Don’t Forget To Breathe

Don’t know what Diabetes Blog week is? Head over to Karen’s blog to read about it and check out this year’s topic list. I’ll be participating this year and I’m looking forward to reading and writing along with the rest of you! 

Today’s topic is: Diabetes and The Unexpected.

Being prepared for the unexpected is not exactly my forte. Given the option, I’d never have a plan. I’d toss my emergency bags and my to-do lists and I’d live footloose and fancy free in a world where nothing ever went wrong. But things do go wrong in this world of ours, of course. Insulin goes bad, batteries die, reservoirs leak, and cannulas bend. You’re so excited about going to a salsa bar that you run down the stairs, fail to notice your pump tubing trailing behind you, get caught on the railing, and lose the battle (what? who did that happen to?) Your relaxing swim in the sea turns into a disaster when a grain of sand makes itself at home in your infusion site and you finally understand the purpose of those cute plastic cap covers that Medtronic includes in every set. A tiny demon called Norovirus takes up residence in your gut and you spend twenty-four hours praying to the porcelain god and wondering whether you’ll ever feel alive again. Ketones emerge and hang around and you end up abandoned in the back room of a Spanish ER, hooked up to an IV.

Sure, eighteen years of Type 1 Diabetes have by default taught me to be more responsible and to consider the possibility of an apocalypse or electrical failure every time I step onto the metro, but I don’t feel particularly qualified to give tips on planning for the unexpected since I am so often an improv actress in my own life with diabetes. I always carry syringes, juice boxes, and extra insulin with me. Many of my coat pockets are stuffed with individual sugar packets, or the remnants of them. Illness unfortunately tends to be difficult to avoid and can quickly get out of hand, so I set standards for when and where to seek help.

My best advice: always carry twice as many supplies as you think you’ll need (especially when traveling), always be open to the possibility that something ridiculous will happen, and then be ready to forgive yourself when your reactions are less than poised. Oh, and don’t be like me. Emergency supplies are best kept in one or two cute little bags, not strewn into separate corners of your backpack (I’m working on it, OK? It’s on my to-do list). Now take a deep breath and trust yourself.