1. 128 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 diabetic living
my story type1
WordsHEATHERWISEMAN
Given you were diagnosed at age
three, what childhood memories
do you have of diabetes?
When I was little, I needed two
injections every day. My mum
would chase me around the house
and pull me out from under the
table to give me them. I hated
needles and was so afraid of them.
I also remember coming home
from a diabetes camp as a teenager
and showing my parents that
I could inject myself, on my own.
They were so proud. Some kids kick
their first goal in footy or get their
driver’s licence and this becomes
the benchmark moment of their
childhood. For me, it was injecting
insulin on my own for the first time.
Did diabetes hold you back?
As a teenager, I struggled to play
team sports because of low blood
sugars. Then, one day, Mum saw
an ad for a wilderness expedition.
I went along and never looked back.
Why did adventure sports have
so much appeal?
I have always had a hunger to push
my body. It’s probably a self-esteem
thing tied in with having diabetes
– needing to push myself harder,
just to show I can do it. My diabetes
has been the driving force and I owe
it some thanks, as it has motivated
me to try some amazing things.
Tell us about some of your trips.
I’ve climbed the East Buttress of
El Capitan in Yosemite Valley,
California, which is more than
500 metres of vertical granite. I’ve
also travelled the world as a senior
adventure guide, been a counsellor
at a diabetes camp in the US, and
led expeditions across Tasmania
and the Kokoda Track in PNG.
‘I’m motivated to try
amazing things’
He kept his type 1
a secret for years
– now adventurer
David Barnes
admits diabetes
has shaped his life
When I was in my 20s, clinicians
advised against intensive exercise
for people with type 1, as they were
worried about the strain it placed
on the body. Sometimes it took a
toll, but that was because I wasn’t
managing my diabetes properly.
Why weren’t you looking after
yourself?
I was in denial – not testing my
blood sugars regularly and doing
my best to believe I was fine.
I didn’t want diabetes to make me
any different from anyone else
and I kept it a secret until just a
couple of years ago. Only my family
and a few friends knew about it.
My dad died of diabetes-related
complications when I was 10. For
most of my adult life, I feared that
I would share the same fate. That
was probably a large part of why
I kept it to myself.

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diabetic living JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 129
Did keeping your diabetes
quiet ever put you in danger?
In my 20s, I went climbing in the
Blue Mountains, in New South
Wales. It was hard work and a big
walk in and out. Then, I made one
of the stupidest diabetes decisions
of my life – I ate a meat pie for tea
and had a beer. I fell into a coma
while sleeping on a stranger’s
floor. I woke up three days later in
hospital. That almost killed me.
Do other hypos stand out?
I did a climb in the Southern Alps
in New Zealand when I was 19 and
had a really bad hypo on that trip.
A helicopter was called in, but then
my sugars came back to normal
range. I was determined to keep
going, so I convinced the pilot to
go without me. I had to walk down
that glacier recovering from a hypo,
and that was a lesson learned. I
then tripped as I was walking into a
hut and put an ice axe into my face!
How bad did your health get?
My body started to feel really tired
and my mental health suffered, too.
I ended up with depression. I had an
HbA1c of nine to 10 and was having
irregular hypos, but I never really
associated these things with poor
management of my diabetes. In
trying to disown the diabetes,
I didn’t read it in a way that helped
me make good decisions.
So how did you turn your
health around?
Four years ago, a diabetes nurse
highlighted a link between
diabetes and depression. No-one
had ever mentioned it to me. I was
always the get-up-and-go guy, so
I never associated myself with
mental illness, or depression with
diabetes. The nurse suggested
insulin pump therapy as an
alternative to needles. That’s when
I really reclaimed my life. The pump
kept my HbA1c level consistently in
an appropriate range and I had good
control of my diabetes for the first
time ever. My depression left and I
found myself back to the guy I used
to be – outgoing, adventurous and
raring to perform. My diabetes
nurse told me, ‘David you are
going to live well and to be an old
man. Your father would be proud.’
I cannot put into words how
deeply personal that was. The
reconciliation I made with my
diabetes that day has continued.
Do you worry about your
kids being diagnosed?
My wife Rachel and I have two
kids, Joshua, 10, and Charlotte,
eight. The idea of them getting
diabetes has weighed on my
mind a lot, particularly given
that my dad had it. I’d often
bring it up with my diabetes
team, and they’d say there is
always a chance, but don’t
worry about it. Worrying
doesn’t achieve anything,
so I don’t it any more.
Diabetes care in this country
is so good, that even if it did
happen, we would just manage it.
What adventures have you
pushed yourself with lately?
In 2013, I ran my first half-
marathon and a sprint triathlon,
which is a 750-metre swim, a 20km
bike ride and a five-kilometre run.
I did the 2014 Sydney City2Surf
in 65 minutes, which qualifies me
to be in the elite running group in
2015. I was really stoked with that.
This year, my goal is to do a half-
ironman triathlon – a 1.9km swim,
90km bike ride and a 21km run.
I’m trying to train between seven
and 10 hours a week. I don’t want
to just finish – I want to do well. ➤
Have diabetes and
want to share your story?
Email diabeticliving@pacificmags.
com.au, or write to Diabetic Living,
My Story, GPO Box 7805,
Sydney, NSW 2001.
‘Worrying doesn’t achieve
anything,’says David, with his
kids (opposite) and testing
his endurance (this page).