Carry On

My trip to the Dominican is almost here, only one more sleep, then a partial one and I am off at 2 a.m Tuesday morning.  It hardly feels real yet, as I began packing the other day filling not only my suitcase but a quarter of Vince's which he is totally fine about since he is packing only a few things compared to my many things.   Hey! If I change my mind on what I want to wear, which we know how often that can happen...I want to have options.

The first task for packing was preparing my carry-on bag which contains ALL of my diabetic supplies including the extra insulin pump (loaned from Medtronic.)  In order to figure it out in my head, I put all the supplies on the floor to make sure I covered all bases. Yes, I use the supplies every three days, but when you're trying to pack it all, it can get a little confusing.   I knew that I wanted extra everything and after trying to figure out what extra meant, I decided I was going to bring all the sites I had in my drawer. So, originally I had about twelve sealed in a ziplock, but added the rest of the box which made it about fifteen at least.  I knew that that should be WAY more than I needed, seeing as I am going for eight days, which should work out to three site changes if I change my site tomorrow night.

I have travelled before, so I don't know why I felt so overwhelmed trying to figure out how much to bring.  I just started to fear the what-ifs, which I usually tell myself to stop doing or else I will end up living in a bubble.  So, the backpack is full of supplies, and hopefully more than I intend to use, because fifteen site changes in eight days would be dreadful.  I also put my note from my nurses in my bag just in case. I had to use this note before when I was in the airport in Panama, I always figure I am fine in Toronto, it is coming home when diabetes appears to be foreign to them at times (which is odd, because there are type 1s living in those locations...) Anyways, I like to be prepared with a note!

Of course I brought along alcohol swabs, reservoirs (not a million because most of the time those can be reused if anything were to happen) syringes, glucose tabs, an extra meter, an insulin pen, and a few other things to go along with it. I have yet to add insulin, of course, since it is in the refrigerator until Monday night.  I had a little room to put in a few magazines, gum and snacks, but really there isn't too much room left in my backpack for anything unrelated to diabetes.

I like to keep all my diabetic supplies on me, just in case.  It would be horrible to pack it all in a suitcase, only to lose the suitcase for some reason. It is better if I just have it on me, just in case I need it.  After being panicking about packing it all, I couldn't imagine watching it on a conveyer belt headed off into the unknown. I am just fine knowing it is on my back...or Vince's!

All in all, I am really looking forward to getting away after my last exam tomorrow.  I am going to say I may attempt to write, but chances are it won't be until I get back. So don't lose faith in the blog, just know the writer is lying on the beach thinking of what to write when she gets home!

Kayla