Responding to Emergencies as a Diabetic

[clearviews]

Large areas of NSW, Australia are currently underwater due to flooding. My district responded four Rural Fire Service tankers to assist and I abandoned a busy week to attend.
As I only had less than 2.5 hours to prepare, low carb food prep was out of the question let alone stuff that would survive 5 days without refrigeration. We were about 8 hours from home and a Brigade in the Bush mobilised their volunteers and did I do well!! Bacon, eggs, sausage every morning. A welfare trailer followed us around mostly through the day and again I just had steak or sausage without the bread sometimes with coleslaw etc. They even had Coke Zero if I dug deep enough in the ice chest! I ignored the cakes,fruit and toast and always found a good low carb opportunity. It almost became death by welfare!!! So much food. As long as I did not indulge in the snack packs provided I was low carbing all the away. I didn't.
I heard others guiltily say that they had the cooked breakfast option and it kept them going. We cut and dragged wet carpet out of schools, hosed the interior of houses, main streets, moved furniture, carried mountains of soiled and sodden items out to the footpaths for dumping, talked to the locals and listen to their fears and frustration about being flooded out for the second time in 16 months.
I worked alongside a T1 on a pump and not once did our diabetes impair us. I drove tankers for hours on end, he led the crews.
When I got home I checked my BGL in the late afternoon.......4.9. Got to love that.

 

[viviennem]

Just goes to show that low-carb doesn't affect stamina! You are all heroes, clearviews, and I'm full of admiration for what you've been doing. Is this a different part of Ausralia from the last lot of floods? wasn't that in the north? I'm sorry to admit that almost all I can remember about Australia is the Murray-Darling Basin!

You should contact Brigade in the Bush and congratulate them on providing diabetic-friendly food!

Viv 8)

 

[clearviews]

Yes, Viv

Brisbane in Queensland hit the news before big time but this same area in NSW was copping their unfair share too back 16 months ago. These small towns did not get the publicity the major city got and that was why it was important that we travelled out there to assist in every way we could. This area is in the Riverina where the Murrumbidge flows and where some of the best grape vines are grown.
I did indeed tell two guys who were serving breakfast at the Lake Albert Brigade (Brigade in the Bush, just out of Wagga Wagga) that I appreciated their choices as a diabetic. One immediately knew exactly what I meant as he was an unmedicated T2 and he too was mostly a low carber. The other guy had just had a GTT and was expecting the results to tell him that he was diabetic.
However when out in the field at the Welfare trailer, when I asked a very overweight guy if they had Coke Zero as I chose to drink that because I had Diabetes, he insisted that it destroyed your liver and he only drank full sugar Coke and took medication for his Diabetes. Some times I pick my diabetic fights and other times I know when I shouldn't. Something about biting the hand that feeds you?
Alison :roll: :roll: :roll: