Ty Hover, CEO and Founder
Ty has
had Diabetes Type 1 for 30 years, and was diagnosed
at the age of 7. He feels that diabetes hasn't necessarily changed
his life, but caused him to re-examine how he lived it and make a few
adjustments to adapt. It has caused him to appreciate the little
things more due to the fact that each day is another gift he feels he
has been given. He lives a very athletic lifestyle, so naturally,
diabetes can cause problems for him at times if he isn't
careful and this is just one example of the things he is hoping to share
with other diabetics through this project.
One of his main goals for creating
the UHFAC was to help demonstrate to all diabetics that just because
they have this disease, it does not mean they have to change their
lifestyle drastically. They just need to be a little more careful
about how they go about doing it. He also wanted to combine an
issue he is passionate about, diabetes
awareness & research, with another he is equally
passionate about... the appreciation of the great outdoors.
He has many years experience in backpacking, hunting,
fishing, camping, and has studied extensively in
outdoor survival techniques. Thus, came the idea for The Ultimate
Hike For A Cure.
This project is not the only thing he plans to do to
raise awareness for diabetes research and living this lifestyle. Nor to show diabetics that having
this disease is not the "end of the line".
He has many
more ideas that he hopes to soon start working on, so he
can help do his part to fight this epidemic. Some of
those ideas include: Possibly another hike, camping on a un-inhabited island
in one of the Great Lakes, for a yet undetermined amount of time.
He would also like to start doing more permanent ongoing projects like help guide other
diabetics in
their own journeys towards this same goal.