Such an inspiring and thought-provoking topic!
Since my quote was listed in the OP, I will throw one point into the maelstrom. So far, we have tried to live, with my son, a life totally unlimited by D in the activities we have been ready to do. There is one thing we have not done, which we would have done if my son had not been T1D. It is the one that inspired this very specific quote.
My son was diagnosed a few days into May a couple of years ago. That summer, we had planned to go for several weeks trekking and canyoning the low-land jungles of Nicaragua in a high-heat, high humidity climate, and with no access to roads or to health professionals. We could not find a way to carry insulin cool enough when backpacking for weeks in that climate, and we bagged the trip.
Since that time, we have gone camping in the wilderness multiple times for days or weeks (in cooler climates). We have traveled to Central American countries with little infrastructure (not camping away from civilization for long durations though). We have traveled in several developed countries. We have tried many different sports and activities. Barring that one time, we have encountered no limits.
But I am still not sure if we would be ready to do that Nicaragua trip today. Several weeks in temperatures that are pretty much every day above 100, with no practical way to cool insulin—we know that insulin can withstand some temperature stress, but I don’t know that we are ready to risk long-term heat stress with no possibility to get back to civilization if things go wrong. I have not quit on this: I am still looking into what we can do to cool insulin, even minimally, over long stretches of time in hot and humid weather. I figure we will eventually find a way.
So, when I discussed the need for carrying insulin, I had a very specific thought in mind—the one obstacle that we encountered and that we have not surmounted yet. Hopefully, it is a matter of time until we find a solution 