The “Why” to the Mission
After a night at the Lonesome Lake Hut, NH - December 2024
“Time to wake up…” a voice popped into my tent to tell me even though I wasn’t even asleep. It was 11:30pm. Perhaps the earliest I have ever woken up. Most people would have just jumped into bed. Then again, most people weren’t on a glacier making their way to the top of Washington State.
In the late night or early morning or whatever it was, I slammed down my breakfast. Packaged oatmeal. This would spike my blood sugar up and allow me not to worry about going low while I exerted energy towards the summit. My mind tried to compute my Type-1 needs with my exercise.
But… at the time, and still to this day, I am no pancreas. My mind messed up. I remember on my summit push to the top of Mount Rainier, my blood sugar got into the high 400s and skimmed near 500. The last time it was close to this range, I was in the hospital for DKA. In this instance, I was 14,000ft and miles away from societal safety.
Yes, while I successfully summited and made it down the mountain that day falling back into range, I quickly learned that this method of management was not feasible to my goals. I want to get to higher and more difficult peaks while not skyrocketing high with my blood glucose. I need to find a way to get to these remote and treacherous regions with as much safety as possible as a Type-1 Diabetic.
While I’ve learned a lot through the following years to be hyper-focused on my management, there is still much for me to learn. This is why I am starting T1Determined.
Selfishly for myself, with hopes that what I will learn can benefit others in the same boat.
At the summit of Mount Rainier (14,410ft), WA - June 2022
I am a filmmaker. More so a storyteller. I am an athlete. I love the mountains yet all sports intrigue me. I grew up in an active family where athleticism is in the bloodline. I am a Type-1 Diabetic. It is difficult to be a T1D storyteller who is also an athlete. But… this is where the birth of my mission came from.
T1Determined is aimed to conceptualize, design and execute storytelling mediums of podcasts, blog posts, and documentary films that look into the sports physiology of Type-1 Diabetics. Over the past five years of being a T1D, I’ve seen many others accomplish wild and astonishing feats. I’ve seen other T1Ds simply compete at their desired level. Whether it was recreational or professional, there is a whole world out there of T1Ds embodying an active lifestyle.
Where are these people? What are they doing? What are their routines that allows them to do what they want to do? What is scientifically happening in their bodies as they go through the motions of their activity?
These questions can be answered in endless conversations with the T1Ds actually doing it. From mountaineering to baseball, this condition is extremely individualized, yet Type-1 still has consistent themes that we can tailor to our own needs.
T1Determined is designed to be a place where we can build a community. We can learn from each other. We can develop our own routines and daily habits that allow us to reach peak performance.
I want to know what is actively happening to the T1D body as it is pushed to 17,000ft on Denali. With today’s technology, we can track the data.
I want to know the best meal to eat right before short sprints and heavy hits during a football game as a tight-end. Learning that can help me during my HIIT training days.
I want to know what it was like to grow up with T1D playing sports. I have no idea the challenges T1D kids face developing into adults both physically and mentally. Yet, now being in the same boat, I want to create a safe space for kids going through the struggle. This medium can become a place of knowledge, discovery, or at the very least empathetic entertainment.
Hiking with my mom and dad two months after my T1D diagnosis, NH - August 2019
Let’s be real… Since the day I first got diagnosed with Type-1, I’ve been scared. I’ll be the first to say that I am scared to die. I didn’t realize that I was so scared to die until I almost did before my diagnosis.
I am terrified of growing old. And now with this condition, I am horrified of the complications it could bring as I grow old. Yet, this allows me to have an appreciation for life as it currently is. There are so many people living without major T1D complications as they get older for the care that they focused on when they were younger.
I want to learn what I can do to focus on longevity the best I can. This means glucose management, and it also means taking care of myself in many other ways. Focusing on cardiovascular health. Brain health and the willingness to stimulate neurons by constantly learning. Mental health by practicing mindfulness techniques to make sure I’m not being swamped by the stress that goes into daily life with T1D.
As many of you may relate to these themes, I am right here with you. I want to learn with you. This is a journey for me to learn and discover, but it is also an opportunity for you to follow along. While Type-1 is so individualized, there is still so much we can take away as a community. I want you to help grow this concept. The more people we have on board, the more knowledge we all can gain.
Filming the outreach promo for Low Blood Sugar at High Altitude, MA - October 2024
I am excited for the guests that will appear on the upcoming podcast releases. My hope is for others to write blog posts as well. And there are several documentaries in the works aiming to be at the brink of discovery for scientific research with Type-1 Diabetes.
This idea is grand. It often overwhelms me and keeps me up at night thinking how it can all possibly be accomplished. I must remind myself that this is a process and a journey that will take years to morph into what it is meant to be. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.
Let’s do this together.
The Franconia Range, NH in the early morning glow - December 2024
This time… the sun pried my eyes open. The air chilly. My sleeping bag seemed like a stiff block of ice; I did not want to leave the comfortable inside into the frigid outside. I woke up in a backcountry hut, so in actuality it was not as cold as if I were in a tent. Still, the day ahead of me required a lot of energy and exertion.
This time… I ate Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast with a Greek yogurt and a cheese stick. I started my day with my blood sugar in range. I scaled several thousand feet of elevation gain while eating gels, nuts, and protein bars on the go to sustain my energy source. The entire day, my blood sugar stayed in range. From my diagnosis in 2019 to my Mount Rainier Climb in 2022 to my backcountry adventure in the early 2025, I have come a long way.
To get to Denali… to get to Everest… to get to old age… there is still a long way for me to go, and much for me to learn. I am determined to get there. Bring it on. Let’s learn it all.
Denali and the Alaska Range from the Susitna River, AK - May 2024
Please follow us on our social media pages. If you haven’t yet, please listen to the podcast. Subscribe to stay informed on upcoming episode releases. We have a lot of episodes in the works for 2025.
Please stay connected on our first documentary feature, Low Blood Sugar at High Altitude, about climbing Denali (North America’s tallest peak) with Type-1 Diabetes.
I hope this helps. Stay strong. Stay determined.
If you’re interested in writing a blog about T1D & Sports, please visit our Community page to submit an inquiry. We are thrilled to learn with and from you.
