Birthday Wishes

I've celebrated five birthdays with type one diabetes. Every year there is a cake with candles. Everyone says "Okay, make a wish and blow out your candles!" In those five years I have never wished for a cure for diabetes. I'm not sure why. And I'm not sure why it seems so important to me now. Maybe it's because I'm just getting into the DOC (diabetes online community) or maybe it's because D is becoming an even bigger part of my life now that I'm getting older. Maybe this year I'll wish for a cure, but probably not. When I'm celebrating my birthday I hope diabetes isn't in the back of my mind. I hope I'm not thinking about it so much that I want to wish for a cure. Sure, I wish there was a cure for T1 D, but is it really worth it to use my once a year birthday wish on that? I get tired of D a lot, I get burnt out and sometimes I just wanna give up. But lately, D had been pretty easy for me (knock on wood). So, here's hoping for a cure, but not wishing for one- with my one birthday wish, that is.

Vacation and Diabetes

Last week I went on vacation with my family. This was the first time I've went on vacation for about 5 years, and the first time that I've gone to a hot, sunny beach for vacation with diabetes. I had no idea what to expect. I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. I took way too many supplies, in case of emergencies. And guess what? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! The first day, my blood sugar was low constantly. But it wasn't a big deal because my family eats a lot on vacation anyways. I went to the beach the first day and wore my pump the entire time. The insulin didn't go bad. I got sunburned pretty badly, and that evening had a high number, which I think was a result of being sunburned so badly. The second day was better, a couple lows, but no highs. That's pretty much how the whole week was. One day I had a 433 and I still have no idea why. But I corrected and it came down, so I tried not to dwell on the reasons. There was two days I didn't go to the beach at all, because I was so sunburned and miserable, and one day it rained. We actually ended up leaving a day early and going to my sister's house, where we spent the next day at the pool. I was in the heat more than I ever had been lately, and I know that was the cause of most of my lows, but my insulin never went bad like my doctor warned it might, so yay! All in all, it was a great vacation and I miss my family already!
As for tips for vacationing with diabetes, I would say: keep your unused insulin cold (duh) and if you're in the sun, put your pump or insulin you're using in a cooler while your in the water, count carbs extra carefully, try to follow somewhat of a schedule, but mostly, just have fun and give yourself some slack! Vacation is supposed to be fun!