Planning and a pocketful of snacks keep diabetes in check on vacation
Published in the Providence JournalFor the 16 million Americans with diabetes (60,000 in Rhode Island alone, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health), traveling can pose challenges well beyond finding a restroom in Bukina Faso, Africa.
What will I do if I can't eat on time? How do I stay on my insulin schedule if I'm changing time zones? Will I be able to get a prescription filled in a foreign country? How can I avoid an insulin reaction in a remote place?
While these questions and many more should be taken seriously, they shouldn't prohibit a diabetic from having a good time while on vacation. More than anything else, planning is key. The closer you can stay to your regular eating, exercise and medical schedule while you're away, the better you'll feel.
It also makes sense to prepare for an emergency. Here are a few good ideas for traveling diabetics:
Travel with a companion who knows your condition and what to do in an emergency. If you're on an organized tour, tell the tour director about your condition.
You never know when your meals will get delayed and your blood sugar might get too low.
Also, you could be walking or exercising more than usual and may need a pick-me-up.
So, take a good supply of glucose tablets and snacks to bring your blood sugar level up quickly - peanut butter crackers, Life Savers candy, and cake icing in a tube are good choices.
Take twice as much insulin, medication and supplies as you think you'll need. Separate everything into two sets and keep them in two different places. If one set gets lost, the backup will save the stress of having to get more medication when you're away.
Don't put supplies and medicine in checked luggage. It's a good practice to carry one set on your person.
Carry an insulin prescription with you as well as a note from your doctor saying you're under his care for diabetes. This will go a long way in assisting the pharmacist or doctor who is trying to help you refill your supplies in an emergency and can also help if you're questioned by border inspectors or police about carrying syringes. You should also get your doctor to give you medicines for vomiting and diarrhea, two common traveler's ailments that can upset diabetes control.
Be prepared to test your blood sugars more frequently than usual. Traveling requires detours from normal food and exercise routines and you'll want to know how to compensate for this. Don't make assumptions about your blood sugar.
If you have to obtain supplies in a foreign country you should be aware that in Latin America and Europe, insulin is diluted to U-40 and some places have U-80. You must buy new syringes to match the new insulin or you may not get the right dose.
If this is too confusing, you might consider calling a U.S. supplier and having them ship what you need overnight via Federal Express or UPS. Many U.S. suppliers advertise in the American Diabetes Association magazine, Diabetes Forecast.
Syringes can set off metal detectors in airports so consider putting them aside for manual inspection with coins and other metal objects. Blood glucose monitors in luggage can look suspicious when x-rayed by airport security workers so you might want to put monitors through separately to avoid being asked to open your suitcase.
Wear a bracelet and carry a card in your wallet that says you're a diabetic and lists your medicines. A company that provides this service is MedicAlert. The bracelet will alert emergency medical personnel that you're a diabetic. They can then call MedicAlert collect worldwide (the phone number is engraved on the bracelet) for 24-hour access to your medical information. Membership costs $35 for the first year and $15 a year thereafter. For more information call (800) 825-3785.
If you're traveling where the residents don't speak English, learn how to say "I'm a diabetic," "I need a doctor" and "Sugar or orange juice please" in their language. Also, have a card with this written on it in your wallet.
Check your health insurance to see if you're adequately covered outside your home region. If not, you can obtain a special policy that covers accident, sickness, physician charges and hospitalization. Expect rates starting at $49.
If you're not leaving for a few weeks, you can get the names of English-speaking doctors where you plan to travel mailed to you by the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers, 417 Center St., Lewiston, N.Y. 14092, (716) 754-4883. Don't forget, you can also call or fax your own doctor if you get sick when you're away.
Many European countries, such as France, require a card to use a public phone. Inquire where to purchase one as soon as you arrive.
If you're flying across several time zones, ask your doctor to work out your insulin regimen to account for the time differences and be prepared for high or low blood sugars. There are several different types of insulin on the market. Many doctors suggest taking a vial of the type called Regular even if its not part of your usual regimen to give you more flexibility in the event you become ill while away.
Sugar substitutes can be hard to find in foreign countries so you may want to take a supply with you.
If your foreign travel requires disease immunization, get shots one month prior to your trip. Sometimes these shots can make you ill and throw your diabetes out of control for a short time so its better to be home if this happens.
Refrigeration is not mandatory for most insulins, though it's best. Insulins manufactured by the Eli Lilly Company can be stored at room temperature for up to four weeks as long as the temperature does not exceed 86 degrees. Refrigeration will keep insulin potent longer.
You can keep your insulin cool in a wide-mouth thermos jug. Fill the thermos with cold water or ice to cool it, pour it out and put the insulin in the thermos and tighten the cap. Do not freeze insulin.
If you usually take an insulin injection a half-hour before meals and are traveling by plane, wait until the inflight meal arrives before you take your injection. This may throw off your control but meals on planes are unpredictable and if you take your shot and don't get your food on time you could suffer an insulin reaction. Again, having snacks on hand at all times is a good idea.
Take at least two pairs of really comfortable shoes. Diabetics are prone to foot problems and people on vacation are on their feet a lot. Besides. . . who wants to wear uncomfortable shoes on vacation?
Coming soon to a theater near you; or, my life as a movie star's double
Published in The Providence JournalThe good news is, I now know which side is my best side.
The bad news is, it's the back of my head.
When I was given the call to double for one of the Amistad actors, I wondered what exactly a double does and which of the movie's stars do I resemble? Matthew McConaughey? He's too good-looking. Anthony Hopkins? Don't think so. Morgan Freeman? Kinda doubt it.
So there I was, 7:30 the next morning looking for a woman named Foogi in the Newport Marriott parking lot, as I had been instructed the night before. She checked me off her list and said I was to double for Lieutenant Meade, a fairly substantial role played by Darren Burrows, from the TV show Northern Exposure. Apparently he and I were the same build and hair color and that's why I was picked.
She took me to the wardrobe trailer, where two rather curt women gave me his costume — a full-dress Navy lieutenant's period uniform with epaulets, vest, boots, leather gloves and Napoleon-style hat.
"Be sure you don't lose anything," they kept saying in a severe way. One finished ironing a black cravat, an old-fashioned kind of scarf. "Just put your costume on as best you can," she said, "and come back and we'll fix you up and tie your cravat."
An assistant took me to a trailer with "Lt. Meade" on the door and told me to get changed. Once inside, I realized this wasn't just a trailer, it was a movie star's trailer with a TV, VCR, microwave, bathroom and, yes, a mirror with lightbulbs all around it. Hooray for Hollywood.
I changed and returned to wardrobe.
"Where's your cravat? Where's your cravat?" the women asked. I said I must have left it in the trailer.
"WHAT???" they snarled. "You failed your first test! You better FIND it!" They made it clear they didn't mean maybe.
I scurried back to the trailer, but the cravat was nowhere. Not even between the cushions of my luxurious movie star sofa. With my Napoleonic hat in hand, I walked back to face wrath of the costume ladies.
Full of disgust, one of them halfheartedly suggested it might have inadvertently been given out to one of the other doubles.
"Go out and find the double for Gedney," they hissed.
"Where?"
"Look in makeup! Hairdressing! Anywhere! JUST GO!!!"
Foogi told me I needed to get my hair done. I updated her on the cravat debacle. Don't worry, she smiled.
I got my hair moussed and blow-dried 1840s style, then got my sideburns glued on. As luck would have it, the guy sitting next to me was Gedney's double and he did indeed have my cravat. Whew!
Now it was off to the set — the Colony House in Newport. A headset-clad production assistant told me Steven (Mr. Spielberg to you and me, bub) had sent some of the real actors home and then realized one more big overall shot from the back of the room was necessary, with doubles filling in for the unavailable actors.
About 100 people in costume filled the small 1800s-looking room — townsfolk, soldiers, guards, lawyers and chain-wearing slaves.
Finally, Spielberg came in,with three or four assistants tugging at his sleeve.
We shot the scene about 10 times. (They really do say things like "Quiet on the set" and "Cut! Print it!")
With our big scene done, the doubles were driven back to the Marriott, past a restaurant advertising Spielbergers. I turned in my costume and sideburns with the satisfaction of knowing the back of my head will be coming soon to a theater near you.
That's entertainment.
Witness the immortal Perry Mason
Published in the Providence JournalBefore Raymond Burr died, it made me think: I don't know the guy, but he's been in my house more than any of my friends or relatives.
To my mind he's the reason VCRs were invented - so you could work during the day, tape Perry Mason reruns, and watch them at night. It's nice to see Burr and Barbara Hale reunited in those recent TV movies, but it's not the same as the episodes from 1957-66 — too many car chases and relevant issues, and not at all like the old show.
Why is that old show so good? This is what I think:
Perry is cool. He's never nervous, always knows what to do and is neatly groomed. Ordinary people are always asking him, "Aren't you Perry Mason, the famous lawyer?" He works night and day for his clients, sometimes for free. And he's never wrong.
Della Street is smart. And attractive. And good at pretending to be someone else sometimes. She stays at the office just as late as Perry and never complains. You never really know if she and Perry are an item, and I've never known anyone whose last name is a synonym for pavement.
Paul Drake is REALLY cool. A big, barrel-chested P.I. with prematurely silver hair in a checkered sportcoat smoking a Winston and driving a T-Bird. He's got his own private back entrance to Perry's office, always sits on the edge of Perry's desk and greets Della with an ever so suave "Hiya, beautiful" (she usually shoots him back a "why, you, I oughta . . ." look).
Hamilton Burger. William Talman is brilliant as the eternally crabby D.A. who always loses but isn't really a bad guy. His best bit: Slowly shaking his head "no" in disbelief while rising from his table in court and bellowing out a long, whiny, irritable, "Your Honor!"
Lieutenant Tragg. Another grouch who's always positive he's got Perry beat this time. He usually shows up behind a door or from a closet one minute after the stiff is found, charging Perry's client with Murder One, very full of himself.
Gertie. She's Perry's receptionist, usually on the other end of Perry's or Della's phone ("Yes, Gertie"). She actually shows up on camera once or twice and is a real lollapalooza.
Nice clean murder. No rape, incest or other unpleasantries. Blackmail's most often the motive and the victim is usually very mean and unpleasant and had it coming to him or her anyway.
Everyone is nasty. Rich or poor, young or old, they all act like their shoes are on too tight.
Terrific character actors. If you watch this show a lot, you'll see the same fabulous repertory company of character actors over and over again. And I don't know the names of any of them.
TV's best theme song. The pounding piano. The fat trumpet. The big crescendo. Drama with a capital D.
Newspapers with giant headlines. "HEIRESS MURDERS BOYFRIEND," printed so big it looks like World War III just broke out.
It holds up in reruns. It's like listening to opera or your favorite Beatle records — you sing along with the best parts. Even if I've seen the show before, I can never remember who the murderer is, anyway.
They never break from the formula. Perry's client never takes the stand, the real murderer confesses in the courtroom, Perry's client is innocent. You can set your watch by it.
It's a period piece. Fabulous cars, great clothes, gaudy furniture. Makes you wonder if The Practice or Boston Legal will look ultra-hip 50 years from now.
Instant remote-control recognition. You can always spot a Perry Mason rerun when you're flipping through the channels. Even if the regular cast members aren't in the scene and you've never seen the episode, it's got such a distinctive look you can always tell after two seconds. Hitchcock movies are the same way.
It puts you to sleep. If you're having trouble falling asleep at night, it works like a lullaby. I don't know why.
It's in black and white. All the great TV shows are.
So, in conclusion, let me say that Perry Mason is a show like no other. I rest my case.
Drop me an email: gunnar.johnson.artist@gmail.com
