ELEVATIONS

Doctors at first diagnosed Lilly with anxiety. It’s a common misdiagnosis among those with hypoxia, and an understandable one, given that the two are connected: Not being able to breathe causes anxiety. Anxiety can also cause breathing problems such as hyperventilation.

That’s a problem because doctors have to write a prescription for oxygen, said Mike Goldblatt, 67, of Evergreen. Goldblatt is hypoxic and doctors don’t know why. He was an arborist and guided fly-fishing trips and hikes. He also coaches and chases around his grandkids and plays golf and music in a band. Evergreen is at 7,400 feet and Goldblatt has no desire to move. Oxygen, which he uses when he’s active, makes his life far more normal than it would be otherwise.

“It feels a lot better,” Goldblatt said.

But it irks him that oxygen is only available with a prescription. Patients also generally must choose between the portable tanks they use to hike and the large tanks that anchor many patients to their homes, Goldblatt said.

“We are staying active,” Goldblatt said, referring to the hypoxic hiking group, “but 90% or more pulling oxygen aren’t. They don’t realize they can get out.”

Insurance, he said, tends to restrict patients from portable tanks or limit them to a few per month, unless they fight. Medicaid doesn’t do this, at least for Shoaee, which is why she restricts her lifestyle to stay on it.

“Safety is what they call it,” Goldblatt said, “but it comes down to money.”

These are things that won’t be solved soon. But there are issues Shoaee believes she can address now. Carrying oxygen is a problem. A couple years ago she began talking to Osprey about designing a backpack specifically for oxygen carriers.

“The kinking is the most annoying part,” Lilly said. “Chantelle, can you fix my tube? I’ve already been kinked up twice today.”

Kinking, of course, restricts oxygen flow, and the tubes get tangled. Lilly has a story about her tubes getting tangled while on a ski lift. She eventually had to be carried down by ski patrol because she needed the oxygen boost at the high elevation.

“I was so embarrassed,” she said.

Tanks are heavy, with the mobile tanks weighing up to 15 pounds. The tanks alone make a daypack weigh more than if it were stuffed with overnight gear.

The Osprey backpack, Shoaee said, solves both issues. There are holes in the pack where hypoxic hikers can thread, and therefore secure, their tubes, and the bottom of the pack has more padding as well as straps to hold the tank in place and distribute the weight evenly. The final version should be out by the end of the year. The pack is an affirmation that people are paying attention.

“It will be life-changing for people on oxygen,” Shoaee said. “We aren’t saying you have to hike a 14er. You can walk around the block now. This makes it possible. There’s so much annoying stuff about this illness. A backpack shouldn’t be one of them.”

Shoaee founded Always Choose Adventures because of her experiences, but the organization tries to break down barriers for all kinds of marginalized groups in the outdoors, not just the hypoxic. Gerry Roach, the mountain master and author of many guide books, including iconic versions for the 14ers, the Centennials, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Indian Peaks, is the board president.

But she hopes to use her talents to raise awareness about hypoxia and maybe one day solve some of the other issues oxygen carriers must face when they venture outdoors.

“Could we do a hypoxic 14ers day?” she asks her group.

First, though, she wants to go on a little hike to a lake near her property. The path is steep — at one point she protests to her friends when they leave some distance between them and her — but eventually they do reach the top. She puts her hands on her knees.

It’s hard to live so high up, but the views are spectacular, and the air is fresh.

She straightens up and breathes it in.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.