I’ve celebrated 28 years of diabetes in Rome by travelling all the way from Australia with enough insulin to last me ten days. I’m away for twenty-two days.

You see the problem.

I saw the problem when I was a quarter of the way into the long journey, changing my Pod. ‘Hmmm,’ I said when I saw the very limited insulin supply in my kit bag. ‘Not smart’. (These were not the words I actually said, but there’s no need to share the expletive-laden rant from the Qantas lounge.)

By the time I boarded, I’d sent out an SOS to three or four #dedoc° voices friends, and by the time I got to Singapore, my WhatsApp was full of kind offers of assistance, a prescription for insulin and a messages of ‘let’s meet up for coffee while you’re here. I’ll bring the insulin!’.

While I may not be good at diabetes, it turns out that I’ve cultivated a safety net to help me through those times. Because the community is there when we fall. It was there when Jo was #PumplessInVienna, when a friend forgot to pack pump cartridges, and the time I had a run of faulty Dexcom sensors while in New York.

‘Our community is everywhere!’ I messaged Ana from Team #dedoc° after she checked in to make sure that I was okay. And it’s true. This is a real community of people who know each other and have each others’ backs. They reach out to their networks and together, the global coverage of #dedoc° friends is so very vast.

It should surprise no one that community is often the way to deal with whatever diabetes has to throw at us, or, in this case, to overcome my shortcomings. It certainly hasn’t surprised me.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Jaipur for the Summit to End Diabetes Stigma. It was the largest gathering of people with diabetes at a professional diabetes conference, facilitated and supported by #dedoc°. As I stood on the stage, looking out into the bursting conference room, I was overwhelmed by the faces of diabetes friends from the #dedoc° community. A community of dedicated advocates with only one thing in mind – to improve outcomes for people with diabetes in their communities. And I was reminded of what it is that #dedoc° offers – a platform on which others stand. No ownership; just the avenue to bring people together and centre lived experience. How lucky we are to have that. And so, it’s community I’m celebrating, along with my 28 years of diabetes. A balancing up-side in the shitshow that is diabetes.

Happy diaversary to me!

She’s looking far too relaxed for someone who packed 10 days of insulin for a 22-day trip.