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Like the first Diabetes Details post, I have no idea how many people will be interested in this, but I’m writing it anyway. A few of you will be happy to know this one has zero needle-related content. I’ve been using an insulin pump for about six years now. Basically, the pump is a pager-sized device that provides a constant baseline flow of insulin into a small catheter in my belly. I can also program an extra dose of insulin when I eat, or if my blood sugar is too high. The problem comes about because I have to change that catheter every two days. It’s held in place by a very strong sticker about the size of a Canadian Loonie coin. Strong adhesive plus belly hair is a bad thing. I finally got tired of waxing a round spot on my stomach every time I changed the silly thing, and have taken to just shaving the belly. This is … strange. But far less painful. The other interesting (to me) aspect of changing out the pump is brought to you courtesy of my four-year-old. If he knows I’m going back to switch things out, he’ll follow me and climb up on the bed. There he’ll wait not-so-patiently for me to finish drawing insulin into the new plastic bottle.
You see the plunger on the end? That’s how you pull insulin into the plastic bottle. Once it’s full, the plunger unscrews, and the bottle goes into the pump. At this point, my job is to attach the plunger to the old, empty bottle, which now becomes the Best Toy in the World, for about 1.2 seconds. That’s how long it takes to yank the plunger back, creating that wonderful popping sound as he pulls out the bottom of the bottle. Changing the pump is still a pain in the ass, but the enthusiasm of a four-year-old makes everything less annoying. This is one of those blog posts where I have no idea if anyone else will be interested, but it’s something I felt like talking about. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been diabetic (type 1) for a little over ten years. My father was diagnosed with the same thing back when I was born, so in a way, I’ve been living with this thing for my whole life. What fascinated me when I was diagnosed was how much I had never noticed before. I knew in a vague way what diabetes was and how it could affect you. I knew about keeping insulin in the fridge and daily shots and blood sugar checks and your spouse shoving Peppermint Patties into your mouth at two in the morning because you miscalculated the dosage for lasagna. But I didn’t notice the smaller things. Brenda Novak’s auction for diabetes research will be wrapping up at the end of the month. Looking at my two items, bidding has reached almost $100. My thanks to everyone who’s bid so far. Following mizkit’s lead, I think I’m going to up the ante. Bidding on the book is currently at $23. If that crosses the $40 mark, I’ll throw in a signed copy of The Faery Taile Project as well. Critique of a short story or novel chapter I’ve lived with diabetes my whole life. My father was diagnosed type 1 when I was born. I was diagnosed about 10 years ago. I’ve seen how the technology has changed. From glucose strips that had to be dipped in urine and color-matched for a very rough approximation of your blood sugar levels four hours ago, we now have meters that will take a drop of blood and give you a reading in 5 seconds. I started out taking 6 or so injections every day. I now have a pump that gives me more flexibility and only requires me to stab my own gut every other day. (Though I do have to shave my belly … there’s always a trade-off.) And compare that to 80 or so years ago, when diabetics had to sterilize their own glass and steel syringes, then sharpen the needle themselves. And don’t forget to rub cotton along the needle to check for burrs. It’s still a pain-in-the-ass disease. I’ve been fortunate, and have so far kept mine under pretty good control. But it would be awfully nice to cure the damn disease and be done with it. If you’re interested in my own story, I posted about my diabetes last year, on the 10th anniversary of my diagnosis: Happy Diabetes Day! |
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Copyright © 2012 Jim C. Hines - All Rights Reserved |
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