Debra's Story: why Diabetes Australia is our chosen charity

At an annual checkup with her GP about 4years ago, Debra was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affected her thyroid. It was put down to the hormonal changes that she went through during menopause, and was not unexpected since she has a family history of Thyroid problems.

Not long after she started feeling very unwell, and was drinking a lot of water. Very rapidly her vision disintegrated, and she was unable to drive. Debra's daughter drove her to the doctor for various tests, which took over a week.

Eventually she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and admitted to hospital. She was there for 4 days, so depleted and unbalanced hormonally that she was close to a heart attack.

Debra was educated briefly in the hospital, and then referred to a clinic. In the clinic she equipped herself with the latest technology, which although it doesn't make her diabetes any better, it does prevent her doing more damage from high or low blood pressure.

July 18 is Debra's 4 year anniversary for being diagnosed with diabetes. She'll be spending it with us on our final day of the Inca Trail hike. She said she's doing this hike because in 10yrs she may not be able to.

You can still support us at www.give.everyday hero.com.au - search team IntoYou

We are acclimatising in sunny Cusco, preparing for the trail.

Weary But Having Fun!

We are currently in Lima, in their new "safe" tourist district. Everyone's house is gated, electric wired, and many have private security guards too. It is worth it, for the ability to walk around safely at night.

We haven't seen much, and are returning to the airport now.

Jenny has now finally joined us. And out little foursome is complete.

Back where we began...

On February 1st 2013, at 3pm, the four of us met at the IntoYou studio for our first training walk for Peru. The clouds were ominous, and we went regardless. Our packs had 4kg in them, which we all felt was heavy, and our stat's were: 5.11 km, in 01:12:49, pace 14:14 min/km.

Today, over 6mths later, we met again, in our various states of disrepair, and did the same walk in 52:55, pace 11:48 min/km. We carried the same weight, and we walked comfortably.

The day could not have been further from our first walk! With glorious blue sky's, a fresh, pleasant breeze,  and a level of fitness that meant the walk was brisk but comfortable.

Our training wraps up completely from now. We have nothing to do but rest up, pack, and get our asses on that plane!

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Our photos this week are of our first and last walks, plus our last altitude training session last night.

South America here we come!

LAST WEEK!

Last Friday of our walking group and we have:
participant 1 no longer coming because of work and confidence issues.
participant 2 flat on her back with a back spasm.
participant 3 limping with a niggly arthritis in her hip.
participant 4 feeling sorry for herself nursing a cold.

It'll be all right, right?!

It has been a tough final couple of weeks, despite the fact that we haven't had to train. There is a lot to do before we go, and a lot of apprehension about how we will cope once we are there. What i love about the company i am travelling with is that not one of them has said it out loud. Saying it out loud would make it real, and by literally "taking it in their stride" i am confident of our success next week.

Today we spend a couple of hours in an Altitude training facility. We have made it as high as 4100 metres (not without some discomfort). The training is fairly easy, it is mostly about spending time in the environment.

Tomorrow we meet at the gym to do the same walk as we did on or first session. Then it was pouring with rain, and we were unfit. Tomorrow will be a different story, and i am hoping it instills some confidence in everyone (myself included).

I will be keeping a diary when we are over there, and will upload photos periodically if we get a chance. Wednesday is the big day!!!

500 metres, about 20 min

One lesson from this weekend's hike is that Google maps cannot be described as accurate! The purpose of the trip was to test our gear, and find out what we will and won't use over four days hiking and camping in Peru.

Just packing for the trip was an experience, with jade and I unpacking and repacking her bag the night before. Debra cut a bunch of stuff from her pack to save weight, and I didn't but would grow to wish I did!

Our adventure began at 5am Saturday, among wild weather warnings. We drove through the dark and thick fog to Govetts Leap, and a spectacular sunrise. With excitement and energy we gingerly began our walk, as the frost was still on the ground. We wound our way through Australia's Grand Canyon, which is a gorgeous green, mossy canyon.

Not long after this we began using the trusty Google maps to find our lunch spot- Junction rock. For around 2 hrs, it was just around the corner (20 minutes to be precise). Finally, exhausted by the demands of the "walk," we stopped where we stood for lunch.

Junction Rock was over an hour deeper into the forest, and we faced a serious decision at that point. Do we continue another "500 metres, about 20 min" to where we planned to camp? Or do we face the gruelling 1300 step climb out of the forest to our cars (which at that point may have taken hours).

Everybody was tired, particularly dad who had carried two packs for the past 5km. We decided to push on.

For the record, Acacia Flat is 4km from Junction rock. Chris carried two packs for this section. We made to the campground only about an hour late, but physically, emotionally, and mentally spent!

Nothing left to do but pitch a tent, change, and crack open the wine. This we did with great relish, and enjoyed a crackling fire in our wet weather gear, with the lightest rain sprinkling overhead.

Day two, we changed our plans to tackle the climb out first, rather than 8km in. This club was spectacular and intense, with all of us scrambling on our hands and knees to get up. To our right were sheer sandstone cliffs, to our left, steep and lush mountainside.

The fog got thicker as we got higher, so there wasn't much of a view, but finally after 2hrs of steep and technical climbing, we made the top! It was a fantastic achievement, simply because of the level of difficulty.

Everyone is already sore, but I have a feeling we will all be sorer tomorrow! Well done guys!

500 metres, about 20 min

One lesson from this weekend's hike is that Google maps cannot be described as accurate! The purpose of the trip was to test our gear, and find out what we will and won't use over four days hiking and camping in Peru.

Just packing for the trip was an experience, with jade and I unpacking and repacking her bag the night before. Debra cut a bunch of stuff from her pack to save weight, and I didn't but would grow to wish I did!

Our adventure began at 5am Saturday, among wild weather warnings. We drove through the dark and thick fog to Govetts Leap, and a spectacular sunrise. With excitement and energy we gingerly began our walk, as the frost was still on the ground. We wound our way through Australia's Grand Canyon, which is a gorgeous green, mossy canyon.

Not long after this we began using the trusty Google maps to find our lunch spot- Junction rock. For around 2 hrs, it was just around the corner (20 minutes to be precise). Finally, exhausted by the demands of the "walk," we stopped where we stood for lunch.

Junction Rock was over an hour deeper into the forest, and we faced a serious decision at that point. Do we continue another "500 metres, about 20 min" to where we planned to camp? Or do we face the gruelling 1300 step climb out of the forest to our cars (which at that point may have taken hours).

Everybody was tired, particularly dad who had carried two packs for the past 5km. We decided to push on.

For the record, Acacia Flat is 4km from Junction rock. Chris carried two packs for this section. We made to the campground only about an hour late, but physically, emotionally, and mentally spent!

Nothing left to do but pitch a tent, change, and crack open the wine. This we did with great relish, and enjoyed a crackling fire in our wet weather gear, with the lightest rain sprinkling overhead.

Day two, we changed our plans to tackle the climb out first, rather than 8km in. This club was spectacular and intense, with all of us scrambling on our hands and knees to get up. To our right were sheer sandstone cliffs, to our left, steep and lush mountainside.

The fog got thicker as we got higher, so there wasn't much of a view, but finally after 2hrs of steep and technical climbing, we made the top! It was a fantastic achievement, simply because of the level of difficulty.

Everyone is already sore, but I have a feeling we will all be sorer tomorrow! Well done guys!

More Pics Of Our Recent Adventures