June 2, 2015 
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Goodbye CaribbeanâŚhello massive ocean…
After another amazing day in the Caribbean(which was now about an hour away), we thought weâd try and relax with a spot of sunbathing. This meant trying the almost impossible task of finding not 1âŚbut 2, empty sun loungers.
Fantastic! We found 2 together, no way. ButâŚpretty much after placing our towels onto the sun loungers, Sarahâs âParadigmâ insulin pump started alarming!!
âThatâs not the usual alarmâ I said as Sarah was trying to read the tiny screen in the super bright sun. âI canât quite make out what itâs saying, but itâs not something iâve seen before, i need to go back to the cabin and use the magnifierâ. The pump continued itâs piercing alarm all the way to the cabin!
Back in the cabin..
Once back, and using our video magnifier, the error message on the screen said “A button has been continually pressed for more than three minutes. to clear press ESC, then ACTâ.
Sarah said âThatâs weird, my pumpâs been nowhere near anything that would press the buttons, but it sounds easy enough, i can finally stop this annoying alarmâ. After hearing a few clicks, then a few more, the pump was still alarming. âItâs not workingâ âWhat do you mean, are the buttons not responding?â. âNo, it wonât clear the error message, can you have a goâ. I tried, and still nothing except the error message and the alarm!
We both knew we didnât have long as the pump has now stopped delivering insulin, as Sarah needs a continual small dose, as not only does Sarah have type 1, but a brittle form, and she is also slightly allergic to insulin!Â
After taking the battery out, waiting 10 minutes before replacing…the alarm and message were still there! After trying it again, I said âShould we take it to the doctors in the hospital on Deck 3?â âThey wonât know anything about insulin pumps, itâs specialised equipment, which is why itâs carefully monitored, and finely tuned by the diabetic clinicâ. After a few more desperate tries to cancel the alarm, and running out of options, we had no choice, and headed down to deck 3.
The Hospital…
Reaching the bottom of the stairs to Deck 3, we were greeted with a couple of corridors and lots of doors. We could hear voices coming from an open door on the right, so we headed there. We found the doctor who was sounding very concerned whilst talking to a couple of very poorly sounding people, who had deep growly coughs. I said âLetâs wait out hereâ. A man dressed in a white suit approached us and asked if we were ok? After explaining what had happened, he looked at the pump, took it, and asked us to wait in the waiting room.
He returned with the doctor(a female with quite an aggressive manner), she explained that the pump was broken, and we needed to get a new one. But for now she needed to work out how much insulin Sarahâs body ran on. We said the pump gives a small amount of Humalog every 1-2 hours continuously, but all of the information is programmed in the pump that has now locked itself. This didnât impress her! Between us, we had to try and calculate how much insulin Sarah took each day, by adding up the dosage at meal times, and adding a little more to compensate for the pumps continuous injections in the background.Â
After a couple more hours of stressful calculations, the doctor gave Sarah some old school syringes and told us to keep a record of insulin taken, time of insulin taken and food eaten etc. We returned to our cabin worried about how we were going to cope for the rest of the holiday, and did we have enough Humalog insulin in the fridge, as the hospital on-board didnât use it, or stock it.
The Phone Call…
We went up to reception on Deck 8(lots of stairs, lol) Â to see if we could phone Medtronic(the makers of the insulin pump) as they are an American company, and would still be open. We couldnât phone the UK diabetic clinic as they were 5 hours in front, and it would be about midnight!Â
After a long drawn out discussion with the receptionist, asking if there was a way to call out from a ship, as we have a medical disaster, as Sarah knows her body reacts badly to injections etc, and really does need the continued small amounts 24 hours a day.  So we really needed to call Medtronic to see if there is any way of saving the pump! Eventually we managed to phone Medtronic, and after a ÂŁ52 phone callâŚhe told us “the pump was broken!!â. Sarah has been on an insulin pump for about 15 years, and they have never broken. But 1 hour from Antigua, sailing at sea for 5 daysâŚit breaks! đŚÂ
Trying to relax…
As the realisation was setting in of trying to manage with injections, and Sarahâs blood sugar was still on the rise after the first injection. We were getting a little worried on how this was all going to play out. We decided to stay in the room and just figure out a game plan for the rest of the holiday. We then managed to figure out how to turn on the TV, i thought a film might help Sarah try and relax after the trauma of the day.Â
After a while when Sarah spoke again, i instantly knew we were in trouble! The slightly slurring sound of Sarahâs voice told me her blood sugar had suddenly shot down and it was very low! âOh no,â i said as i jumped into survival mode. Sarah was still conscious so i knew i had a little time. I went straight to the fridge and got the bottle of orange lucozade that usually works if Sarah is still able to drink.Â
After about 10 minutes Sarah was slipping away, so i ran to my bag and got the Gluco Gel and squirted it into Sarahs mouth. Gluco gel is fantastic and absorbs into gums etc, and after a while(a nervous while) Sarah was back with us. âPhewâ i said as relief was pulling me out of survival mode. Sarah said âIâve had a hypo havnât i?! These injections really arenât going to work, my body just goes erratic and messes upâ.Â
After a sleepless night of trying to stabilise a yo-yoing blood sugar, we were not really enjoying our first day at sea. But we decided to go and have a nice strong coffee at our fave place, as weâve probably got another sleepless night tonight too. I said âItâs hard to imagine that not even a day ago we were riding on horseback across that beautiful beachâ. đÂ
Sarah has to check her blood sugar every 2 hours, day and night, for the rest of the holiday, as without the pumps continuous feed, we are left with just fast acting insulin, and lots of prayers.
This is becoming quite an adventure!!!Â
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iChristian 
Oh dear – What a day!
My husband is diabetic – is on a pump too. We’ve had a scary encounter while being on the pump too. But – we were home. Glad that the ship has a medical team that could help in cases like this.
Hi RoSy! Sorry to hear about your scare too, you too can understand how traumatic it was, and how worried we felt when on a ship, wondering if they knew (or had) anything about type 1 diabetes or a insulin pump! They were great and it’s reassuring for us if we go on another cruise. đ
Wow! You and Sarah sure know how to have an adventure! Even though you surely didn’t want one like this. Awesome testimony, nonetheless. You have us at the edge of our seats. Can’t wait to hear how it all turned out. Blessings to you.
Mel, yeah this is quite a rollercoaster ride, and it’s not over yet! đ
Things certainly are not dull when we are around, lol.
So pleased i’m managing to get a little suspense going, and it’s keeping you gripped. The pressure is on for me to keep this “page turner” going! Lol. đ
God bless you. See you on day 9!
Steve, can I be of help in calling Medtronic in the UK from the UK and arranging delivery to your next port? If so – let me know (and we can sort out money afterwards). Our email: paulmandy@idecide.freeserve.co.uk
Paul, you’re amazing, and your kindness has no limits! đ
But i’m sorry to say that i’m at home writing this from memory, as we had no internet connection at all for the 18 days we were away. I thought it would be a good idea to write it when i returned home…maybe not!
Sarah(an editor) always tells me “Your writing is just wrong, you can’t just weave in and out of tenses like that”. I guess i’m just confusing people with my inability to write…sorry for this confusion! I hope i don’t worry anyone else, as tomorrow(day 9) gets worse! đŚ
I thank God for you Paul, such a loving brother in Christ! God bless you.
LOL!!!!!!! That is brilliant! And so reassuring! I was becoming concerned at the cost of your “ship to blog” expense! Steve – I have to say I thought we were travelling with you! So even more impressed that you can “carry me along in the moment” when the moment is from memory! WOW!!
(and so hope the rest of the trip and Sarah enjoyed t with all the monitoring – I will be travelling with you as usual!)
Bless you fella! That is brilliant!!
Awww thanks so much Paul for being so understanding.
It’s such a blessing that you’re still enjoying the trip! đ
I can only really blog on my accessible computer at home, as i don’t know what photos i have taken(they could be blank for all i know). So until i download them and view them on the large screen, edit them, and if there are any good ones…put them into the post with my unique multi tense writing(or uneducated writing, lol) i can put together a full post.
So in one way it was good not to need the super expensive and super slow internet connection,. But sorry i’m a little confusing at times!
Can’t wait to see you on day 9! đ
I’ve managed to get a few vacant sunbeds – all next to each other!! đ
Lol, fantastic! We can’t wait to come and join you. We could do with some relaxation right now! đ
Scary! Thoughts and prayers, trusting things turn out ok.
Awww thank you so much!
It really was a scary part of the holiday. We are back home now, and i’m writing a day by day account as i remember it, as we didn’t have internet at all whilst on the ship! đŚ
Thanks so much for your kind and loving comment. God bless you. đ