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Ambassador : Caroline Burridge

My name is Caroline Burridge. I live in Tasmania, in a beautiful city called Hobart which is nestled at the base of Mount Wellington. I have been using a MiniMed pump for four of the ten years that I have had diabetes. When I was 26 I had just been diagnosed, and I was concerned about how the diabetes would affect my quality of life. Now, nearly a decade later, I’m convinced that I made the right decision in following my endocrinologist’s advice to ‘give a pump a try’. My pump enables me keep my blood sugar levels under good control and gives me the flexibility to live the life I want to lead.

For a long time I had dreamed of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which is Africa’s highest mountain and the largest free standing mountain in the world. I feared that my diabetes would prevent me from doing this because the combination of freezing temperatures and variable air pressure can cause problems with insulin management and with devices such as pumps and blood glucose monitors. At the time I started seriously considering the climb, I had two young children and an office-based job – both of which made it difficult to maintain a high level of fitness. Although I did exercise reasonably regularly, it was clear that a lengthy training regime would be necessary to prepare my body for the demands I intended to make of it!

I searched for information about altitude training and diabetes, but was disappointed to find that so little was available. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to locate any Type 1 diabetics in Australia who had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro or who had done altitude trekking. If anything, this made me even more determined! I knew that I would have to gradually build the intensity of the training program and keep a very close eye on the impact of the exercise on my sugars. The pump made it quite easy to make the adjustments I needed to make to my insulin administration before, during and after exercise.

During my nine months of training, I walked to and from my workplace (18km in total) carrying a backpack containing my laptop and other items. I also walked on my treadmill with diving weights in my pack (often while watching DVD movies to pass the time!), and climbed Mount Wellington at every opportunity. My healthcare professionals and I all learned a great deal about effectively managing my diabetes during periods of prolonged vigorous exercise. Despite having some difficulties during the training, I remained focused on my goal of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro.

In January 2007 my dream of ‘conquering Kili’ became a reality. I set out on the trek with three guides and seven other trekkers. We walked for around 6-8 hours a day for most days but on the ‘summit night’ we walked for 16 hours. We had to withstand large variations in temperature: at the base of the mountain it is quite hot but at the summit it can be as cold as -25⁰ C. My sister had made me a pouch for my pump and tubing to stop the unit from freezing. I also carried an insulin pen as a backup.

On the 5th day of the trek, after walking for nine and a half hours with the path being illuminated only by head torch, I reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was the most amazing experience of my life. The feeling of achievement and exhilaration when I saw the summit sign will stay with me forever.

I hope my journey will encourage others living with diabetes to get out of their comfort zone and follow their dreams. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.