Home

John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

Twenty-three-year-old snowboarder Sean Busby always has welcomed adventure in his life, so when he was offered a chance to travel to Antarctica several months ago, he jumped at it.

The former member of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club says he became inspired for such a trip several years ago, after watching a Warren Miller movie that displayed skiers and snowboarders ripping down steep-pitched, untouched slopes of Antarctica. The elite snowboarder knew he had the skills to make the trip.

So when Sean was introduced to adventurers and filmmakers Doug Stoup and John Griber, it wasn't surprising the idea of going to Antarctica came up.

"I remember thinking, 'I'm going to do that someday' after seeing the Miller film," Sean said.

Of course, there are some downsides and risks that come with any adventure of this nature. Sean has to travel to the end of the world and will face life-threatening conditions when he gets there. He's been training for a year and preparing with advanced rescue classes that cover avalanches and crevasses for dummies - what to do if you happen to step, fall or slip into one of those giant cracks in the bottom of the world.

That would be enough to scare most people right back to the mainland. But like I said, adventure always has been a part of Sean's lifestyle.

Diabetes has not.

In 2004, he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. He had been sick for weeks and lost more than 30 pounds before doctors were able to pinpoint the problem and get him on the medicine that eventually would save his life.

He was 19 at the time - an elite snowboarder hoping to reach the highest level of his sport. But he wasn't fazed by the idea of being tied down to daily insulin injections, a blood glucose monitor and checking blood sugar levels on an hourly basis. He wasn't about to let the disease end his dreams.

He continued to snowboard and never let go of the idea of finding adventure outside the realm of civilization. So why wouldn't he go to Antarctica, where temperatures will test his insulin, test the devices that keep him alive and test his will? Isn't that what adventure is all about?

He's worried about his insulin freezing and being in conditions where it's simply too cold for tests. There also is the possibility of low blood sugar and insulin shock.

But Sean feels as if he can control those concerns and says he is much more nervous about the natural obstacles.

He said he hopes the adventure will be looked at as an example of how people living with diabetes can live full, normal and even adventurous lives. He hopes it will be an inspiration.

But most of all, he hopes it will be the adventure of a lifetime that he can pass on to his family and friends. He hopes that after facing the challenges of Antarctica, he can accept the challenges that people with diabetes, and people in general, face every day.