Today’s post is from someone who has helped me tremendously this past summer! Jeff Mather blogs about his life at Dispatches. He’s also an athlete and in moments when I struggled with workouts or with running and cycling, Jeff was always there with advice and an encouraging word. Jeff describes himself as an international playboy with a loving wife and a 9-to-5 job as a software engineer. He’s had diabetes for just over 12 years – it’s ending its tween years now and will soon be a rebellious teenager. Jeff didn’t really write about diabetes much on his weblog until a couple of years ago. After becoming more active in the Diabetes Online Community, he uses his site to share what he learns about diabetes along with all of the other events and activities in his life: travel, photography, triathlon, social commentary and even nerdy work stuff. Take it away Jeff:
I want to thank Victoria for inviting me to write something for her site. By the time it gets posted, I will most likely be in France on a two-week bicycling and sightseeing adventure. The itinerary includes a week of riding and a few days on either end in Aix-en-Provence and Paris. (One of my coworkers called it my own private Tour de France)! I’m going on the trip with my mom, who always raved about her group cycling trips in the past. We’re both pretty excited about it.
We’re also both a bit nervous.
Mom, bless her soul, doesn’t speak a word of French. She tries, but she seems to have anti-French skills. Fortunately, I speak la belle langue well enough to carry on simple conversations. We will also be with a group of a dozen-or-so other English speakers, so conversation won’t be lacking.
Personally, I’m nervous about how my diabetes is going to behave. I’ve done plenty of swimming and biking and running over the last couple years, but I still don’t feel like I have many skills when it comes to getting my blood glucose numbers where I want them to be when I hop on my bike or lace up my shoes or take a dip in the lake. I’ve been trying this and that and the other thing when I go on long weekend rides, so I have that going for me. I’m not worried, just a bit… concerned. (They’re not the same thing.)
In addition to the cycling, I plan to eat my way across Provence and Paris. I love French pastries and crêpes, and Provençal cooking looks delicious. I have to be sensible and take diabetes into account, of course, but I don’t plan on being stingy with the carb-laden foods. I suspect that the first few days are going to involve a series of events where out what works and what could work better. Who knows? Maybe by the time that I return home, I’ll have some additional diabetic ninja skills.
But I’m worried – I mean “concerned” – that I’m going to become “that guy.” You know, “the guy with diabetes.” People are going to know that I have diabetes, since they’ll see me testing and because I’ll be wearing a Team Type 1 jersey a couple times, but I’m going to do my best to not have any wicked highs or lows. I have to represent the community well and prove that we really can do anything we put our brains and brawn toward, but I’d really rather just be another person on the trip. I did pack glucagon – just in case – but I plan on bringing it home unused. (*touch wood*)
On the subject of packing: There is so much diabetes crap that I’m bringing with me. Pump supplies. Extra pump supplies. CGM sensors. Inserters. Batteries. Lancets. (Yes I change them from time to time.) Alcohol swabs. IV-3000 and Tegaderm tape. Two meters. Syringes and my backup pump, just in case the improbable happens. My pump settings on a piece of paper. Prescriptions. And the aforementioned glucagon kit. Plus insulin and test strips, which I swear my insurance company and pharmacy were conspiring to keep from me since I didn’t have enough of either to go the whole trip, but it was too early to refill either prescription. (It only took three phone calls and two pharmacy visits, but it’s all sorted now.) And glucose tablets. So many glucose tablets. And energy gels… but only because they’re easier to stash into the back pocket of my jersey than a baguette or chocolate croissant. My backpack would be only half as full without this disease.
I also made myself a sharps container. Evidently the ones you can buy come in two sizes: home-sized and hospital-sized, both of which are too large to take traveling. So I decided to use an empty vitamin bottle that I found in the recycling bin underneath the kitchen sink. I know… pretty ghetto. I should probably figure out how to say, “Oh no, don’t put your fingers in there! It contains medical waste.” Let’s fire up Google Translate… «Oh mon dieu! Ne touchez pas la bouteille de vitamines. Oh là là! C’est remplie de déchets médicaux.» I’m sure that’s 100 percent accurate.
Okay, now I’m off to bed for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow (as I write this) the journey begins!
Thank you so much to Jeff for guest-blogging while I get used to the new gig. And seriously, I am so incredibly jealous of he and his mother, it’s downright sinful. Anyone who knows me personally knows I’m obsessed with France; the language, the food, the music, the everything. I can’t wait to see his photos and hear his stories. I’ll be sure to send up a few prayers for a safe journey and that diabetes cooperates. For those of us living vicariously through Jeff, let’s hope he doesn’t live off crêpes alone and enjoys some of that fantastic cheese! Au revoir! Bon voyage! And don’t forget to follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffmather.