#1679 Third Eye
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After losing her pancreas and waking up diabetic, Carly shares her journey from shock to empowerment—learning to thrive, parent, and find humor while managing type 3c diabetes with fierce optimism.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of The Juicebox podcast. Welcome.
Carly 0:16
My name is Carly mcelha. I've been a diabetic since August of 24 so pretty recent.
Scott Benner 0:27
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Carly 2:46
My name is Carly mcelha. I've been a diabetic since August of 24 so pretty recent. And
Speaker 1 2:56
yeah, a year and a month. Yeah, Carly, how old are you?
Carly 3:00
I'm 4040,
Scott Benner 3:02
and you're in the great white north. Is that correct? It is, yes, it's hard to miss. You have some so you have some great little like, beach pattern stuff that I I'm gonna enjoy so much while we're talking. Do I really? Yeah, okay, did you not know?
Carly 3:16
Well, no, but I hear you say things about people, like, when they're from Boston. That's an inflection that's, I'm not from Boston. That's my best Boston impersonation, my best book.
Scott Benner 3:29
So you're 40 years old. You were just diagnosed. Let me get a little background on you. Are you married? Do you have kids? Are you single? Are you what are you?
Carly 3:37
Yeah, I'm married, and I have two kids. My daughter's eight and my son is three, eight and
Scott Benner 3:43
three, okay, yeah, in your extended family, your mother, your father, your aunts, your uncles, your cousins, does anybody else have type one
Carly 3:49
diabetes? So my mom's cousin does. But my issue wasn't necessarily hereditary for type one diabetes. Mine was actually that I had a total pancreatectomy, so I lost my pancreas when during, like a major surgery, and then woke up a diabetic. You are what they call type 3c I am exactly no one knows what that is.
Scott Benner 4:15
I know and believe it or not, I've lost count. There's been more than a half a dozen people on telling this story over the years, over the years? Yeah. So it's interesting to hear it from a different perspective. So you actually have type one in your family, but that's not why it happened. That's interesting. How about other I'm just gonna hit real quickly in that family. Do we see celiac? Do we see thyroid? How about you? Do you have any other autoimmune issues? Not that this one is, yeah.
Carly 4:41
So it started out when I was 14. They initially tested me for celiac disease, but because they had said at that time, my villa wasn't damaged enough for them to to diagnose it as celiac, they just said I had IBS. So I grew up with IBS for my whole life. Mm. I cut out gluten and things of that nature, because Celiac disease is in my family. So that was, well, when I was 18, I was still drinking beer and eating pizza and stuff, and I wasn't supposed to, but I did so, but celiac was something that was always on the radar. And then when I was just out of university, my mom and I actually opened a gluten free bakery, and we had that for about six years until I had my daughter. And so when we had the bakery, I actually did some dabbling in diabetic baking for some of our our clients, because those inflammatory diseases are so closely related. So now I kind of get to use my diabetic baking on
Scott Benner 5:41
myself. I have to tell you that sentence you just spoke might have been the most melodic thing I've heard in weeks. I did some dabbling in diabetic baking. I was like, oh, feels like the beginning of a jingle. Okay, so you have an autoimmune issue. Maybe you were gonna get type one anyway. No, I'm just kidding. So what was the surgery that led to this?
Carly 6:03
Well, it ended up that I started to get really sick in the summer of 23 so it was like, I just, I sort of almost felt like my body was kind of shutting down. I guess technically it was in some capacity. But I was like, just inflammation and constantly ill and not feeling well, but then it started to get to the point where I could actually point to my pain to, like, one specific location in my stomach, and I'm like, it's right here. This is where it hurts. And I think that, like, my whole life I've been telling and obviously, again, like, I'm not going to use names, but I was telling my family doctor that I was having issues like this. This is kind of beyond IBS. I'm almost certain it's celiac disease. And I kept getting disregarded and disregarded, and eventually got to the point where, when I got really sick in the summer of 23 I ended up going into emerge. And then that whole process started. They didn't ultrasound thinking that it might be kidney stones, just the way that I was pointing to my stomach. And so that ultrasound initially showed some issues, but they couldn't see what it was in my pancreatic area. So then it was CT, MRI, MRCP, and then I had four ercps. Three failed, and then the last one was because they couldn't my pancreatic duct was so inflamed. Sorry, this is like, really, TMI, but I'm sure you saw this. My pancreatic duct was so inflamed they actually couldn't even get the camera in there to see anything. So by the fourth ERCP I was at a surgeon in Calgary, and he was like, this, we just, you have to go in for surgery. There's nothing. There's nothing else we can do. So based on, like, for investigation, it's time for surgery, is kind of what he said. And so I remember the appointment very vividly with my husband. We went up together to meet with my surgeon for my pre op, and he was telling me, like, this is what I think is going to happen. We're really shooting for a Whipple. We really want a Whipple, but just so you know, it's possible you're going to wake up missing organs and a diabetic, and then from there, I kind of shut down, and I don't remember a bunch of the rest of the appointment, and then it was surgery, and, yeah, woke up, and then a lot of healing, big, big healing journey from that.
Scott Benner 8:22
Probably we'll get to that part. But let me ask you, yeah. I mean, did they ever put a finger on it? Like, was it like chronic pancreatitis? Did they call it something? Yeah.
Carly 8:34
So basically, when I was able to understand what my surgeon was saying after the fact, he kind of said, I think that you've had chronic pancreatitis for so long that it completely killed your pancreas. Like he said that he's never seen a pancreas like that in a 40 year old woman ever in his career, and he's almost retiring as a surgeon. So he was like, I just don't understand how it got to this point, and neither do I really, like I got, I just kind of thought that that was normal. Like, feeling like that was just my normal, is actually what I was told by my doctor, terrible. It was really alarming to find out that it, it had gotten to that point. And then you wonder, you know, had it been caught sooner? Is it possible that something else could have been done. Or, you know, I might not be a diabetic today. I don't know, yeah, but I try not to
Scott Benner 9:25
dwell. I was gonna say, is that hard not to
Carly 9:27
think about Yeah, yeah, but I, but I really, honestly do have a, I have a really positive outlook on life. I've got my kids to fight for every day and to show that you can kind of overcome any big thing that comes your way. So I try really hard to have that mindset. But definitely there's days, especially in the beginning, I'm like much better now, but I remember breaking down once because I couldn't have popcorn at the movies.
Yeah, that was it. I was it. I was done after that one.
Scott Benner 10:00
But what movie, if you don't mind me asking, Well,
Carly 10:03
I wanted to take my daughter to the movies, so, oh, I think we're going, what the heck were we going to I can't even remember, because it was just like, but we went, and I, I had the popcorn, and then I was like, all over the charts that night, like I couldn't get my blood sugars back in check. And then the next time we wanted to go to a movie, I was like, they can't, can't popcorn. Do anything.
Scott Benner 10:29
Hey, you get the same movies everybody gets in Canada or yours, just about like ice fishing. No, they're all ice fishing, nothing else. Yeah, you just take your kids to, like, animated films about ice fishing. Speaking of Canada, do you live in one of those provinces where it's hard to get in to see a doctor or easy?
Carly 10:47
Well, right now? So actually, I, because of this whole process, I was like, I can't, I literally can't see my family doctor anymore. I was just like, so livid and over it. So I had to try to find a new family doctor, and it took a
Scott Benner 10:59
long time, yeah, I'm, I'm trying to decide, like, because I've heard stories, depending on where you live in Canada, just like anywhere else, right, that there are places where you can say, like, Hey, I'm, like, here's what's going on, meaning, like, I will see in a year, yep. And there's places where that's not the case. And a lot of times, the way it's been put to me, and again, I don't really understand the system that well, but the way it's been put to me by people who live there is that it feels like that, if it's not emergent, if it's not going to kill you, then you're back of the line. Yeah, 100%
Carly 11:29
that's actually what she had said to me initially, when I started to get in that summer, beginning of the summer, and I was like, Look, I am like, not well, like, I really would like to see a gastro. And she was like, that's gonna take like, two years. Do you really want me to put in the referral? And I was like, yes, yes, I do. Yeah. Everyone who doesn't live
Scott Benner 11:48
in Canada remember that when you're complaining about your thing, nowhere is perfect. And I've just, I've had friends who have gone through things that they suffered with for a long time needlessly because no one would see them, and it would take pre, you know, I have a comparable story before I began to use a GLP, I was anemic, and I'd have to get iron infusions. Oh, okay, right, and I don't have to get them anymore. That's neither here nor there. But a friend of mine who is a Canadian or a Canadian, you say it any way you want. I know you said Provence, and it made me laugh. Well, you know, by the way, I said pro Vince, and five seconds later you used a P, R, O, Word where you went pro, and it didn't. I was like, she doesn't. She doesn't even hear it, but whatever. So my friend also needs an iron infusion. At the same time, I had one in 10 days. It took them a year to get it for her. Oh my for and with you being anemic, yeah, suffering the whole time. Oh, that's terrible, yeah? But that's the it just, I don't know, like, I mean, I'm not, I'm not picking on candidates everywhere. But my point was to bring it up that you said, maybe if someone would have seen this sooner, I wouldn't, you know, be using insulin right now and crying about popcorn at ice fishing films, and that's what made me bring it up, because you could be right. And, you know, it's funny, I recorded twice today. You're the second one, and the first person spent a lot of time talking about lost time, about the sadness of time. Lost hers was different in that she has an answer now, and she mourns the time that was wasted and you didn't have an answer forever, and now you're mourning the time that you lost moving forward, yeah, yeah, and needlessly for in both situations, by the way, yeah, maybe for you, but I mean, if taking you taking your chore, So okay, you wake up and what's the thing? Who breaks it to you? Your husband, a doctor. How does it go? Perhaps the best gift that you can give to yourself or to a loved one is that of comfort. And this holiday season, if you use the offer code Juicebox at checkout at cozy earth.com, you won't just be getting something that's comfortable. You'll also be doing it at quite a discount. We can talk about that in just a moment. Right now, I want to tell you that I use cozy Earth towels every day when I get out of the shower, I sleep on cozy Earth sheets every night, when I get into bed. I'm recording right now in a pair of cozy Earth sweatpants. I love their joggers, their hoodies, their shirts, my wife has their pajamas. And I know you're thinking, oh yeah, Scott, well, because they sent you a bunch of it for free, they did send me some for free, but I've also bought a lot on my own. So like I said earlier, Black Friday has come early at cozy Earth, and right now you can stack my code Juicebox on top of their site wide sale giving you up to 40% off in savings. These deals are definitely not going to last. Get your shopping done now or get yourself something terrific at cozy earth.com Do not forget to use that offer code. Juicebox at checkout, you will not be sorry. This episode is brought to you by Omnipod. Would you ever buy a car? Without test driving it first. That's a big risk to take on a pretty large investment. You wouldn't do that, right? So why would you do it? When it comes to choosing an insulin pump, most pumps come with a four year lock in period through the DME channel, and you don't even get to try it first. But not Omnipod five. Omnipod five is available exclusively through the pharmacy, which means it doesn't come with a typical four year DME lock in period. Plus you can get started with a free 30 day trial to be sure it's the right choice for you or your family, my daughter has been wearing an Omnipod every day for 17 years. Are you ready to give Omnipod five a try? Request your free Starter Kit today at my link, omnipod.com/juicebox Terms and Conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox find my link in the show notes of this podcast player, or at Juicebox podcast.com
Carly 15:56
well because so I didn't do well from the surgery, so I ended up in high observation, and so I woke up, and then obviously, like, there's still, like, I have all the tubes and all the things, and I'm totally whacked out. I have no idea. And I swear I heard one of the nurses say something about a Whipple. So I'm like, Whipple, yeah, that's all I just, I remember saying that. And she was like, said something, something, honey. And I was like, okay, cool. And then she was like, Okay, well, we can't, we cannot get your blood sugar stable. Like, every time we give you painkillers, you drop dramatically and fast, so we have to stop giving you painkillers. And I was like, oh, okay, so this is gonna suck. And she's like, Yeah, this is gonna suck. And I'm like, All right. And she's like, until we can stabilize your blood sugars with your find a painkiller that doesn't drop you. So I think I like, I was in high up for like, the whole evening, and then it was into the next day, and someone said something to me about insulin. And I finally clicked. And I was like, wait, wait, wait, am I a diabetic now? And she was like, yeah. And then I was like, oh, and then that, and then that, and then it was Yeah. But I thought I for the first like, while I would save the first like, at least 18 hours. I totally thought that I, I was like, Whipple, whoo.
Scott Benner 17:21
I do, but you're also high on morphine at the time. Totally, you know, everything went fine.
Carly 17:29
Really, the nurses are like, Yes, honey, whatever, Whipple. And I'm like, Yeah, Whipple, did
Scott Benner 17:35
they talk to you in that accent too? Or do you know, I guess, right. So, okay, well, that's horrifying, yeah. And so you now you realize, but what do you realize? I'm very interested in the first days, right? Because what's your actual understanding of diabetes? You didn't even go through DKA or, like, peeing a lot or something first, you were just, like, my body covers my food with insulin, yeah, go to sleep. Wake Up Now it doesn't do it
Carly 18:03
anymore. Yeah, exactly. So I think that was kind of the biggest shocker. Like, I've been listening and honestly, like, I just just quickly to say that I found you right away, like, I found the podcast, and I found the community right away, and I've been like, listening to it ever since, and it truly helped me have a better understanding of a lot of things, and then also, like, not feel so alone and isolated, but I do have, like I said, my mom's cousin is a diabetic, and she handles diabetes very differently than I do. She is older than me, but she and she was diagnosed when she was, like, eight, or something like that. She's very meticulous and calculated and a perfectionist about her diabetes, whereas I am a little bit more lacks in how I approach it, my idea and my understanding of what diabetes was was a little bit scary because of how I've seen her live. You know, family functions with her scale, weighing her food. She doesn't have a CGM, so she doesn't use a CGM. It's just a personal choice for her, so still finger pricking for all of her meals. So that was my idea of a diabetic. And so I was like, is that what diabetes needs to be for everybody, or can it be, like, a little bit different. And then that's how, when I found, like, your the community, the juice back, Juicebox community, and then, like, listening to the podcast, I was like, you will listen like it's sort of the way you approach it, like it's sort of a science experiment, like you are, and Jenny said it before, you are a Petri dish. And you just figure, you just figure it out. Every
Scott Benner 19:38
day the person in your family did, they literally show up at like, functions, family functions with a scale, with their scale, you betcha. Wow. How much does the penguin weigh when you eat it?
Carly 19:48
Apparently it's like, Ebola is about 35
Scott Benner 19:51
yeah for the beak. Mostly
Carly 19:54
it was Yeah. So it's always interesting to see, like, how she approached, approached diabetes. So
Scott Benner 20:00
prior to your your situation, how did you see her? Like, did you think weird lady? Did you think, Oh, right on, it works for her. Like, how did she appear to you? I used to hate ordering my daughter's diabetes supplies. I never had a good experience, and it was frustrating. But it hasn't been that way for a while, actually, for about three years now, because that's how long we've been using us med. US med.com/juicebox, or call 888-721-1514, US med is the number one distributor for FreeStyle Libre systems nationwide. They are the number one specialty distributor for Omnipod dash, the number one fastest growing tandem distributor nationwide, the number one rated distributor in Dexcom customer satisfaction surveys. They have served over 1 million people with diabetes since 1996 and they always provide 90 days worth of supplies and fast and free shipping. US med carries everything from insulin pumps and diabetes testing supplies to the latest CGM like the libre three and Dexcom g7 they accept Medicare nationwide and over 800 private insurers find out why us med has an A plus rating with a better business bureau at us, med.com/juicebox, or just call them at 888-721-1514, get started right now, and you'll be getting your supplies the same way we do.
Carly 21:34
So in this sense, like you said, I just, like, I have to be a little bit careful, just because, like, I know she's, I know she's gonna want to listen to this, yeah, but like, just in the sense, like I, I love her very dearly and I, but I've always seen her struggles, and I think that's sort of what stood out the most me, because she is just like, she is a lovely human being. She has this incredibly infectious laugh. So when she laughs like she just lights up a room. Everybody's laughing. She's just wonderful, yeah, but I always saw, to me, a pain in behind all of that, of like, just like approaching life every day, afraid. So she has a lot of issues with her diabetes. And I often wonder, well, I don't often wonder. I kind of, I know this, but I'm like, Just wear the CGM, man just put on the flip and CGM because, like, she's like, Yeah, I have lows like, all the time. They're severe lows, like, calling the ambulance in, like, crazy fits. Her husband's trying to hold her down. Lows. And then I was like, why don't you wear a CGM? And she was like, well, because it's going off all the time. And I'm like, this is going off all the time because you're low
Scott Benner 22:40
I am always fat, by the way. If she hears this, yeah, she is invited to come on the podcast. Okay, I would genuinely love to hear her side of like, like, because, because it occurs to me, while you're talking, is that she has a whole like, history and lifetime and experiences, and she's doing the best for herself too. Totally. I wonder what it would feel like to know how that appears from the other side. Like, I think that'd be an interesting conversation. But she also no pressure. She doesn't have to do that. That offers open. So, okay, so that's your feeling about type one diabetes,
Carly 23:13
pre, pre all finding out all of that stuff. Yeah, right, right. And
Scott Benner 23:17
now you have it. And how do you see her now
Carly 23:21
I have much more of an appreciation for what she goes through, like, you know, more sympathy and not that I didn't I'm a very empathetic person, like it's me and my mom were both like empaths to the nth
Scott Benner 23:33
degree. But may I say, Carly, I know you're a kind person, because when you got upset and tried to curse, you said, flipping Oh, did I Yes, the flipping CGM, you know, like, you were passionate, and you were like, Oh, the flipping CGM. And I was like, that's interesting. So, like, I know you're a kind person. I can tell from that you don't have to pre apologize for what you're saying. Like, I know you have empathy for people in your life. I'm interested. Like, how does it pivot for you?
Carly 23:58
To me, it was almost like, like, I understood before. I was like, Oh yeah, you have to, like, do all the things. But now I'm like, I don't know, because diabetes is so different for everybody else, and we've had really good conversations since I've become a diabetic, there's times where I just want to be like, just there's things, there's tools. Like, just utilize the tools. Like people have worked so hard to come this far for tech, for for diabetics, like, utilize it. I don't understand that component of it, but that's because I'm a tech person, like I said, like, I just switched to an iPhone so that I could get the I watch, so that all I have to do is lift up my wrist and I can see my and I can see my blood sugars
Scott Benner 24:42
in a world where that exists, you're wondering why somebody else wouldn't maybe totally try putting on a CGM. So when you said earlier that you see her care as more meticulous, and yours is not the same way. You're not saying you're not striving for low a 1c and low variability, like you're. Saying that you think the way you're getting to your end is easier than the way she's getting to her end.
Carly 25:06
I think my idea of how to live my life is but to be fair, I have two kids. She doesn't. They don't have kids. And so I think my goal is to show my daughter that, like, my son is only three, so he has no idea. He doesn't even remember me being in the hospital, sure, but for my daughter, I just want to show her that, like, you don't have to get like, super caught up in being perfect. You just have to do your best. And sometimes that means eating something and then being like, Okay, well, that didn't work. Let's figure it out, and then maybe we can do better next time. But I'm not gonna, like, freak out and then weigh it next time and then, like, write it down and make sure it's perfect next time. I'm gonna be like, hey, well, last time I Bolus, like, this ish I'm that I'm an ish person. That's the way I could say it. I do things very ish.
Scott Benner 26:03
I want to give you know, respect to people whose brains don't work like yours, but I want to keep going down this path. Here's how I think we get to my answer before I ask my question, what's your A, 1c, well,
Carly 26:14
it fluctuates. The last time I had it was 6.5 but I get really confused because, and I don't know if this is like a difference between the states and Canada. You talk about an A, 1c of like, 5.4 being like, really good. And so, oh, and I got my 6.5 I was like, Oh, man. And then, yeah, then my, my diabetic educator was like, What are you talking about? This is, this is awesome. And I was like, oh, okay, cool.
Scott Benner 26:44
No. So six, five is awesome. The reason, the reason I and, well done, congratulations. But the reason I asked, because when you're making the case for like, ish, right? And like, if you would have said, like, my one sees 11, I would say, Well, maybe stop with the ish. Maybe you ought to get yourself one of those scales and carry it around with you. Sounds like you don't know what the hell you're doing. Don't know what the hell you're doing. But if you're telling me that you're doing that kind of blend of lifestyle and diabetes, and you're having a six, five, a, 1c, outcome, I mean, do you have a lot of lows? No, not really awesome. What do you consider a spike? Like, where does your blood sugar get out really? Like, oh gosh, I got really high.
Carly 27:21
So when I first came out of the hospital, it was intense, because they said, like, type 3c are really prone to those fluctuations, especially highs. I'm not entirely sure why. That's kind of some more knowledge that I want to gain in that respect. But so I was getting, like, pretty high. I could get to like, 1617, 18. And again, this is different because I'm in Canada, like, because you say, you're always saying hundreds and stuff. And so then I actually, that's when I bust out my calculator. When I'm
Scott Benner 27:50
listening to break out your calculator you can do, there's gesintas You could do. Or you can go to my website under Support, a 1c and blood glucose calculator. And then I click on millimoles, because that's what you are. And what'd you say?
Carly 28:04
18, yeah. 18, yeah, yeah. My highest was I almost went into the hospital.
Scott Benner 28:10
And 18 is a 324, here in the Americas. Oh, okay, in the Americas, by the way, what are we like, 12 miles from each other? You sound like you're pretty close to the border,
Carly 28:19
right? Yeah, yeah. I am, yeah. I'm in Alberta. So just like, by Montana.
Scott Benner 28:24
Can I just tell people who are in the Wisconsin, Michigan area, their version of this sounds nicer than your version of it? And I don't know why, like, what? There's a harder the accents a little harder Michigan and Wisconsin than it is slightly north in Canada. There's something more melodic about it when you do it, I don't, I mean, I'm not coming down to anybody. You sound like what you sound like. But anyway, so you almost ended up in the hospital with an 18 blood sugar.
Carly 28:50
No, that 18 would be like, actually, for me, where like I would go for my highs when I was still in the beginning. I'm sorry, good, yeah, beginning, yeah. When I was still MDI, I would be my highs would sit anywhere like, you know, like, 14 to 18 ish, and then I'd be like, Oh, sucks. And I'd my husband would be like, God, are you high? And I'd be like, Mm hmm, because now he knows. So I get kind of cranky. But anyway, the time when I went well, I was in DKA, I think I just avoided the hospital. I managed it at home. But I was getting, like, higher and higher, 1820, 22 and then I was like, Okay, I hadn't done a site change yet. This was when I had just transitioned over to my pump, and I think I was on my pump for about a month, so I hadn't had to do a site change from an issue. And so I was like, what's going on? And I just was like, rage, Bolus thing in bed, just cranking insulin in and just like nothing and nothing. And so finally, I was like, Okay, wait a sec. Think logically. Stop. Think logically. And so I was like, change your site, drink some Gatorade, go for a walk. So I did all those things. And when I went to change my site, and I. Pulled the, like, the needle out, and the little sticky adhesive, I pulled it off, and insulin just started pooling out.
Scott Benner 30:09
It was collecting under your skin and not being absorbed. You think,
Carly 30:12
yeah, yeah. They fit, yeah. So there was, I think, like something, it was caught in the needle. I don't really know what happened, but I just know I didn't get any insulin. I think it was about
Unknown Speaker 30:21
12 hours. Oh, gosh,
Carly 30:23
and so, yeah, I just kept climbing, climbing, climbing. So I was surprised that, on top of all of that, being like, I pretty close to DK, if I wasn't already in it, I tracked down the paperwork that they sent home with me from the hospital for my calculations. Should this happen? Found my calculation, calculated what I was what I needed to manually inject, did that like, plowed through some g2 Gatorade, went for a walk and actually got myself down. Good for you. Yeah. I called in sick. I was sick for two days at home, but otherwise,
Scott Benner 31:01
yeah, oh my gosh, that's awesome, like that. You figured it out like that, and took all the steps. Even when you were probably cranky, you were able to
Carly 31:08
think about that very cranky.
Scott Benner 31:12
Can you tell people a little bit about it? Like, what happens when your
Carly 31:16
blood sugar gets higher? So for me, I like, I try really, really hard to not let it affect other people. I know that sounds silly, but it's just kind of the way that I am. So, especially with my kids, like so sometimes actually what I'll do my husband knows, because I just look at him and he's like, she's high, all right, whatever like or just make me a snack and get out of there, get me some sugar free chocolate. But with my kids, I just kind of will look at my daughter and I'll just be like, Dahlia, Mommy's going high right now, just a little bit irritable. Just give me a minute and like, I'll just give myself some insulin, and I'll start to come down, and everything will be all right. And she's just like, yeah, cool, okay. And then she just takes off.
Scott Benner 31:58
Okay, nice. What do they think about, I know you said your one child's a little younger, but the other one was a little older, like Mommy was sick in the hospital, surgery comes home, has this new life? What is that? Has that had impacts on them? Do you think
Carly 32:10
big time? Yeah, for sure. Because she was, like, just turned seven, kind of when everything started to go and we had to have this conversation with her, that I needed to go to Calgary and go like they couldn't do the surgery in my hometown. I had to travel for it, okay, not far, just a couple hours, but obviously I was away from home, and she had to stay back home with daddy and stuff, so she knew that this big surgery was coming, and my my actual heal time, I was supposed to be in the hospital for a month. I was supposed to be in for at least four weeks is but I pushed super, super hard and was released in 14 days, actually, 13, but she came up and saw me, and I was terrified for the day that she was coming up to see me. I still had a main line in my neck. So I had tubing in my neck, and then, like, was hooked up to, like, a gazillion things. I was really nervous for her to see me like that, because she sees me as like this, like, super human. She's always like, really put me up on a pedestal. So my main concern was her to see me like that. And she came in and we had a little cry and a little hug, and probably within 10 minutes, she was like, laying beside me with the remote the crappy hospital TV, watching cable and everything was like, kind of fine. And then I got to come home, and then I was kind of in bed for another couple of months easily. So lots of care. We had Home Care coming in. They had to help me with a lot of things, my stitches and all that kind of stuff
Scott Benner 33:41
I want to hear about that a couple of months you mentioned earlier that your recovery was slow. Was there a reason for it, or is that just expected for that procedure?
Carly 33:49
Yeah, the total pancreatectomy. So they removed from my surgery, they removed my pancreas, my gallbladder and my spleen, jeez. So the pancreas, because it was so sick, started to affect the other two organs as well. So they removed all three. And so the incision runs from my, like, high chest, my scar now runs from high chest all the way down to below my belly button. Gosh. So, I mean, it was huge, like, the surgery itself was huge, and they wanted me, like I said to be in the hospital for four weeks, and I was like, not having it.
Scott Benner 34:25
Hey, you have to take digestive enzymes now with your meals. Do, yeah, what else do you have to do? So
Carly 34:31
digestive enzymes with everything I eat, meals and snacks and my insulin, I eat really, really well. So it could have been due to the inflammation of being sick beforehand, but from surgery, I lost about 42 pounds. My gosh, so I'm like, quite lean now, and so I'm, like, constantly eating.
Scott Benner 34:53
Did you feel like you were What are you trying to tell me that you felt like your body was carrying weight because of just the general illness that you felt?
Carly 35:00
Oh yeah, I kind of, that's sort of how I feel. Like I saw this picture of myself in the summer of 23 that's like me and my kiddos and my husband, and we're just like, in the mountains, hiking and stuff. And I saw this picture of myself, and I actually don't like looking at it now, because I can see the inflammation and, like, just like, kind of like the illness in my face, yeah, and my body. And then I see pictures of myself now, and I it's funny, because I, you know, I have diabetes and I have these issues, but I feel healthier now than I think I have in a very, very long time.
Scott Benner 35:37
Going back, how far? When do you think this started to pile up on you for, like, not feeling, yeah, yeah, before you had kids, after you had them. Oh, yeah, a
Carly 35:47
decade, if not more, that I've been feeling like that. Yeah. Not Well, not this, not as sick as I was in the summer of 23 right? But, but progressively, yeah, getting kind of worse and
Scott Benner 35:58
worse. And remind me you talked about, like, overall pain that was too general to pinpoint inflammation. Did you think you were just a heavier person? Because you also said you ate really well, but you were heavier. So, like, Yeah, is that in your head too well?
Carly 36:13
I ate, I ate. Yeah, I ate well. Like, I mean, I didn't eat. I've never really eaten a lot of junk. And I think that's that goes hand in hand with being gluten free. You just, like, don't have that option. Certainly not like, 10 years ago, that's for sure. That's why we started the bakery. So I always, like, ate fairly well, but just could not lose weight. And I wasn't obese by any means. Like, I'm five four. And before this, I was like, maybe, like, 140 245 pounds. So it's not that I was like, overweight, but you could almost like, my body was just, like inflamed, like you just, there was inflammation, I think now looking back, yeah, you're
Scott Benner 36:51
saying that. Looking backwards, you just, you see yourself, and you think of that person just doesn't look well, yeah, totally. Did you think that at the time, not
Carly 36:59
as much as I yeah, not as much I was, like, just, why can't I just lose weight? Like I'm fairly fit, like I'm not going to the gym every day or anything, but I'm certainly not like, a stagnant person. I move and I I'm active and I eat, like, you know, like I said fairly well, certainly not to the extent I do now,
Scott Benner 37:18
yeah, but no, all that activity, like, you probably Captain a sled dog right team? That's like, you probably do you do all kinds of stuff, right? Like, so you're outside working. I mean, you got to climb over all that snow, and there's mountains, right, pick through, and I'm ice fishing, yeah, right. I'm saying you guys are really active. Do you actually, like, live in a place that, like, looks like New Jersey? Is that where you live? Well, I live,
Carly 37:38
well, no, I live in like, a it's like a, do you know, do you know of Calgary,
Scott Benner 37:42
Alberta? No, no. I know about the Calgary Flames.
Carly 37:45
And we're a smaller, we're a smaller, I would say we're like a smaller version of
Scott Benner 37:50
Calgary. Okay, so where I am, all right? But I mean, you are an active person recently, yeah, you got little kids you're running after and stuff like that. Yeah, yeah. They probably won't stop, right
Carly 38:00
with all and now, especially, yeah,
Scott Benner 38:02
why not? Why now, especially my three
Carly 38:05
year old is a little nut, like my daughter was always like, pretty busy, but my son is like, next level. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 38:12
I gotcha. That's awesome. I'm sorry, beyond having to take the digestive enzymes. Is there any other medications or things that you have to do now that are part of your daily care.
Carly 38:22
No, not really. Like, I, I think, because I choose to eat so well, I'm doing really, really well, okay. Like, I even, like, I had a my diabetic educator. We were talking, obviously, when I was released from hospital, far more often going from MDI to the pump, like they were floored for the pump, like, I'm part of what's called the pump clinic. So actually, my pump is covered, my insulin is covered, all that stuff's covered for me, which is amazing. I can't I can't imagine what it would be like to be a diabetic and not have coverage. But we would talk like, kind of all the time. And then moving to the pump, she was like, this is sort of unheard of, like, most people are, like, six months to a year to get a pump, and I had mine in four. So we would talk lots. And now we talk, like, we'll chat just to, like, catch up. And then she's like, how are you doing? And I'm like, good. She's like, a 1c. Is great. We'll talk to you in a couple months if you want. And I'm like,
Scott Benner 39:19
okay, cool. You just go, yeah. And then she's like, Yeah, and they're just kind of, I've never, ever said a I don't think so you don't think yeah, no, okay, we say
Carly 39:28
things like wicked awesome. So I guess maybe we are very similar to Boston.
Scott Benner 39:35
You say wicked awesome. You've, you've actually used a number of euphemisms while we were talking that I thought were funny today, I'm not gonna remember them all, but how was your direction? Like you said, you found the podcast pretty quickly, right? But what precipitated that? Why did you need to, I guess, like, what didn't exist that made you say, I have to go find somebody who understands this.
Carly 39:56
I think it was the uniqueness of my situation. Because, like you said. It wasn't like, Oh, you went into DK, you were in the hospital, then they told you, you're a diabetic. I literally, like you said, I went to sleep and I woke up a diabetic. And so I was searching for answers for people that might understand, like, nobody knows what a type 3c diabetic is. Nobody knows that, really. And that told me enough to say, like, if people don't even know what it is my doctor is telling me, just tell people you have type one, because no one else is going to know. So I was like, Well, how many other people had a total pancreatectomy? Why did they have it? So I think it was just like, I'm an answer seeker. I want to know. I want I like gaining knowledge. And so I I'm trying to think of how I found I think I just Googled, like, diabetic communities, and then stumbled across the Juicebox, and then loved all the stories. And then whoever facilitates the Facebook page, I had put my story forward, and was like, I wonder if there's anyone else. And she, like, immediately connected me with two other people.
Scott Benner 40:58
Was that Nico that did that for you? Yes, yeah, yeah. So,
Carly 41:02
and then, like, the things that Jenny says, I like, super connect with because I love, like, health and nutrition now, yeah. And so, there's just a lot of a lot of things that I connected with on a lot of levels. Well, that's awesome.
Scott Benner 41:13
I just want to say that there's a number of really lovely people who help with the Facebook group, and I can't thank them enough. They volunteer their time, and they're really, really incredibly valuable in a way that I don't think we can properly quantify.
Carly 41:29
Maybe, No, I totally get it. I like, I for a living, like, I'm admin support. I work at a university, and I'm admin support for a couple of departments, and so I understand that the work it takes kind of in the background that people don't always get to see.
Scott Benner 41:42
No, they're special people. They really are. I definitely couldn't do it by myself. Like, there was a time I used to, and then one day I was like, Oh, it got too big. Yeah, not so much. Like, I'll live here 24 hours a day if I try to do what I was doing before. And then there was, I got scared. I was like, Oh, I wonder if this will, like, find its level. You know what I mean, like, like, well, I work this out, and with those people's help, and, you know, I think we actually been talking about a lot today offline, but, you know, just sticking to the ethos of, you know, let people share their stories. Yeah, I think that's the most important part. I'm so glad it's helping you. No,
Carly 42:18
it, is it? And I've been listening to it for long enough that when you sent me the link, and I was like, Oh, it doesn't say the time zone. And then I thought to myself, well, it's got to be 11. It can't be one, because if we're two hours apart, that would put Scott at three, and Arden will be off school. And then I'm like, Oh, my God, you do because she's like, 20,
Scott Benner 42:40
you're thinking of her like she's in high school, right? Yeah, no, younger, younger than that, younger, yeah, yeah. That flips people out sometimes. The first time that happened, when the blog was first up, I used a photo of Arden at the on the like was the only real photo I ever used of her was just like the blog used to be called Arden's day. And, yeah, there's this little picture of her, like, super small, I think, in like, this yellow shirt. And people, it definitely was the yellow shirt because she had done a photo shoot for her children's hospital for their diabetes pamphlet. Okay, one of the pictures just came out really well. And I was like, Oh, I'll use that picture on the, on the on the blog. And then she got a little older, and she was like, Hey, I don't like looking like a baby on the internet. And I was like, oh, okay, cool. Like I said, but the header is kind of like, iconic. What if I could, like, and I had, like, an artist, like, just recreate it. And I was like, How is this? Like, it's not really you, it's just reminiscent of it. And she's like, Yeah, that's fine. And then that went on like that for a while. Then eventually, one day, I was like, I know that I thought of myself as a blogger, but I really make a podcast now. Like the blog's not really the same thing as it used to be. So I switched it. Basically, if you type in ardensday.com I think it just, it goes right to Juicebox podcast.com And nevertheless, like when all that changed, it changed in people's minds. Then years went by, and then Arden pops up in a photo somewhere, and people are like, whoa, wait. Yeah, that's insane, like that. She's a grown woman, in my mind. She's a two year old child in a little yellow shirt, right? And now you're showing me a picture of a 1718, 1920, year old person. Yeah? It flips people out a little bit. Yeah, that's really awesome. Can you like, nuts and bolts? Tell me what you learned that's been most valuable for you about using insulin? Like, what are day to day things that you do now using insulin? Yeah, that you took from the podcast that you're like, these are foundational for me.
Carly 44:36
There's, I can't remember which episode it was, but you were talking about how people are, like, just sort of released as adults, opposed to children, adults, more so are released from wherever, if they were in the hospital or they were whatever, and they're like, you're a diabetic. Now have fun. Goodbye, you know? And then it's like, we just have to figure. This thing out on our own, and so I think it was just the foundational knowledge. Like, I love the little the little bits. It's not called the sips. Is it called the small sips? Yeah, the small sip like that one was huge for me. I love that because it just gives you an opportunity to, kind of, like, start from those basics that you are not taught. And even if they were taught to me when I was in the hospital, I, like you said, I was so whacked out on morphine for half of it, I don't remember half of what they said anyways, yeah, so it was just building that foundational knowledge up again and to have that, and then also to be able to have those stories. And I think the biggest thing for me was it's not so much what you say, but it's how you say it. When you say, Be bold with insulin, it's not that you're saying, like, go out and like, Just give yourself a bunch of insulin and see how it goes. You're just saying, don't be afraid to try things and then build on that knowledge that you have. So I think for me, that's been the biggest thing is, like, just don't be afraid. You said, like, what's going to happen? You're going to try something, you're going to give yourself some insulin, you're going to go low, then you're going to, like, whatever, drink your juice and come back up, or you're going to go high and you're going to give yourself some insulin, as long as you're doing it in a safe, knowledgeable way, then do it so that you can figure this thing out, otherwise you're just going to continue to be scared or live in that same zone of being high all the time, being low all the time, whatever it is. So you
Scott Benner 46:29
found it empowering, yeah? Oh, that's awesome. That really makes me happy. It also makes me happy that the small sip series worked because, oh yeah. I mean, it's been out for a while now, and I've gotten good feedback about it, but I also put out a lot of content. So I think sometimes that doesn't really allow people to like share with me how they're feeling, because the podcast keeps going and they think they're keeping up. I don't, but I have gotten a lot of good feedback about it. That was really, you know, it's funny you brought that up, because that's another example of how the Facebook group helps the podcast, because the quick lineage of that is we made the Pro Tip series first, right? And a person that helps with the Facebook group, Isabelle, tells me, one day, I think there needs to be something more intermediate than the Pro Tip series, like something for beginners. And I was like, Oh, okay. She said, I find some newly diagnosed people seem overwhelmed by the pro tips. And I was like, Oh, well, we'll do a bold beginning series and get people started. And then at some point I had the idea. I was like, you know, there's enough ideas in this podcast. They're like, foundational for people, really. And what are those ideas? Because I've learned that what strikes me isn't always what strikes you. Like we just, it's important to put all the information out there and let people, like, pick and choose from a kind of a la carte and decide how to build their own, build their own diabetes care, right? Yeah, out of these ideas, like, you take the things that work for you, that makes sense to you, that speak to you, whatever. But how would I know what those are? How would I know how other people take the podcast, right? So we put out the call to everybody in the Facebook group and just ask them give me foundational moments from the podcast for you. Yeah,
Carly 48:09
I think it's not even so much for the people listening. It's who I'm also asking to listen to this content for not just myself, but just say so, for example, my mom was terrified when I was diagnosed. My mom was terrified, like, she's like, You have to live like this. She was heartbroken, like, you have to live like this now, and I hate this, and it's so terrible, like, we're very, very close. And so I told her, like, just be open. Be honest with me. Tell me your feels. You're allowed to feel them just as much as I am. And then that's what she said. I'm heartbroken for all of this, and I also feel so lost. And I was like, Okay, listen, if you want to take this, and it's funny that it's called small sips, because I said, take this in small sips. Listen to this slowly digest this material, so that you understand when I come over and I'm like, Hey, I got a Bolus whatever, or, like, I'm using terminology that scares you because you don't know it. Use this information to empower yourself, and then you will feel more confident in and maybe less nervous about me and what I'm going through.
Scott Benner 49:15
Take away some of her sadness. Maybe
Carly 49:17
Yeah, exactly like, it's just yeah, just listen to it and kind of gain that knowledge, because she's very much like me and just needing kind of a knowledge base to feel more comfortable.
Scott Benner 49:26
Are you telling me that that series not just helped you with your management, but it helped your mom to be more comfortable about what was happening to you? Yeah? Goodness, you know, I laughed off the other day when a woman emailed me and said she was going to nominate me for a Nobel Prize. But now I'm thinking, do it. I'm gonna take that. By the way. I don't think can a regular, how do you nominate somebody for a Nobel Prize? I don't think,
Carly 49:48
I don't know, can't like, I would nominate you for a Nobel Prize.
Scott Benner 49:53
You're Canadian. I don't think they'd even listen to you. How do you Yeah,
Carly 49:59
how do you. I know there's people that have gotten it that you're like, what?
Speaker 1 50:02
Really, really? Yeah, this could happen. Yeah, I think so, oh my God,
Carly 50:07
because I'm gonna say this, but again, like I'm in Canada, and so we see things differently in regards to people in power in the States right now. But didn't somebody nominate themselves for a Nobel Prize? I think
Scott Benner 50:21
you're thinking about a I think you're thinking about a Webby Award. It says here, you generally cannot directly nominate someone for a Nobel Prize, by the way. I want to just be clear, I don't think I deserve a Nobel Prize, as most are by invitation only. Instead, 1000s of qualified individuals like professors, previous laureates and members of the National assemblies are sent invitations by the Nobel committees to submit candidates for the following year's prizes. Okay, I don't feel like this is
Carly 50:49
gonna happen. Hey, listen, you gotta dream big.
Scott Benner 50:53
What she said is just, you know, just a nice compliment. I didn't really think anybody was getting nominated for anything, but as you're talking about it, I do want to take a second and say I'm really happy that that worked that way for you, and then I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm a little personally impressed, because I wish you could see how I actually make the podcast. You just
Carly 51:12
like, are you hanging out in your basement, full studio and stuff? Now
Scott Benner 51:17
it's a spare room in the house. My point more is about the way it's put together, which is just, it's me trying to sit back and absorb what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing online, and trying to imagine other ways to help people.
Carly 51:35
Yeah, and that's it. It's not necessarily what it's not how you're doing it. It's what you're doing. There's no
Scott Benner 51:42
big plan. Is what I was saying, is what I would have said. There's a whiteboard. Is a six by four whiteboard with my scribblings on it. And I stare at them until one of the scribblings makes sense to me, and then I give it a shot. So, like, here I'll give you an example, so that people can, like, timestamp this. If this ends up happening, it may not right? But if this ends up happening a year from now, you might hear me making more references that are rooted in stoicism, for example, right? Because I read a book, and then I dug a little more deeply into it, and then I started seeing that like, oh, a lot of these like, original Stoics, they have feelings like, like, I have, I have no formal education, right? Like, so I didn't know that somebody had said this hundreds, 1000s of years ago. I didn't know that this is how some of the Greek I
Carly 52:30
was just gonna say, are you
Scott Benner 52:31
talking like philosophical? Yeah. Like, like, philosophy, like I actually said to my wife last night in a moment of sadness, maybe I should have gone to college. I think I would have enjoyed getting a philosophy degree. Cool, and she's like, well, you still can. I was like, I don't know how you mean that I'm working. And I said, I'm I'm gonna just dig into it more on my own, like in my personal time, yeah, but I might have enjoyed that. Like the person I am now thinks that I would have enjoyed that. I don't know if the person I was then would have been like, what am I gonna do with this? Or if I would have been too busy thinking, how do you make a living with this? Like, please don't waste my time. It's interesting to look at messaging that is so accurate and powerful that it reverberates through not just generations, but through time, right?
Carly 53:16
Yeah. Well, that's what I do, like, so I help students figure that out because so I'm admin support for at the university. I help the Geography and Environment students currently, right now, I support Geography and Environment Women and Gender Studies. And then my very good friend, who's admin support for philosophy and anthropology, we have, like, mutual students. And so I see it all the time, these, these lovely students with great big ideas and, like, kind of an understanding of life that's just a little bit beyond, say, like my science students and whatnot. I always thought it was really cool. I've always loved philosophy and things like that, so, but I'm actually changing, well, not careers, but I just got a new job offer last week. Oh, congratulations. Are we happy about it? Because of everything that's happened to me is why I applied. So I'm actually moving over to, it's our MediCal program. Awesome.
Scott Benner 54:06
Good for you. Yeah, and it's possible that during my hot showers or quiet moments or whatever, that one day I put together, hey, there are these kind of, like, again, foundational ideas in stoicism that I think might lead people to who are struggling with chronic illness to find maybe some stability or something, and maybe I'll find a way to mix it into something. Or maybe I won't, like, I don't know, like, my point was that I don't know how. I don't really know how to quantify or qualify how the podcast gets built out right, other than to just say that it's me existing in this space, talking to all of you, and trying to wonder about things and see what happens.
Carly 54:47
So as it evolves, yeah, and as it has evolved, that's what I think is so cool. That's why it's been interesting actually, to kind of binge through it as it were, like, I know you've been doing this for so when did it start? How long have. You been
Scott Benner 55:00
January 2015, this is my 11th full year of making the podcast
Carly 55:04
nice, so in 11 years. So I've been listening to 11 years worth of content in a super condensed timeframe.
Scott Benner 55:11
I must change drastically, but I bet you don't notice it, though, right? Because, no, not really. You're growing with it. Yeah, that's interesting, isn't it? Isn't that awesome? Like, I find that fascinating. I wish we could have time to do that with everybody, yeah. Like, how cool would it be if you could spend a month or six months gathering up an understanding of a person in your life? Oh, I would love that. Wouldn't that be neat? Right? Like, if you could, if you if your mom had been making a podcast for the last decade, and then you got to sit down and listen to the whole thing.
Carly 55:45
Yeah, I would be floored. I would I would love it. They have a thing now. It's a book like, so it says on the front it says something like, I already know what you're gonna say, yeah? Like, Mom, I want to know everything about you, or whatever, yeah. And then they just spend however long, like, just writing everything, you know, like, my dad tells me stuff like, Oh, this one time when I was, like, 16, and you're like, yeah, like, then you could read it all as if it was like a novel. I think that would be so cool.
Scott Benner 56:12
Okay, moms to fill in for families. I'm gonna get one of those for my
Carly 56:17
wife. Yeah, I know. Just start writing in it now and then. Yeah, cuz I
Scott Benner 56:21
have a podcast. They, if the kids care about me, one day, they can just listen to this. I mean, it's called, is it like, I want to have your story, mom or something? Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna, I'm gonna. This is a nice gift. I'm in charge of Christmas this year again. No, no. It almost happened last year, by the way. It's not, let me just be clear, in case she ever hears this, she's never giving up control
Carly 56:42
of Christmas. No, she's not. I can guarantee you that it's
Scott Benner 56:46
just the thing she says to me when she gets frustrated because she doesn't think enough people help her with Christmas. Okay, I know what's going on, but that's not the point. The point is, I got to be ready, right? Because she's like, Well, fine, you're in charge of Christmas. I said something like, what did I say? I'm like, Well, everybody's getting $500 then we're done. Totally, yeah, you're all just gonna open up a card with cash in it, and then we're gonna go to the movies, and then you're gonna be pissed. But I can't really do that. I gotta come through.
Carly 57:12
What if you actually, like, throw down for Christmas and you get everybody, like, the perfect gift, and then she's like, Oh,
Scott Benner 57:18
you see that this has to happen Carly, because I am generally thought of as not a details person. And when I go shopping for people, like, I'm more pragmatic about gifts, yeah, I'm not as good with like, oh, somebody would love this. I'm like, Oh, they could use this, or they would enjoy this. Or, like, it's not I'm not as good with the like, I don't know, everybody wants a back scratcher. I'm not as good with the flowery part of gift giving, right, right? You know? Or when I do something, it like, everyone's like, ah, like you, son of bitch, is all you. Although I want to, I want to say this. I never said this before. I want to give my wife, her, her. What do people say now, flowers, that feels like a thing. It's gonna go away pretty quickly. But my wife, one year got me a squatty potty, no way for Christmas, and I opened it up. And part of me was just absolutely insulted. I was like, This is not a Christmas present. This is a thing you pick up on a shopping trip. She's like, you're gonna love this thing. Shut up. Blah, blah, blah. And I was like, I'm insulted. And just between you, me and everybody else listening. I love school. I think everybody should have one.
Carly 58:25
That's right. So RuPaul actually, like, who I like, adore is, like, one of their spokes people for squatty potty, yes, yeah. And so I know about them. And actually, it's really funny that you say that, because one Christmas I got my husband. It's called a something pushy, and it's like, like a bidet, basically, that you install in your toilet.
Scott Benner 58:47
Oh, she got me that one time, and I made her take it back. I don't know, but I was, may I just sound spoiled for a second? I was like, I don't want an ad on bidet. Give me a bidet or gives me nothing. Get me a bidet or nothing. I don't want to be treated like this. I don't turn into a fancy white lady often, but that was one of the places where I did it. I was like, I do not want an ad hoc bolt on piece of plumbing running across the floorboards bidet. I was like, you either get a plumber in here and get me a toilet that shoots water up my or you don't love me. And by the way, we don't have a bidet. So I think I know where that happened, where that got cut off that. I also don't know if I would want it, but I put up a pretty big I almost said, stink, but that's just such a ridiculous point. I'm not gonna do it. Yeah, I was like. I was like, I don't want some bolt on bidet. This is not okay with me.
Carly 59:43
Yeah, ours still isn't installed. That's why I'm left. Of
Scott Benner 59:46
course, not what. It's one of those things that sounds like a good idea. So you start looking at running plastic tubing across exactly, wait, I gotta tap into the water like I'm not doing that. Stop it. Listen. I. To put an end to a lot of business ideas. In the first meeting, I'd be the guy in the room that goes, no one's gonna tap into their pipe. Forget it.
Carly 1:00:08
It seemed like a good idea at the
Scott Benner 1:00:10
time. Well, yeah, not for nothing. I've talked to people who have used them, and I like, I think I'd like it. Rick, you know what I mean, but like, but not, I don't want to. I almost said half. There's so many puns coming out about this that I don't mean, nevertheless. All right, so listen, you doing okay? How you feeling? Like, what's the year later, somebody went into my body, yanked out my What did they yank out your pancreas, your gallbladder and your spleen? Yeah, I don't even know what a spleen does the gallbladder, you know? I
Carly 1:00:40
mean, I know I didn't either. Actually, it's funny, because I didn't actually know that they took those other two organs until two months later. Hey,
Scott Benner 1:00:48
you know what I would make fun of you, except Arden had her tonsils out recently, and a few weeks later, she goes, Did he take out my adenoids, too? And I went, I don't I think what I was like, I think so. And she's like, You don't know. And I'm like, you don't know. She goes, and I said, No, let me stop you. I'm like, he definitely did. And I went back to the and I realized I was I got sick the day I took her to that first appointment, and I was woozy in that appointment, and didn't realize that I got sick later that day. So I do have a bit of a of a reason for that. But nevertheless, she asked me, what did they what did they surgically remove from me? And I was like, I'm not 100% sure thing in your throat, yeah. And so we yanked out the paperwork, and I was like, there's a big, long word here that I think means both. And I said, I think this is what happened. We looked up, and sure enough, she had both taken
Carly 1:01:44
up. That's exactly what happened. Because when I said that, I had that pre op assessment, and he started talking about things, and then I sort of shut down after he said something about losing my pancreas and a diabetic, I just sort of went and I don't really remember, but apparently that's when he was kind of explaining what a total pancreatectomy is. And so then after the surgery, they needed to see me back up for like a post, post op checkup or whatever. And then they sent me the, just the write up the post op report, and I'm looking at it, and it says, you know, this normal, that normal, whatever. And they had checked my pancreas and found some tumors and things of that nature. But then it said pancreatectomy, and then spleenectomy and one other word. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are these other two? So I phoned my surgeon, who was just lovely, and I'm like, Hey, Dr, blah, blah. And he was like, yeah, no, I took all three. And I was like, Oh, all right, awesome. Cool. Well, that would explain the incision size, but yeah, so I didn't actually find out for quite some time after, which was funny, but it just means I have to be careful about blood infections with my spleen, stuff like that. Otherwise, it's fine. Yeah, I know that's
Scott Benner 1:02:55
probably a thing that people listening are like, Oh, good. You let somebody do a surgery on you and even know what they were doing, like, but you I think it's important, by the way, important to point out for people who are listening to this, who are in charge of giving people, you know, news in a medical setting, that you were told something and you just zoned out. Yeah, I was in shock, for sure. Course, you are right. Like, somebody just told you, like, there's a chance you're gonna wake up and have type one diabetes, basically, and you're gonna need insulin, blah, blah, blah. And then they're like, Here, here's a lot of other important things you need to know. And that happens, by the way, when you tell people, like, Hey, your kid has type one now, and then you start telling them other things in the they don't hear you, yeah, totally. There's a buzzing in your head at that point,
Carly 1:03:39
yeah. And I know I've heard, like other people that you've interviewed say the same thing, and I related on, on so many levels, but it's, it's true. It's like, what I what I would say to people, is, for my most important thing is, God, that just advocate for yourself and in the medical health system, like, don't just take people's word for it. If you feel like something is wrong, push and, like, just try to get answers and just don't stop. Because I that complacency, I think, is kind of what got me to where I where I am.
Scott Benner 1:04:11
But you beat yourself up a little bit because you think you could have pushed sooner, yeah,
Carly 1:04:16
maybe, yeah. I guess that's one of the things. But I'm also working on, like, I believe in, like, making sure you have the proper supports and things of that nature. So I definitely like talk to a therapist about, like, it's like a medical health, medical trauma therapist, and she's fantastic. And so she's really helping me and giving me some big tools about, like, letting go of putting that back on myself.
Scott Benner 1:04:39
I was hoping you're I actually was gonna be my next question. I had a dumb joke. I was working up about a polar bear who was gonna get to that, but I just, you just said it so I know there are no polar bears in Canada. People who are Canadian have come on and told me that also you don't have penguins. I don't know if you
Carly 1:04:56
know that or not. Oh, well, we do. They're just at the zoo. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:04:58
that's what you had. Guys. End up saying, but I'm saying like, they don't natively walk around there. I thought for sure they did at one point and not, not the case. But some people do have sled dogs. That's not a that's not a thing I made up. Yeah, there are people who ride around on horses called Mounties.
Carly 1:05:15
Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. There's even a dude that rides a buffalo in a small town that's like 30 minutes away from where I live. He just like rides. He rides it to go get groceries. Really, totally true.
Scott Benner 1:05:29
And no one should ever forget the girl that came on that was a can can dancer in the Yukon. That was maybe one of my favorite Canadian stories, because I tried to joke with her. I was like, would they just sit there and, like, throw gold coins at you? And she got quiet, and she was like, Yes. And I was like, Oh, my God, I was just kidding. It's my favorite part when I say something stupid and people go, No, that's actually how it works. That's crazy. All right. Have you ever lived anywhere else except there? Or do you ever wonder about, like, living in maybe, like, more of a No, I don't know. Like, you know,
Carly 1:05:59
I like it because it's, like, a it's, it's really a good place for families, because we're, like, small enough that I can get across town in like, 20 minutes, and then we're close to some things, like, we're pretty close to Calgary, if we want to, like, go and do things like that. I lived in Ontario and I was little, but I don't really remember. It's still, like, just, you know, yeah, young and don't remember that, but,
Scott Benner 1:06:21
well, this was lovely of you to do. I appreciate you coming and sharing this with me. I want to ask if there's anything that I didn't ask you that I should have.
Carly 1:06:30
I don't think so, but I was gonna say, and you might be like, what? And maybe I shouldn't, but my husband actually has a polar bear skull.
Scott Benner 1:06:40
What? No, just okay.
Carly 1:06:44
I thought you were genuinely shocked, because I think it's pretty strange. I don't have it in my house, but he's a My husband's a tattoo artist, and he does like artwork on things like that, like, like deer skulls and like weird things, like badger skulls and weird stuff like that. And he has a client that researches polar bears, and she was up, she's in like, so it is in Canada, like in the Northwest Territories, and she researches them. And they had a polar bear die of natural causes, and she actually brought it back and for him, and he has it. How
Scott Benner 1:07:21
big is? So there you go. It's huge and but you don't let it in the house. God, no. Is it scary or creepy?
Carly 1:07:28
Or, I haven't actually seen it yet, and this is where it gets even grosser. So you have to, like, have them cleaned properly, yes.
Scott Benner 1:07:36
And bugs eat. That's how they do it. They put them in bugs, right? Like, yes, yeah. Like, super worms, or those kind of things. Yeah, I know about things. Go ahead. So there's a
Carly 1:07:45
dude in town that does that, and so the skull right now is with this gentleman in that process.
Scott Benner 1:07:52
When you said he does that, you mean he owns a bunch of bugs and a tub,
Carly 1:07:57
it's so gross. Like, yeah, yeah. I found him because we had a bearded dragon for like, 12 years, my little my little beardie, and she passed away. I'm sorry. And because my husband does artwork on skulls, I had this crazy idea that, instead of I didn't want to just bury her in the garden or do anything like that, I wanted something to be memorable, and to have a keepsake of her forever. And so I asked my husband if he would do an art project on her skull for me so that I could put it in like a shadow box with, like a bunch of flowers and stuff. So I had to find someone that I could give her to that would do this process for me. What do you Google to find that? Oh, my God, it was such a process. But I found this guy, and so he did this for us, for our bearded dragon. And then when my husband got this polar bear skull, he talked to this guy, and he's like, I've got this thing. And this guy was like, You have got to be me.
Scott Benner 1:08:57
Wow, yeah. You were like, I got a guy that can do that. Yeah? Seriously, what do you like? Try to imagine everybody you want to take the carcass of something somewhere and have it clean down to the bone. What do you Google to get that done? Do you see what I'm saying? Ridiculous,
Carly 1:09:12
nervous. Yeah. I'm like, How do you do this without having, like, your thing flagged? I
Scott Benner 1:09:17
have two. We're done, but I have a question. So anybody that doesn't, anybody that doesn't have any interest in keeping a bearded dragon, you can go now or hit skip ahead a couple of times and listen to the ads. For me, the biggest complaint I hear from people who have bearded people love their Bearded Dragons, but people say that their excrement smells terrible. Is this true?
Carly 1:09:37
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, we were obviously kept her very, very clean. But yes, it's kind of gnarly, because it's like, more like bird poop. Yeah, yeah. Have you
Scott Benner 1:09:47
seen the girl online who taught her bearded dragon to poop in the toilet? What? I swear to you, it's awesome. Due respect to her, I know how hard it is to make content and keep it for people want to keep coming. Like, so she does, like, a little overreaction to the but she takes, I don't, I don't, she sees the thing when it gets a little puffy, yes, yeah, it kind of comes to her at the at the front of the cage, like, hey, it's time for me to shine. And then, like, takes it to the toilet, holds it over the toilet, and records it. And during the recording, you hear like, and then she's like, and then the girl's like, and then they think the toilet, and then she wipes it up and goes no way to God, yeah, she's a lovely girl. I mean, as far as I can tell from watching her YouTube shorts, I
Carly 1:10:34
said to people, and I was like, I mean, I have no idea. They're like, Oh, what are you going to talk about? And I was like, if I'm being completely honest, I don't know, because things happen very fluidly on Scott's podcast. So now I can say we started talking about diabetes and ended up talking about,
Scott Benner 1:10:52
yeah, exactly. So I don't know if people know this about reptiles, but like, some of them don't urinate,
Carly 1:10:59
right, right, yeah. Because, yeah. I mean, we can get very technical, but yes,
Scott Benner 1:11:04
they pass something called a urates Totally. When they go to poop, first a piece comes out that's white, and that's them dispelling their urine, and then the poop comes afterwards. Yeah, exactly. And you have to make a decision about how you're going to clean that up. Like, are you going to be one of those people's, like, every time it comes out, you're going to go in there and place it up and change, like, substrate or something. Or are you going to do what I do, which is, I have my chameleons are over a dirt floor, and then, and then in the dirt live basically like pill bugs, like Roly polies, oh yeah, isopods, those live in the dirt, and then they come out at night and eat the waste. Oh, no way, your isopods do that. Yeah, that's what they're there for now, once in a while, like my the guy who's looking at me right now, he is my Parsons chameleon. He's eyeballing me right now because I didn't feed him yesterday. And he is like, you're talking about my links, my man. It is 230 and I have not had a roach yet. Today is how he's looking at me when he's on a roll. His crap comes out like an inch and a half or two inches long and maybe an inch around. I don't even know how it gets out of it. And that thing, if I'm in the room, I pick it up and throw it away. Oh yeah, for sure. And I want to be clear, I flush it. I'm not a monster. I don't throw it in the garbage. And for those of you who throw dog or cat excrement in the trash, I want you to reconsider your life. Okay, the toilets right there, for God's sakes like I'll take it out, because I don't want to be in the room with it, because it's horrifying. But if it pops out at the wrong at the right time, and I'm not in here, it's gone in, like, a day while, yeah, the bugs just like, eviscerate it.
Carly 1:12:52
So when I'm when I'm ready for another reptile, I will keep isopods in mind.
Scott Benner 1:12:57
Contact me about what you'll do, because I have thoughts. I'm gonna tell you that right now I have, I don't think I can ship them to Canada, but I have Sri Lankan pygmy lizards. So these little, tiny lists are so cool. I love tiny one, very little, very pretty. And I also am doing a have, like a desert setup with geckos in it. So, yeah, they're very these little, like, communal geckos, that they're just awesome. So that's it. And then I have my chameleons.
Carly 1:13:29
Well, that's how I fell in love with with my beauty. I got her as a baby because I went in and was like, I'm not leaving without you.
Scott Benner 1:13:35
Yeah, no, no. They are hard to look at and ignore. They're very popular in the pet trade and in the community, probably like overbred sort of like leopard geckos and stuff like that. There's maybe too many of them are, yeah, Ball Pythons. Another thing that, yeah, you don't like a snake. No, you know what's interesting. So when I go to my guy to get my street, my guy to get my Sri Lankan pygmy lizard, which, by the way, shout out to him, Frank Payne. Living Art by Frank Payne is just go check out his website. But we live close enough to each other that like he'll do like a reptile show, which is not a thing, and I'm not casting aspersions, but not really a thing I would do normally, right? And but I'll meet him there, because it's, it's an easier drive for me, and I got to pay the 10 bucks to go in. And I figured I paid the 10 bucks I'm gonna walk around. And I walk around and there are so many snakes, so many I'm like, No, everyone's like, they're not gonna sell all these snakes. Like, what's gonna happen to them? Like, that's all I can think about when I'm there, I'm like, there are 1000s of snakes in this room. They're not gonna sell every one of them.
Carly 1:14:45
Where are they gonna
Scott Benner 1:14:46
go? Yeah, what are the what? Also, I've never held a snake before, and I don't think I ever will, to be perfectly honest with you, and I don't know why or why not, I'm not scared of them anymore, like being around them has made me like. Pretty chill about it, but like, yeah, not a thing I'm up for. But oddly enough, when I watch my chameleon move around, I do realize I watch his tail a lot, and there's something about his tail moves just like a snake, right? Because it's like a prehensile tail. These are words you should look up if you don't know them anyway. And my other as I'm shouting people out. I will also shout out frams cams.com, if you want a panther chameleon, frams cams, rams cams, they have a connection to type one diabetes. They breed really beautiful chameleons. So, oh yeah, I won't tell you their connection, because that's their personal stuff. But like, okay, they have a connection to type one and if you're looking to get a panther chameleon, you should check them out. They're awesome. These are not paid ads. These are just people I think are lovely.
Carly 1:15:44
So yeah, I think I don't I can be around snakes. I think I was, I was far more afraid of things when I was younger, and now, as I'm older, I'm not as afraid. I could definitely be around like a smaller snake, but like a Python, like a big snake, there's no way if it was out of its cage, if it was out of its cage, I would probably be panicking.
Scott Benner 1:16:04
I don't want to be bit by surprise by something. No, that's okay. Yeah, thanks. These chameleons are not gonna bite me. These little like my little gecko and like, they're not gonna bite me, like, my bigger concern about having a snake other than the fact that they're not actually that active. So I don't know how great they are as pets like to begin with, but, but that aside, I don't want to make a mistake one day, or move too fast, or forget that my hand smells like a mouse or something like that, and then look down and see a snake holding on to me. No, no, thanks, right? I wouldn't want anything biting me, to be perfectly honest, right? Like so, I'm sure anybody who has a snake is thinking, Scott, there's probably some simple steps you could take that. You could take that wouldn't happen. And I God bless you. I think you're probably right, but you've found my line is what I'm saying. Now, having said all of that, if I were to get a snake, I actually do know the kind I would get.
Carly 1:16:53
What would you get? The small snake? I'm assuming, well,
Scott Benner 1:16:57
for sure, they're small. Like, I don't want anything too big, like, because that would freak me out. Also, I'm never getting a snake. I just want to say, want to say, and now I realize I can't think of the name of them. They're, Oh, I feel like an idiot. Are they the white ones? You just said White
Carly 1:17:11
rainbow. They're, like, really beautiful, iridescent. Like, there are some snakes that are absolutely beautiful.
Scott Benner 1:17:18
Yeah, no, I 100% believe that too.
Carly 1:17:21
Yeah, I still don't know if I want to hold it. They can be beautiful from afar, yes, but it but in, like in Alberta, where I am, we have rattlesnakes, oh, and so you have to be really careful. We take the kiddos down to the like, we call it down to the coolies to walk around or whatever. But you have to be careful at a certain time, because you'll hear them, yes, they'll start rattling at you, and you have to get the kids out. Also at the University, where I am, we have, like, a big patio where you can, like, go and sit. It's ground level. You can go and sit outside in the summer and have your stuff, but we have it taped off on the far right corner, because the Rattlesnakes go out and
Scott Benner 1:17:59
bask. Yeah, yeah. Listen. And I've heard all the people tell me, like, look, rattlesnakes aren't gonna bother you. If you don't bother them, it's all, it's not the they want to get away. I believe you, I don't want to get bit by one. I'm not gonna go eat my sandwich beside him. Yeah, no. And I know there are people are like, Oh, look, they're fine, and they're beautiful. And I've seen some rattlesnakes that are beautiful. I don't care. I don't because, again, I just don't want to get bit like, that's the thing. And I know rattlesnakes are poison. I don't know if they're poisonous or venomous, venomous. I'm not sure the what the distinction is. And I know there's, you know, anti venom, or whatever, you'll probably be fine if you get to I just don't want to be bit by something. Having said that, the cutest little snakes are called Hognose Snakes. Ah, okay, if you've never seen them. They are kind of adorable. All right, hodner, snakes, Cognos, I don't odd knows again, but what you hear from people is like, you get a nice winner, maybe you don't, what if I maybe I don't. What if I get something that lives 25 years, that maybe
Carly 1:18:54
isn't that nice? Yeah, exactly. Then what you got to live with this thing for 20 years? I already am married. I don't need that. You understand my my daughter already says things like, when Zoe dies, she whispers it to me, that's my dog. She's right beside her. When Zoe dies, can we get a chameleon? I'm like, Zoe's right
Scott Benner 1:19:13
there, and she's looking at you like she can super near you. Okay. Also my suggestion, if you're going to get a chameleon, depends on how much space you have, I guess, and what your level of desire is about modulating humidity for things, I have to tell you, like, if everything in this room had to go and I could only keep one thing, it would be really hard not to keep my Parson's chameleon. He's really kind of awesome, okay, and like a dinosaur, not handleable. It's not a thing you would handle. Oh, you don't handle him at all. No, he's been on my arm twice the day I got him, and recently, when I had to weigh him, he I think he got confused and walked on my arm. I think he was like, Oh, what's this? And then he got on me. He was like, This is not right. But then he hung out. With me, okay, for a couple minutes before I put him back. The little ones though, like, if I'm being serious, for people listening, like, if you just want a little lizard, like something that's not so fast that it can just get away and is manageable in a smaller enclosure, it can be really nice, like, just to kind of watch them live and exist and stuff like that. I love that, yeah, but it's hard, it's hard, it's hard to ignore how cool he is, although, having said that, my panther is blue,
Carly 1:20:27
so like, you're kind of like you're what you think of chameleon. When you think of a chameleon,
Scott Benner 1:20:31
yes, it's what, it's what you think of. More of when people think about chameleons, he is super active. He runs all over the like, I watch him constantly. He's either sitting perfectly still hoping to God that a bird doesn't eat him, or he's running around like crazy. If I had one wish about talking to my chameleons, I wish I could just say to them, Hey, there's no birds in here. Chill out. You're cool. Yeah, you're cool anyway, all right. Well, it's cool
Carly 1:20:56
because a beard, a bearded dragon, has a third eye on the top of their head to see. I don't know if chameleons have the same thing. It's like a It's a scale, one of their scales, that is actually clear and that so that they can feel it or see a shadow, yep, above them, if there's a bird flying, I
Scott Benner 1:21:11
very sadly know that. So it's not really an eye, but it is a thing that they Yeah, yeah. All right, yeah, the third eye, yeah. Okay. I don't know what we're calling this episode, but you were terrific. Thank you for doing this with me. I really appreciate it. Hold on one second for me. Okay,
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