From Panama to Brooklyn, the insulin subway delivers

Diego and his mom

I got the text at 8:57 pm last night. “We have an emergency with a family from Panama on holiday in NYC and I thought of you! They’re vacationing until Tuesday and have miscalculated their child’s insulin. They need a pen of rapid and basal insulin. Can you help?” My tester, Pilar Gomez, is the face of type 1 diabetes in Panama, educating, running diabetes camp, being a mom to a daughter with type 1.

So today I spent the morning texting with the family’s mom and we arranged to meet at a diner in Brooklyn for the handover. I, myself, know what it’s like when you think you have no insulin. Several years ago flying from Amsterdam to Copenhagen I thought my insulin had spoiled. I nervously reached out to a fellow type 1, who readily said, “I’ve insulin here for you, don’t worry.” I also have a doctor type 1 friend, who somehow supplies me with vials on a semi-regular basis, as he gets an abundance from his health insurance for free.

There is something magical about being in a situation where you don’t know anyone and you need insulin, and as my new Panamanian mom acquaintance said to me, “an angel appears.” I am fortunate to have angels in my life, and would never want anyone to be in that overwhelming frightening position to not know if their child will have to go without their insulin for days until they get home.

So, I joined my new Panamanian family in the diner booth, answered lots of questions, shed as much light as I could for them that if Diego, now 12, who got type 1 two years ago, looks after what he eats and stays active, checks his blood sugar and takes his insulin, there’s no reason for him to face what his grandma did too early – death by diabetes. They were all thrilled to hear it.

It was a very good day