Owning Your Life at Torres del Paine

As a person with diabetes, it is difficult to describe the anxiety when you are exerting yourself in the wild and far away from help.

Over the holidays, I was lucky to be able to travel with my family to Argentina and Chile. While there, I completed the most difficult hike (slash mountain climb) of my life. In Patagonia, at the far southern tip of South America, 16 miles round trip in the rugged wild over 10 hours, very difficult terrain, and climate changing from sun to blowing snow. 

Two hours into this hike, a little winded, I used my Pops Rebel to check my blood sugar. It was a little low, and I looked down this view wondering both whether I could really do this and did I have enough food with me to sustain my blood sugar. I thought about where I was and that nobody was going to be able to help me—I am on my own.  

Almost on my own. I have never let diabetes own my life, and I was not going to start now. This attitude has been the driver of me being a founder of Pops.  Enabling people living with diabetes to do whatever they want to do in life. For me on this hike, throughout, I truly had the help of Pops’ Mina and Rebel to help me manage my blood sugar and enable me to do this hike with my family.  

I did reach the peak of Torres del Paine, which should look like this on a clear day.    

For me, I only experienced snow and a cold wind.  But I also experienced an indescribable joy of accomplishment.  Not only in the accomplishment of a difficult hike, but knowing I was in middle of nowhere and I was living my life without dependency on anyone else.  #ownyourlife