Save Me

[19]

Our first two weeks in Europe was bliss. This was the first time we've really lived alone together. There was a learning curve with it but both of us managed pretty well. One thing I've never notice to much before was how much goes into Leah managing her diabetes. Of course over the previous year I have learned all about how she manages it and have seen her during some bad lows. Now that I've seen her check her glucose levels all day every day put it into perspective that if she isn't careful or gets her math wrong she could potentially die from it.

            Leah uses a sensor that's attached to her arm to check her levels. It connects to an app on her phone and all she has to do to check her glucose levels is to scan her phone over the sensor. When we started living together Leah connected my phone with the app as well so I get notifications about her levels just encase something happens. With the app on my phone as well, I can check her levels. This also helps in the since that she doesn't have to prick her finger every time she needs to check her levels which saves a lot of time and pain on her end.

            Our first stop in Europe was Dublin, Ireland. We rented an Airbnb for two weeks. With our apartment being in walking distance from Grafton Street, Leah and I had plenty of things to do for days when we didn't have something planned. Our day trips included stops to the Cliffs of Moher, Powerscourt House and Gardens, St. Stephen's Green, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Guinness Storehouse, The English Market, which Leah and I went back to more than once for the great selection of fresh cheeses they had and Trinity College. 

            When we visited Trinity College, Leah and I managed to get a tour of the college as we posed as potential students. I had the best time walking through the library which served as the inspiration behind the library in the Harry Potter movies. Leah let me have my nerd moment but unfortunately for me got in on video.

            As our stay in Ireland came to a close Leah and I book a flight to Glasgow, Scotland. We figured that we would start north in Scotland and work our way south to England and end up in London. We took our time going through the English country side. Ended up taking three weeks for us to get to London.

            When we thought about jumping to Europe's mainland, Leah came to me with an idea. She has been doing some research when it comes to how long we are allowed to stay in Europe with an American passport without having a Visa. According to her the total was 90 days. With our 90 days approaching she thought that we should have a home base in our traveling. So with that in mind we booked our flight to Rome, Italy.

            Leah has a ton of family that live just outside of Florence. When we arrived her cousins picked us up from the airport in Rome. Needless to say I was shocked when I heard Leah start to speak Italian to them. I never knew that she was fluent. Her cousins Alessandro and Stefano  started going on and on about everything that has been going on since the last time she was here last year.

            I was a bit lost in their conversation but I ended up falling asleep pretty quickly after we got on the train to Florence. A little bit before we arrived Leah managed to wake me up and started talking in English this time so I could understand. They went into detail about her family. Her family owns a farm just outside Florence and most of her cousins work on the farm for their grandparents. They grow everything from grapes to olives.

            As we arrived in Florence her cousins took our bags and put them into the back of their pickup truck. It put a smile on my face when I saw it reminding me of mine at home. From the train station it took us a half an hour to get to the farm. As we got closer Leah made her cousins pull over.

            "What are you doing?" I asked as she got out of the cab.

            "Come live a little." Leah said and held out her hand. I smiled at the line and got out of the cab with her. She moved us around to the back and dropped the liftgate and climbed into the bed of the truck. I smiled and grabbed her hand to help me up.