For Travel + Leisure’s Traveling As column, we talk to travelers about what it means to explore the world through their unique perspectives. We spoke with Krista Llewellyn, an adventurous traveler who has visited 39 countries, despite constantly having to manage her blood sugar levels due to type 1 diabetes. G Adventures, based in Hamilton, Ontario The assistant director of customer operations says it’s all about being one step ahead. Here is his story…

My story about type 1 diabetes is interesting because my younger brother was diagnosed about a year and a half before me. So my family was already exposed to the disease and understood the symptoms. When your body stops producing insulin, signs of high blood sugar usually include frequent urination, constant thirst, nausea, and weight loss because your body begins burning fat instead of sugar in your blood. This seems like a good thing, but it’s not the fat you want to lose; These are essential fats that end up in your blood and poison you.

Puberty is one of the most common times for diabetes to appear, but Type 1 diabetes can occur at any time in life. I was 12 when I started feeling depressed and lacking energy. When I mentioned that I was thirsty all the time, something clicked for my mother. She suggested I test my blood sugar with my brother’s kit, and we immediately saw that my number was high.

Of course it was scary and I went through all the emotions that come with any type of health scarebut since my brother had just experienced this, I knew everything would be okay.

As a family, we have traveled extensively in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. We have extended family in Europe, so we’ve been there a few times as well, but my love for adventure travel began during my post-college years through my art background. I won an artist grant to travel to India and Israel to visit cultural centers and learn about the history of their religions. This was my first solo trip, and I was gone for about a month and a half in 2014.

During this trip, I did a meditation retreat at Jaipur, India. I had taken a vow of noble silence, like all those who had presented themselves at the center. I remained seated, meditate for 10 days straight. I had a bag of high-sugar gummies in my bag so I wouldn’t need help if my blood sugar dropped. It was a challenge, but a wonderful experience.

From there I was already planning the next trip. I spent four months in Southeast Asia the following year and another three months the year after that, with countless trips in between.

No matter where I am, taking care of my diabetes is my secret full-time job on top of my full-time job. It’s a lot of work, but there have been many technological advances over the years that have made life much easier. There’s the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, Dexcom, which reads my blood sugar, and with the new tandem system I have, it transmits that information to my insulin pump. This means that a number of automatic adjustments are happening in the background throughout the day.

There is still a lot of manual work. I have to change the site where the insulin enters my body every other day, refill the insulin every few days, and change the CGM system patches every 10 days or so. But now I can eat pretty much whatever I want, whenever I want. Before each meal, I look at the carbs in grams and enter them into my pump to get the extra insulin needed in advance. This comes into play when food is digested and balances my levels.

When I was first diagnosed, I received multiple daily injections, which is much more manual. Before, I had to think more about what and when I ate. There are also daily variables, including stress, that can disrupt things. If you don’t point your finger and check your blood sugar at that point, you’re in the dark. Now I can just look down and see if I’m a little higher or lower. It has become much simpler and more flexible, especially for travel.

However, there are certain things I do when I’m on the road. No matter what I do or where I go, I prepare for the worst case scenario. The most imminent danger is hypoglycemia, as it may only take 20 minutes before you lose consciousness. I always keep candy, soda or fruit juice with me. High blood sugar is dangerous, but usually does not pose an immediate threat, although it can have longer-term impacts. When my husband travels with me, he refers to himself as my “juice box carrier” because he carries a bunch of boxes in the bottom of his backpack.

The great thing about traveling is that even in some of the most remote parts of the world, whether it’s hiking among the hill tribes of Myanmar or spending the night in a yurt camp in Mongolia, you can ask for a can of Coca-Cola. But I also have to look at each day’s schedule and make sure I always have access to a store. Otherwise, I have to have it with me.

I also carry emergency supplies, like a glucagon pen, which can immediately raise your blood sugar, much like an EpiPen for diabetes. Someone else must administer it if you are unconscious and unable to consume food. Since I’ve been proactive, I’m lucky enough to have never been in this situation.

The scariest and only hospitalization I ever had due to hypoglycemia was in Laos. It wasn’t the destination or the activities, but rather a combination of unfortunate events. Basically, I got severe food poisoning and couldn’t keep anything down long enough for my blood sugar to spike. The levels were the lowest they had ever been and I administered the emergency pen myself. Friends I was traveling with took me to the hospital. Fortunately, everything stabilized by the time I arrived.

We were in a fairly isolated area outside of Luang Prabang at the time, and the hospital I was taken to had limited facilities with open windows. I remember waking up in the hospital room with lizards on the walls and bugs everywhere. Lizards are really awesome: they eat insects.

I also came to love scuba diving around the world. I learned about Koh Tao in Thailand and have since been to Belize, Bali, the Philippines, the Maldives, Hawaii and Florida. But you can’t dive with a pump, so you go down in the dark and hope for the best.

Again, this is where pre-planning comes in. Most dives at my level last between 30 and 45 minutes. When I know my activity level will be higher and my blood sugar levels might drop as a result, I’ll have a few snacks in advance. Then I will do a test to make sure my levels are stable. You have to trust your body more than anything. If I feel like I’m crashing or I can’t stabilize myself, I cancel the dive.

It’s just reality. It’s not something you can take risks on, not even as a diabetic. If you don’t go into a dive with confidence, it won’t go well. You need to be able to respond to everything, not to mention the added challenge of hypoglycemia.

I have also traveled to the Arctic and Antarctica on the G Adventures expedition ship, which has a doctor on board. Sure, they’ll do everything they can to take care of you in an emergency, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re in the middle of the ocean or in the Drake Passage to Antarctica . You can’t just turn around and take someone home.

Anyone who has traveled with me on a long trip knows that half of my backpack is filled with all the necessary diabetes supplies. They’ll say, “Do you have any clothes in there?” And I’m like, “I have two T-shirts that I rotate between and the rest is supplies.” But this is what I need to do to free up space in my luggage. You do what you can.

Everyone travels for different reasons: some to escape and others to find something. I traveled for both of these reasons and met people along the way. But the most powerful thing is connection.

Whether you discover new places like you never have before, witness the power of nature and animals, or connect with other people and cultures, it is by making these connections that you start to realize how big and beautiful the world is. differences – and also how similar many people and places are.

No matter where you’re from, there’s not much to say when you watch an elephant emerge from the woods on safari or admire the most spectacular sunset of your life.

I got lots of smiles and thumbs ups from all over the world over a can of Coca-Cola. We didn’t speak the same language or grow up in the same place, but we laughed together. There are lots of little moments like that when you travel, where you realize common ground. In many ways, travel can be a path to peace between people, where we find mutual understanding and love for our planet.