==Profile==
Name: Scott Cooper
Age: 44
Years with T1D: 23
Age of diagnosis: 21
From: Death Valley, CA
Years Climbing: 26
Goals: Inspire others with diabetes to push themselves, continue to build strength and climb hard.
Contact: [email protected]
==Bio==
I have been climbing off and on since 1988, starting while I was in college. During the times that I was not climbing I was biking, running, kayaking and working out. But my two main passions have always been climbing and biking. After an almost two year hiatus from climbing due to not having a partner, I started to climb again. But now, climbing has a different focus and meaning to me and I am climbing stronger than I have ever before. My climbing is providing the peace and focus that I need in order to cope with my diabetes and other associated health issues. Success at climbing gives a sense of accomplishment and confidence that I am able to carry into all facets of my life.
My diagnosis was expressed in the classic symptoms of extreme thirst and weight loss. One of my housemates and best friends summed it up for me, he said “You can live with it, or die without it”. I still live by those words, and do my best to live with diabetes. It is a disease that never stops it negative effects on my health and in response I never stop fighting it. For every setback I am handed, I get back up and keep on trying.
Being diabetic is very difficult and so is becoming a climber. Both take strength and endurance. In climbing, you need discipline and focus to improve all the while never taking the risks and dangers for granted. Climbing is an excellent sport for diabetics in that the focus needed for climbing is the same needed for being diabetic. The physical aspects are also perfect: strength, endurance, flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic. It can be done inside at climbing gyms or it can take you to the far ends of the world.
If being on TeamLV can inspire others to start climbing and push themselves beyond what they currently are, then that is something that I want to be a part of. I like it when someone takes notice of me being diabetic when I am outside and going hard, it always seems to surprise them that a diabetic is pushing as hard as them.
