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With summer heat and humidity enveloping us, who isn't dreaming of a vacation getaway (if you're not on one already!) I've always wanted to go to Italy, and love reading travel stories.... pretending that I'm also eating my way through late dinners of fresh pasta, cheeses, and vegetables that just sound better than anywhere else. I was particularly interested in the story below, learning how things can get tricky jumping into this lifestyle as a type 1 diabetic.
Written by Lauren Ladoceour, published in DiabetesHealth, July 13, 2010
There's nothing quite like a dip in the Mediterranean Sea at sunset. The warm, clear water, shimmering clouds, and sound of families enjoying aperitifs at beachside cafes--it was the perfect start to a late-summer Italian holiday. We were visiting my boyfriend's brother, who had moved from England to Genoa a few years prior. It was my first time across the Atlantic, so my boyfriend Dunstan and I tried to make it count with 10 days filled with dinners, family celebrations, a road trip to Rome, hiking, and plenty of swimming.
I'd been on dozens of vacations throughout the U.S. before, so I packed as I would for any other getaway. With more than double the supplies I'd need to manage my type 1 diabetes tucked inside my suitcase, I thought I was all set to dive into the lifestyle and pretend I was Italian for a few days. There were enough books, films, and stories from friends to warn me about the 10 p.m. dinners and carbohydrate-heavy diet, but I figured as long as I checked my blood sugars every couple of hours, I would adjust just fine to the Italian way.
It wasn't until we were drying off from our swim that first day that I realized I'd left all but one set of test strips back in England, where we had stopped over for a night. I didn't have a prescription, doctor's letter, or a sense of the country's healthcare system to even guess how to restock my dwindling test strip reserve. I was also quite new to Dunstan's family, and I felt strangely embarrassed about having to explain why I needed to go to the chemist and pick up little pieces of plastic that would take in my blood and read it. ...
Read the full story: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2010/07/13/6758/sweet-escape/
