Disney and Diabetes Part 6 – When Things Go Bad

This is one blog post of a multi- part series on Disney and Diabetes- Yes, You Can!!!

A low blood sugar during a parade.  Big sis taking care of little sis until she felt much better.

This is your vacation right?  The time during the year when nothing should happen to cause you or your family to have more stress or worry and your right, but sometimes, things just happen to divert that plan.

Since we are all living with loved ones that are also living with type 1 diabetes, we all understand how fast things can escalate from good to bad.  Having a go-to list of emergencies numbers – which hopefully you will NEVER use – should continue to give you a piece of mind and very low, low stress.

And just to reiterate, this is a great reason why packing ahead is sooooo important.  You can print this list off and bring it right with you (along with your water bottles for good hydration, lots of fast acting glucose, your mini medical kit and your “ triple the normal amount” of diabetes supplies – including prescriptions and insulin).

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  Keep a list of emergency numbers and your insurance card on your person at all times.  It will save you headaches for billing and contacting your providers later, should you need to use them. 

Here is a beginner list of emergency numbers and locations for the greater Orlando area:

Walt Disney World's First-Aid Locations (on-site at the parks)

 Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park – Located at the end of Main Street, between Casey’s Corner and The Crystal Palace.

Disney’s Epcot Park – Located at Odyssey Center, on the World Showcase side.

Disney's Animal Kingdom – Located at Discovery Island, behind Creature Comforts.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park - Located at the Guest Relations building on Hollywood Boulevard.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park - Located behind Leaning Palms.

Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park – Located between Lottawatta Lodge and Beach Haus.

Downtown Disney – Currently there is no first-aid station.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:   Using your pre-ordered map of the parks, find and circle each of the First – Aid station locations on the map ahead of time.  That way if you do need to use one, you will know exactly where to go.  If you feel like it is a true emergency, flag down a cast member who can radio for a golf cart to transport you faster.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  The first aid stations at Walt Disney World are serviced by training and certified nurses. 

The Florida Hospital for Children

(407) 303-5437

601 East Rollins Street Orlando, FL  32803

http://www.floridahospitalforchildren.com/experience-the-difference/location

The Florida Center for Pediatric Endocrinology

(407) 896-2901

Three locations to serve you.

615 East Princeton Street, Suite 101, Orlando, FL 32803

8061 Spyglass Hill Road, Suite 103, Melbourne, FL 32940

5535 S. Williamson Blvd, Suite 722, Port Orange, FL 32128

http://www.floridapediatricendocrinology.com/

Walgreens Drugstores

Two Locations to serve you.

(407) 238-0400

12100 S. Apopka/Vineland Road (SR 535), apx two lights north of the intersection with Hotel Plaza Blvd, on the west side of the street. This store also has a “Take Care Clinic” with basic urgent care facilities.

(407) 827-1000

13502 S. Apopka/Vineland Road (SR 535), a few blocks south of the intersection with Hotel Plaza Blvd and just past the intersection with I-4, on the west side of the street. (407) 827-1000

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  Did you know that most hotels (including Disney) will provide a free sharps disposal container upon request at check in?  Just ask for one! 

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  For lancet disposal, save a juice bottle, using a sharpie mark it with the word “Sharps” and keep it in your back pack while traveling around the parks.  Since WDW encourages touching surfaces, to keep fingers free of infection, this a great time to work on the habit of changing lancets with each use. 

As always, if you have other Disney and Diabetes Tips, feel free to post them on our Facebook page or on the comments section on the blog.  Information sharing is a great way to help everyone to have a fantastic Disney vacation!

Disney and Diabetes Part 5 – Secret Places at Magic Kingdom To Test Your Blood Sugar

This is one blog post of a multi- part series on Disney and Diabetes- Yes, You Can!!!

Sometimes, inspite of being at the most magical place on earth, you need to take a break.  Maybe you want to cool off and calm down or maybe you need to slip in some desperately needed glucose.  Whatever the reason, when those moments happen for low or high blood sugars, it is nice to know where to go ahead of time. 

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  Grab those pre-printed maps that I told you about in our earlier posts and highlight them in Terror Level Red aka hot pink.

Speaking parent to parent, this makes our stress levels stay out of Terror Level Red aka hot pink  and allows us to think calmly and rationally about what needs to happen to bring blood sugars back into alignment.

Secretly, I wish I would have had this type of information when our youngest was  three years-old and newly diagnosed.  By understanding that, I am sharing it all with you! 

Magic Kingdom Entrance

Place #1:  Front Entrance of Town Square Theater – There are several large rocking chairs that face the town square.  It is shady and great for viewing parade traffic.  Also, if you are here, grab a fast pass to see the Princesses or Mickey and Minnie.

Place #2:  Casey’s Corner – at the end of Main Street before you get to the castle is a hideaway restaurant.  Tables in back are near televisions which are playing old-fashioned Disney cartoons, helping to keep the gawkers at bay. 

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  If you are going to use the rides in Magic Kingdom (or anywhere at Walt Disney World) to test blood sugars, be sure to bring along wet wipes to wash your hands before testing blood sugar.  You won’t have access to wash rooms or sinks and any sticky residue can alter blood glucose readings.  I know this is obvious, but it has happened to us and many others, I am sure.

Adventureland

Place #3:  The CountryBear Jamboree.  Now, don’t go in for the show because it is terrible.  But it is dark, cool and calm.  This show lasts (painfully) for a long while… perfect to raise blood sugars.

Place #4:  Pirates of the Caribbean – This is another dark and cool ride.  The line can be long, but there are two paths to choose from and many areas to rest along the way. 

Place #5:  The Enchanted Tiki Room – Another gaudy but fun show designed to help you rest in a cool environment.  A bonus is that people often do not bother going to see this one.  There are always shows and seats.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  Carry a water bottle with a secure lid at all times.  Kids become easily dehydrated in the hot, Florida sun and dehydration can cause ketones to appear quickly.  Our rule of thumb is that every time we sit down, we make sure the kids are drinking their water.  Cast members do not make you leave behind water bottles as long as the lid is secure and you can tuck it into a bag or backpack while on the ride.

Liberty Square

Place #6:  The Hall of Presidents.  This might be the number one place to go in the event that you need a time out to manage blood sugars.  Walk in, sit down, listen to the opening act and then, head into a dark theater to hear the presidents speak.  Air conditioned, long and easy to get into.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  Avoid the Liberty Square Riverboat when you need a break during peak seasons– hot (probably the hottest place in Magic Kingdom) and crowded with no escape until it ends.   During the off season, the opposite problem occurs and this becomes one of the coldest attractions at the park.

Fantasty Land

Place #7  It’s a Small World –  A classic ride that lasts about 10 minutes.  Sitting in boats, you will have ample opportunity to check blood sugar, sit some hydrating water and relax.

Place #8 Mickey’s Phiharmonic – Sit in the middle of the show and you will receive a cooling spray from the 3-D effects.  Sometimes, that is all you need to feel refreshed and calm.

Place #9 The Splash and Soak Station – When the girls were younger, this gave us a chance to stop and catch our breath.  After checking blood sugars, we stripped the girls down to shorts and let them run around in the sprinklers.  They cooled off and we relaxed.

Tomorrow Land

Place #10 The Carousel of Change – This might be our family’s second favorite place to head to when we need a break and are waiting for blood sugars to catch up with us.  We love the long ride through the history of invention and being seated in semi-darkness which allows for perfect light to see what snacks we have left and what we want to do when we are done. 

If you have any favorite blood sugar testing places and want to share it, please feel free to leave a comment below! We love hearing new ideas from other families!

Disney and Diabetes Part 4 - Identify Your Team and Make Some Family Shirts!

Each Shirt Cost Only About $5.00 to Make!  Disney and Diabetes - Yes You Can!!!!!!

This is one blog post of a multi- part series on Disney and Diabetes- Yes, You Can!!!



Now that you have your hotel (Part 1), your dining options (Part 2) and your packing list started (Part 3), you can sit back and focus on the fun of planning for your Walt Disney World vacation. 

For this fun t-shirt project, you simply need just four things:

1. Heat Bond (found at JoAnn Fabrics or Hobby Lobby for around $3.00).
2. Plain T-shirts (we chose white, but any color will work.  In fact, one reader mentioned how easy it was to find her family because of their brightly colored t-shirts at Walt Disney World).  Look for a sale on these.  We bought 3 t-shirts for $9.00 over the first week of January.  The sales clerk told me that this tends to be a monthly special.
3. A Mickey Mouse Ear Template and brightly colored cotton fabric.
4. Access to a sewing machine or ability to hand stitch to secure the transfer and applique into place.

Heat Bond is a cool invention designed to help you work with appliques without shifting or moving.  My kids call this the instant sticker maker!  It's pretty awesome!

You can use your printer to make various sized prints of the mickey mouse ears.  Just reduce the size that you want to print until you get exactly what you are looking for.



Now, before you get started, I would advise washing your t-shirts and fabrics that you plan on using for the applique.  This will help to avoid bleeding and shrinking and should enable you to wear your shirts long after your Disney vacation has ended.

Next, using your mickey mouse ear template, cut out a piece of the Heat and Bond.  Following the package directions, iron the Heat and Bond to the opposite side of the fabric.  When you are done, cut the mickey mouse ear template out of the fabric.  You are now left with a giant sized, fabric sticker.

Once you have your sticker ready to go, simply place it on the t-shirt in any location that you would like.  Be sure to peel off the white transfer paper backing.



Then, heat your iron (no steam) to a high heat setting and press down for about 2-3 seconds or until the transfer sticks to the shirt. 

Then, using your sewing machine, stitch around the outline, securing the applique into place.  This can also be done with a hand stitch. 

For a neat, professional look, use a contrasting color thread and zig-zag stitch setting.

As you can see, my youngest daughter made a free hand design for a crown and an initial.  Repeat the iron on/transfer method to secure the accessories in place and again, stitch to make permanent.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  If you have a pumper who will be wearing shorts without pockets or one who wants freedom while at the parks of pouches and packs, consider stitching a small pocket into the side of the t-shirt to hold the insulin pump.  My girl's love this on tank tops as well. 

Here are a few of our completed designs for the ladies.

Disney and Diabetes Tip:  When the shirts are complete, consider making a safety pinned emergency card.  Put this on BEFORE you pack the shirt into the suitcase.  That way it will simply be one less thing to think about when you get to Disney World!

Not to be outdone, we made a few for the Naturally Sweet Dad as well.  Notice the fun tie?  Well, we thought it would be cute to make him a tie shirt as he wears one everyday at the office.  Only this one is much more fun!

We also purchased two plain white pillow cases from our local Target for $9.99.  The pillow cases came in the cute white drawstring pouch, which we up cycled into an autograph pen holder.

For the pillowcases, we simply appliqued more mini mickey mouse heads around the front and back, leaving a space (not shown in the pictures) for the Naturally Sweet Sisters to autograph and write their own names. 

Our plan is to take these into the parks to have the Disney Characters sign.  I think it will be a fun alternative to the typical autograph book and hopefully, something useful that our children will love to use long after our trip is over.

Crayola Fabric markers are available at Target for $5.99 a package.  You can also find them for the same price at JoAnn Fabrics or Michaels Craft Store.  Just follow the direction on the package to "set" the ink using a high heat dryer before washing.

Hope this gives you some fun ideas for making your own family souvenirs. Come back tomorrow for even more exciting trip planning!