Traveling With Diabetes -The Morning Of.......

Getting up at 4 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m flight means all sorts of things.

It means getting up at 4 a.m., of course - and I'm not really a fan of that.

It also means having a good night sleep before the 3:47 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. alarms go off in the morning is pretty much is none existent.

I worry so much about waking up & getting to the airport on time, that I normally sleep with one eye opened - literally.

Then there's the whole rushing to get to the car service place by the airport, before the line of grumpy travelers kick-in, and then worrying about the guy that's assigned to drive my car to and from the airport.

Normally, I'm assigned the SLOWEST DRIVER, EVER - Which always puts me on edge.

In my head I'm saying DRIVE FASTER & I'm sure my face gives it away.

Then there's the whole curbside check in, and security line rigmarole.

How much do I tip the guy at curbside check in??

And then I arrive at the security line and will most likely mumble out loud,

The line is stretching all the way to here??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Do I dare to hide my pump and try to avoid the pat down in security??

Will I run into THIS experience when the security person finds out I'm a PWD?

Or will the fates be kind to me like they were last time, when The TSA rep at Philadelphia airport was incredibly sweet & kind?

For some reason I always want to mutter:

YES, that is an insulin pump in my pocket and NO, I'm not happy to see you !

And then of course, I'm always thinking about my blood sugar, As in,

Am I running high or running low?

Then I start thinking:

I need a bottle of water, NOW.

Do I have time to grab a yogurt & coffee?

I BETTER HAVE TIME TO GRAB A YOGURT & A COFFEE.

I need to go to the bathroom before I get on the plane.

Did I pack my hand sanitizer on my person?

I better grab a sandwich and a piece of fruit, there's no way the airline will have enough cheese & fruit plates to make it to row 25.

Should I change my pump settings mid flight, or wait until I arrive in San Diego?

Where are my spare batteries, glucotabs & test strips?

What the hell am I going to do on the plane for almost 6 hours.

4$ for a bottle of water, SERIOUSLY?!

Then it's time for the boarding process, which is all types of confusing and usually ends up with someone's carry-on bag bumping me in the head after I've finally taken my seat.

Yeah, traveling with diabetes is interesting..... to say the least.