It had to happen, twice

Lost Blood MeterAt some point I was going to forget or lose some of my diabetes related items, but not expecting this to happen so soon and twice!

Drama 1 - when your pump and insulin are useless

We set off early in the day from Torquay for the Great Ocean Road after staying the night. Plan was to drive through the Rain Forest for the day, stay overnight at Port Campbell and then drive along the cost back to Melbourne.


When leaving Melbourne I new my pump needed refilling in a few days and had my short supplies bag with me. Pump down to 2u I decided after one of the rain forest walks to refill only to notice I have used all my syringes. I had a pump,I had insulin, but no dam way to get the insulin out and refill the pump!
To cut a long story short we thought we could reuse the syringe I had as the insulin container and use a normal syringe to extract the insulin and push into this container. It was getting late in the day, I had no insulin, we did not know if there where any hospitals or doctors to access a syringe let alone if they would be open... we cut our losses and drove the 3 hours back to Melbourne doing my best not to bite the steering wheel.
Once back blood sugars where 18, not too bad but we had too do the Great Ocean Road another day.

Drama 2 - look, before panic

Last night of our drive from Melbourne to Sydney and we had just found the perfect (free) camp spot at Kiama in time to watch the sunset.
Wanting to be sure I take my blood meter with me for a quick walk, it could not be found. Tired after a long day driving panic was the only thing on my mind. Quick search in the car yielded no results, trying to track back our steps we remembered treating ourselves to some ice cream at Jervis Bay where I had my meter next to me while we sat on a bench admiring the view... over 70km away!
So off we drive for a fun packed hour and a half repeatedly questioning myself how can I possible forget? How often do you forget your house keys? Yeah, never!
Arriving at Jervis Bay no meter was to be found, at this point I'm in full panic and decide to strip the camper van down. While Kinga always carries my spare meter, this model does not communicate with the pump and it's a sweet £300 for a new unit and how can I have lost it in the first month!
Two bags pulled out of the camper van out falls my blood meter.
To make the most of the situation the budget went out the window and we treated ourselves to a slap up fish dinner overlooking the bay, a few beers and a night in the car park- classy.

Two dramas in the first month is enough

This cannot carry on and so far we have left / lost something in most locations and the stress of doing that with my medication was to much. After a little chat at dinner we agreed...

  1. The small supplies bag should always be with me in my day bag and contain at least 2 of everything. If something happens to my main supply or get caught short while away I have at least a week of supplies on me.
  2. Blood tester sits at the front of the car with me and all other times in the day bag top pocket. I check this and then Kinga checks every time we go anywhere.
  3. We will write a list of items I must have and stick this to the back of our phones. Kinga must take joint responsibility and check this list with me before going anywhere, as clearly I cannot be trusted.

Let's see how we get along, hopefully sticking to the above and not getting lazy will avoid any future dramas.

Also, I want to thank Kinga for being so clam and amazing as I was freaking out. I hate to be a burden or dependent on anyone, in the UK this is easier to hide /manage. On the road there is little room for mistakes. I will never say this to her, cos she smells.

 

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Disclaimer
The contents of this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your Diabetes support team or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your medical condition.Sorry, have to say something like this!

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