Travel With Food Allergies And Type 1 Diabetes
Wow, that title sounds daunting even as I write it. But I'm here to tell you: you can travel with food allergies and Type 1 diabetes.
Before my son was born, I traveled the world. My work yielded many frequent flier miles which I used to visit places such as Europe, The Caribbean, Fiji, and New Zealand. I has dreams of taking him to explore the world - including things on my bucket list like visiting Vietnam and Thailand, and doing an African Safari.
Food allergies changed my perspective on international travel a bit. I thought about trying to keep him safe in a country where I didn't speak the language and there isn't necessarily as much regulation of food as there is in the United States. It took some mental gymnastics to convince myself that we could still live a life full of adventure...but for now, we would focus our travel here. Our initial travel with allergies to dairy, eggs, cashews, pistachios, and pink peppercorns were fun, but challenging. We either had to pack all of our food or plan ahead to find a grocery store like Whole Foods to ensure we had options. We generally stayed in places with kitchens, but I had to sanitize all of the surfaces, pre-wash dishes and pots and pans, and couldn't use the toaster in case it was cross-contaminated. We also wound up throwing out a lot of food at the end of each trip.
Tired of having our trips dominated by food plans, I bought a small RV in early 2015. Within months of buying it, my son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. We still took a few small weekend trips after diagnosis, but I was afraid of taking him on long trips by myself. I worried about all kinds of things, but most importantly what if he had a medical emergency (e.g., anaphylactic reaction or urgent diabetes issue) while we were off the beaten path? And what if I got sick and couldn't care from him???
It took me awhile to wrap my head around traveling anyway. We started small...and by going to diabetes camp. For me, that felt safe. I was surrounded by others who could help with diabetes-related things....and medical professionals who could assist with both issues if needed. The complexity of his food allergies meant that I had to take our own food...which meant we took the RV. I got some practice in relatively safe environments. It made me uneasy to know that the plan for a severe allergic reaction requiring medical assistance involved landing a helicopter on the field - but I tried not to think about it and was vigilant about our food preparation. Our camp was supportive, asking people to wash their hands both before AND after meals to minimize food contamination of surfaces outside of the dining hall. And we stayed out of the dining hall.
The education I got at camp increased my confidence in managing the complexities of diabetes. That, along with experience traveling to camp, made me braver. I started to venture farther from home. A week here. A week there. And then in summer 2017, we hit the road: 32 days. Eight states. Seven national parks. Tons of adventures. And a fair amount of time without cell phone service! A few challenges. Not only did we survive, we thrived. And my confidence was high.
In 2018 I bought a different RV that better meets our needs. We just finished a 28 day road trip. This one had less structure. I woke up the first morning with my back out - and one of my worst fears came true. I could barely stand up...let alone make food for my son. We spent two days eating allergen-free breakfast pastries and other things that didn't require any effort that were within his reach. He helped with what he could...got his own low treatments, handed me diabetes supplies, and entertained himself with the iPad. I had to ask strangers for help with a few things related to the RV. I learned a few valuable lessons, including that I need to make sure he can reach things we need in the RV. But we made it through. And I went straight to REI and bought a satellite mobile device with emergency assistance. Then we continued on an adventure that was completely different than planned. We visited national parks, spent time along the Pacific coast, swam in a river, hiked to the top of an inactive volcano, checked out tidepools, explored an underground cave, successfully ate out a few times, caught the tail end of the Special Olympics in Seattle, and camped in amazing places. It required a lot of preparation and planning, but we made memories of a lifetime.