Crises Averted: A Few Things I Learned This Week

Holy moly, am I still learning how to manage my diabetes and travel safely.

I think back to my trip around Thailand and Indonesia when I was 22, and I genuinely do not remember how I managed my insulin and all of my supplies. The memory has completely escaped me. I cannot remember one single time that I handed my insulin over to someone at a hotel. Maybe I just put it in the hostel fridge myself??

Well, this time I’m in Sri Lanka, and I’m feeling like a beginner all over again.

I had TWO experiences within the first three days of this trip that seriously made me question travelling as a type 1 diabetic.

The first happened on the plane. I asked one of the flight attendants if they could put my insulin in the fridge for me.

At the end of the flight, nobody brought it back.

I asked someone about it, and she told me they had already given it to the passenger.

PARDON?!

Okay. Keep calm. Breathe.

I immediately started shaking because… what do you mean you gave my insulin to some random person AND THEY TOOK IT?!

Thankfully, they found it.

Crisis averted.

Then, two days later, we stayed at a hotel in a small fishing town on the northwest coast of Sri Lanka. We had gone there hoping to do some kitesurfing, only to find out that the season was already over. Disappointing, but that’s life!

Anyway, I asked the hotel staff if they could put my insulin in the fridge for me.

That night, the power went out until around midnight, so naturally I was already stressed about whether my insulin was staying cold enough.

Turns out, the power outage might have been a blessing in disguise.

The next morning, they handed me my insulin…

Straight out of the FREEZER.

Lost in translation.

It honestly never even occurred to me that I needed to clarify because, in my mind, fridge means fridge. Not freezer.

Very close call to near chaos.

Luckily, the insulin did not actually freeze, and the insulated bag I had stored it in seems to have protected it from getting too cold.

But I definitely learned something.

From now on, I’m going to watch someone physically put my insulin into the fridge—or do it myself—so I know exactly where it is being stored.

There are so many things that can go wrong when travelling with type 1 diabetes, and you cannot control all of them. But you can manage the things that are within your control.

I now know to clarify 500 times that my insulin goes in the FRIDGE and absolutely NOT the freezer.

I also know that I should not sit around waiting for a flight attendant to remember to bring my insulin back at the end of a flight. I need to ask for it myself.

When it is your life and your health that depend on something, you have to be able to advocate for yourself.

Travelling more does not necessarily make managing type 1 diabetes abroad easier. But every trip teaches you something.

You develop better problem-solving skills. You become more organized. You learn what systems work for you, what mistakes you never want to repeat, and how to make travelling with diabetes feel a little less stressful each time.

And despite these two mishaps, everything else has been going amazingly well.

I’m still travelling. I’m still exploring. I’m still experiencing everything Sri Lanka has to offer.

Type 1 diabetes comes with me everywhere—but it does not have to stop me from going.

Your Diabuddy,

Camille