Diabetes is a chronic illness that affects over 200,000 children and adolescents in the Unites States. Living with diabetes requires dietary and lifestyle changes that can be challenging for children of all ages. For instance, monitoring blood sugar levels and administering insulin become routine parts of daily life.
Experience Journal, a project of the Boston Children’s Hospital psychiatry program, is a series of stories, videos, and personal experiences that represent the collective wisdom of children, young adults and families living with chronic conditions.
Every January, for a few short weeks, the population of picturesque Marlow, New Hampshire, grows just a little larger.
A dozen or so high school students converge upon the storybook New England village to begin preparation for an epic adventure: a 600-mile circumnavigation of Vermont by backcountry ski, white water canoe, rowboat and bicycle, led by Marlow-based wilderness school Kroka Expeditions.
Under the mentorship of guides and woodsmen, the students learn skills to navigate the six-month, semester-long journey through the wilderness. There is no “how to” book, no survival guide—just a few unwritten rules to live by. But 18-year-old Rachel Hemond, who has Type 1 diabetes, doesn’t need much direction when it comes to survival.
She’s figured that out on her own.