Diabetes camp for adults: SLIPSTREAM

​Would you believe that ME, PALOMA, GLITTER GLUCOSE, MRS. ONLY WEARS DRESSES, MRS. DOESN’T WORK OUT, decided to go camping?! Not only did I go camping, but I went with 100 other people living with Type 1! Spoiler alert: I had the BEST time! Let me tell you all about it!

​I was diagnosed with Type 1 as an adult, so I never had the opportunity to go to diabetes camp as a kid. Who knows if I even would have gone as a kid but going as an adult wasn’t really on my bucket list. Connected in Motion (CIM) which is a Canadian organization puts on a few camps called Slipstreams a year. Beyond Type 1 partnered with CIM to put on 3 North American Slipstreams in 2018. Being that I am a member of the Beyond Type 1 Global Ambassador Council, I felt like I should give the camp a try. I was beyond hesitant. I even wrote emails to my friend Jen Hanson who serves as the Executive Director of CIM. I told her that I wanted to go but I didn’t think I would be able to keep up with the group. She assured me that everything is optional and at your own pace! I decided to jump in head first and sign up! 

​Even though I had made the big commitment of signing up, that didn’t mean I was at ease! I thought “I’ll just bring my work with me and go to my room if I don’t want to participate in something.” My next thought was that I didn’t have any activewear! I needed to go buy some clothes for the occasion considering a dress/skirt/sandals probably wouldn’t be a good choice. Oh, and I needed the Myabetic Belt Bag! I saw it on their Instagram and loved it but didn’t think I had an occasion for it! Camp came up and I thought “PERFECT!”

​The Slipstream I went to was in Southern California. The other two were in Maine and Canada. I got there late Friday night and was welcomed to a campfire social. I got to meet and mingle with so many people that I knew from social media! It was amazing to hug and hang out with my diabuddies! I was nervous to head to my room for the night because I didn’t think the arrangements would be too great but surprisingly, I didn’t have a problem with the arrangements at all! As you can tell, I was just being uptight about everything involved with camp but step by step I was put at ease.

​The next day was a FULL schedule! Breakfast, physical activities, seminars, lunch, dinner, movie night. I loved the way it was set up because we had the option to sign up for either a physical activity or a seminar for the given time slots. We could plan out how much activity we could handle or as much information as our brain could take. There were also many opportunities where we all came together as a whole group. I personally listened to a seminar about alternative therapy methods. Many shared how they use prescriptions that are not technically labeled to treat Type 1 but they still help with management. I attended one more informational breakout session, but this is the one I enjoyed most. For physical activity, I went out to the ropes course! I thought I was just going to sit back and watch my diabuddies attempt all the tricky climbs and such. I was wrong! After sitting around watching, I decided to try. (Mostly because I thought it would be great content for my Instagram lol.) I can’t even begin to describe how much I enjoyed it! It was exhilarating! It was more than just fun for me. I proved to myself that I am capable of doing more than I thought. I looked at the ropes course and thought “I’m too weak. I can’t do that.” Yet, I did! I loved it so much! I also participated in something called the Giant Swing. Basically, you are in a harness and your diabuddies have to pull a rope to get you up in the air. All at once everyone releases and you free fall. It was also super fun and I even pulled the rope quite a few times. I am so happy I got out of my comfort zone and tried something totally new. I had the BEST time and I can’t wait to go back!

Now it’s 2019 and I am hyped up and ready to return to another Slipstream this year! This year there will be 4 different Slipstreams to attend!

• Maine, USA: May 31-June 2
• Colorado, USA: Aug 16-18
• Southern California, Usa: Sept 6-8
• Ontario, Canada: Sept 27-29​

I hope you join me and many other diabuddies at these events! You won’t regret it!