Natalie Held remembers what the doctors told her when, as a third-grader, she was diagnosed with Type I (insulin dependent) diabetes. “They said there were three things I would never be able to do,” Held recalls. “Join the Army, be a commercial pilot or be able to scuba dive.”
Now a rising junior at Churchill, Held hasn’t thought much about entering the military or flying a commercial plane, but she is about to scuba dive. The activity was declared off-limits to Held because of the risk a diabetic diver faces of hypoglycemia, or low blood-sugar level. A diver who experiences a hypoglycemic episode runs the risk of falling unconscious and drowning.
Advances in diabetes-related medicine and the efforts of the Dream Big program will enable Held to do what was once thought impossible. She was one of eight teenagers selected nationwide to participate in the Dream Big adventure camp, a 19-day adventure program designed so people with diabetes can go scuba diving and participate in other outdoor adventures like kayaking, hiking and camping. Held leaves for the camp on July 14.
“I’ve snorkeled before – that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” Held said. “Scuba diving’s going to be so much more amazing. … It sounds like such an awesome time.”
DREAM BIG was organized by Colleen McCarthy LaPierre, the program director at the Clara Barton Center for Diabetes Education in North Oxford, Mass. Last April, she herself won the Acscensia Dream Fund Contest, in which people with diabetes were selected to participate in a dream activity. “It had to be unattainable if you weren’t getting your blood level monitored,” said McCarthy LaPierre.
She decided she wanted to get certified to scuba dive, but with her experience at the Clara Barton Center, she wanted to have other teenagers with diabetes dive with her. “That’s what I do,” she said.
McCarthy LaPierre organized the first-ever Dream Big contest, which Held found out about through her doctor. “The kids had to get through a fairly rigorous health screening program just to apply,” said McCarthy LaPierre. Candidates were then interviewed and rescreened as the finalist pool was narrowed down. The teenagers’ demonstrated ability to monitor their own diabetes level was also a factor.
Before leaving for the Caribbean, Held and the other students will go to Shelter Island, N.Y., where they will undergo scuba training and receive their certification. “You make sure everything’s perfect,” said Held.
Staff members in the Dream Big camp include a physician, a nurse and four scuba counselors, who monitor the blood-glucose level of divers before and after each dive, and at regular intervals each day. “It’s incredibly supervised,” said Natalie’s mother, Fran Paver.
“IT’S JUST SOMETHING I’VE always lived with; it’s just part of my life,” said Natalie. But diabetes has not prevented her from having an active athletic life. She and her twin sister, Libby Held, both made Churchill’s varsity soccer team as freshmen, and Natalie scored a hat trick in one game freshman year. The sisters play club soccer year-round on the Bethesda Phoenix.
Natalie also played basketball and lacrosse in her freshman year but stopped playing them last year to concentrate on soccer. She wears an insulin pack, which she can remove for contact sports. She checks her blood-sugar level during halftime in her soccer games.
International travel was once a pipe dream for most people with diabetes, but Natalie and Libby just returned from a trip to Brazil with their Bethesda Phoenix teammates. Natalie brought along a spare insulin pack. “When I left, I was a little nervous,” she said. “I had to be in charge of everything concerning my diabetes, [but it] didn’t hurt my experience at all.”
The Held sisters and their teammates enjoyed a soccer-crazy atmosphere in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Locals would come by to watch evening practices, some of them bringing dates. The team also took a Jeep tour of the surrounding countryside, where they saw capybaras and wild horses.
IN THE EIGHT YEARS since Natalie Held’s diagnosis, the advances in diabetes-related medicine have made life easier for Held and others with diabetes. Gone are the times when Fran Paver had to hold Natalie down and administer a daily insulin shot. In the first years after her diagnosis, Natalie couldn’t go on a sleepover unless her mother came late at night to monitor her blood-sugar level.
Natalie also needed to eat three rigidly scheduled meals each day, monitoring the exact nutritional content of each meal. The popularity of the Atkins Diet has helped Held – restaurants frequently have detailed information on the carbohydrates in the meals they serve.
“It’s kind of exciting how much things have changed,” said Held. “Hopefully in 10 more years, they’ll have a cure.”