For the first time in 4 years my daughter went to sleep without her insulin pump. She would normally wear it in a Spibelt around her waist. In fact, she got so used to wearing it that she woke up in the middle of the night looking for it. These runner waist belts became part of her wardrobe, she had them in every color and design to go along with every outfit. But last night she was almost pump free, well, at least tubing free, and that goes a long long way for us. We got the new Omnipod! We decided to finally cut the cord, or at least that's how Omnipod calls this operation. I wanted this pump for her from the first time I learned that insulin pumps exist. But it was too bulky and big for a tiny 5 year old and had insulin delivery features that did not fit my daughter's insulin requirements that were at time of diagnosis very little. The doctor suggested we would either go forward with a different pump or wait until her insulin needs grow, so we went with the first choice (unlike height, insulin needs is not something you wish would grow) and settled on the one single pump we had as an option at the time. Only four years ago and with all the technology advancements it sounds like prehistory. So many new and exciting developments in the insulin delivery/blood sugar measurement avenues, yet not a single tiny bit of something that brings us any closer to a cure. I had a dream one night, I was picking up my younger daughter (which I don't have and am not planning on having, but bear with me here) from a play date and started chatting with the other girl's mom. She told me she once had type 1 diabetes and that she was cured, thanks to one latest discovery, and that my own D daughter (my older daughter in the dream - my only girl in real life) would also be cured once she's able to take advantage of this discovery when she is 21 years old. Sounds more like a fairy tale than a scientific breakthrough but I woke up from that dream with a new hope. My daughter is now 9 years old, so we have a few years to wait until 21, in the meantime we should do our best to give her the best possible, currently available, treatment. And so when I heard that Insulet came out with a new Omnipod which is 33% smaller I made the call. My daughter wasn't sure she wanted to change. Why replace something familiar that works with something new? We had this discussion over shoes when she was 3 years old... 'Give it a try' I said, if you don't like it you can always go back to the old one. I couldn't say the same thing about the shoes though. I just really wanted her to see that there is an alternative to the old fashion pump. Instead of tubing connected to the pump it has a disposable pod that contains the insulin and stays on the body (with a cannula). It is controlled by a remote-like device called PDM that looks like a very old version of a smart phone. Once activated, the pod delivers insulin for 72 hours according to the PDM's program. The PDM is then used for old fashion blood sugar monitoring and for bolus insulin delivery. My daughter likes the fact that she doesn't have to carry anything on her (especially when she dances or goes to sleep) except for the pod, and doesn't need to disconnect the tubing before taking a shower. She also likes the user interface of the PDM and its personalizing options, her PDM now carries the name of her favorite singer when turned on. I like the new and refreshing sense of freedom, I like the fact that the infusion insertion is completely automatic so she can do it by herself and the ease of use. It's nice to have a new toy but it's all part of doing the best we can until there's a cure.
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