Medtronic Instructor Cancels Insulin Pump Class at Last Minute
Just before noon at 11:57am, I received a call from Ellen, Medtronic’s local insulin pump instructor, who informed me that she was going to have to cancel today’s class scheduled for 1pm. She said that her two-year-old had come down with a fever. To be honest, I wasn’t that shocked that she canceled, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way. It’s just that the Medtronic rep Carlo, who I had met with last week for the pump demo, mentioned that Ellen was expecting and that she might not be my instructor for both the insulin pump class and the continuous glucose monitor class due to her pregnancy. My wife and I even joked last night that with our luck she’ll have to cancel because she’s gone into labor in the morning. For whatever reason she had to cancel the insulin pump class, it sounds like her hands are full at the moment.
Unfortunately for us, it means even more broken sleep (we’ve been setting alarms 3 times a night to check my blood sugar) and more anxiety over not having the insulin pump and CGM working. After my severe case of hypoglycemia two weeks ago, my wife is still on edge and we’re both more than eager to get the insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor classes over with, so that we can hopefully return to some resemblance of a normal life. I’m also a lot more nervous when I start to go low, because the reality of what can happen is fresh in my mind. I know that it’s even harder on my wife because she had to watch what happened to me that morning, not knowing if I was going to be okay, or ever wake up for that matter.
One thing that I’ve come to realize over the almost 7 years that I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes, is that whether it be a doctor, a nurse, or an insulin pump instructor, it’s impossible for someone who doesn’t have to live day to day with the disease to fully understand the realities of type 1 diabetes.
Often, loved ones and friends seem much more aware of the harsh realities of type 1 than those individuals educated in the field. Perhaps they need to spend a week living with a type 1 diabetic themselves. Only then will they fully understand the possible realities associated with something as small as having an appointment canceled, or on another occasion having fasted and been forced to wait a half-hour in an empty office for a nurse who is too busy staring at a computer instead of coming out to do my blood work (thanks Joslin Center), or a prescription refill line stating to allow two weeks for refills (thanks again Joslin Center).
My name is Kevin Lang and I am a Type 1 Diabetic who was diagnosed in May of 2004 at the age of 27. My last A1C was 6.0 in May 2015. I used to use daily shots of Lantus and Novolog to control my blood sugar until I switched to the MiniMed Paradigm Revel Insulin Pump in February 2011. To learn more about me, follow the about link in the menu bar.