#it NEVER hurt like the Dexcom did

[smilesrobotlover]

Got a new cgm and pump.

Pros: I don’t have to insert my blood sugar into it anymore. I just press a button and boom, bg there. I also use the old version of this pump so I’m used to the pump.

Cons: I hate the cgm. For some reason it’s been hurting my arm and idk if it was put in a bad spot or if the cgm just hurts my arms cuz I’ve had this problem before with the older cgm and I’m an active person so it’s bad.

[planstransamanacanalpanema]

In my lifetime, I've been on a decent number of insulin pumps, starting with Animas, the Medtronic, then Tandem before switching to a new insurance company that didn't cover Tandem supplies. I saw the Omnipod offered a 30 day trial and figured, what the heck, and having lived with multiple systems with a lot of unique quirks, I thought I'd share the quirks of this system too.

Having been a tubed pump only person for the first 14 years of my diabetic life, I was a little hesitant with the Ombipod, and initially, I was blown away. The cannula insertion was easy, the cannula was about as comfortable as you'd expect any cannula to be, and despite being a fairly large piece of tech taped directly to your skin, I didn't feel like it got in the way. I did enjoy not having to worry about tubing getting stuck in things, or finding a pocket to shove the pump into or a waistband to clip it to. For anyone who struggles with these aspects of the pump life, this pump may do pretty awesome things for you.

However, these were really the only positive sentiments i had towards the system, probably because I'd lived so long with tubed systems, they never bothered me like they do some people. Those annoying little quirks though really turned me off to it.

For starters, you cannot control the pod without a phone or the Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) they send you. If you forget the pdm, or if you wish to escape from your phone for a bit, you will have no control over your blood sugar. I realized this once after going to work and realizing I'd left the pdm at home. I had my phone though, and hoped I could switch control from the pdm to my phone, in the same way that with the dexcom you can get readings and manage the system, but no such luck. Once you start the pod on one device, you are stuck with that one device for the 2 to 3 days you have the pod inserted.

The pods themselves cause a number of problems as well. There is no way to recycle them, as they are medical waste, meaning every 2 to 3 days, you have to trash a small computer. That might not be a big deal to you, and absolutely no shame if it isn't, but for me it felt incredibly wasteful. The comfort I'd experience in my first days didn't let long either. If you've ever dropped a tubed insulin pump and had your infusion site catch it, you'll know these jarring movements can be pretty painful. The pod isn't quite that bad at first, but after a few days with a wrench directly attached to your site, I did find myself hurting pretty badly. Also, if your pod fails for any reason, it will s c r e a m. It'll produce an extremely loud, high pitched, and continuous beep until you can get onto your phone or pdm and deactivate it, and for the life of me, no matter how quickly you can get that to turn off, it still takes too long. Your results will also vary, particularly if you feel less strongly about the cleanliness of your insulin, but once the pod expires, which is a maximum of 3 days plus 8 hours where it beeps hourly, there is no good way to salvage that insulin. Yes, you can draw the insulin back up from the port you put it in, but once that's in your new pod, if it starts to seem infected, you'll lose that insulin and the pod when you remove it.

Compared to the tandem, I did actually really enjoy the site tracking feature. When you insert a new pod, it gives you the option to track where you've placed it in a limited number of spaces, including the back abdomen (typically known as your back, but ok), and directly on your ass cheek. If you can handle the omnipod, or really any infusion site in your ass cheek, you are far, far braver than me. On the other hand, I desperately missed the calculator feature on the tandem that allowed you to add up the cards you were eating.

As for the app, it does its job, but still has these quirks that drove me a bit nuts. You can't turn off the security feature. Whether you use your phone or the pdm, you'll always have to enter a pin to be able to do anything. This could definitely be a problem if you have neuropathy or other dexterity issues, and even as someone without these issues, I still got pretty annoyed with it. This also presents a problem when you're trying to get the screaming to stop. I didn't love that in my furious effort to get this overwhelming noise to stop, I was impeded by a fucking pin. It also made the lack of calculator kind of annoying, because if you needed to use your calculator to total your carb count, you had to exit out of the app, do your calculations, and then throw in your pin all while not forgetting the number you just came up with.

I also struggled a bit with picking sites with this pump. My abdomen is relatively unusable as a pump site after nearly 2 decades of pump therapy, so I usually use it for a cgm site and then will place my infusion site elsewhere. However, because the omnipod doesn't have an intermediary between it and the cgm, it has to stay "within line of site" of the cgm. So, if the pod is on the back of your arm, your cgm can be on your flank, or on your leg, but not on your abdomen because they're on opposite sides of your body, and even though I got it to work on the opposite arm, even that isn't recommended. So, wherever your cgm is for 10 days, all your sites have to revolve around that one spot through multiple changes. The small upside though is that, even though you can't bolus without a pdm or phone, the pod can still read your cgm and increase or decrease your basal rate based on your blood sugar. However, these treatments for high blood sugar in particular are painfully slow because as compared to other systems, the omnipod can change your basal rates but it can't offer you even small boluses, unlike tandem or medtronic.

That said, everyone with diabetes is different, and I know this system has been a godsend for a lot of people, just not me. While I can't say I'd recommend it broadly, I've definitely met some people who I think would have loved this system. Regardless, I hope this helps, and may the A1C or Time in Range, depending on which one your doctor still uses, smile upon you.

[selfships-in-spanish]

I’m currently sending this from the waiting room at my diabetes clinic lol, but I am type one too! Got diagnosed the weekend before I started high school which was like over 6 years ago?? I just started the omni pod insulin pump after using Medtronic pump for years. I also am using the dexcom though it is expensive :( how about you??

Omg xD I hope the visit was a good one!!

Holy shit that sucks D: I hope it went the best way possible, since it’s... hard.

You always used insulin pumps? I never did, in my 22 years of being a diabetic! Even asked my doctor but he didn’t see it necessary, so I’ve been using insulin pens, switching to see which ones fit me best. For now I’ve been using Tresiba and Novorapid pens and girl, works wonders for me. I also take a pill that’s been made for type 2 but for type 1 is a miracle, called Forxiga. It made my sugar levels drop and I even inject less insulin! And I only take half of it xD

I wish I had a thing like the dexcom. There’s one here in Spain but it means spending 120€ each month, plus 60€ that costs the machine, and I cannot afford that when I’m broke and aggressively job hunting. I tried it on at my hospitals expense, it was amazing! I didn’t have to puncture my fingers and god, it was a blessing. My fingers hurt so much... but I cannot afford that. Even with our public health care, it’s still not implemented and I honestly don’t know when it will be. I hope it’s soon...

You still get hypoglycemias? I heard that with the pump it’s even more rare for that to happen!

I’m honestly glad I can talk about this and someone really getting it xD

[latchingontoallofyou]

Journey Part 5

Part 5

Jenna wakes up to a text tone coming from her phone. She quickly grabs it, worried something might be wrong. She freaks out when she sees it’s Charlotte but once she actually reads the text she calms down.

C- Your little girl is amazing. After her tough day, all her numbers improved drastically throughout the night. Her oxygen levels are the best yet and we were able to lower the amount coming through her nasal cannula. Her sugar levels seemed to be regulated very well all night. Her feedings went very well. Normal spit up. We didn’t increase them yet. We want to make sure everything stays the same before we increase again. She’s amazing!

J- Oh, that’s such good news! Thank you! We were so worried. We know she is tough but she had a lot going on yesterday. Does anyone have an idea why so much was going wrong yesterday?

C- Because she is a preemie. This happens. That fact that she recovered so quickly is a great sign.

J- Could she have gotten a virus or something to cause all the vomiting?

C- Most likely not. It would have lasted longer. She could have just been tired and couldn’t handle it all yesterday. Or she wasn’t ready for the increase in food or decrease in oxygen. It’s hard to say. But don’t worry about it and embrace this new day. She’s doing great this morning. Go have a nice breakfast or something with Val this morning. You deserve it.

J- Thank you Charlotte. Thank you for all you do for us and our sweet Nyla. Want some Starbucks? I’m thinking we’ll stop there on our way over. I’m not sure I can stay away from her much longer knowing she’s doing so well.

C- Starbucks would be great but I’m about to head out. My shift is just about over. I’ll see you tomorrow when I’m back to day shift.

J- I’ll bring it tomorrow for you then. Thank you again for all you do.

“Jen, what are you doing up? Is everything alright?”

“Good morning, honey. I woke up to a text from Charlotte.”

“Oh no.”

“No, all is good. Nyla improved a lot overnight. She is doing much better today.”

“Well let’s go see her!”

“We will. We can’t go yet. They won’t let us in. How about we go get some Starbucks before we go to the hospital. Oh, and we have to get some tomorrow before we go for Charlotte. I want to give her some after all she’s done for Nyla but her shift is over and she won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

“Good idea. I think we should get a bunch of coffees for the nurses for today. We can do it tomorrow too.”

“Great idea! Let’s go!”

After stopping to pick up coffees and teas, they head to the hospital together in one car because Val doesn’t have to go to the studio today. Mandy had already told him to not even think about coming in. He happily said ok.

With arms full of drinks, they head up to the NICU. They laugh when they see all of the nurses faces when they see all of the drinks. Once the drinks are on the counter, they all come rushing over and grab themselves a hot drink.

Jenna and Val wash up and head into the NICU and head right over to their sweet girl. She has the least amount of tubes yet. She looks so healthy today. Jenna and Val both open a whole in the incubator lid and reach in and lay hands on Nyla.

“I swear she just smiled at us Val.”

“I think I saw it too.”

“She looks so good.”

“Charlotte said she had a great night.”

“I wish she was out of this thing so I could see her better.”

“Your wish is about to come true. Good morning. I hope you both had as good of a night as she did.”

“We did. Thank you” Val says shaking the doctor’s hand.

“Great. Well Nyla here did fabulous last night. She corrected all that she was struggling with yesterday. The one thing that never dipped was her body temperature. She’s been keeping that regulated all on her own. We are ready to graduate her to an open bassinet.”

“Really?” Jenna says excitedly, looking up from Nyla and right at Dr. Goodwin.

“Yes. She will start off with a little warming blanket underneath her just to not give her body a shock. It will be turned down every half hour until it is completely off. She be swaddled into blankets and we may put her in an outfit…”

“But we didn’t bring any. We didn’t know and…”

“That’s ok. We have extra brand-new outfits here. You can even pick which one you want her to wear until you can bring your own.”

“We don’t have any preemie clothes anyway Jen” Val cuts in saying.

“You’ll want to get some soon. I can’t imagine your tough girl here will need to be here much longer.”

“But she had such a tough day yesterday.”

“That’s just how it goes. She is doing great.”

“What about her diabetes?”

“What about it?”

“We haven’t given any decisions to anyone on her management once we leave the hospital.”

“Right. Her specialist should be coming today. He’ll go over everything with you and you’ll be able to tell him what you would like to do.”

“Oh good” Jenna sighs.

“When do you think she might come home? Like how quickly do we need to get preemie clothes?” Val asks.

“Not sure just yet. We need to see how her feeds progress. She needs to be off the feeding tube before she goes off. She also needs to be fully breathing on her own. That should be soon. Her feedings are coming along but…”

“Not as quickly as her breathing. Yea. She’ll get it. She’s tough. Aren’t you, baby girl?” Jenna says running her thumb across Nyla’s chest.

“She sure is. Would one of you like to come pick an outfit for her?”

“You go Jen” Val says.

“Ok” Jenna says jumping up from the rocker she was sitting in and follows Dr. Goodwin towards a closet just outside the nursery.

She feels like crying when she walks into the closet that is full of baby gear. She hates to think of all the parents that donated these things when they had to leave for good without a baby. Dr. Goodwin shows her to the section of preemie clothes and then leaves her alone to pick one. She searches though all of the tiny clothes, hurting for all the littles ones that did not get to wear the clothes their parents picked out for them. She settles on a pink long sleeve and pants onesie that is a blush pink color with a white floral design. There is even a white flower headband to go along with it but she isn’t sure if she’ll end up putting that on Nyla. She brings it over to Nyla’s area and lays it on the top of the rocker. Dr. Goodwin is there and is writing something in her chart.

“Find one ok?” Dr. Goodwin asks.

“Yes. This ok?” Jenna asks holding it up.

“Perfect. Very cute. She might not tolerate the headband but we can give it a try.”

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put it on her but I loved the onesie.”

“Whatever you want to do is fine. Who wants to hold her while we swap out the beds?”

“Val, you hold her. You weren’t here yesterday and…”

“Ok” Val says smiling and takes a seat in the rocker. Jenna kisses his head and stands behind the chair.

A nurse that had just joined them opens the incubator and after moving the little bit of wires on Nyla, she lifts her out brings her over to Val, laying her against his chest.

“Hi baby girl” he whispers before kissing her head. “I missed you so much yesterday. Sorry I couldn’t be here but I’ll be here as long as they’ll let me today. I’m so glad you are doing better today. No more scares like that. Ok?”

The incubator is rolled away and reality hits for both Jenna and Val. Their baby girl, born ahead of time, is actually doing well. She is making great strides. She’s showing her strength in the face of adversity. Their Nyla Greys is taking the next step on this journey called life.

~

As they leave the hospital that night, big smiles are on their faces. Nyla is on the lowest level of the heating blanket and will most likely be off it when they get back to the hospital tomorrow morning. She is back to the feedings that she had moved up to before yesterday’s set back. She required minimal insulin shots.

They talked to her diabetes specialist this afternoon. After he looked at her case and numbers, he recommended getting a Dexcom machine just like they were planning anyway. He took measurements and will have a machine made up. It should arrive within the next week and when it comes he’ll be there to show them how it works and get it set up.

They have decided that they need to celebrate tonight; have that date night they were talking about. As they walk to the car hand in hand, Val can’t get his mind off of Nyla still.

“Hey babe?” Jenna says.

“Yea?”

“I know we said we wanted to have a date night and that usually means dinner, movie, or whatever but would it still count as a date night if we go out shopping for Nyla and then finish up the nursery?”

“I think so. I mean, we’ve never had a date night as parents before so I don’t think there are any rules or guidelines except that you and I are there.”

“Good thing we are following that already. You’re really ok with it though?”

“How about this? How about we go have a nice dinner. No fast food. Then after we eat we go shopping. We need to get some preemie clothes. Then if we aren’t exhausted, we can finish the nursery. If we don’t do that tonight, we can do it tomorrow.”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

“We deserve it.”

“I guess.”

“Where should we eat?”

“Preferably somewhere where we won’t get tons of paparazzi taking pictures of us that will become a story on how ‘The new parents from Dancing with The Stars are leaving their premature daughter at the hospital to enjoy a night out on the town.’ Or even ‘The new parents are stepping out for a needed night out after being with their sick daughter all day.’ The stories they’ll come up with are endless.”

“I know. I know I said no fast food but what if we go to Fratelli’s? Paparazzi never bother us there.”

“Let’s go” Jenna says as they get into their car.

“You sure?”

“Yes. I haven’t eaten there in a while now I want it. It’s the perfect place. Not too far from shopping and no one bothers us there.”

“Alright. Fratelli’s it is.”

After a quick drive to the restaurant, they happily walk in together to one of their favorite places. Their favorite table is open and they take their seat, facing each other. It feels like the first time they’ve really sat and looked at each other’s faces since before Nyla was born. They seem to be either next to each other or one behind the other while looking down at their little girl. It almost feels like when they would come back from tours away from each other. Val almost feels like he’s discovering things about his wife again by just sitting across from her.

“I’ve missed you” Val says.

“I missed you too. Those two days were so hard.”

“They were but I feel like I’ve missed you more than that. I feel like we haven’t spent time with you in so long. I mean I know we’ve been together though every step of this journey but we’ve spend all day focusing on Nyla, and a bit of work for me, and then at night we eat and crash. I’m not really complaining. I just miss you. That’s all.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry about. We need to focus on Nyla but we need to find time for the two of us.”

“You’re right. We do.”

“I think we should try to have some time each day to sit across from each other like this and talk. Not next to each other. We have to be across because then we are really seeing each other.”

“I like that.”

“Me too. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~

Having finished dinner, Jenna and Val are now out shopping for clothes for Nyla. Looking at all of the preemie clothes makes it hit home a bit more for each of them how small Nyla really is. She is growly for sure but she’s still so small. Jenna is as happy as can be as she picks out cute onesie and leggings after another. She even picks out a few dresses. Val has picked out a few things but he’s mostly along for the ride.

“Oh Val!”

“What?”

“We are going to have to get her a Halloween costume.”

“We are not taking her out trick or treating. She’s too young.”

“I know but kids come to our door. Plus, we are parents now. We have to take holiday pictures like that. It’s like an unwritten rule.”

“Fine. Just no pumpkin costume. Something different.”

“I agree.”

“We don’t need to buy it tonight.”

“I know I was just saying it out loud so that maybe I’ll actually remember it and if I don’t then you will. Don’t let us forget to get her one.”

“Ok” he laughs.

“I’m serious Valentin!”

“I know you are.”

“I think we are good for now” Jenna says looking at the cart full of clothes. “I mean, I might look online still but this will do for now.”

“Baby, you know she isn’t going to say in preemie clothes forever. She’s growing and will grow out of them soon enough.”

“I know but…”

“She’s our princess and she deserves the best. I know.”

“Plus, we can donate whatever we don’t use back to the hospital.”

“Was there not a lot in the closet?”

“More than there should be. I wanted to cry because I kept thinking about all the babies who were supposed to wear those outfits but didn’t get to. All the parents who left for good without a baby. All those babies who had a short little journey. We are so blessed she is here. It made yesterday seem like nothing.”

“Oh, I can only imagine.”

They head towards the front of the store and then check out. With a bag in each hand, Val follows Jenna out to the car. He puts the bags in the trunk and goes to get into the driver’s seat but when he gets there, Jenna is already in it and buckled in.

“I can tell you are tired so I figured I’d drive.”

“You’re the best wife ever. Thank you” he says, quickly kisses her before going around the front of the car and then climbing into the passenger door. He yawns as he buckles up.

“Sorry.”

“You’ve had a crazy few days. You have every right to be tired.”

“So do you. You’ve been through so much lately and…”

“I am tired but not as much I guess. There is one thing I want to do before we go home and go to bed.”

“What’s that?”

“Ice cream. We have gotten ice cream to end so many of our date nights that I think tonight calls for it as well.”

“I agree.”

“Good because I was going even if you didn’t agree.”

“Oh, the truth comes out. That’s really why you are driving.”

“Maybe…” she says trying not to laugh.

To wake himself up a bit, Val turns their favorite playlist up loud and they rock out to it, singing as loudly as they can for the whole ride. It’s like they are high schoolers again. They decided a long time ago that they would have been that obnoxiously annoying teenage couple if they had known each other then. But they don’t care. They love who they are together and that’s all that matters.

Soon enough they are at their favorite ice cream shop. They are just about the only ones there. There is a teenage couple in one corner, with the girl blushing away as the boy talks to her. She lets out a little giggle that Jenna can just barely hear when the boy moves some hair out of her face. Jenna knows the feeling. She still gets like that most days. It still amazes her that a man like Val could love a girl like her.

Val notices the older couple in the middle of the room. The man clearly has his hand on his wife’s thigh. Her hand is on top of his. With no phones in sight, they are so engaged in conversation that their ice creams are melting all over their hands. He pictures that be him and Jenna down the line.

Val slips his hand into Jenna’s as they look over their ice cream options. She gives his hand a squeeze. Jenna ends up ordering moose tracks and Val gets vanilla peanut butter. They pick a table that is in between the two other couples in the room. Val is facing the older couple and Jenna the younger.

“That’s us over there. Us in the past that didn’t happen. The us if we met in high school. She can’t stop blushing. He is being so gentle and sweet. He’s moving her hair, listening intently to everything she says while staring so hard at her, trying to learn every part of her. She’s acting like she doesn’t want to look at him but she keeps stealing glances and getting caught. That’s us.”

“And these guys are us in the future. Still so in love that they are touching whenever possible. There is nothing more important than the other, so much so that their ice cream is melting all over. They notice each other’s mess and clean it up without seeing their own. He’s still got stars in his eyes when he looks at her. She’s still got the blush. They radiate love all around. That’s going to be us.”

“Past, present and future Valenna all in one room.”

“I can’t wait to bring Nyla here one day. Think she’ll love ice cream as much as we do?” Val asks.

“Yes! I mean, we’ll have to keep an eye on her intake and sugars but I bet she’ll love it.”

“True. I also can’t wait to take her to the studio. I want to show her where we feel back in love. I wish we could go to where it first all started but we can just tell her about that.”

“I want to take her to that hotel room where we found out I was pregnant with her” Jenna smiles.

“That would be great. We should do that one day. Do you remember what number room we were in?”

“409.”

“Don’t forget that” Val laughs.

“Oh, I won’t. I have a picture of the number sign and the address of the hotel. I never wanted to forget.”

“You’re so smart.”

“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. We just wanted to say how much you remind us of ourselves when we were first married. The way you look at each other like your worlds revolve around each other. Your love for each other is so evident” the older man says. He and his wife are now standing right next to Jenna and Val’s table.

“We were saying the same things about you. We were saying how much we imagine we will be like you two. Your love is so evident.”

“Why thank you. I’ve got one amazing woman here. She’s such a joy to be married to. How long have you been married?”

“1 and a half years” Jenna says with a smile.

“Aw, newlyweds” the husband says.

“I figured so” the wife says. “We’ve been married for 45 years now. Feels like just yesterday most days.”

“45 years and 5 kids later, we’re still going strong.”

“Wow. 5 kids. We just had our first.”

“Oh, first night out?” the wife asks.

“Kind of. Our daughter Nyla was born at 29 weeks. She’s still in the NICU. We’ve been spending all our time with her. She is improving and we hope she won’t be there for much longer. We realized we needed a night where we don’t go home and eat and crash. We needed a night to reconnect. I’m so glad we did it.”

“Oh bless you. Our oldest son’s son was born at 29 weeks as well. He spent a while in the hospital and had many struggles. Make sure you take time for yourselves. You need to take care of yourselves so you can take care of her.”

“We’re trying.”

“We’re Ted and Wendy by the way” Ted says.

“I’m Val and this is my wife Jenna.”

“It was so nice to meet you both” Wendy says. “Can we take a picture with you? We’d like to pray for you and your daughter and it will be easier if we have your picture to pray over.”

“Of course” Jenna smiles. “We would love that.”

“Young man” Ted calls out, trying to get the attention of the teenage boy a few tables down. The teen looks around confused.

“Yes sir?” the boy says.

“Sorry to bother you but can you take a picture of the 4 of us please.”

“Oh, sure” he says and comes over, taking Ted’s phone that he is holding out. Jenna and Val stand up and gather with Ted and Wendy for a picture.

“Ok, I took a few so you can pick which ones you like.”

“Thank you, young man. Keep treating that young lady right.”

“I will sir.”

“One more of just you two?” Ted asks.

“Sure” Val says pulling Jenna to his side, earning a big smile from her.

“Got it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Think you can send those to me Ted?”

“Of course. You just add your number in here and I’ll send them to you later.”

“Thank you.”

When Val gives Ted back his phone and hugs for all, Ted and Wendy leave and Jenna and Val get back to their ice cream. When they are about to leave, Jenna reaches into her wallet and pulls out a 20-dollar bill. Val looks at her confused.

“I’m going to give it to them.”

“Well then here” Val says, reaching into his wallet and pulls out another 20. With a smile, Jenna leans in and kisses him after taking the bill.

She walks over to the young couple and place the 20s on the table in. They both look away from each other, look at the money and then up at Jenna.

“You two remind us of younger versions of ourselves. Consider your next date on us” she says and then walks away.

“Thank you” the girl calls out after them.

~

Val wakes up the next morning after having the best night’s sleep since Nyla was born. He actually feels refreshed. Ignoring his phone, Val heads to make breakfast. He whips up some pancakes, eggs, and fruit and brings it upstairs to eat in bed with Jenna. She’s still asleep so he puts the trays for food on the dresser and gently wakes her up.

“Jenna, baby, wake up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just made breakfast.”

“Oh, thank you” she smiles.

“You’re welcome. It’s another date night tradition. Breakfast in bed the next morning.”

“Well we didn’t end our date night like we usually do last night so I didn’t think you would make breakfast.”

“That doesn’t matter. Now sit up and I’ll bring it over.”

Jenna sits herself up and leans against the headboard. Val puts her tray on her legs and then grabs his and puts it on his night stand while he climbs back into bed. With nothing on in the background, they eat in silence.

“Thank you, honey. This is delicious as usual.”

“Hey, it one of the only breakfasts I’m good at making.”

“No hotdogs this time” she laughs.

“Shut up. You know you liked it.”

“It was still funny. And then you went and posted it online; that’s just asking for it to be a running joke.”

“I know, not my smartest post.”

“We learn from our mistakes.”

Val just shakes his head knowing that if he says anything else he’ll be encouraging her to continue this conversation that he is very ready to be done. He just takes another bite, a rather big bite, while Jenna laughs at him. He loves hearing that laugh. He misses it.

“Have you heard anything from Mandy?”

“I haven’t checked my phone yet.”

“Val!”

“What? It isn’t my top priority.”

“But that’s your job. You have to see when your call time is.”

“Fine.”

Val reaches for his phone and sees a few other notifications as well as a text from Mandy. He sighs and slides on the text notification so it opens up.

M- Hey Val. Hope all is well. For this week, I have you in only 1 bumper and the opening. They will both be towards the beginning of the show so after you dance them both, you could head out if you want to. Does that sound ok?

V- That sounds great Mandy. Thank you. Nyla is really starting to improve so we’ll be having more meetings with doctors in the days to come that’ll I’ll need to be there for. What time would you like me in today?

M- Oh that’s so good to hear! So strong like her Mommy and Daddy. What would be better for you? A quick session in the morning to learn the bumper or later at night?

“Jenna, would you rather me have a morning call at the studio or night?”

“If you do night I can come with you.”

“Really? You want to go?”

“Yes. I miss everyone.”

“Ok. I’ll tell her night then.”

“Don’t tell her I’m coming.”

“But this would just be a bumper so not everyone will be there. Maybe I can convince her to do the opening dance then.”

“Do it.”

V- Night is probably better. Think we could do the opening though? I’ve got something I want to show everyone and if we do the opening, more people will be there.

M- You got it. I’ll let everyone know. How does 7pm sound?

V- You rock. 7 is great. See you tonight. Let me know if anything changes.

“She said she’ll switch it to opening number rehearsal. I said I have something I want to show everyone.”

“She’s the best.”

“She is. I’m so excited you are coming to the studio tonight. It’s been so weird without you there. It was like the season you took off. That sucked.”

“I know.”

“We should get going soon. She says 7pm so we’ll have to leave the hospital earlier so we can eat and still get there in time.”

“I say we roll in right around 7 so that no one suspects anything or sees me.”

“I think we should plan to be there at like 6:45 at least so we don’t cut into too much of the rehearsal time with all the excitement over you.”

“That’s probably a good idea. We should go now then so we have plenty of time with Nyla today.”

“Go get dressed then.”

~

“You ready Jen?” Val asks as she looks over Nyla sleeping in her bassinet.

“Yea, I guess so. Sorry we are leaving so early today, lovey. We’ll be back early tomorrow. We love you, big girl. Get lots of rest and keep grow. We can hardly wait until you are home with us.” Jenna kisses Nyla’s head and tugs on her little onesie a bit until it lays nicer.

“I love you, Nyla girl. Sweet dreams.” He kisses Nyla and then takes Jenna’s hand and follows her out of the hospital. They feel so much better know that one of their favorite nurses, Ellie is working tonight.

“What do you want to pick up for dinner?” Val asks.

“Can we do fast food tonight?”

“I mean, that’s kinda what I was thinking so…”

“Good. I want In and Out. I want a milk shake. Strawberry.”

“That’s perfect. It’s along the way.”

“Thank you” she smiles at him.

“Who do you think will have the best reaction?”

“Mandy. Or maybe Linds, or Emma. Sharna to probably. Ok, I don’t know. I think they’ll all freak out a bit.”

“Yea, you’re right. Alan’s gonna be excited.”

“Good old Alan” Jenna laughs.

~

Having finished eating their dinner on the drive to the studio, all Jenna and Val have to grab when they get to the studio is Val’s dance bag, Jenna’s purse, and her milkshake that she’s barely touched so far.

“Is it not good” he says motioning to the milkshake.

“It’s fine. I just wanted to safe it for when I watch you guys dance. I’m going to need something to keep me from getting up to join you all. I’m hoping this will help.”

“You can dance with us.”

“No, I can’t. I’m not really cleared for that. Plus, I don’t want to get in the way.”

“You won’t. I bet Mandy will get you to help her choreograph with her.”

“No doubt. I’m not going to the show Monday though.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I need to be with Nyla.”

“I know. Now, come on. Let’s go inside. I think we’ve been sitting in our car for long enough.”

“I’m so excited” she says grabbing her shake and her purse before climbing out of the car. She meets Val at the front of the car and they head inside together, completely ignoring the few paps still outside of the studio.

Have already gotten the text that said what studio they’d be in, Val leads Jenna past the front desk and back to the biggest studio room. The room is empty so they both go and take a seat on the steps in the back of the studio.

“Where is everyone?”

“They’ll be here Jen.”

“I want to go find Mandy.”

“Have patience Jenna. She’ll be here soon.”

“But…”

The door to the studio opens and in walks Mandy. Mandy freezes in the door way, still holding the door. Her jaw drops. When Jenna stands up, Mandy lets go of the door and lets out a squeal.

“You’re here!” Mandy squeals excitedly and rushes over to Jenna, wrapping her in a hug.

“Surprise” Jenna laughs.

“Is this what you wanted to show everyone?” Mandy says as she pulls out of the hug and looks at Val.

“Yes. Like it?”

“I love it! You can help me with this dance!”

Jenna and Val look at each other and start laughing. Mandy looks at them confused.

“What did I miss?”

“We knew you’d say that.”

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you are here. How is Nyla?”

“She’s doing great. She had her best day yet. She’s controlling her body temperature all on her own. She’s on the lowest amount of oxygen you can get. Her feedings still need work but she’s getting there. We need her to take all her feedings by bottle before she can come home.”

“That’s so exciting.”

The door opens again and in walks Alan and Gleb, laughing about something only they know. Alan stops laughing as soon as he sees Jenna. A big smile grows on his face. He walks over to Jenna and pulls her into a hug. They’ve always been like siblings.

“What are you doing here?”

“I can to surprise everyone.”

“I miss you around here.”

“I miss being around here.”

“Welcome back Jen. It’s great to see you” Gleb says.

“Thanks Gleb.”

“I could have sworn I heard…” Jenna hears Lindsay saying and then she appears in the room. “Jenna!” both Lindsay and Sharna yell at the same time and come running towards them. She opens her arms to both, happy to hug them both again.

“Hi” Jenna says happily.

“Hi! Oh it’s so good to hug you again” Lindsay says.

“How’s Nyla?” Sharna asks.

“Great. She’s so strong. Want to see pictures?”

“Yes!” everyone says.

[shroudedrob]

DK200 - 20:59:03

Many people are writing excellent epic race reports on Dirty Kanza 200 this week. I’m going to stick to a simple story… how I would up finishing a 21-hour race with only 57 seconds left. I promise this is my best effort at telling you the truth. It’s important that we start there, because from mile 140 my Dirty Kanza was all about lies.

The first half of DK200 looked like this.

You can jump right in with me after Checkpoint 2 (mile 102) with a couple of quick facts:

Before DK200 my longest gravel ride ever was 102 miles at DK100 last year.

My training plans last winter were shattered by parenting, family illness, and generally being an adult. I managed many late-night hour-long trainer sessions, but I never got the fitness I wanted.

Leaving Checkpoint 2, (Eureka, 102 miles) I was enjoying beautiful conditions, feeling good, on track with an 11.5mph pace and looking forward to an 18-hour finish time.

Feeling good at Checkpoint 2.

Then the hammer fell. From miles 112-122 we slowpokes still on the south end of the route got pummeled by an hour-long thunderstorm. I pulled on my rain jacket and kept riding, even when I couldn’t see beyond 20 feet… what else was there to do? Land Run taught it’s lesson well: don’t stop for rain.

Eventually the rain eased as we turned north, and for the first time I was truly tired. The last hour had been a beating and for the first time I had something really dangerous… an excuse to quit.

The hammer.

Still, I was smiling and still looking forward to a potential 18.5-hour finish time. The groups I had been riding with were scattered to the wind, but a few riders still around when the Jeep club support team started intercepting us to detour around a flash flood.

Trusting another lesson from Land Run I was babying my drivetrain, dodging the post-rain mud bogs and walking as needed. A low water crossing let me to clean things up a bit. Still, even with a clean-looking drivetrain, gravel can be cruel. It was around round mile 140 I heard a horrible thud as my derailleur, without warning, was sucked into my rear wheel. Amazingly, planning for this scenario paid off and I didn’t turn the crank even a single degree as I unclipped and coasted to a stop. I sighed and prepared to convert to single speed, but instead managed to free the spoke that was kissing a jockey wheel and gingerly ease back into riding up with gears. I held my breath but as long as I stayed out of the granny gear the bike was noisy but still rolling.

I could still ride, and if I had to I could still convert to single speed. But now I was armed with excuse #2: the bike is broken.

At the same time, probably because I had opened the door to excuses, two more snuck in. First, the rain had killed my iPhone. I still had a SPOT tracker running and could signal for help if I needed to, but mentally the phone was a big deal. I also realized that my stomach had stopped processing food, and wanted to send back anything I put in. Unpleasant, and potentially a big deal to a diabetic who can literally bonk to death.

So here we are. Mile 140 and I had enough excuses to tell myself the big lie: I could roll into Checkpoint 3 and quit without feeling shame.

Over the next 20 miles I didn’t see any other riders or Jeeps. I did, however, start having to fight my blood sugar down. The Dexcom device that monitors my glucose levels got fouled by mud and failed. I started wondering how safely a diabetic who couldn’t keep food down could survive in the dark without a cellular phone. Excuse #5.

While my mind fed me lies I saw a single red blinking light up the road a mile or more away. Who did that light belong to? I slowly reeled it in to see who else was still riding through this craziness.

Early in the day. Photo credit to Kim Morris @ http://kimmorris.com.

There, at mile 160, was where I met my new best friend Sharon.

When I caught Sharon she was standing at an unmarked dirt road crossing, studying route cards in the dark. It turns out my Wahoo GPS had jumped right back on track after the flood detour, but her Garmin never got back on track. I offered to lead the way the last few miles into Checkpoint 3, and as we got to know each other I realized I was no longer a diabetic alone in the dark.

I was glad for the company, but I saw one of my excuses slipping away. Without the safety issue I could probably go on, but the bike was now shifting itself often. I decided if I could sort out the mechanical issue at the stop I might roll on, but if it was I would probably call it a day.

We rolled in to Checkpoint 3 at 10:12pm, 30 minutes before it would close. Shanon headed off to to find her drop bags, with a promise to regroup soon and figure out what happens next. Once again I was surprised by my wonderful wife. I expected sympathy and concern. That probably would have ended my day. Instead I got a hug and a smile, before she switched into no-nonsense mode. “What do you need? We need to get you moving. The bike has a problem? Just give it to me and take care of yourself… I have a surprise.”

Surprise? It was late, and the Checkpoint was emptying fast. Who could possibly still be around?

The unstoppable Bobby Wintle

Bobby Wintle, of course. Bobby and a pack of the District Bicycles group had hung out after their own last rider had come through, to help and encourage a pair of riders they didn’t know. While I caught my breath, visited the port-o-john, and tried to regroup they swarmed my bike like pirahnas. I know Bobby straightened my bent hanger to get my shifting back in shape, but Bobby wouldn’t stop until it was shifting great and my brakes were adjusted. When Sharon rolled up the jumped on her bike like a Nascar pit crew too.

In just a few minutes metal had been bent, hugs had been given by family and new friends. My excuses were revealed for the lies they were. Then Robin showed me videos my 6-year-old twin boys had sent from home. “We’re pretending bike race, Daddy! Never give up! Never give up!”

What could I say? “Dammit. Come on Sharon. Let’s ride.”

We had lost a lot of time. Still, we had about 4 hours to do about 45 miles. It shouldn’t be a problem. With all the big climbs behind us 11.25 mph would be easy.

Over the next hour Sharon and I got to know each other. I learned about her husband Carlos, her love of riding gravel with him, her pleasure getting to know the Kanza crew at the training camp this year, and how hungry she was to rise to the challenge of DK200. After that hour I I wanted her to finish even more than I wanted myself to.

I could tell she was worried about my blood sugar, and I was worried about her legs that seemed to be running out of steam. I promised I wouldn’t leave her out there, and that we would cross that line together.

But, we had a big problem. Looking at my GPS I could see what she couldn’t: we were going 1-2 mph too slow to beat the clock, and we weren’t getting any faster. My instinct to push the pace by bombing every downhill in the dark was leaving her behind, and the combination of caution and tired legs simply wouldn’t get us there in time.

I could hear in her voice how bad she wanted this. I did too. When her voice cracked I could feel how tired her legs were. Mine weren’t much better. I jumped in front, stayed off the brakes, and promised I’d call out anything wet, loose, or rocky before she crossed it. That helped, but not enough. The computer said we weren’t going to make it. So, I did what anyone would do to encourage their new best friend in the dark.

I lied my ass off.

“13 mph will get us there in time! You’ve done 13 all day!”

She, like me, was right at a 9.6mph average.

“Just another hour! You’ve done this for 19 hours already! One more is nothing!”

We were still nearly 2 hours from the end.

“That’s it! You’re doing 14! 14 will get it you there in time!”

We were turning 16-17mph.

“45 more minutes! You can push it for 45 more minutes!”

One hour, 20 minutes to go.

I did keep repeating one thing that was 100% true: “You are going to do this. We are going to do this together. I’m not crossing that line without you.”

It turns out Sharon is far stronger than she thought she was. I could tell she was hurting in the dark, but she was getting faster. I could hear her hurting. She fell off my wheel, and then clawed right back. But she never, ever stopped.

Just a few miles out of town I realized I had one excuse left. There’s an ugly but real truth about an exercising diabetic: hypoglycemia is a monster. Just walking around my body can run out of glucose and literally bonk to death. I had been riding 19+ hours, and hadn’t been able to keep carbs down for the last 4. Sensors jammed in my side usually give me an early warning system, but the conditions had killed them just like my iPhone, hours ago. I started to get dizzy and just wanted to pull over, shovel sugar in my face, and wait for my body to feel human again.

At this point, however, any stop would end my chance to beat the clock. I could accept coming in a few minutes late, but not unless I had exhausted every option. By now I was soft-pedaling, probably only doing 5mph. I’m sure the spotters were telling the people at the line to start shutting down. I was shouting at Sharon that I was alright and not to stop. I heard my boys’ voices again, singing the song they had sent me earlier. “Never give up, Daddy! Never give up.” I had a few packs of Glukos, water mixed with glucose in a form so simple it hits you near-instantly. That wasn’t for fuel; that was for emergencies. I pounded two, trusting that even if I collapsed it would do it’s job before I passed out, and made myself pick up the pace rolling up the last climb into town and the downhill to the line.

Thanks to whoever captured this and passed it along to my wife.

My vision narrowed to a tunnel. I believed that Sharon had listened I said I was alright and pushed on ahead. I put my head down, trusting that the crowd would be thinned out and those left would stay out of my way, and turned the cranks. I was amazed to see Jim Cummins still at the line, and the clock still running. Our great friends John, Mike, and Kaat helped grab my things and delivered hugs… I’m still grateful they had stayed up after their own long days to see me come in. Of course my partner/crew/best friend Robin was there for me. Just like she had been all day.

I asked and someone assured me Sharon had made it. Then they told me I had made it in with only 43 seconds to spare (the official clock ended up being 51 seconds, but who’s counting). My first thought? I’ll make the midnight club next year.

Then I laid down in the street for a little nap.

20:59:03

P.S. for Sharon. I would have stopped in Madison without you. Your enthusiasm in those last miles before CP3 convinced me I could keep going. Then your drive convinced me I had to keep going. I told you we’d cross that line together in time, and we did. Do you forgive me for lying a bit in those last couple of hours? I told you your legs were lying to you!

Finish

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

D-Blog Week: The CGM New Girl Spills All...

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/d-blog-week-the-cgm-new-girl-spills-all/

D-Blog Week: The CGM New Girl Spills All...

Blood drops are red, diabetes circles are blue...

OK, we aren't the best poets in the Diabetes Community. And since it's Poetry Tuesday on this second day of Diabetes Blog Week 2014, we've decided to cash in a Wildcard chip instead, and take on the topic: Tell Me a Story.

Write a short story personifying a diabetes tool you use on a daily basis. A meter, syringe, pump, pill, etc. Give it a personality and a name and let it speak through you. What would it be happy about, upset about, mad about?

We're happy to let our weekly Q&A columnist and fellow type 1 Wil Dubois -- with his own unique and snarky style -- take the lead on this one. You may remember that back in 2005, Wil was one of the first 30 people with diabetes ever in the U.S. to start using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Back then, he referred to his new gadget as "The Girl."

A lot has changed on the CGM scene in years since, so today we'll hear updates from Wil's "New Girl," who's speaking out for the first time about what their relationship is really like.

My G4: Her Side of the Story

Wil is such an a##hole. Oh yes, everybody thinks he's so kind and so knowledgeable, and so dedicated, etc. It makes me want to scream. Or throw up. Or both.

Let me tell you what he's really like. He's ungrateful as hell. I mean, I've watched over him all day every day—and every night—since I moved in with him. No kidding, I literally check his blood sugar every five minutes. You'd think he'd be grateful. You'd think he'd thank me. But noooooooo. He ignores me unless I demand his attention.

Do you know that he actually hides me in his pocket so other people can't see me? That makes me M-A-D, mad! I know he used to show off his previous CGMs. Those girls got to ride on his belt. So what the 'eff is wrong with me? I'm prettier than they were. I'm thin. I have nice curves. I have blue eyes... uh... I mean a blue case. I bet a lot of boys, especially those without insurance, would love to date me. It would serve Wil right if I left him for another diabetic!

Of course, I won't. I'm just venting. For some reason I can't calculate, I love the big lug. But life with Wil isn't easy. Hell, just yesterday he actually threw me in the laundry hamper. Can you believe that? That's domestic abuse, I tell you. Why, I could have been washed! I'm not waterproof, so it could have killed me! I had to scream and scream and scream before his little boy finally rescued me. And did Wil even bother to apologize to me? No! Oh, he thanked his son profusely for coming to my aid, but no "sorry," or "don't worry, it will never happen again" to ME! For a guy who's supposed to have such a kind heart, he sure doesn't treat his machines well.

Actually... now that I think about his relationship with the rest of us in the household, maybe I should consider myself lucky. He ignores me, but the poor computer... he actually shouts at her. A lot. And it's not her fault he doesn't know how to push her buttons and stroke her software right. And the phone, why that girl gets left behind as often as he takes her out, and I can't count how many times he's let her batteries die.

So I guess none of us are getting what we think we deserve, but, come on, I'm a pretty low-maintenance kinda gal. I just need two fingersticks a day and some juice from the wall or the computer about once a week. Maybe a download, you know, on special occasions. And it would be nice if he cleaned those greasy fingerprints off of my screen now and then. Personally, I don't think I'm asking for much. His ex's asked for much more. And they got it.

Not that I'm jealous.

Oh, hell, who am I kidding? I'm as jealous as hell! I'm the best friggin' thing that's ever happened to him, and he treats me like dirt! The other girls got to sleep with him. I know this to be true, because I've read about it in his blog. But me? I have to sleep with that skank iPod on the night stand, along with the insulin pen and that cheap meter of his. Relegated to the cold, hard nightstand; or hidden in his pocket. It's not fair.

Oh, but it gets worse. I heard him on the phone talking to Dexcom just the other day. I think he might be thinking about getting a younger mistress to replace me with. What did I do to deserve that? I have been 100% reliable and faithful to him. Well, OK, there was that whole thing with the transmitter recently, but that wasn't my fault.

And that's not the end of his cruelty. I caught him looking at CGM porn online. I can't tell you how much that hurts. What more could he want? I'm accurate. I'm loud enough to wake him up. I've even got a color screen, for God's sake! I think he forgets how good he has it. It would serve him right if I "accidentally" lost telemetry with the transmitter for a few hours. Or if I gave him the "question mark treatment" like his last girl used to do. Hah! That would show him.

But... No. I couldn't bring myself to do that. He might get hurt. And even though he hurts my feelings all the time, I couldn't bring myself to do anything that might really, genuinely hurt him. I love him too much for that.

But... I could... Ha! Yes, I will. I'll give the bastard a false low alarm. That'll show him!

And I'll do it at 2:30 in the morning.

Editor's note: Apparently she did blast a false low alarm at 2:30am. But after we let Wil read what The Girl had to say, he tells us he cleaned her screen, gave her a good download, and promises to give her a good night kiss and thank her for a hard day's work every night. They're also talking about attending some couples therapy, but given Wil's track record, we're guessing next year he may be shacking up with a different one.

This is our Day 2 post for D-Blog Week, and you can see all the other takes on the various prompts throughout the week by clicking here. You can also follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #DBlogWeek. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

[smilesrobotlover]

Put in the Dexcom by myself this time. It went a lot better than the Libre that’s for sure… and the Dexcom 4

Ok story time. I used to use the old school G4 Dexcom which I HATED. It was uncomfortable, it was loud, and I used this big mp3 player looking thing that vibrated so loud. It hurt my arm whenever I swam and I hated it. I honestly stopped putting it in (well I would always have my mom do it cuz the way you put it in was very intimidating. You pushed down on a giant plunger and the Dexcom would go in). And I moved on to the Libre. The Libre is much smaller and you use your phone to scan it. It doesn’t warn you about your blood sugar, so no alarms, it lasted two weeks, and it gave me serious rashes, but gosh it was soooo much better than the Dexcom. The alarms were unbearable with the Dexcom and it was nice to have a break. But I always had my mom put it in cuz when I did try to put it in myself it was midnight and I was crying 😭😭😭 luckily diabetes camp gave me the courage to do it myself and I never had issues with putting it in since (I believe all type 1 diabetics should go to camp, or even volunteer if you’re too old. It’s truly incredible). I did try out the Libre 2 and 3, and those did have alarms, but you still had to scan it to see your blood sugar which, at that point you might as well not use the Libre cuz it now has alarms and you can’t just see where you’re at. But still, the Libre never gave me issues with movement. Now it did fall off a lot, but a major improvement from the G4 Dexcom.

Now I’m new to the g6 Dexcom but it’s ten billion times better than the G4. Where it was on my arm for some reason hurt for a week tho idk why, but I didn’t work out cuz of it. But I was def scared to put it in myself just cuz it’s new. But luckily putting in the new dexcoms are MUCH better than the G4. Just look at these pictures:

Look at the thing that you use to put it in. It was big. You stuck it on and pushed down on a giant plunger. It was clunky are very scary for little ol me. And then here’s the g6

I use my phone so I don’t have the receiver, but the thing is still a little big, but you just push a button to get it in. Nice and easy and less scary. Plus having a phone instead of the receiver is so much nicer. Plus it’s even an improvement from the libres. You stick the thing on you and THEN you push the button in to insert the needle. Plus the button is super easy. Easier than the Libre I’d say. Tho there will probably be moments when it will jam. I can tell. And just for fun here are the libres:

The Libre 1 and 2 looked the same, but the Libre 2 had alarms while 1 didn’t. It’s hard to see the size but you can look it all up on google if you want to see it compared to a person, but the applicator was much nicer than the g4. You just put in on you and push down. It was more like a giant button than a giant needle. The libres however don’t stick onto you before the needles go in like the dexcoms do. So you can’t stick it on and then push down, you have to have it in the right position before you push down. And here’s the Libre 3 size difference.

Ignore the text and the markings but the Libre three is TINY. Which is nice since it means less rash areas. Very comfy too. For reason I always had the sensors and pumps that gave me rashes lol. But yeah. Idk why I went on a super long tangent about cgms lol. Hope it was educational at least?