My name is Tom Bicksler and come from a history of Diabetics. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at age 32. Much like 180 million others with Diabetes I thought my life was over.
At age 37 I have decided to turn things around and start training. Yes, training to climb the Seven Summits of the world! I have always been into the outdoors and loved camping and hiking. I refuse to let my health stand in the way. Mountain climbing does run in the family and I would like to thank My Uncle Bill for being a huge motivator! Yes Uncle Bill has climbed a few major mountains himself and is a type 1 diabetic.
I spend nights and weekends on the local mountains and have found a huge passion to climb all 7 summits. Raising awareness to the world about diabetes and how it affects so many people. At 31 years old I was weighing in at 245 lbs. Before turning 32 years old, I was a frail 170lbs and I owe my sister a thank you for making me go to the hospital. Yes from this day on I was a diabetic. I knew at this point that something had to be done.
I was depressed and not happy about my new lifestyle. I was scared and didn’t know much about my new illness. I slowly learned that taking care of my body is the only thing that will keep Tom Bicksler on this planet for a long time to come. Now at 41 years of age, I have grown to understand eating right and having an active lifestyle will keep my condition under control. I finally learned to accept that YES I am DIABETIC! I want the world to know me as “The Diabetic that climbed all SEVEN SUMMITS”!
My Seven Summit Mission started with Kilimanjaro in 2012 and I will tackle one of the seven every year after. Please join my mission and watch me climb all seven!