it does in Mathew’s case, the insulin pump steps in.

While the pump helps regulate Mathew’s insulin levels, much of chemistry is a balancing act of maintaining proper diet and fluid intake. He says he needs to stick his finger three or four times per day to check his insulin level; then the monitor in his insulin pump tells him whether he needs to eat more or less to avoid symptoms like dehydration, fatigue and blurred vision, or worse.

“Mathew leads a more normal life now where he can enjoy things like shooting,” his dad said. Some things like hydration are more acute, he added. “Things like the flu are 10 times worse with diabetes.”

His condition certainly hasn’t held him back from competing in this year’s matches. In addition to participating in the USMC Junior Highpower Clinic, Mathew participated in the President’s 100, National Trophy Individual, National Trophy Team, National Trophy Infantry Team and Whistler Boy matches.

“In the Marine Corps Junior Clinic, one of the instructors thought I was wearing a cell phone,” Mathew said. “He said ‘you’re going to have a hard time shooting prone with that cell phone in the way’ he told me.

“Then I explained to him that it was an insulin pump and he was kind of surprised.”

Mathew has been shooting recreationally for four years and just six months competitively. He shot a match at Camp Smith in New York in April.

“I was a little nervous about coming to Camp Perry, but I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with all the friendly shooters around me,” he said.

Mathew participated in the National Matches and CMP Games with friends and relatives. He is one of six members of the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club.

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