Navigating the unexpected: insulin pump battery malfunction on the airplane

So I consider myself a pretty hands-on, prepared kind of guy. I also feel like diabetes type 1 has created/taught me to become one. Forgetting insulin or any other required gadget/tool for managing my blood sugar is out of the question (as you might relate with). Living a day without insulin is unimaginable, so every tool that is part of my daily carry requires a back-up when going on a holiday or day-trips.

Sure, here and there I've had some mishaps, but I tend to be quick on my feet an learn from any kind of poor decision making or lack of anticipation when it comes to diabetes management. Ofcourse, sometimes, I still miscalculate. For example, on some of my previous trips to America, I was very close to running out of insulin. I blame the Standard American Diet for including an awful amount of carbohydrates/sugars in their food (and me indulging in it, without properly checking the labels). But this blog post is about my most recent miscalculation, occuring only a few days ago on my way back from America.

On the plane from America to Dublin, where I had a layover on my way back home to Belgium, my insulin pump which runs on AA batteries notified me.

I know, from experience, that Medtronic pumps don't mince words, and when the battery is low, they do mean that it is low. Procrastinating/forgetting this notification ends up in an obnoxiously loud ringing noise that basically implies the pump shouting: "YOU IDIOT, REPLACE MY BATTERY ASAP!" Hence, I immediately dug in my toiletry bag filled with diabetes supplies and started to worry: "Did I use my AA battery already on this trip, or not?" Luckily, I hadn't (I thought, still unsure to this day), and the battery was right where I left it. Unscrewing the battery cap, I inserted the new one. Haha, well prepared, once again! Or not?

What?! Did I use this battery before? The next 10 minutes I increasingly panicked and alternated inserting what I thought was the old battery, and the new one, into my insulin pump. Surely I could still use the small amount of battery life the initial battery had left, no? The notification kept insisting I needed another (third) AA battery, which I did not have on hand. Meanwhile, sitting in the airplane lavatory, I laughed at myself, not trying to take this situation too seriously (which was difficult, anticipating sitting on the rest of the 7 hour flight, with guaranteed hyperglycemia), and considered my options.

I learned the hard way that these kind of situations required help. I knew there were only so many things I could do on my own, so I spoke to one of the flight attendants. "You didn't bring a spare one?" I held up both batteries: "I did, but it's not working." Feeling stupid enough after being questioned, and after the flight attendant admitted they did not have any spare batteries on hand, I suggested asking around if any seated passengers had any spare ones on hand, to which she obliged and requested via the intercom. Clearly worried, I started trying to soothe her worries about me being diabetes. I clarified that I was still within range and my blood sugar was well maintaned (to which she sceptically looked at me, still worrying about the situation). Because of this, she asked the pilots whether they had any on hand and told me she'd keep me updated.

Meanwhile, sitting down back on myseat in the airplane, I found some humor in the event, as well as feeling relieved by how willing and helpful (almost motherly) the flight attendant was. I checked back in my diabetes toolbag to do another check-up. One of the other things I had on hand was a spare insulin pump, which I requested from the Medtronic care platform in preparation to this trip (Read my previous blog post about this). I had reluctantly brought this with me, as it involved more weight and bulk in my backpack. Checking the box, I deduced that it would be ridiculous if this spare pump, still in it's cardboard box, would not include a spare battery. Lifting up the pump, and the small manual underneath it, I found another, brand new AA battery. Quickly I inserted it, and lo and behold, my pump started working again, showing my blood sugar still within range (with a value of 140). Woohoo! I requested the flight attendant to come over to inform her about the positive update. She was still on red alert however. A little while later, she stopped by and handed me two more spare AA batteries she had received from the pilot. "Some more spare ones from the pilot, just in case."

So here are some of the lessons I take from this experience, for how to deal with unexpected diabetes type 1 stressful situations:

• Be prepared and pack more than you think you need (ahem, also more batteries), it's better to prevent these situations in the first place than to have to deal with them;

• Don't take yourself too seriously, unless confronted with life threatening situations (such as hypoglycemia or longer term hyperglycemia), of which this one was clearly not (this entire scenario took place over the course of 15 minutes);

• When in doubt/danger, ask for help. You'll do yourself a favor, and the risk of feeling embarassed outweighs the chance of being helped out by someone nice;

• Stop or pause to recollect and think. Sometimes to figure out your options, you just need a bit more time. In this time, let your brain get creative to sort out possible solutions.

• Stay motivated, even though scenarios like these might prevent you from travelling (especially by yourself).

I hope you learned something from my experience, or were able to relate to some aspects of it!