Wednesday, June 25, 2008

"Be Prepared".....Traveling with Diabetes......

This week we headed to Canada while the girls were away at camp. Hubby had business and having just two at home meant we could all go with him. Having to get ready for a trip is somewhat stressful anyway, and I found planning for diabetes added a little bit to that stress. But not too much since I'm a planner. Hubby and I have traced my planning (and OVER-packing ways) back to my Girl Scout days.....you know.... the Girl Scout moto....... which is the same for the Boy Scouts......"BE PREPARED". Hubby was NOT a Boy Scout and it's obvious!!!

So of course I packed to the hilt. Hubby laughed as I added "just one more" package of syringes about three times!!:-) I brought extra insulin, just in case one was lost, stolen, or broken. And thankfully I kept the boxes with the prescription tags still on them.....very much needed to show we have a prescription for the drugs we are carrying. I also made sure I had numbers to the clinic, and information concerning sickness.....J.J. hasn't even had a sniffle in the past 6 1/2 months since diagnosis!! (Definitely praising God for that one!!) And so it appears I did pretty good.....we're heading home today.....but........

I did forget something it appears!!! As the kids were swimming in the pool I was reading the May issue of Diabetes Forecast. In this issue they have a "complete guide to planning the perfect trip". Imagine my dismay when it says that 7 weeks prior to traveling internationally I am to obtain..."doctors notes (especially if you use syringes) for officials who want to know you aren't smuggling drugs or carrying contraband." YIKES!!!! Here I am in Canada with syringes, drugs, etc......and NO DOCTORS NOTE!!

I'm sure it will be fine.....but.......still......will we have trouble at the border?

Also, something the article mentioned was health care abroad. That was something I never considered until we drove past a hospital here in Winnipeg. What kind of treatment would he receive if there was an emergency? I was hoping we wouldn't have to find out!! So far so good....

All in all our first trip with J.J. and diabetes has been uneventful. The border thing is still in the back of my mind, but hubby is right....I'm sure they can tell we're not trying to smuggle "contraband"!!!

Now my husband has a new name for me.....

I'm now....

his.....

"little Girl Scout"!!!

2 comments:

Katie said...

Lynnea --

First of all, you should be fine with travelling with your son's D supplies as long as you have prescription labels, etc with you. I had my pediatrician write a letter that I carried with me as a backup, but did anyone ever ask to see it? Noooooo...

On a non-related note: I spotted your prayer request regarding finances and the insulin pump. Have you heard of IPump? It's a nonprofit corporation that helps underinsured families with diabetes supplies, including insulin pumps. Your son might be a good candidate. Their website address is: http://www.ipump.org

God bless!

Lynnea said...

Katie,
Yep....no troubles here, thankfully!! I did remember my prescriptions which I think would help in a sticky situation!!

Also, thanks to the link. I've spent a little time browsing and it looks interesting.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...