My otherwise awesome child now officially hated her diabetes and ignored it. I officially hated being the diabetes police, and dreaded every moment of confrontation about it.
Category: Travel
No matter the season, Mother Nature can wreak havoc in our lives. Other emergencies can turn our world upside down. For those people with type 1 diabetes,…
“Your blood sugar was five hundred and twenty four,” whispered the doctor through pale lips, after gently pulling back the curtain that had been separating me from the reality of the situation. “I’m sorry, but you have Type 1 diabetes.” His mouth continued to move, but I heard nothing.
I tried to eat between 60-80g of carbs a meal. The meals were about four hours apart, and I made sure to eat a Snickers bar or a glucose gel between meals without taking insulin. I never found my blood sugar to be too high on the trail. Anything below 100 was already too low, and I immediately made sure to eat something with carbs.
The number staring back at me on the display was in the low 400s. I had no idea what that meant, but I sensed it was bad. The doctor held his breath for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry to tell you my friend," said the doctor, "but you are a diabetic." That's it. In that brief sentence, one part of my life was over, and another part had begun.
Let's make something perfectly clear: Just because I have a diabetes bucket list does not mean that my death and diabetes will have anything to do with each other. Far from it. When I die (and that will not be soon, thank you very much), it will be of old age and nothing else.
Two years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day (for good luck, of course), I shoved off the North American continent with my family aboard a 38-foot sailboat. Our bow pointed towards South Pacific paradise. It would take us nearly a month to sail there, through calms and squalls and day after day of perfect tradewind sailing. We didn’t see land nor ship for 26 days, until the magical, lush and green island of Hiva Oa came into view at dawn one morning.
I’ve always loved to travel, and so when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 22, one of my biggest fears was that the disease was going to keep me tethered to home. Thankfully, nearly 14 years later, I’ve learned that diabetes doesn’t have to limit my adventures, as long as I’m thoughtful and prepared – and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to far-flung places including China, Croatia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Siberia, Mongolia and Tibet. Here are my top 15 tips for how to take your broken pancreas on the road, whether you’re headed someplace exotic, or just relaxing on a beach.
If you plan to travel abroad, have all your medical information converted to the language of the country you are planning to visit. Carry this information with you at all times. Create one sheet with all your important information. Convert it to a PDF and save it in a Dropbox or Evernote folder that you can access from anywhere. Or, snap a photo with your phone for a quick reference.
When I mention my travels many people act surprised, and I’m never sure how to respond. To me, being “brave” means being afraid of something and doing it anyway. I’m a cautious person who avoids taking risks. The prospect of dealing with diabetes abroad didn’t seem particularly scary to me—if it had, I’m not sure I would have done it.