"last minute" trip in August with newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic

[Chunky Peanut]

Last night I managed to secure direct reward flights in August this is sort of last-minute due to our son being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes following DKA over Christmas and how close we came to losing him due to not recognising symptoms

I'd recommend everyone watches this - it could save your child's life



Our last trip was planned with military precision from 2 years in advance with a split stay at SSR and HRH Club level. Obviously, this time out we will have missed out on the dining plan etc.

This time however we are staying for longer (17 nights) no idea on where to stay though.

As you can no longer book one night to get access to 60day fast passes I'm thinking of maybe a week at one of the all-stars resorts? which is the most teen-friendly?

For the second week would want somewhere offsite I guess but fairly close to Disney but also close to restaurants and a supermarket as thinking of using Uber etc to get about rather than hiring a car(neither of us has ever driven abroad)

And then for the last few nights, we'll look at doing hard rock again as loved that hotel - although the price of rooms and passes seems to have gone up massively since our last trip in August 2015.

If there are any other Dibbers with Type 1 diabetes would appreciate any tips - its all very new to us.

[Shani]

My son's T1, was diagnosed at 7, in DKA as we had no clue on the symptoms either, and is now 13 and doing great.

RE: T1 and Florida - it'll involve a lot of guessing on the carb content on foods (and it'll be a lot higher because of hidden sugars you won't be used to in the UK) and the unknown of excitement / anxiety / heat's affect on blood sugars - BUT - totally manageable.

You'll have to correct highs and treat lows, but it's definitely manageable. Treat each number on its own, and then move on and not give it a second thought.

Frio pouches are great to keep the insulin at a safe temperature (not fridge temperature - but stable room temp).

Carry all your medical supplies in your hand luggage. Call your airline and they'll give you an extra carry on case, if you need it.

Your DSN should give you a letter for airport security.

Get the sunflower lanyard at the airport - it'll help going through security, so the staff will be more aware of the medical equipment.

We always took twice as much supplies as we thought we might need.

I'm sure there's more - but the most important bit is to try and let T1 take a back seat and enjoy yourselves

[lexie32]

I'm another type 1 mum, my ds was diagnosed at 5 and was unconscious with DKA by the time we reached hospital, his symptoms were also flakey and it was only google that saved his life as I was a bit worried and googled his symptoms! he's 15 now and been to Florida 8 times since!

Great advice above but I would also get a DAS pass as we often find we end up missing some of our fast passes due to his blood sugars dropping and him needing to sit in the shade for a while and recover.

If you can get a libra blood glucose monitor funded fantastic but if not I would self fund for the holiday and secure it to his arm with rock tape, it really does save the hassle of constantly finger pricking as his symptoms will not be as obvious in the heat.

My ds has a pump and wears cargo shorts so his testing kit and sweets are on him at all times, he uses his phone to scan his libre.

We have found pools and water parks the most challenging but it easier now as his phone goes into a waterproof case so we can test constantly and we return to the locker hourly to reattach to his pump to give him insulin.

Good luck with the hotel choosing, if you are still looking at the Hard rock they still have their stay more save more rates up for stays over 4 nights on their own website, we have this booked for the last week of aug!

Feel free to Pm me anytime re diabetes even if just for moral support

Alex

[Chunky Peanut]

Thanks ever so much, that's great!

[ely3857]

Nothing to add that others haven’t said already.

As you’ll now know, T1 can be a very tricky beast to deal with and unusual situations add to the ‘fun’. As mention, there is no sugar tax in the States so that makes guesstimating a lot harder but you’ll figure it out.

Same with heat/excitement and theme park exhaustion. It all has an impact.

If you don’t have access to a continuous glucose monitor or flash glucose monitor then make sure he’s finger pricking much more often.

We’ve taken our DD twice since her diagnosed age 6 (with the next trip in Aug). It’s more than doable and equally as enjoyable.

[nattyk]

My daughter has type1 lucky we caught it before severe DKA.. we have done florida with and without pump... definitely get a frio pouch for pens or pump to keep cool... we found amys levels really good or low with all the walking and heat ... we used the DAS to give us a return time so she didn’t have to queue in the heat and it worked well...

Amy was diagnosed at 13 and is now 19 on injections and doing really well ... doesn’t like technology attached to her but some great tech our there like the Libre/Dexcom and pumps xx

Enjoy

[Chunky Peanut]

How does the DAS work in conjunction with fast passes? Do you still need fast passes?

And do you need a letter to show - we'd obviously have his meds and he also has an alert bracelet - but obviously it's not a visible disability - do the lanyards work in the parks?