Hi Everyone!

Hopefully you have all had a great break

Every year for our summer break, Andy and I like to head off somewhere remote for a good week or more to relax with some close friends before we have to start thinking about getting back to work and because we don’t have kids, we ALWAYS go camp.

The joys of camping are boundless I reckon. Sunshine, beaches, BBQs, a chillibin full of beer (and insulin), the road trip with it’s compulsory pies and gas station snacks, the music, feet on the dashboard, card games and scrabble. It’s got everything.

This year, we went and plonked ourselves 5 hours north of Auckland in Taupo Bay with another couple who were camping for the first time (they are from Paris) and of course, the diabetes came along too. Everything went reasonably well, the Frenchies did the food shopping so we ate like kings, we got the booze so that was covered and the heavens shone down on us for 7 days straight with a blazing sun – you honestly can’t get better than this.

Diabetes wise, it went OK I think.  I had a heap of hypos but decided to be generous and not beat myself up thereby having a break from being so focused for a week, discovered that lemonade Popsicles aren’t anywhere near as sweet as I thought and learnt that sun screen and testing don’t mix well. It also so happened that this trip fell over a period where I had to change cannula twice so I got a few questions from our mates who “had no idea just how much work was involved all the time” (I just about kissed her when she said that!) but I also noticed that quite a few people can’t not stare!

I’m no Brad Pitt but it was near 30 degrees every day and we were camping so I spent practically 7 days straight shirtless in just my togs that had a single pocket which had my pump in it and a cord running to my site in plain view for everyone to see. It was the most practical solution to the situation and it was going to have to do even though I felt a little self conscious in a camp ground full of at least 200 people. I had loads of kids ask me straight out what it was as kids tend to just come out with whatever they are thinking, but the adults didn’t quite know where to look and not one asked me – not that I would have minded too much. I suppose that they didn’t want to be nosey and if I didn’t know what it was, then I would wonder what a tube going into some young 20 somethings guts was too!

On that note, I’ve never actually randomly met anyone else with a pump. In fact, I’ve only ever actually ever randomly met one other T1 which was the lovely Nic (and that turned out quite well!). Have any of you ever bumped into a T1? I know that a friend of mine saw a guy at some hot pools with a cannula in once and rocked on up with a self introduction but I’m not sure I would have the guts to do that…

So now I’m back at work and the trip away all seems like a bit of a distant dream. The first day back was a killer so I’m hoping it’ll get easier from here on in. At least I still have two lovely little white circles with a red dot in the center on my stomach where the cannula were as a  reminder of the holiday and how good it was!

- Aaron