Oh YAY! A First!

In all our years in dealing with diabetes, we haven't encountered this one yet.  I knew we were due.  I knew someday it would happen.

Yesterday...

"I cannot believe I have to use ... th..i...s."

Joe spoke about it like it was a dirty dish rag.  He was disgusted by it.  Between the process of manually entering in a BG and the fact that his arm was tethered to it with "little-boy" lengthed tubing, he felt it was archaic.  

To hear him talk about an Animas pump so negatively made me feel like I was listening to gossip about my BFF.  I let him know the Animas pump was the only pump I was comfortable placing him on when he was a 3 year old.  I let him know those little, ity-bity basals of 0.025units/hr gave me peace of mind.  I let him know I did not like him talking about our first pump in this manner.  

 

 

So ... as you may be gathering by now... Joe's Omnipod pump failed yesterday afternoon.  As in failed, I mean it had a PDM alarm, I reset it, and it went into some sort of death spiral; the screen transitioned from the happy blue/green/white "Omnipod" screen -> then to an all white poltergeist-y-like screen -> and then to an all black screen.  A phone call was made.  Customer support confirmed my hunch, the PDM was a goner; a new PDM would be over-nighted.

Joe was horrified over the re-setting procedure.  He could not believe the proper procedure was to stick a paper-clip (or equivalent) end into the little hole at the bottom of the battery compartment. 

"What kind of a re-set plan is that, just to poke something around in that hole?"

"I didn't make the pump Joe, I don't know."

"OK".  

Meanwhile... an hour before hockey practice, at dinner time, I've got a 300 and double-arrow-upping Joe, who is no longer hooked-up to insulin.  We had to get a back-up diabetes plan initiated ASAP. Good times.  At first he was dead set against the Animas pump (an old one I've held onto), but shots did not seem to be acceptable either.  

After weighing his options, he decided to pump. He would only place a site in his arm; the only place he uses the PODs, as well.  Unfortunately, the length of tubing was from when he was like a 3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9 year old.  So,  with his pump in a pant pocket..and the site in his arm.. his arm is kinda limited in maneuverability.  This was not even close to optimal in Joe's eyes, but it's only for one day, he conceded.

He's been disconnecting for any sort of physical activity, you know...so he can like ... ah ...  use his arm.  

I did end up at his school today.  The pump lost prime; he disconnected and proceeded to prime out the entire cartridge of insulin; Right.Before.Lunch.  There was a sub-nurse at his school.  He was not about to let her inject insulin and he's never done it.  So he held off on lunch for an hour and waited for me to arrive to get his pump situated.

"My day was going good until this issue."

"What makes it so bad now?"

"I guess nothing.  You're right Mom, this didn't ruin my day ... but it is annoying."

 

Very true.  It's annoying Joe.  

 

It's right now 7pm the following day.  I guess overnight doesn't really mean overnight.  We don't have a new PDM here.  We leave for Quebec City at 6am on Friday for a hockey tournament.  I sure hope the PDM makes it by then.

 

A day-in-the-life of missing our Omnipod.