Sue: assuming insulin, and no ice available, keeping the vials in a wet cloth will help keep them cool through evaporation. Some of the "pen" type insulins are rated for 28 days at room temp. Four days should not be a problem with either type (vial or pen) if it is kept in the 60's or 70's Fahrenheit. After your off the love boat, replace it asap.



Leigh: Absolutely. My former career had me on the road and living in hotels 25-30% of the time--before the days of LED. At that time, I found the mini-mags the most reliable. They do have problems with bulb and battery life, so I always had spares with me. LED's are the way to go now; no good reason not to. Today, I would certainly take my LED head lamp.

Typically, though, most Type-2 diabetics don't "need" insulin, or their medications, to survive. They get blood sugar just fine. It's the complications of being too high that their medication is for. With these folks, the sugar is there, their body can access it, but it can't use it "well."

Going without your pills for a couple days won't do too much damage (no more than their years of unhealthy habits of done, certainly). Assuming, of course, that you don't go into DKA or HHNK.

Now, insulin-dependent is a different story. Their sugars tend to stay high too w/o medications, but they can't utilize the sugar, which is where they get in trouble. Without insulin, the sugar can't get out of their blood and into their body at all (there are exceptions in particular organs, but that's a generalization)

But unless you had a prior medical condition, it doesn't sound like it was hard to survive. The boat didn't sink. Food and water were available. It was just a matter of sitting in the dark for a few days. The main needs would be light and entertainment. The toilets may not have worked, but you could use a bucket and chuck it overboard.

Everyone has their breaking point, and everyone's is different. I watched a neighbor's wife crack up after 8 days without power after a winter storm. Folks have mutinied after 3 hours sitting in an air plane on the tarmac without air conditioning or toilets. And if this had been a land-side hotel, on what day would you have walked out and booked somewhere else? The fact they were a captive audience meant the captain and his crew had their safety as their highest obligation, and their health and welfare had to be addressed throughout the ordeal. Since the cruise ship industry is a service industry, I suspect they were especially good at anticipating needs and addressing them with what they had. There are a few stories complaining about the conditions, but no one died, which is a good thing when at least half the people on your bus are over 60 yrs of age.

It looks like light was one of the primary issues. Without the ability to recharge from a wall outlet and assuming no one planned to bring a stash of batteries, charging flexibility and long battery life would have been important attributes.

I would have suggested the Photon Rex which has decent battery life and can be recharged via any 1.2 to 3 volt battery you happen to find or via an optional USB or solar charger. The Rex is bright enough to walk darkened halls and its small size makes it very packable.

Just as useful is the Pak-Lite. This is essentially a 9volt battery topper and they are cheap enough that you can buy a few. The real advantage of these lights is 80 hours of light on high and 1200 hours of light on low on a lithium 9 volt battery. Again, very packable.

Standard disclaimers apply. I have no financial relationship with the people who make either of these lights, but I love their products.

Craig

I've had the same bad luck with solar! Let me know if you find anything that actually works!

As a workout guy I don't go far without a box of protein bars. As a survival guy I don't go far without my FAK, PSK, EDC, etc. The diet wouldn't be fun, I have light, the only real danger would be dehydration and passenger stupidity.

I've actually been in a similar situation on a cruise that lost one engine and had to hobble back over three days. We had power, food and entertainment but you'd have thought the ship was going down the way most passengers complained and vandalized the heck out of the ship.

My late beloved was type 2.
Most diabetics carry more medication than they actually need. That ain't the issue.
Problem is most likely to be lack of food. If Zahnele didn't eat then she stood a good chance of going into a hypo.

I always carried extra food with me for her. Mostly a choc bar and a bag of salted peanuts and a bottle of water.

A sure-fire 6p led, with a few packs of spare batteries. Give you light for almost a day that way....

Can't take a spyderco or swiss army knife,etc, on a cruise ship? Really?

This has been a great thread. It insures that, whatever future vacations I may take, they will not involve a cruise ship.