Good morning all! Just thought I would make a post about some recent funny and surprising diabetes experiences with moving and traveling to a new country. Before I go into it, maybe it would be better to back up a bit. I haven't really ever been too open to others about having diabetes. No, I am not ashamed of it, but more out of the fact that when it comes down to it, I normally just didn't want to have to explain it to people. Yes, it is a pretty personal situation too. Travel: So when TSA asks, "Whoa, is that your phone?" As they are referring to my egg shaped Dexcom, I just kindly replied, "No it is a medical device". As she looks weirdly at me again, I should have just held it up to my ear and said hello. She didn't ask any other questions after that. Surprisingly, with those new TSA full body scanners, if I leave my watch on they will come examine it after I get checked out. When I have a sensor attached to my stomach for my Dexcom, I thought for sure they would think it was some sort of bomb strapped to my stomach, but they haven't said anything yet. Probably just busy checking out my naked parts :) I need to come up with some sort of explanation though for when they do ask me to remove my shirt...any good ideas?
A plus on the airplane though is when you are sitting only a couple rows away from first class and you want something to drink, but dont want to go allll the way to the back of the plane. Seriously, I can see the attendant two feet in front of me. I walk through first class and ask for an OJ, knowing full well that if he denies my request, that I am going to pull the D-card real quick. "Sir, I am diabetic and need something to drink!". Yes, an OJ will logically make sense. However, I am fairly certain that if I asked for a diet coke instead he wouldn't question it. In the Cab from the airport, my blood sugar was high and hit the 220 mark, so my Dexcom "buzzed" and "honked" at me while in the back seat. I knew what it was, so didn't really do anything as I had luggage suffocating me, I was just going to ride it out. As I looked up at the cab driver, he lifted his hands from the steering wheel, looking at his dash with a perplexed look. I thought to myself, should I tell him it was me? Ehhh, don't really want to have to explain anything else right now after dealing with immigration and customs. Funny thing is, if you don't acknowledge your Dexcom, it is kinda like your wife, it will "buzz" and "honk" the shit out of you until you acknowledge the fact that you are out of range. That being said, if went off again and I thought the cabby was going to pull over and check his oil or something haha, but he just checked his phone instead.
5 Comments
Paula Simcox
1/19/2013 11:34:57 am
This post reminds me of a time my husband and I were at one of Kaleb's football games. We had gone down to the field to do a blood test at half-time. (You know what sports can do to bg's.) The principal and her assistant did not recognize us and thought we were being obnoxious when really we were trying to do our business quietly and get out of the way. They proceeded to ask us to leave the area as parents are not allowed by the field. My husband politely said we'll be happy to move when we are done doing a blood test on our son. The challenges diabetics face are many as if they don't have a hard enough time dealing diabetes itself.
Reply
Bram
1/19/2013 02:52:20 pm
Hi Paula! Yes, there are many more stories like that. However, on the plus side, I can use it to my advantage sometimes. I don't have to share my cookies with Michelle, cause I already dosed for the whole pack :) Or if you are ever late to anything, "my blood sugar was off" people dont know what that means, but will never ask...
Reply
Connor
1/20/2013 09:28:40 pm
Yeah, the Dexcom through the body scanners is an interesting one. After going through 30+ of them wearing the 7+ sensor, it has never shown up. Unfortunately, the higher profile of our beloved G4s does get picked up sometimes (1 out of 3 for me). They just have you step to the side, touch your shirt over the sensor, and swab your fingers real quick. I haven't done international yet, just keep in mind the G4 might show up in security before hopping on your G6.
Reply
Bram
1/20/2013 11:34:29 pm
Hey Connor - love the G6 reference! Hahaha, had me laughing! Yeah, I was a little worried when I went through they would stop me this last time with the G4, but they didn't do anything. Maybe because we went through the priority security line and had two dogs with us and five months of insulin that I had them manually check out without running through the xray machine. They could have been easily preoccupied. Thanks for the heads.
Reply
Connor
2/7/2013 10:10:06 pm
UPDATE:
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
BRAM HUTCHINSONCategories
All
|