Are You Packing? (Updating The Diabetes Emergency Bag)

The weather is weird.

No snow all winter.

Tornados in February.

Cherry Blossoms at our nation's capital in March.

Forecasters scratching their head in confusion in what to tell us... drought this summer?  Heavy rains?  No one quite knows. 

The weird weather has been dominating our headlines so frequently, that finally, I decided to take a peek at our old diabetes emergency kit. 

And here she is in her sad little emptied state....

What you can't really tell from this picture is that little backpack holds maybe one tester and a few random pump supplies.  The bag is about as useless as not packing one at all. 

Which was fine when we had just one small child with type 1 diabetes.   

But now, with weird weather happening and with two little girls in the house that are living with type 1 diabetes, it is time to reorganize and put to good use one of those extra back packs laying around the house.

Even if I am embarrassed because it makes me feel a little bit like one of those Doomsday Preppers.



Me and my children (just kidding) - National Geographic Doomsday Prepper



Here is a look at what we pack in our Type 1 Diabetes Emergency Bag.  You may want to alter slightly to fit your needs. 

NATURALLY SWEET SISTERS EMERGENCY TYPE 1 DIABETES BACKPACK

What to pack list:

• Syringes
• Infusion Set(s)
• Cartridges
• Tubing
• Blood glucose meter
• Test Strips
• Lancets
• Ketone strips
• Alcohol Wipes
• Unisolve
• IVPrep
• IVPrep 3000
• Glucagon
• Fast Acting Sugar (smarties work well)
• Granola Bars
• Water Bottles
• Instant Glucose Drink
• Children's Tylenol
• Band aids or small first aid kit
• Copies of insurance cards and phone numbers for medical suppliers.
• Emergency contact list.
• List of everything that you order on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Other Ideas:

• Copy of credit or bank cards
• Smoke mask
• Plastic gloves
• Baby Wipes
• Flashlight
• Extra Batteries
• Blanket

We keep our emergency diabetes supply kit in the same area of the house that we would all go to in case of a tornado.  For us, that means a hook on a wall in our basement.  As part of our family discussions on what to do in case of an emergency, we have explained to our children to head downstairs and to grab the bag as they take cover.  For our family, we have stressed the importance of getting nothing else, even insulin, as that is located in a completely separate area of our home.  We feel comfortable with this as our children are on insulin pumps and hopefully, would have a stash in their reservoirs.   If you are using syringes or pens, you might want to alter your home emergency kit to either include a penfill or to have a plan in place involving insulin (like perhaps keeping a spare vial in the basement refrigerator or at a neighbor's home).

After all of this, our biggest hope is that we never touch a single thing within the backpack.  Better for no emergencies and spoiled supplies than to have to be on the receiving end of a tornado... which is rather common where we live.

In any case, we will be prepared and now, so will you!