Posted by Ellen on October 31, 2002 at 05:15:32:
In Reply to: Ride To Cure Diabetes - Trip Report posted by CharlieL on October 30, 2002 at 15:06:50:
Absolutely OUTSTANDING Charlie. I'm going to ask some of my cyermom friends if they want to start training for this ride for next year.
Was your ride a warm up to join Will Cross? :-)
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Release: The Ultimate Fundraising Walk: 730 Miles Across The Antarctic To The South Pole - With Diabetes
NovoLog Ultimate Walk to Cure Diabetes Team to Raise Money for JDRF, Conduct First-Time Metabolic Research and Inspire People with Diabetes to Pursue Their Dreams
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Will Cross is about to take the ultimate fundraising walk: Not another 5K walk; not another 10K; not even a 26-mile marathon.
Cross, who has lived with type I diabetes for 26 years, is going to walk 730 miles, over 60 days, in the most punishing climate in the world: from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole.
When he succeeds, the 35-year-old Cross will become the first person with diabetes to reach the South Pole. He will be joined for the entire expedition by 36-year-old Jerry Petersen, who does not have diabetes, but whose father died of diabetes-associated complications; and, for the final, arduous 120-mile leg, by two others -- a medical researcher and Will's 60-year-old father, Michael Cross, who also has type 1 diabetes.
By completing one of the most challenging treks on the planet, Will Cross and his team will advance metabolic research; raise funds for diabetes research and education for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) and Diabetes U.K.; and provide the world's 177 million other people with diabetes with proof that the disease need not keep anyone from living out their dreams.
The research will be conducted by team member Dr. Bret Goodpaster, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who will conduct pioneering studies of metabolism and muscle function in a person with diabetes under extreme physical and environmental conditions. Jerry Petersen will serve as the control for Goodpaster's studies.
The Honorable Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest Shackleton, who died in 1922 during his fifth polar expedition, is patron of the Cross expedition. She recently presented the NovoLog Ultimate Walk team with an original 1915 photograph of her grandfather during his famous attempt to reach the South Pole, for the team to carry on their expedition.
"I hope that our expedition will inspire people with diabetes to pursue their dreams," said Will Cross. "At age 9, my doctor discouraged me from any rigorous or demanding physical activity. I have lived all of my life in defiance of the common misperception that people with diabetes must restrict their physical activities. Today, with the availability of new insulins, such as NovoLog, and the knowledge we now have about monitoring glucose levels, diabetes should not stop anyone from their potential accomplishments. My father and I are living proof." NovoLog is a form of insulin that acts more rapidly than regular insulin, which Will takes just before meals to control the surges in blood glucose following food consumption.
People with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin, a hormone needed to transport glucose from the bloodstream into body tissues, where it is used for energy. To prevent blood glucose levels from becoming too high or too low -- either of which can be life-threatening -- people with the condition must monitor their blood glucose levels and inject themselves with prescribed doses of insulin multiple times a day.
So, while tackling an environment that is one of the most inhospitable on the planet, the Crosses will have the added challenge of controlling their blood sugar levels and dealing with the additional health issues associated with diabetes. They must cope with the potential for insulin to freeze; their increased vulnerability to frostbite due to circulatory problems that often accompany diabetes; and sustaining the delicate balance between energy expenditure, food intake and insulin dosage. While on the ice, Will and his father will follow a special high-calorie diet -- that includes a stick of butter melted into their morning coffee -- and meal schedule, and manage a daily regimen of insulin injections.
Will Cross and Jerry Petersen will set off on the expedition on or about November 8 (precise departure date will depend on weather conditions). They will fly from Punta Arenas, Chile to the Antarctic coast, landing at Hercules Inlet. About 120 miles from the Pole, Dr. Bret Goodpaster and Michael Cross will join them and will bring a resupply. Together they will continue toward the South Pole, likely arriving by New Year's Eve. The team will return by air from the South Pole to Punta Arenas in mid-January.
The NovoLog Ultimate Walk is sponsored by Novo Nordisk, makers of NovoLog (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection).
JDRF, the world's leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of diabetes research, was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with juvenile diabetes-a disease which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $600 million to diabetes research worldwide. In a typical year, 85 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and education about research. Their mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. For more information, visit http://www.jdrf.org, or call 800-533-CURE.
Further information can be found at http://www.curewalk.com.
Make Your Opinion Count - Click Here
SOURCE Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
-0- 10/30/2002
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Interviews of team available from the ice, via satellite phone and e-mail. Photos available throughout the trek. Daily updates from the ice can be viewed on the website: http://www.curewalk.com./
/CONTACT: Jackie Krieger of Chandler Chicco Agency, +1-212-229-8420 or +1-410-241-6590, for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International /
/Web site: http://www.curewalk.comhttp://www.jdrf.org /
CO: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International; Diabetes U.K.;
Novo Nordisk ST: Pennsylvania IN: HEA MTC SU: NPT
AP -- NYW034 -- 9439 10/30/200208:02 ESThttp://www.prnewswire.com
Related Companies
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation:
Related News