About Courtney
Riding in the Tour de Cure began as a single ride to prove a point. I was riding to prove that I control my diabetes; it doesn’t control me (which is a new concept to me). Having had diabetes for the last 15 years and getting it when I was 11, I was quickly limited in what physical activities I could participate in. It was devastating for me to go from being a fairly athletic child to someone who couldn’t be physically active because of the consequences it had on me.
I found it completely unfair that 30 minutes of intense exercise (running, biking, rollerblading, swimming, etc) would turn me into a monster for several hours because of low blood sugars that had to be nursed back into normal ranges. I had just finished the 4th grade when I got diabetes. In the 5th grade it was a struggle to participate in P.E. class once a week. When middle school and high school rolled around and other kids my age where complaining because they had to take P.E. I was crying because I couldn’t. I hated to get the doctors note every year that excused me from P.E. because 50 minutes in that class would assist me in missing the next two classes while I sat in the nurses office drinking juice and checking my blood every 15 minutes until my blood sugar went into a normal range.
I was sad (and angry) that I couldn’t participate in sports. I wanted to be able to swim and run. I wanted to be able to do the same things that all the non-diabetics were doing. And I couldn’t. For the doctors, with me and my rage, it was easier to tell me that I couldn’t participate in sports than it was to tell me what I needed to do in order to be able to participate in sports. I wanted nothing to do with my diabetes and only now do I realize the damage it’s caused and all it kept me from doing.
A year ago (May 2006), I decided that I was going to take care of my diabetes because I wanted to go skydiving and couldn’t do so without proper care of this hideous disease. With that goal obtained, my next goal was getting on the insulin pump, I had to show that I was capable of 7-10 blood checks a day, that I was going to watch my carb intake, that I was going to take insulin when I was supposed to (I have a history of not doing so). Being on the insulin pump gave me the power to be athletic and with that power I set out to prove that I have control.
When I completed my first ride in Southern, CA I was immediately craving my next ride. I had proven my point; I could control my diabetes and within that control, be athletic. What I spent the better part of 15 years missing out on, I wanted others not to miss. There’s no reason why diabetes should restrict anyone at anytime and while controlling it is an answer, it isn’t the answer. And that is why I ride and want to ride. I ride to find the cure, the answer to diabetes.
One Response to “About Courtney”
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October 13th, 2007 at 11:29 am
[...] is a cause that is important to Courtney as she also has diabetes, she was diagnosed when she was 11 years old and has had to overcome [...]