Welcome to Type 1 Travels!
2020 Update
I am in the process of writing each blog post from the over 30 countries visited on this amazing trip.
Written Before the Trip
After seven years of working in digital media for the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics, I’ve decided to give it up and travel the world.
What’s even more exciting is I’ll be doing it all as a Type 1 diabetic, an auto-immune disease I’ve had since April 2010.
The plan is to travel solo for about a year, although that could change along the way depending on how things go. I have roughly 30 countries across six continents on my tentative itinerary and will be traveling in a variety of ways.
In some spots, I’ll be completely on my own. In others, I’ll be traveling on a tour with other like-minded wanderers. In a few spots, I’ll have friends or family with me. It will be a nice mix throughout the year.
I’ve loved traveling since I was a kid and have done a fair amount of it through the years, both for work and for fun. For nearly 21 years I traveled with no complications, but that all changed in 2010 when my pancreas decided it no longer wanted to work properly.
The Diagnosis
In my senior year at Syracuse University, I had a few months left before graduating. After feeling ill for weeks, losing weight at a rapid pace and using the bathroom almost every hour, I knew there was a problem. I did some quick research on the internet and the results all came back fairly similar. I was pretty sure that I had diabetes.
Sure enough, when I went to get checked at the doctor’s office I was slapped with a diagnosis that would forever change the way I lived my life: Type 1 diabetic.
I didn’t know what it really meant and had to take a crash course right away to make sure my blood sugar would stabilize. The first few weeks were certainly overwhelming, but over time I would learn how it all worked and what I needed to do to stay healthy.
While it took a few months to get adjusted to this new style of living, I knew then I would never let it slow me down. Shortly after being diagnosed, I drove around the country for two months with my brother to see all 30 MLB stadiums in one summer. I learned quickly what being a diabetic entailed and especially learned how important it was to be prepared. The trip was incredible and thankfully there were no emergency room visits or any major complications regarding my newly diagnosed disease.
When it was all over I knew I could handle this new life.
What is Life Like as a Type 1 Diabetic?
Explaining diabetes and specifically Type 1 diabetes is something I’ve gotten used to over the years. I’ve never hid from the disease or been shy about explaining it to anyone who would listen.
Without getting too scientific, it basically means my pancreas doesn’t work like it would for a healthy person and my body does not create insulin to balance out the sugar intake into my body. So, when I eat anything that has sugar (or carbs, which breaks down to sugar) my body needs insulin to balance it out. Instead of automatically balancing, I have to manually balance, which is why I wear an insulin pod (Omnipod).
I need to check my blood sugar throughout the day to make sure it’s in a good range. If it’s too high, I need to take insulin. If it’s too low, I need to eat or drink something with sugar. This is the balancing act I need to go through every day. There are no days off. You can’t put diabetes on hold if you have a busy week. You can’t put it on hold if you are on vacation. You can’t put it on hold when you exercise or go golfing or play basketball or go to the bar. You always have Type 1 diabetes and you always have to monitor what’s going on.
The truth is you get used to it. It’s something that’s always on my mind, but never front and center where I would let it weigh me down or stress me out. It’s just something I know I have to take care of. It takes some extra planning in everything I do, but once you feel comfortable with it, you learn how to handle each situation.
While I’ve traveled a bunch over the years, I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m looking forward to seeing what the world has to offer.
I hope to share as much of the adventure here on this site and hope you enjoy the journey!
– Jeremy
You can reach me directly at jehyman1@gmail.com