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Well, it has been four days since starting the saline trial on the pump. Let's see.... one day I forgot to send the PDM remote to school and one day Taylar forgot to see the nurse at snack time for a bolus. All things considered, not too bad! I now have a sticky note on the front door to remind us on our way out to meet the bus in the morning to pack the PDM. For tomorrow I actually put a small sticky note on her morning snack too that says, "Remember to see the nurse!". Hey, anything to help us with this new schedule, right? We're so far into the school year that changing what we've always done has been a bit tricky. And on top of all the pump issues, we had to adjust Taylar's insulin because she had been running in the 200s for three days in a row. Like we needed that. I called our diabetes nurse educator though, who we LOVE and I think is a genius, and just like that...bam.. "normal" numbers and no more 200s. Thank you!
We've also done two site changes since Saturday and they have gone well. Taylar likes to use baby oil to peel the pod off and I like it because it will help keep her skin smooth and soft. She has not shown any irritation which is great. We were with some of my husband's family tonight to celebrate Taylar's birthday which is this Sunday, and she chose to do the site change in front of them so they could see how it works. I was pretty proud of her. We all were actually. The anticipation of the cannula inserting is getting a little bit easier and I assume will get even better with time.
Overall I can see how using the OmniPod (or any pump I'm sure) is going to make life a little bit easier. Dare I say I feel like it will give us a little more freedom? We have been on such a strict schedule since last August that I forget what freedom feels like. I also feel the pod is a good choice for Taylar personally where it just attaches to her body. She tends to always have busy fingers so not having external tubing is helpful in that. It also fits her activity level and withstands how many times a day she changes her clothes! Ha, ha!
What a day! We waited all day for the OmniPod representative to come to our house for our 2:30 appointment. I don't think I stopped praying all day. The morning went by okay and we were able to distract ourselves but the afternoon was tough. Taylar started asking questions and seemed to be getting nervous but also excited at the same time about the pump. Me? I couldn't think of anything else all day and never even ate lunch. Of course I didn't realize this until 4:30! Not that missing a meal would hurt me much, but still. This is such a big step and we are only 9 months into this whole diabetes thing, so it's all very overwhelming.
The girl who met with us was named Megan and she was very nice. She is a podder herself which made Taylar happy. There is such an instant connection when she meets other people with diabetes. Her smile says it all. It's the "Hey, I'm not alone in this" smile. My parents joined us for the training as well. My Mom is 100% on board with learning as much as she can. She's the one I volunteer with and attend JDRF meetings with. She would do anything for Taylar...or Carissa, or me & Eric for that matter! I have the best Mom in the world. My Dad was able to help with Carissa which was nice because of course, as if on schedule, she woke up from her nap at precisely 2:31...right after Megan arrived. Ugh!
Megan walked us through the PDM remote's nitty gritty settings and how to set basal rates and deliver boluses. Taylar showed a lot of interest in it but then hid on the couch as we were getting to the last menu to review. She knew it was time to put the pod on. This was the hardest part of the day for all of us. She ran from the couch to her sister's bedroom to avoid the inevitable of being "stuck". My husband Eric went in to get her telling her she can do it and it will be fine, etc. Then came the tears. There's nothing like seeing your kid cry because they're afraid. It was totally the fear of the unknown, and nerves even though all of us (except Carissa) wore a demo pod (with the cannula inserted) at a previous appointment in Boston.
She half-heartedly peeled the backing off the pod and stuck it on her abdomen while sniffling and clutching onto Rufus, her JDRF bear, as tight as she could. There were a few more whimpers out of fear and a few more tears while we used the remote to activate the pod. The anticipation of waiting for the stick was the worst and at that moment seeing Taylar's face I just wanted to take it all away. It was killing me.
When we finally heard the click of the cannula being inserted and told Taylar it was all done she calmed down very quickly. What a trooper! At this point I looked at my Mom and she was white as a sheet. I don't think she was breathing through this whole process! Moments later after reassuring us that she was in deed okay, Taylar put her sandals on and went outside to play in the yard. That's it. All done. She was fine. She was fine.
My parents stayed over for a while afterwards and we all got to get some much needed fresh air in the yard on this beautiful 70 degree spring day. Mom and I kept talking about how hard it was to see Taylar upset but then as we saw her racing Carissa to the swings, shooting hoops with her Grampy, playing catch, and making mud pies in the sandbox we knew everything would be just fine. GOD is in control. He always has been and always will be.
Almost a month ago I mentioned receiving a rather large package from Inuslet Corporation containing the OmniPod insulin pump starter kit. I have since opened the intimidating box and familiarized myself, husband, and Taylar with the system. The OmniPod does not have any tubing like other insulin pumps which is a feature that my daughter was drawn to. The pod will be adhered to Taylar's abdomen, arm, leg, buttocks...just about anywhere, and will give her spurts of insulin (basal) 24/7 delivered through a soft cannula automatically inserted under her skin. We will also use the Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) to deliver quick doses of insulin (bolus) to cover carbs she eats. The site she wears the pod will have to be changed every other day. If you want to see how it works, OmniPod has a great interactive website and you can check it out here.
Before switching from injections to a pump there is some training involved, thank goodness. On May 1 a representative from OmniPod will come to our house to set us up. Or should I say to set Taylar up? She will first wear the pump filled with only saline for about 10 days in order to get used to it and to troubleshoot any issues that may come up. I have to say that I'm pretty nervous about this. Not only is Taylar going to have to wear the pump but because it's only saline at first, we will still have to give her injections as well. Ugh.
Our official pump start date, however, is Tuesday, May 11, which happens to be 2 days after Taylar's 8th birthday. The pump is by no means to be thought of as a birthday present though! It just happened to work out that way. We have a two hour appointment at Children's Hospital, Boston, to start this whole process with real insulin. We will have an hour break for lunch and then another appointment with the social worker. I have to say I am looking forward to the social work appointment both for Taylar and me. This has been such a huge life changing issue but we haven't been able to talk to many people about it. I have found a lot of support online though which has been helpful at least for me.
So that's what's going on with the pump! I mentioned it but then got scared and tried to forget about it. We did have a while to wait in between receiving the package and actually using the pod but now it's here!
