Lantus and the Power Outage.

My first blog post about adding insulin to my type 2 diabetes management regimen was going to be an inspired tale about my doing what’s best for me and taking the step of asking my doctor about making that change.  It was going to be about my recognition of the fact that I had tried many different medications in an effort to find one that would work well for me for more than a few months.  And it was going to be about my acceptance of the fact that my type 2 diabetes had progressed and that adding insulin was the next step.

Now, nearly two months after I made that change, my intended blog post still hasn’t happened.  I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t written about it yet.  Could be the fact that April’s mom died a few days after I started taking the Lantus and I’ve been consumed by the aftermath of that life changing event.  Could be that I’ve been nervous about writing about it.  Perhaps even a mix of both.  What really matters, though, is that I’m writing about it now.

And now, having gone through 6 extremely hot days without electricity at my apartment due to the “land hurricane” that ripped through Fort Wayne on June 29th, I have a better understanding of what it’s like to struggle with keeping my insulin and Byetta pens safe during an extended power outage.  It totally sucks, but it’s just another thing I have to deal with.

With more than half of the county without power, including Walmart, finding a place to buy supplies was a bit of a challenge.  I finally found a place that was open and bought a 3-day cooler, 2 cases of bottled water, batteries for my lanterns and flashlights, and a battery powered fan to use when trying to sleep.  I say trying because lets face it, no one with asthma isn’t going to get much sleep in a 95 degree apartment.

The first of ice to fill the cooler came courtesy of the electric company, who setup a supply station in an old shopping center.  That 20 pounds of free ice was greatly appreciated.  I put my insulin and Byetta pens in a medicool bag and placed that in a zip-lock bag before placing it in the cooler.  That not only kept the meds cool, but also ensured that no water would get into the bag if the ice melted while I was at work.  And it worked pretty well.  And I now know what to do the next time something like that happens and have all of the supplies I need to do so.

I know things could have been a lot worse for me during that week and I’m thankful that I didn’t lose more than the food in my fridge and freezer, but I’d rather not go through that again any time soon.

The experience is another reminder that we should take nothing for granted.  Nothing lasts forever.