Pro snowboarder reaches out to young riders with diabetes
- Details
- Created on Friday, 15 April 2011 20:35
- Written by Nathan
By Elise Reuter, OutThereColorado.com
Professional snowboarder, coach, mentor and mountaineer -- Sean Busby has done it all despite his battle with diabetes.
Busby is bringing Riding on Insulin, an international ski and snowboard camp directed toward diabetics, to Copper Mountain on Saturday. During the camp, riders will be taught to check insulin levels and adjust for high-altitude conditions. Doctors and nurses will be present to ensure participants’ safety and to provide extra equipment in the event of freezing temperatures.
While Busby uses a tubeless pump -- the OmniPod -- that prevents the insulin from freezing, he realizes many of the campers will have pumps or shots that require backup supplies.
The camp -- which Busby started in 2004 -- will feature riders with a wide range of abilities, from kids who never have touched a board to advanced riders.
“It was basically a forum for other diabetics to come, and for me to show them what I had learned -- like how altitude, humidity and climate affected my blood sugar,” Busby said. “I was able to share the knowledge of what I’ve discovered and learned some tips and tricks from the kids that they had known their whole life.”
Colorado Springs resident Sam Gray will be among those attending. Although Gray never has been snowboarding, it's been a goal of his since moving to Colorado a few years ago.
“I’ve wanted to go snowboarding for a while, and this camp is kinda like (killing) two birds with one stone because I’ll also learn more about diabetes,” Gray said. “I wanna learn to do two or three tricks on a snowboard and to be at least decent when I go down the mountain. I definitely want to go snowboarding more next winter.”
Gray is a freshman at Doherty High School who was diagnosed with type I diabetes in 2008.
“I lost 30 pounds in one week,” Gray recalled.
Despite it all, he remains incredibly optimistic.
“I don’t think diabetes is a crutch or anything that people should lean on,” Gray said. “It’s just like brushing your teeth every day. … It’s pretty easy to take care of once you’ve got the hang of it. You can do anything you want.”
Two weeks after being diagnosed with diabetes, Gray went on a five-day camping trip. His love for the outdoors is evident as he bikes nearly every day, camps often and helps lead his Boy Scout troop.
It is kids such as Gray who inspired Busby to continue his snowboarding career. After being misdiagnosed with type II diabetes for three months -- he actually had type I diabetes -- Busby nearly lost all hope.
“Every time after I ate something I would throw up, and this went on for three months,” Busby said. “My sponsors began to drop me. I became very depressed to the point where everything was falling apart in front of me. My body was just wasting away.”
After receiving the proper diagnosis, Busby began reading the stories of kids on the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation website. There, he found encouragement to continue on.
“It made me realize how much I had experienced,” he said. “I realized how fortunate I was. … If kids can continue to pursue their dreams with this, then I can pick up the pieces of where I left off. I was so inspired.”
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