February 2008 - On the mountain at Snow Summit, California Sean Busby couldn't be blamed for being depressed. For months the professional snowboarder had been feeling lousy, losing 30 lbs. off an already svelte frame, vomiting whenever he ate, which in turn led to pneumonia. When the 19-year-old's condition was finally properly diagnosed in 2004, after a series of faux pas that would almost be comical if not so tragic, it was devastating: Type 1 Diabetes, the insulin dependent kind, even worse than the Type 2 Busby was originally told he had. Type 1 meant a lifetime of needles and test strips, pricking himself several times daily. And his career? Who ever heard of a professional snowboarder with Type 1 Diabetes? "I was super depressed, he said. I remember lying on my parents couch (in their Mission Viejo home) in my sweat pants, because that's all I had that fit, I lost so much weight. Then I started losing sponsors, and would think `Why me'? Why am I losing sponsors?" Busby could have stayed on the pity path, yet true to the nature of this remarkable young man he embarked on a different route. "One day I found the Juvenile Diabetes Research Association website and started to read about two, five, 15-year-olds who had (diabetes) their whole lives, he said. Their parents had to come over and give them injections during sleepovers, they couldn't go places or do things. I was 19 and had gotten to travel the world without diabetes. The stories showed me how fortunate I've been and they inspired me to go on with snowboarding. They provided so much inspiration for me to continue following my goals." Now 23, Busby is helping other young people with diabetes follow theirs. He was at Snow Summit in January hosting his "Riding on Insulin" camp, teaching youngsters not just how to ride a snowboard but also how to manage their condition on the slopes, where cold weather and exercise make it especially difficult "and all the more important" to monitor blood sugar levels. "I teach how to manage diabetes, Busby said. Altitude and winter play a huge role. I know what it's like to be riding a chair and have blood sugar drop. There have been a few moments where my teammates had to hold on to me when everything slowed down. Today I had an episode and had to put the bar down while I gave myself sugar. It creeps up on you because you're exercising." Busby began hosting "Riding on Insulin" camps in 2004, shortly after his diagnosis. Which in itself was anything but a quick process, even though he had many of the classic symptoms. "I was drinking constantly but figured it was spring, warm out, and I was dehydrated. I would wake up with the bed wet, throw up two hours after eating. I went to the emergency room six to eight times in two weeks." At one point he got a call from a nurse saying he wasn't diabetic...only to find out test results were mixed up. Then he was diabetic, but Type 2 for which he was placed on pills and put on a special diet. "I would eat just a hot dog, no bun, for breakfast, and was still throwing up." When Type 1 was finally diagnosed, proper treatment could begin. "July 3, 2004, Busby said. I got my first shot of insulin and it was amazing. I felt alive for the first time in months." A few months later, he held his first camp in Lake Tahoe. In 2008 he'll hold five at resorts in Wisconsin, Idaho, Utah and Oregon, plus the first international camp in Australia. That's a lot of diabetic kids who get to snowboard! Like any good diabetic, Sean always has a quick fix at the ready for those times when his blood sugar drops: his favorite is honey, but also Snickers or Power Bars, Cliff shots and such. Only those things tend to freeze in winter, rendering them useless as far as immediate help is concerned. Then there's the meter, which has to be kept warm. And test strips, in Busby's case, 12 a day. When he's on the slopes, Sean wears an insulin pump that works like an IV drip, putting insulin into his body as each test strip dictates. Sometimes it's plugged into his abdomen, other times the thigh or even buttocks. "It's my pocket pancreas, he said. "My life is no different than it was before diabetes. I just have to be more mature and responsible. I treat it as my best friend: you may have arguments but it's always there." Busby plans on earning a spot on the 2014 Olympic team as a racer. "Sometimes I feel I have the advantage, he said. I can feel the foods that are in my body: my competitors can't. If I feel tired, I know the proper foods to get in me." "I get in the gate, race, and do the best I can, Busby added. I don't worry about the stress of the competition. My goal is to beat diabetes that day." He's winning.