Teen Diabetes Kayaking Expedition

Our group was 11 was made up of our Lead Guide, Stephen Lang and our Team leader, Megan Miller, Volunteers Katy Hughes and Suze Cumming, Nurse Yvette and our courageous participants: Heather, Spencer Grant, Nikola, Ryan, Brittany and Anna.

We all met up at Camp Bernard near Sooke in British Columbia. It was a hot sunny day—perfect conditions for swim tests and wet exits. A wet exit for those not familiar with kayaking is when we deliberately turn the kayak upside down and the person in the kayak has to release their skirt and exit the kayak. The anticipation is pretty scary but all ofour team discovered that they could get out of the boat easily and it eased their fears about paddling the open waters of the Gulf Islands.


The rest of the afternoon was spent getting to know The rest of the afternoon was spent getting to knoweach other and having conversations about each individualsdiabetes management. It quickly became apparent that managing seven (Steve is also type I diabetic) sets of blood sugars was going to be extremely challenging—particularly when we got out on the ocean in the boats. The extra exercise, sun, excitement and unfamiliar meal plan—combined with the uncertainty associated with any expedition promised to be an exciting experience demanding our highest level of focus and concentration. Katy had some great team building games and in no time at all, the kids, staff and volunteers had formed strong bonds and comfortable communication. We had a good meal, learned to set up a tent and do our private business in the wilderness. Great laughs all around.


The next morning was a busy one packing up the gear, the food, the boats, the people…..and heading off to the boathouse at Goldstream Provincial Park where we were to put in. We turned off the highway early and this seemingly minor error meant that we would need to back the van and the trailer fully loaded with tandem kayaks into the highway at a nearly blind corner. After watching a steady flow of traffic including huge tanker trucks travelling at speeds of 120 km/hour we recognized that we needed help. The police escort was a little embarrassing but we filled the time easily and were happy to have made the only safe decision.


We put in late but it was so beautiful to be on the water. Everyone picked up the paddling quickly and they even managed to get the steering figured out before long. We had a peaceful paddle up Finlayson Inlet to our first campsite at McCurdy Point.


McCurdy Point is beautiful and a truly wilderness campsite. No facilities and not much tent space. It was the perfect summer evening and we chose to sleep out under the stars. And what stars they were! The crescent moon rose very late and so we had a dark, clear night sky. It was a magical experience for all. The evening was filled with singing and dancing and we all went to bed early after a long, tiring and happy day.


The next day we woke to a very low tide and a really tough boat launch. Our guides, Steve and Katy were amazing and loaded each boat one by one so that none of the kids would be at risk of falling into the barnacle encrusted rocks that were covered with slippery seaweed. Katy took on some pretty nasty war wounds and was stoic in her quiet response. Kudo’s to these guys! It took a couple of hours to pack the boats up and then we headed our into the open water on the windward side of McCurdy Point.


This area is very beautiful and we had a long but very rewarding paddle up the shore. The current and the wind were on our nose but these kids were turning out to be pretty disciplined paddlers and we made great time.

We had lunch on a lovely beach near Bambertonand to the gangs total pleasure, there were flush toilets! Lunch was great and we were hungry1 The waves were building and leaving the beach was a little tricky but everyone got it figured out. We ended up a little wet but were soon back in the flow of paddling. Next stop? Mill Bay where we were to meet Barb and her partner in their zodiac and drop off our Nurse Yvette who regrettably had to return to work on Monday. The wind was really building and there was a while where we wondered if we would be able to paddle to our next campsite. Steve and Megan went out in the zodiac to see how the swells were and the wind began to weaken while they were out—so to our great relief, we were on the water again!


Our next campsite and our base camp for two days was Hatch Point. The tide was unusually high so the “beach” was tough to imagine when we arrived but it was great to be off the water and set up our camp. Everyone pitched in and eventually we had a pretty nice looking camp. We were all extremely tired after two tough days and we found ourselves going to the tents pretty early. The next morning brought more sunshine and a day of rest and relaxation. We hard a leisurely breakfast, a half hour of team led Yoga stretches on the beach and the rest of the day was filled with swimming, reading, exploring and some really fun and creative games. Baths were a choice of several of us and there was a small fresh water creek for rinsing off the sea water. It was a day full of magical experiences.


The final day was a busy one that began with packing up the campsite and loading the boats. It was another absolutely perfect day weather wise and the work went quickly. We assembled on the beach for what would be our final circle time and Megan and Katy led a really touching ceremony allowing each of us to speak about what the trip had meant to us and for us to symbolize that meaning with a shell. I think we all felt a great deal of connection, friendship and compassion and it was a very comfortable time. We had a spectacular paddle back to Mill Bay and the wildlife seemed to sense that we were a happy group. We had two eagles flanking our group for the first stretch. As they settled back to their nest, a deer and her two fawns joined our group by walking along the beach keeping pace with our paddling and shortly after they returned to the woods, two beautiful and majestic blue herons made their appearance. It was a peaceful time. We paddled slowly across the calm open water—each of us in our own thoughts but paddling as a close group. The duality of not wanting the experience to end but anticipating warm showers, comfortable mattresses and loved one settled in every ones heart.


Our Participants Write:

"....this trip seriously has had a huge impact on my life already, I for the first time, told someone I was diabetic without being asked first.....I don't feel as alienated..."

"This trip really opened my eyes.....without it I would have been on the verge of insanity"

"What an amazing experience. Thank you. I can see that I have a lot more choices about what I can do and what I can experience."

"I loved it.....made new friends and I wasn't the only one dealing with diabetes. It was cool."

Diabetes Management on the Expedition.

This was an expedition for teenagers with Type I diabetes. We wanted to give these kids a chance to experience the power of the wilderness in a safe environment. Managing Diabetes in this setting is extremely challenging. We performed blood sugar tests at 7am, 9am, 10:30am, noon, 2:30pm, 6:00pm, 9:00 pm and 2:30am as well as when needed. Five of the kids were on pumps, one on needles and Steve on Pens. Meal times were a time of carbohydrate counting, insulin dose adjustments and shots. The middle of the night blood sugar checks led to both insulin adjustments and preemptory treatment of potential lows. The combination of excessive exercise, hot sun, uncertain schedules, new environment, new food plan and myriad other influences makes blood sugar counts behave in unpredictable ways and we needed to be very focused and aware of what was going on with each of the team at all times. Were they tending high? Or low? What effect was the paddling having? Was the last snack enough carbohydrates? And on and on. It took everything that we had as a team of leaders to successfully manage the diabetes side of this expedition. We were well prepared—we had Yvette, a diabetes educator, Steve, an extreme athlete and type I diabetic and Suze, a mother who has taken her type I diabetic daughter on many extreme adventures around North America. In addition, the trip guides needed to learn about diabetes and to be very flexible in their programming to accommodate the many unexpected delays related to the diabetes management. Menu planning was extremely challenging as two of our participants also had celiac and wheat is a good source of carbohydrates. We worked with a nutritionist to design the menu plan and we certainly learned a few things we would change for the next trip but we had enough of the right food to keep everyone healthy. I bet it will be along time before any of us eat rice crackers and peanut butter though!