Weekend Warrior
Not all trips can be month-long adventures overseas. Sometimes our travels take us much closer to home. Whether months or days, all trips necessitate careful planning. Fortunately for shorter trips we can often afford to get away with the bare minimum in terms of supplies. Yet these brief escapes are no exception to a few key rules.
1. Its a big wide world — you may think if you’re only jumping in the car or plane for a couple of hours that it’s business as usual. However even destinations close to home can pose new challenges. Different weather, fewer shops and medical repositories, or simply unfamiliar terrain. It all makes a difference.
2. Always be prepared — not just a Scout’s motto but words to live by. Pack EVERYTHING you need and more. Short trips may tempt you to forego the more contingent supplies like a spare glucometer or ketone strips but if you have the space it is more than worth it. Yes you will be likely to be able to source these within a few hours but it’s certainly not ideal should you need them. Overpacking is always favourable to under-packing.
3. Enjoy yourself — I don’t want to contradict everything I’ve just said but you’re on holiday, relax. It’s vital to remain on top of your diabetes on even the shortest of getaways but it’s also a good time to give yourself a deserved break. Plan for the worst but expect the best.
You may be thinking this article is short and doesn’t offer a huge amount of insight and you’d be right. However that best encapsulates how you should approach these small trips — keep it simple. You know what you’re doing and so long as you plan and don’t underestimate the challenges that may present themselves, you will be fine and have a ripper time.