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 Education
Diabetes Educational Resources
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Friends of Insulindependence
Culinary Wisdom for the Active Diabetic
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Mt. Kilimanjaro Summit Days one through three were okay, just a little headache and fatigue, the normal stuff. Day four was a little tougher, seven hours of climbing up to around 4,600 meters. We reached camp at 2:00 p.m. and resisted napping until after dinner so we’d be able to sleep throughout the evening before the big summit push. Obviously not much sleep anyway with the excitement and all.
February 14, 12:30 a.m. Had a cup of tea under the stars, checked the blood-sugar (perfect), stuffed some cookies in our mouths, tightened our straps, turned on headlamps and started one of the longest nights of our (mine, at least) lives.
After a couple of hours I felt like my head was going to split in half (I was wishing it would to put me out of my misery). A bit later I remember telling Isaac “I’ve lost my mind.” Any sort of clear thought was out of the question, so I ended up resorting to “Right foot…Left foot” the rest of the way. Every few minutes our guide Nelson would ask, “Pet-ah. You okay, Pet-ah?” – “Uh-huh,” I would lie (If you show any symptoms of AMS they send you down without question). We summited just in time for a typically gorgeous sunrise from the roof of Africa – very nice indeed.
Because it was my first high-altitude experience I’d opted against my usual night-time Humalin bump altogether. By the time of our summit I was just above 80, but of course I paid for it on the way down and had a difficult time bringing it back below 200 for the next day or so.
I have learned quite a bit about both diabetes and mountaineering since this event. Please continue to check our Education link for new information on this topic. Further resources might be found on the MADidea website listed on our links menu (found at the bottom of our index page). 
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