My beautiful Hawaii trip didn’t let me take a break from my type 1 diabetes this past week. Although the trip itself was fantastic, sugar-wise it was rough. And not just in the way of roller coaster sugar readings due to the five hour time difference. (Note to self: remember to change time on insulin pump and adjust basal rates accordingly before you get there…not three days in.)
There were a few embarrassing moments where the Omnipod insulin pump on my arm did not fit in while wearing a bikini or a cute strapless sun dress. I had a tiny freakout moment on the beach one day when I heard the hushed voices of “what the heck is on her arm?!” coming from other beach-goers behind me. Full on panic set in (I’m kinda prone to anxiety attacks) and I wanted to leave. I was so wanted to quit diabetes!! This panic attack was hard to recover from, even with the endless support of the hubs. However, I slowly got over it until this photo was taken.
'Pod On The Beach
I had tweeted this pic out because I loved the view, the moment with Ty, and the cool capture using the Hipstamatic app. But in my mind, the unfortunate downside of this photo was the Omnipod on my arm that was staring right back at me annoying me and taunting me like it had done all day. And like a rush, the frustrations I had dealt with over the last few days with T1D got to me again. So in my tweet, I vented something along the lines of “cute photo with the exception of the ‘pod on my arm.” In my mind, I figured I would just expose it up front, rather than worrying about the hushed whispers of 1,900 Twitter followers and 700 Facebook friends.
What surprised me the most was how supportive my non-D friends were in their comments. However, the “Diabetes Online Community” or DOC gave me a total different reaction.
I got comments from the DOC along the lines of “when did you decide not to be a diabetic anymore?” or “why do you care?” and I was called out on Twitter by members of the DOC stating things like “diabetes doesn’t define you.” Uhh, let me be clear, I never said that “D” defined me. It was a comment that I made that could have easily been replaced with “I wish I would have tied my hair back.” Why the heck would people (of my own kind), who know and understand this disease because they live with it, not let me vent about it?
I will let this go, but seriously people… I thought we were in this together, where is the love?
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Bad Diabetes Vacation – http://www.jessicahickok.com/archives/12...
Sorry it was a “bad” vacation in some respects, as it relates to diabetes. Sounds like you had a of fun overall, though! That’s a great picture! I understand the resentment of the Omnipod being present in the picture – how does it not define you, but appear in so many aspects of “normal” life? I used to feel the same in my teens and 20s, but then gradually came to the conclusion that it doesn’t define me, yet is a part of my life that I wanted to accept. That it’s a part of who I am, and I’m proud of that (as much as you can be toward a chronic condition). Never like the infusion sites, but my friends’ attitudes and even strangers helped me realize it was all in my mind. Anyhow, hope you have many great memories and photos!
Hawaii! You lucky duck!
We went away to D camp for the whole family – a vacation of sorts. To say that it’s “upsetting” is probably the wrong way for me to describe how annoying it is that not only do we have to maintain the D routine, but it’s even more work at a time that’s intended to be less work. Maybe it’s just annoying. I might be using “upsetting” if all the extended bolus’ and increased basals didn’t work so well.
To be honest, I didn’t even notice the Pod on your arm until I kept reading. But once noticed, I understand how it may stick out like a sore thumb to you. I see it on Caleb, but it just seems normal. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t seem to care about it and he’s only 7, and he’s a boy.
I guess those hushed voices weren’t very hushed. I understand why people don’t do this, but I would prefer they just ask. I’d be happy and proud to explain what that thing is and that my son is brave and responsible and does what he has to do to stay healthy.
Jssica, you were one of my first Twitter friends, back in the day when you were this gorgeous eyeball. You’ve always given me the impression that although you are a responsible diabetic, you are so much more than that. You have an amazing family, with two amazing sons who keep you on your toes. A husband who brings you lemonade when you need it and you live on land on which you allow no hanky panky. I could go on and on. The point being I know D does not define you one bit and sure it’s okay to be bummed by the Pod that seems to stick out on your arm. But I know you know that.
Thanks for being a good friend to me. You were great comfort when we were starting DexCom and I still share that hairdryer trick with ppl.
Sorry. This is ridiculously long winded and it doesn’t seem to be spell checking and I don’t know how to scroll back on the iPad, so please forgive all my spelling errors which of course are really typos.