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The NovoLog Ultimate Walk
The NovoLog Ultimate Walk to Cure Diabetes seeks to raise significant funds for juvenile diabetes research by trekking to the South Pole. The money raised will be distributed through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation/Diabetes UK to help them find a cure for Type I diabetes. The JDRF/Diabetes UK is the premiere research foundation dedicated to finding a cure for diabetes.
Every year 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with Type I diabetes, over 13,000 of whom are children. In total, 16 million Americans have Type I and II diabetes. The JDRF/Diabetes UK gives more resources to diabetes research than any other nonprofit, nongovernmental organization in the world. As such, the JDRF/Diabetes UK is obviously the ideal organization to distribute the money we raise through the NovoLog Ultimate Walk.
The NovoLog Ultimate Walk is an expedition to help raise awareness about diabetes, to raise money for diabetes research, and to provide hope for the millions of people living with diabetes. The NovoLog Ultimate Walk's ultimate goal is to help the JDRF/Diabetes UK fund a cure for Type 1 diabetes, which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.
Diabetes has not stopped team leader,Will Cross, from conquering the North Pole, scaling Mount McKinley, summating Acancagua, or crossing the Sahara Desert. Now, Will, who has lived with type I diabetes for 26 years, plans to walk 730 miles, over 60 days, in the most punishing climate in the world: from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. In the NovoLog Ultimate Walk to Cure Diabetes, Will must effectively manage his diabetes in the most extreme conditions he has ever faced, including temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero and pulling a sled weighing up to 150 pounds for 12 hours a day.
During the NovoLog Ultimate Walk, Will faces a litany of challenges, especially for someone with type 1 diabetes: irregular meals, extreme temperatures, unusual sleeping patterns, physical exertion, high risks of frostbite and dehydration, and less than ideal conditions in which to monitor glucose levels and administer insulin. And of course the trip will put Will thousands of miles away from any medical facility. Most people with diabetes will never face the physical challenges Will is about to take on, but his message is clear: if he can control this condition in the most unlikely conditions, no one should feel hindered by diabetes. Here are some of the ways in which Will plans to manage diabetes while conquering the Antarctic:
Stay Hydrated
• Staying well-hydrated is a challenge in any extreme sport setting. In the extreme setting of the NovoLog Ultimate Walk, Will must increase his hydration levels. This means lugging up to seven liters of water around for just one day’s consumption. While the U.S. Army recommends six liters a day per man, diabetes requires Will to top the Army’s recommendations and stick to a regimen of hydration at all costs.
Consume More Calories
• While people with diabetes are encouraged to maintain a balanced, healthy diet, Will’s daily caloric needs will jump to about 7,000 while on the NovoLog Ultimate Walk. This means more food packed onto Will’s already heavy sled and a reliance on foods such as honey and whole sticks of butter in his coffee for calories and energy. Stews and warm cereals will be “juiced up” on the walk with doses of olive oil or butter painstakingly calibrated by the University of Pittsburgh.
Monitoring and Controlling Blood Sugar Levels
• All people with diabetes are required to closely monitor their blood sugar levels and keep them in a normal range (glycemic control). Self-monitoring in such extreme conditions is not easy, as the feelings of deep physical exhaustion and low blood sugar can be difficult to distinguish. Will’s experience plays a large role here as he must discriminate exhaustion that will affect his well-being, from signs of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia that could endanger his life.
• In a climate where slightly above freezing will feel “warm,” Will faces special challenges in monitoring and maintaining glycemic control on the NovoLog Ultimate Walk. He can check his blood sugar levels and administer insulin from the relative warmth of his tent – which will be just above freezing. He will monitor his blood glucose and administer insulin inside his sleeping bag, the warmest place on the walk.
• In order to preserve his life-saving insulin, Will turned to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to design a prototype product for the NovoLog Ultimate Walk. Designed to be lightweight and maintain warmth around the insulin, the “Insulinator” weighs less than two ounces and will draw heat from Will’s back. Wrapping his insulin in the NASA-derived substance will allow Will to carry a two week’s supply, while the remaining supply is packed securely on his sled.
• Will’s tried and true plan is to maintain strict glycemic contract via a combination of long- and short-acting insulin. During the walk, he plans to administer insulin four times a day, alternating between rapid-acting NovoLog insulin, and an intermediate-acting insulin to keep his blood sugar at optimal levels throughout the course of the day.
• On the NovoLog Ultimate Walk, Will’s partner, Jerry Petersen, will carry insulin as well, to ensure Will is well enough supplied.
Keep in Touch
• Despite the unusual conditions of the NovoLog Ultimate Walk, Will plans to remain in touch with his doctor via long-distance monitoring.
• If all else fails, an emergency beam watch strapped to Will’s wrist will summon outside assistance, should Will find himself in danger. Like the Insulinator, the watch is cutting-edge technology, currently used only by astronauts and pilots. Pulling two buttons and extending the antenna will emit a Morse code transmission indicating Will is in trouble – alerting an emergency response team of Will’s location for immediate dispatch.
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