I would love for my 14 year old son to meet someone like Sean. He was diagnosed with type I diabetes in 2010 at the age of 10 during a baseball all star tournament. For the first 2 years he had no problem managing his disease and had a great attitude towards it all. But for the past 2 years he has let the diesease take over his life. He has been in and out of the hospital several times and has an onset of depression that is dragging him down rapidly. It seems like he just can’t see beyond the dark box. It is like he has given up on taking care of himself all together.
It is soo sad as a Mom to watch this take over as he is such a strong individual. He is also very athletic, but again over the past 2 years he hasn’t participated in many sports. As a freshman in high school he is going out for cross country racing and basketball and joined the ski club at the school, but if he can’t manage his diabetes he won’t be able to participate.
I wish he had someone with diabetes that he could look up to. It is breaking my heart.
Machelle,
Are you here in Wisconsin? I so agree with you about how sad it is as parent. My 13 year old son Luke was diagnosed in January of this year. He will be 14 next week. He played football last year and I was so happy when he wanted to play again this year. This spring Jay Hewitt (Ironman athlete) spoke at the JDRF meeting. I took Luke and our daughter to see him. He will be in Eau Claire at their meeting. If you are in that area I would take him to see him also. But he really did help to inspire Luke and help to get him on track.
I am looking at the camp also for Luke. I feel it would be good for him to be with others so that he can find out the he is not so strange after all.
My heart goes out to you and your son… my son is 11 and we are a year into this… we have out moments, but nothing like you are describing… however, it would not surprise me if I woke up tomorrow to deal with it…. I am so excited we get to be a part of Riding on Insulin this year..
Kari
Hi Kim,
We are absolutely considering another camp in Wisconsin for next year. Unfortunately, it seems we’ll have to make do with our December 17th event this season, but with all the support out there, it would make sense to have a 2-day event to have more kids able to come for next year. Please join our mailing list to keep abreast of new developments! Thanks for your note.
–Mollie
We just found out about the camp in Portage, WI and unfortunately were too late to register. My daughter, who was diagnosed at 10 years old, is almost 16 years old and we are always looking for opportunities to empower her in regards to her diabetes. It is very difficult to find opportunities like this for teenagers which ironically in my opinion is a time when they need the most support and guidance towards independence. Is there a possibility of doing two separate camps one for 7-12 yr. olds and one for 13 – 17 yr. olds (or maybe even 18 yr. olds since they are still in high school) in the future to allow for more participants?
We just saw Sean Busby speak at a Children’s Hospital Retreat in Los Angeles for type 1 families. He is very inspiring and a truly amazing individual. Thank you for sharing your story Sean and all you do to raise awareness and encourage our type 1 kids.
My son, Danny, just returned from your camp at Timberline, OR and had a great time. He has not wanted to participate in any diabetes related activities since his diagnosis (June, 2011). He told me this morning that he would like to go again next year. Thank you Sean and Mollie for all you do.
~Kim
Hey, I just got back from Riding on Insulin at Timberline in Oregon for my brother. It is really fun and I recommend it for other diabetic patients. While I was there, Sean was really cool and helped me learn how to snowboard. I had fun with Alex and Sean.
I think it would be great to have a camp specifically for those kids that are 12 and up. My son is almost 12 and was diagnosed at age 4 so he really doesn’t remember not having diabetes but it doesn’t seem to make it any easier. He goes through days where he just wants to hide and he feel so different. We had to go off the pump as all he would do would hide it. If anyone asked about what his pump was, it put him in a tailspin. I know he would love to be around other kids his age with Type 1. We are apart of a few support groups here in the Chicago suburbs but most of them are little girls (4yr-8yr) so he is having a hard time relating. He needs someone to understand and also someone to look up to – to show him he can still succeed. Would love more camps in WI as the one in Dec was full by the time we found out about it. Thanks for the awareness!!
Riding On Insulin's mission is to provide international ski and snowboarding camps for kids with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with an emphasis on how to manage blood sugars where altitude, climate and humidity all play a role.
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I would love for my 14 year old son to meet someone like Sean. He was diagnosed with type I diabetes in 2010 at the age of 10 during a baseball all star tournament. For the first 2 years he had no problem managing his disease and had a great attitude towards it all. But for the past 2 years he has let the diesease take over his life. He has been in and out of the hospital several times and has an onset of depression that is dragging him down rapidly. It seems like he just can’t see beyond the dark box. It is like he has given up on taking care of himself all together.
It is soo sad as a Mom to watch this take over as he is such a strong individual. He is also very athletic, but again over the past 2 years he hasn’t participated in many sports. As a freshman in high school he is going out for cross country racing and basketball and joined the ski club at the school, but if he can’t manage his diabetes he won’t be able to participate.
I wish he had someone with diabetes that he could look up to. It is breaking my heart.
Hi Machelle,
Where are you located?
—Sean Busby
Machelle,
Are you here in Wisconsin? I so agree with you about how sad it is as parent. My 13 year old son Luke was diagnosed in January of this year. He will be 14 next week. He played football last year and I was so happy when he wanted to play again this year. This spring Jay Hewitt (Ironman athlete) spoke at the JDRF meeting. I took Luke and our daughter to see him. He will be in Eau Claire at their meeting. If you are in that area I would take him to see him also. But he really did help to inspire Luke and help to get him on track.
I am looking at the camp also for Luke. I feel it would be good for him to be with others so that he can find out the he is not so strange after all.
My heart goes out to you and your son… my son is 11 and we are a year into this… we have out moments, but nothing like you are describing… however, it would not surprise me if I woke up tomorrow to deal with it…. I am so excited we get to be a part of Riding on Insulin this year..
Kari
Please consider adding another RidingOnInsulin camp here in WI……..We were too late to register before it sold out!
Hi Kim,
We are absolutely considering another camp in Wisconsin for next year. Unfortunately, it seems we’ll have to make do with our December 17th event this season, but with all the support out there, it would make sense to have a 2-day event to have more kids able to come for next year. Please join our mailing list to keep abreast of new developments! Thanks for your note.
–Mollie
We just found out about the camp in Portage, WI and unfortunately were too late to register. My daughter, who was diagnosed at 10 years old, is almost 16 years old and we are always looking for opportunities to empower her in regards to her diabetes. It is very difficult to find opportunities like this for teenagers which ironically in my opinion is a time when they need the most support and guidance towards independence. Is there a possibility of doing two separate camps one for 7-12 yr. olds and one for 13 – 17 yr. olds (or maybe even 18 yr. olds since they are still in high school) in the future to allow for more participants?
Thanks to Sean Busby for hosting these camps!
We just saw Sean Busby speak at a Children’s Hospital Retreat in Los Angeles for type 1 families. He is very inspiring and a truly amazing individual. Thank you for sharing your story Sean and all you do to raise awareness and encourage our type 1 kids.
My son, Danny, just returned from your camp at Timberline, OR and had a great time. He has not wanted to participate in any diabetes related activities since his diagnosis (June, 2011). He told me this morning that he would like to go again next year. Thank you Sean and Mollie for all you do.
~Kim
Hey, I just got back from Riding on Insulin at Timberline in Oregon for my brother. It is really fun and I recommend it for other diabetic patients. While I was there, Sean was really cool and helped me learn how to snowboard. I had fun with Alex and Sean.
Brady!
We had so much fun riding with you and your brother… we hope you all can come again next year!
See you soon,
Mollie and Sean
I think it would be great to have a camp specifically for those kids that are 12 and up. My son is almost 12 and was diagnosed at age 4 so he really doesn’t remember not having diabetes but it doesn’t seem to make it any easier. He goes through days where he just wants to hide and he feel so different. We had to go off the pump as all he would do would hide it. If anyone asked about what his pump was, it put him in a tailspin. I know he would love to be around other kids his age with Type 1. We are apart of a few support groups here in the Chicago suburbs but most of them are little girls (4yr-8yr) so he is having a hard time relating. He needs someone to understand and also someone to look up to – to show him he can still succeed. Would love more camps in WI as the one in Dec was full by the time we found out about it. Thanks for the awareness!!