Fraternity Brother dies

[LXAAlum]

From UWire Today:

MADISON, Wis. -- A University of Wisconsin-Madison male undergraduate died Sunday, due to sudden onset diabetes. According to a member of Chi Phi, his fraternity, the student also had mononucleosis, which may have been a contributing factor in his death.

The student was not on campus but had returned to his hometown for spring break more than two weeks ago.

John Lucas, a representative of UW-Madison University Communications, said he could not release the student's name because the Dean of Students office had not been in contact with the family yet.

"They've had a really hard time getting a hold of his family under the circumstances," Lucas said.

Lucas said he could confirm the cause of death was Type 1 diabetes.

In Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, a person's pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone necessary to use sugar. The causes are not known completely, but scientists believe the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

The student had mononucleosis when he returned to his hometown for spring break, said UW-Madison junior Luke Dixon, a fellow member of Chi Phi.

"He didn't come back last week because he was going to stay home and rest," Dixon said.

Dixon said the student's parents were out of town during the student's spring break, so he most likely was at home by himself resting and trying to recover from being sick.

Ed Mirecki, a UW-Madison student services specialist who deals specifically with UW-Madison's greek system, said the student was with his family Sunday.

Dixon, a good friend of the student, said he was "probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met in my life."

Neither Dixon nor any of the other fraternity members were aware the student had diabetes, Dixon said.

"It was an undiagnosed case of diabetes," Dixon said. "And the combination of the mono and the diabetes wore him down."

Chi Phi members will be going to Milwaukee, Wis., later this week for the wake and funeral services, Dixon said.

More information regarding the situation will be made available Tuesday, after a member of the Dean of Students Office makes contact with the family, Lucas said.

Both Mirecki and Lucas said they wanted to be positive someone had made this contact before any more personal information about the student was released, out of respect for the family.

One role of the Dean of Students Office is to offer counseling to families in the case of a student death.