Pump pump PUMP it up!

Hey there! Today I'm writing about the one thing my life revolves around -- diabetes.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in May of 2002 (I can't remember the actual date), although my mom had brought me in probably a dozen times before that to get tested for it. It just never showed up. As a kid, I was moody, whiny, and I would throw temper tantrums. A LOT of them. For literally no reason at all. On top of that, I supposedly had a good chance of being born with it because my grandpa Alden also had it (FUN FACT: He had to get his insulin from a PIG!) Around the time I turned 10, I was going to the bathroom constantly (even wet the bed once), had a thirst as unquenchable as that of Tantalus, and had lost 10 pounds. I remember my painfully chapped lips (dry skin from my nostrils to my chin), and my knuckles were so cracked they would bleed from being so dehydrated. After it was confirmed that I was diabetic (with a blood sugar of 525) and we got the insulin straightened out, my personality did a complete 180; I became simply bubbly (okay okay, on occasion I still get kinda crank, but you get the idea).

I have always been very resistant to changing my medicinal routine. Hell, it took me a long time to go from the old-school vial-and-syringe to pens. And, the thought of something hanging on me all the time? No thank you. The pump was NOT the answer. My mother all but begged me to get one, and every time I went to the doctor, she asked if I was ready for a pump yet, and the answer was always nope, nope, nope.

So, it was finally one week last month where my sleep was interrupted 3 out of 4 nights with a low blood sugar at 1am that I decided enough was enough -- time for a pump. I walked up the stairs in the morning and said, "I'm getting a pump. And I don't want to talk about it." My mom was so happy she sent me flowers to work that day.



She can be kinda sweet sometimes.

And now...I cannot get over how FLIPPIN' COOL the omnipod pump is. It's like a pancreas (the organ in your body that produces insulin) that you wear on the outside of your body. I have a little computer-like thing I carry around with me, and I tell it how many carbs I eat, and it tells me how much insulin it's going to give me. I also check my blood sugar on it. The one thing that is so overwhelming to me is how simple it is. I honestly went into the appointment thinking that it was going to be such a huge adjustment and that I was going to be calling my nurse educator day and night because I messed something up. I have yet to mess up with the pump, and my blood sugar is running at a healthy, normal level.



Please pardon the dirty mirror. And the fact that I took a self-portrait bathroom mirror pic.

One more diabetic-related topic I want to talk about: diabetes camp. Yes, it's a real place. Haha. Friends always laugh when they ask me how I know someone and I say, "Oh, we met at diabetes camp." It DOES sound kinda goofy. I can't remember how many years I went -- either 2 or 3 -- and despite the fact that I met my first "boyfriend" there, I HATED diabetes camp. Actually, I just hated being away from home, which is still true to this day. Unless I'm at the beach or in the mountains. However, now that I'm older, I think it would be kind of fun to be a counselor there during their two one-week sessions. Maybe this summer!

Love,

Kalli