There is no cure – only treatments that mix an important combination of diet, activity and insulin injections at varying times and in varying levels.  Failure to apply the proper mix at every hour of every day leads to permanent damage and even death.  In Roddy’s case, even today as he nears his 26th birthday, it’s extremely difficult to manage all of this.

Fortunately, few diabetics suffer from the rare form that Roddy must endure.  Those who do often feel ill and exhibit uncontrollable symptoms such as confusion, anger, slurring of words, and worse.  That makes it hard to hold a job and earn a living, as Roddy learned.  The medical cost is high and insurance out of reach.  Life is no longer carefree, but rather a daily desperate effort to survive.  The only escape may be fantasy.

In an article entitled "The Last Cattle Rustler" written by Skip Hollandsworth for Texas Monthly, one of the people to play a pivotal role in Roddy Pippin's life asked a simple but profound question about Roddy: "Why would a kid with such nice qualities want to turn himself into a no-good cattle thief?"

The question was asked by Scott Williamson, a "respected" field inspector for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), a genuine oldtime Texan lawman, complete with the white hat.

At the time of his arrest Roddy was barely out of his teens. When asked by Skip Hollandsworth why he stole cattle, Roddy answered, “Sir, I knew what I was doing was wrong. But I will admit to you, right then I felt like I had stepped back into another time. I felt like I was someone different.”

Roddy had never been in trouble before being arrested for cattle rustling and was known as a polite, friendly kid. Williamson had expected to catch a hardened criminal or a rancher gone bad through an overpowering addiction to drugs. Instead he caught up with a good-looking and good-natured young man who grew up in a small town and never worked on a ranch. He was puzzled.  But the answer lies in the facts.

Following his arrest, young Roddy accepted responsibility for his misdeeds and cooperated fully with the authorities.  He implicated other accomplices (he was the youngest of nine).  And he agreed to pay the price.

Roddy’s mother offered restitution spread out over time -- $100,000, a fortune to her – but that was refused.  He was told to accept four separate two-year state jail sentences, eight consecutive years in all, and he was promised that he would receive the medical care that he needs.  But no matter how many state jails they sent him to, none could handle his condition and ever more severely-ill Roddy literally faced death.  At the urging of a state-jail medical director in an effort to save his life, Roddy was moved into the state prison system where he could obtain 24-hour medical care.  But even there he suffered severely.  Hospitalizations were numerous.  Deterioration to his health continued.

Not eligible for parole like nearly all of those around him, Roddy pursued and received a two-year “shock probation.”  For the past two years he has flawlessly adhered to his strict conditions of probation, including 24-hour electronically-monitored confinement on his mother’s property.  Allowed to go to church on Sundays, he has achieved the love and respect of those in its congregation.  And he has done his best to give back through voluntary participation in a clinical trial for a ground-breaking experimental form of inhalable insulin.  Despite all of this, Roddy’s being forced back to prison.

The state of Texas made a deal that it cannot live up to.  Roddy’s sentence, unlike those of other inmates, does not provide for parole.  None of his eight accomplices, all of whom are older than he and all in good health, had harsh sentences.  And a rancher-family member who stole far more cattle than Roddy received fewer years with parole.

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