#1915 Island in the Sun
Island in the Sun
Eloise was diagnosed in DKA at seven, with a blood sugar of 750, while her family was between insurance plans. Her mom Eden talks about the bill, a school with no nurse, and finding her limit.
Jump to a moment
- A late diagnosis can hide behind an ordinary busy season. Eloise was losing weight, wetting the bed, drinking constantly, and had turned irritable — and the family read it as a seven-year-old going through a phase during travel-baseball season. Eden’s mother, a nurse, was the one who said out loud that the child looked unwell. Eden texted her husband “I think she has type one diabetes” before anyone confirmed it, and still hoped the hospital would say something else.
- Knowing type 1 up close is not the same as being able to see it. Eden’s husband grew up with a father who has type 1, and was a Navy corpsman and a medical lab technician — and by Eden’s account he was in denial right up until the fire station’s meter read error. She frames it as fear rather than ignorance: he had watched his dad seize and could not accept it happening to his daughter.
- The financial hit landed in a thirty-day insurance gap. The family changed jobs and gambled on a month without coverage; Eloise was diagnosed inside it. After applying for hospital financial assistance they were still left owing tens of thousands for a stay of under twenty-four hours, and retroactive COBRA would have cost more while disqualifying them from that assistance. Eden’s point is simply that this arrives overnight, with no warning and no good option.
- A school with no nurse pushed the whole load onto one parent. Eden teaches at the school two days a week and drives there the other three to give lunch insulin, and says plainly that she is reaching her limit. Scott’s suggestion on tape: use the summer to move all of Eloise’s bolusing to text message even when they are together, so there is a written record and the child builds confidence before the next school year. Anything involving doses belongs to your own care team.
- Comparison is the tax, and Eden names it. Predatory DMs arrived within forty-eight hours of the diagnosis post; a family friend could not work out why the sensor had moved arms; a neighbour assumed a college diagnosis meant the young man had not taken care of himself. Eden also describes the quieter version — measuring her parenting against other type 1 parents online — and Scott’s answer is that no one else has to live your family’s day, so their opinion cannot be a factor in your decisions.
- Eversense 365 — The one-year-wear CGM; sponsor of this episode.
- twiist — The twiist AID system powered by Tidepool; sponsor of this episode. Note the spelling has two i's.
- Bold Beginnings series — The newly diagnosed series — where Eden started, and what she found in the ER.
- Diabetes Pro Tip series — Insulin timing and amount, basal, corrections, and variables.
- Small Sips series — Short episodes for the newly diagnosed; the series Scott references inside his 21-day practice.
- Mental Wellness series — Episodes with therapist Erika Forsyth on caregiver anxiety, guilt, and burnout.
- Juicebox Podcast Facebook group — The private community Scott mentions at the close — 86,000 members and everyone is welcome.
Every word of the conversation
Welcome & Sponsors0:07
Hello, friends, and welcome back to the juice box podcast. If you don't love today's episode, we can have your money back.
Hi. My name is Eden. I'm from Greenville, South Carolina, and I am a mom to three. And my eight year old, Eloise, also known as Weasy, is living with type one diabetes.
You should not, in any way, shape, or form, take anything you hear on the Juice Box podcast. As medical advice, I'm talking about medical advice, regular advice, any kind of advice. This is a podcast. Nothing you hear on the juice box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan.
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Meet Eden and Weezy2:23
Hi. My name is Eden. I'm from Greenville, South Carolina, and I am a mom to three. And my eight year old, Eloise, also known as Weasy, is living with type one diabetes.
God bless you. Let me call this episode moving on up if you just say one heartfelt thing. That's right. Oh, gosh. You call her Wheezy?
That's awesome.
We call her Wheezy. We were like no nicknames before she was born, and yet here we are. We call her Wheezy or Weezer.
Weezer's awesome. Hey. She doesn't have, like, like, breathing issues. No asthma. No asthma.
I knew that was coming.
Well, I mean, that would be rude is what I'm saying.
No. No. No. We just live in the South, and Wheezy and Weezer is easy.
That's awesome. Weezer, I think, with an accent, must be an amazing nickname.
I feel like I don't have a crazy southern accent, but then, you know, I had these people who are around me who were like, Weezer. Come on, Weezer. Come on, Weezer.
Well, yeah, you're not all the way there. I hear you tail off a little bit, but you're not thick like that in the middle. But I I'm just imagining people in the grocery store calling her, like, oh, it's awesome. Look. There she is.
It's Weiser. That must be amazing. No disrespect. I think that would be fantastic. Okay.
So wait a minute. You got three kids. You're married. Right?
Yes.
How old are the kids again?
They are 12 12, nine, and eight.
12, nine, eight. Which one has type one?
Eloise is the youngest, eight year old.
Eight year old. Okay. Any other autoimmune in the family?
Unfortunately, yes. So I have Hashimoto's. My mom has Grays. My mom has psoriasis, and then my husband's father has type one diabetes also.
Woah. Woah. Yeah. This was always gonna happen.
Yeah.
Yeah. Look at you. Did you know any of this going in? Like, when you got how long you've been married?
We have been married for about twelve years this no. Thirteen years of September.
Okay. When you're dating and and hooking up and getting ready to get married, do you does anybody say, like, oh, I have Hashimoto's and you're not thinking about any of that. Right?
Absolutely not. Like, I knew my husband's dad had diabetes, but I didn't even know what kind of diabetes he had. Like, I always joke. I'm like, so you brought diabetes to the marriage.
Listen. I'll tell you right now. If you're out there dating and your boyfriend or girlfriend can't make it from the restaurant to home without looking for a toilet and you have autoimmune, I'd skip it if I was you.
That's right. Think think again. Try again.
I'll tell you what. My dating app would look way different than other people's
That's exactly right.
I'd be like, you have eczema behind your ear? Sorry. My my grandmother has Hashimoto's. We're not doing this.
Swipe left. Swipe left or whatever it is. Tinder was before my time. Swipe the way that you don't want them.
I don't know which way I would I don't understand the swiping either.
I don't either. It was before my time. My husband and I met before online dating was really a thing. We were he was in the navy and I was in the air force, and we were just like, hey. You're a cool guy.
You're a cool girl, and here we are.
Wait. He was in the Navy, and you were in the Air Force too. Did you land a plane on his boat? Is that how you meet, or what what how do
you meet? Absolutely not. We were just going to get physicals, and he actually was telling me about his 100 pound weight loss before he joined the navy. And I was like, okay. Well, this guy, he's, like, he's ambitious.
So But he's definitely not hitting on me because
Absolutely not.
It's not a thing you usually lead with. Hey. Do you know I used to weigh much more than this?
That's right. That's what that's exactly what he led with. But yeah. So he his dad had type one, and I Alex, I didn't even know I didn't even know the difference. I just knew his dad had diabetes.
Mhmm.
And, you know, hindsight's always twenty twenty. Even, like, the first few years we were married, he obviously, his life revolved around type one, and he is old school. He's he's 54, 55 now. I remember, like, he had his syringe and his his vial. I'm sorry.
His vial of insulin and his his syringe, and he carried them everywhere. No pump, no CGM, nothing like that. And I was just I didn't even, like, put two and two together that it was insulin. Like, I had no idea.
You're freaking me out. Your father in law's my age. How old are you?
I am 35, and my husband's 33.
Wait. Oh, thirty three forty three. Wow. Okay. So your father-in-law had your husband when he was, like, 20?
Yeah. They were they were young'uns.
I gotta tell you that.
Got started early. We have a middle schooler, and my husband's 33. Weird.
I gotta tell you that makes me feel a lot better because I felt very old for a half a second. I was like, wait a minute. Because you don't feel like you're that much younger than me, but are you? And then okay. Alright.
I feel better now. So you so you're aware now. You're dating and you're aware of the of the father-in-law and his diabetes, but he makes it look a little bit like you just have this with you and this needle and pop yourself some insulin once in a while.
Yeah. I just kinda just didn't really think much about it. I mean, we go on, like, vacations with them and, you know, I he his management style, I think, is is different than than how we manage our daughters. And, you know, I he had a couple seizures and things like that. And I was kinda like, oh, that's probably not good, but didn't really piece together that it was because of the diabetes.
Like, I was just like, oh.
He's like he's like, draw it up, jamming, and let's go. We'll see what happens.
Yeah. Just didn't really think anything, which hindsight, you know, I'm like, man, I I really should've I should've learned more earlier, and I should've maybe taken it a little bit serious more serious because our daughter, you know, fully was in DKA when she was diagnosed.
Okay. Did you notice, like I mean, did your did your husband see any of the signs, or how did you figure it out?
I think I think he did, but I think he was in major denial. You know, his dad was a single dad growing up, and and he really saw the rough side of diabetes. You know, saw him have several seizures as a kid and saw how difficult it was for him to manage. And even my my husband was a corpsman in the navy, so like a medic. And when our daughter was diagnosed, he was a medical lab technician.
So, you know, he knew all of it, but just kinda still didn't put it together.
Have you guys talked about that since then?
Not really. You know, it's it's only been a year and a half since
I had to communicate. You really, he needs much better. Not. Just Let him have his feel let him have his feelings. Look at
I do sometimes, like, send a screenshot, and I'm like, remember this text message I sent you? Remember this where I said, I think my daughter has diabetes?
Is that how you fight me?
Sometimes. Yes. He is the nicest guy you'll ever meet in your life, and I'm probably not the nicest person ever. So I'll about to remember this.
I have a saying. I and I believe this to be true that my wife is still mad at me for the first thing that I did wrong to her.
Absolutely. You can never forget that.
And I don't know what it is, I guarantee she doesn't either. But I know she's still mad about it.
You have to you have to remain mad about all the things and then bring them up, you know, when the time presents.
I just love you with, like, digital receipts, sending screenshots to people.
A 100%. No. I No. No.
I'd Feel like a 13 year old arguing with their friends.
Absolutely. I'm like, I have the receipts right here. I have the receipts.
Hey. You're not in charge of any of the rockets or anything like that, are you, on the planes?
No. I'm not in the air force anymore. I've been out for nine years since our since I got pregnant with our middle son.
Okay.
No. So I teach preschool now. So
They don't love you pregnant in the air force? That that it's not not helpful.
It wasn't wasn't really a great situation. I always say if the if the if the military wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one. So both of us being in was a little a little tricky. And, I mean, again, hindsight is always twenty twenty because if I was a working parent and I had a child with type one and three kids and I was my ADHD self, it would be terrible. Like, the blood sugar would be horrible.
It'd be awful.
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The Symptoms That Snuck Up12:11
Teaching preschool two days a week is is a much better fit.
You have ADHD as well?
I would guess. I would guess. You're formally diagnosed, but I would guess.
Are you anxious?
For sure.
Yeah. For sure. But I
don't know how much of that is from the diabetes, like, just not from me having diabetes, but from watching like, it's definitely gotten worse since her diagnosis.
It has.
But yeah. I mean, diagnosis wise, going back to her diagnosis story, it was it kinda snuck up on us. You know, she was losing so much weight, and that was kind of my first. She's tiny anyways. Like, she's eight now and maybe weighs, like, like, fifty pounds.
So she's she's tiny. But I noticed she was losing weight, wetting the bed, you know, the classic symptoms, drinking excess water.
Mhmm.
She was super irritable. Like, she was kind of she was getting a bit annoying the summer leading up to it. And, we were kind of like, is this because we have two boys, and then it's our first girl. And I'm like, is this how girls are? Like, I remember my sister being like, she's really bratty.
About you? Or or no. About your daughter? Your sister pulled you aside and said, hey. Your kid's a problem?
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We're we're just like that. You know? It's so it's just like, she's kind of, like, getting super bratty.
And I was like, yeah. You know, she really is. And all these things were just adding up. And conveniently, we were between insurance at the time. My husband had had taken a new job and it's gonna be, like, thirty days in between, and we're like, it'll be fine.
Like, the worst that happens is, like, one of the boys breaks their arm or something. It'll be fine. We did not expect a picky visit.
And that's something But that but that is Yeah. Just really is how things work.
Yeah. Murphy's Law. But we we had to see my parents in a couple weeks. My mom is a nurse, and we go to a football game where my son's playing football and and Eloise is cheering. And my mom was like she kinda looked at me and she was like, she looks really bad.
He didn't like, you know, you need to you need to take her in. She her analogy was that she looked like Bella from Twilight whenever she was, like, really sick.
Honey, get out in the sun. What what's going on? Hey. She was actually
doing good.
Can I can can I ask you, how's your relationship with your mom? How'd you take that when she said the kid didn't look good? Do you take it as helpful, or do you think that she's sticking her nose into your business?
We're we're we're super close. I took her to help look in. She's a she's a nurse. She's a mom of four, a grandmother of eight. So I was like, she probably means well.
Also, you know, most of my family's in health care, and they're they're usually pretty spot on. But I think all of us were still really in denial that it was type one.
Okay. So when your mom tells you, hey. The kid don't look right. And at that point, does your husband have an inkling? And has he shared it with you yet?
No. I I had texted him the night before. He was working, night shift. And I said, I just like, something's just this isn't right. And she was having UTIs, constipation, all these things.
And I said, I'm gonna go to CVS and buy a glucometer. Mhmm. I go to CVS and I'm like, I'm not spending $40 on a glucometer. Like, of course, you know, so I'm like, I'm good. I go back home and I again, I have the receipts where I texted him.
And I said, I think she has type one diabetes. And, he's like, no. It's it's anything else. It's not type one. But my mom is
like You think he just didn't want it to be. Right?
Absolutely. I think he would he just was like, I cannot handle you know, I've I've seen this with my dad. I cannot have a child with type one as well.
And your mom what did your mom say? Your mom backed it up?
Yeah. She was like, no. I think she was begging for a Fanta at this football game. She's cheering and she's begging us for a Fanta, probably because she was so thirsty. And we're like, sure.
You can have a Fanta, which is like, I don't know, 50 carbs. We give it to her and, you know, just looking at her, she looked terrible. So we we she cheers the football game. We give her fruit snacks at the end of the football game
Mhmm.
And we go home. And then at, like, 10PM, my or my mom, before we left, she was like, my dad has type two diabetes. So my mom's like, take your dad's glucometer. I think you should test her blood sugar. And I was like, well, that's a waste.
It's not her blood sugar, but whatever. So we go home, we stick the finger, and it just reads error. And I text my mom, like, this is a bad glucometer. It's broken. But I see this look on my husband's face, like, oh, this is not Mhmm.
This ain't good. So I don't for whatever reason, we're my brother-in-law is a firefighter. We're like, let's go over to the fire department, use their glucometer. We get there. They took the finger, and the fireman's like, is she again, we're in the South.
Bless his heart. He's like, is she afraid of of needles? Can I stick her finger? And I'm like, yeah. She's sick.
Of course, she's afraid of needles, but sure. You know, let's test the blood sugar.
I haven't met anybody who looks at a needle and goes, oh, awesome.
Right. So I was like, okay. So their glucometer just retie. And I I in that moment, that was the moment, like, I see on my husband's face, like, he knew. He a 100% knew.
The ER, and a Blood Sugar of 75017:00
So we go to the ER, and I'm I'm still, like, in denial. I'm still texting with, like, my mom, and I'm like, could this be anything else? You know, trying to convince myself. And finally, on the way there, my I I look at my husband, and I'm like, if you saw a patient like this, they have these symptoms, blood sugar's reading high, what would you say? And he just, like, looked at me on the way there and he was like, she has type one diabetes.
Yeah.
And, I still thought, oh, we'll get to the hospital. They'll tell us something else. So we get there. We, you know, we do a little triage and everything and ER doc comes in and she's like, how long has she had diabetes? Like
About twenty minutes? Since now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So blood sugar was seven fifty. I didn't even realize she was as sick as she was. You know? I I I like, I can't even look back at her labs because they're so bad.
How
about visually? How much different did she look a week later?
Oh my gosh. Just night and day. Like, she looked horrible. And now that I look back, like, she looked awful. She was skinny.
The eyes were sunken. Just awful. Isn't it That was
isn't it something when you stop and you quantify it and you realize, like, oh god, she was dying?
Like like Like, I can't even look back at the labs because they're so terrible.
Yeah. I I hope that when I bring that up, I hope that people take from it what I mean for them to take from it, which is health slips away. And even when you're like like, try to juxtapose it for a second. So, like, here's the situation where your kid is, like, her body's trying to shut off. Right?
And it's and it's going to in in a couple more days probably. But just imagine when you have just, like, small illnesses or a little infection or something like that. Happening. Yeah. What what's going on in your body and why it's so important to pay attention to stuff like that?
Or even what you know, when your vitamin d is low your vitamin b is low or or your iron's low. Like, it just it's not the same life that you get if things are optimized. And this is a this is a really, you know, a dire situation, and still the body's trying to make it through it. Like,
that's Absolutely.
Kind of amazing. You you know what I mean? So
It is. Yeah. It's amazing. It's also just, so sad and that you get that parent the parental guilt, I'm sure everybody feels, you know. How did I let my kid get this sick?
My boys both play travel baseball and, like, the season was kinda ramping up, and we've been really busy.
Mhmm.
But I had gotten her dressed that morning, the the morning before the morning before we took her in, and I was like, wow. Like, she's so skinny. You know? But, yeah, just just super sick when we got there, and they said we can't even treat her at this hospital. We need to we need to move her somewhere else.
We'll take her by ambulance. Like, they wouldn't let us take her. And, of course, conveniently, because we're in between insurances, like, yes, you're thinking, oh, this is horrible. But you're also like, how am I gonna pay for all this?
Yeah. We're selling the house now. What's going on?
Yeah. This is terrible. I mean, you know, as a result, like, we we were left with some pretty heavy medical bills and, you know, that's overnight. That's just one of those things that happens overnight. But what do you what do you do?
You know? It is what it is.
Would you do if if you're comfortable and if you're not, just tell me no. But would you put a number on that? Like, what did you end up owing?
Oh my gosh. I think we applied for financial assistance through our hospital here and and did get a little bit of that, but it was still over $50 at the end of the day. So we just kind of been slowly paying that off.
Yeah. Now you're a young family too. That's a that's a huge hit. You know?
It it is. And and and again, what do you do? You You know? We we thought about going back and retroactively getting COBRA, but, you know, the premium there was still, like, almost $2, and then you're still gonna have medical bills on top of that, and you can't apply for financial assistance. So
Oh, they yeah. Oh, then that 50 turns into what? A 150 or something like that?
Exactly. Yeah. So it's like you don't really have a choice. We we were in and out of there in less than twenty four hours, because we were, I think they I think they had too much faith in us, honestly. Like, they were like, oh, you guys probably got it.
They're in the military. It'll be fine. I I heard the guy say something medical. You get out of here, you kids.
Yeah. They were like, y'all probably y'all probably are fine. And we're like, don't think so. But I think they also knew, like, hey. These people are here, you know, uninsured.
We need to get them the heck out
of here.
Finding the Podcast in the ER21:12
Oddly enough, whenever we were still in the ER, like, I think this was maybe ten minutes after we had gotten the diagnosis, I'd already found the podcast.
Really?
Immediately turns to the Internet, of course, because, you know
Why not?
Millennials. Immediately turns to the Internet, and it's like juice box podcast. And I'm like, well, I'm probably not gonna need that because they're gonna tell me this is a joke, but whatever.
I Yeah. Just wanna point out, it's $50,000 for twenty four hours. That's $2 an hour. It's not bad work if you can get it.
I know. Alright?
Well, so you wait. So you are panicked, I imagine. You don't know what's going on. You're like, I know what'll help. I'll go to the place where email and porn lives.
That'll probably straighten it out for me.
A 100%. Yeah.
Yeah. And and you were and you were like, hey. What do you do you Google? Do you go right to a podcast app? Like, what's your inclination?
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I think I had just typed in, like, type one diabetes on Facebook and or TikTok. I don't remember when the podcast popped up. And then my husband's got a buddy who's, like, his age who has type one. He's like, hey. You should you should really listen to this podcast too.
But, again, Fully was convinced, like, I'm not gonna need this because they are gonna tell me that this is an incorrect diagnosis.
Can I tell you a funny story? Was driving through South Carolina once on 95. Hold on a second. I swear to you, I'm going, like, 85 miles an hour, 95. I'm going north.
I'm in South Carolina. And this guy pulls up next to me in traffic. And you know how like, I don't know if you do this, but I'm I I look everybody in the face, like, while I'm driving.
Sure. Yeah. Right. Intimidation.
No. No. No. No. Just left, right.
I don't know. I I wanna see what people look like. I'm fascinated by people. So I left, right. I look at this guy.
He makes his weird face at me. And then we look back and forth, he kinda pulls forward, but then he slides back, like, equal with me again. He looks over, and he points at me. And he makes the little heart thing. And he and he points to himself, and he goes, I heart and then he points at me, and I went, what is happening?
Like, am I getting hit on? Like, by the way, if I've got that kind of gay, like, magnetism at 85 miles an hour, I probably picked I might have picked wrong. You know what I mean? I was like, because I don't see ladies chasing me around like this.
That's alright.
But then it hit me, and I I went podcast, and he nods really, like like and I was like, oh my god. Am I famous? I might be famous. That's what I thought. You are famous.
You are. And I was like I was like, this is really insane. Anyway, I waved and I said thank you, and he sped off.
I thought you were gonna tell me he had, like, a dupes of hazard, like, horn or something.
Listen. If I had to complain about you people in South Carolina, you you people can't drive. Like, that highway cannot drive.
So I just was like, he's gonna give some kind of South Carolina stereotype. I will preface this by saying my 12 year old and my nine year old son both have mullets, like intentional mullets.
On purpose, they're like, mom, can we get it like this, please?
They do. I don't know if it's, like, living in South Carolina or them playing baseball, but, yeah, every four weeks, I just walk into the Great Clips, and I'm like, can you trim up the mullet?
Get this thing clean for these boys. No. But seriously, like, I don't know why I brought that up other than it makes me sound great, and it was a South Carolina reference. But, but, no, I I was stunned by like, I'm I'm I guess I'm being serious. I wanted to bring this up to you, and I'm using this to say it.
Twelve Years and Still Surprised26:00
I've I've made a decision this week to stop acting surprised that people know about the podcast.
You should. You should stop acting surprised because all week, like, anybody, oh, I talk to, I'm like, I'm going on the Juice Box podcast. Especially if it's, my diabetes friends, like, they're like, what? I'm like, please, guys, try not to be too jealous.
Like, I
am a local celeb.
Step back, please. Don't get too close. But but seriously, like, it it so I wanna first say, it's genuine for me, but I've I've I tried to step out of myself the other day cause I found myself saying it to somebody. And the way it was how she responded back to me, she goes, oh, come on, Scott. Like, almost like she was like, don't do false modest here.
And I wasn't I wasn't doing false modest. I really am stunned by it still. But I I just said to myself, I'm like, I gotta get past that part.
Like You do. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Like, that's twelve years now. I I I think I it's okay for me to, like, be okay with the fact that it's a thing. So anyway, to get help me get past it, I've been working on a graphic for, for my social media.
And what I've learned is that this is the number one diabetes podcast in the world by download or by It is. By ranking. And if you then go to search results for type one diabetes inside of Apple Podcast, it also ranks in, like, a 175 other countries or some crazy number like that. I'm working through it right now. But, nevertheless, I'm like and I'm doing that.
I mean, honestly, I'm doing it business wise. It looks good when the people say it online. But, like, but the but the other thing is, like, I really have gotta stop myself out of going, oh, no kidding. You found the podcast? Like, because that's how, like, the little fat kid inside of me feels when you say it.
Right.
Like, I can't
I tell you how my husband felt when he met me, like, you know, all fat kids.
Well, no. He was probably like, is this girl really talking to me? Thank god I did that sit up. This is awesome.
But you do have to talk yourself out of that because, like I said, I literally found it in the ER. I mean, it was one of the first things that came up Mhmm. And was listening to it, like, on the way home from the pick you.
How was it was it helpful? Was it overwhelming? Did you just jump in and grab an episode? What what
I started at the beginning, like, went to the very beginning, your first podcast. And I think the first episode you were talking about, like, how it gives you a different perspective. And I was like, yep. Already. Like, I have a totally different perspective on just life in general.
Yeah. Oh, no. For for sure. Immediately. Like, I feel I've I twenty years ago, I felt like I was 70 years old.
I felt like I understood the world. Like, it strip it strips away all the nonsense in life. It does. From from
me, It totally does. Yeah. Even like the I'm very much a person who my family loves to remind me of this. I think I care too much about what people think.
Mhmm.
And I've had to let go of so much of that when it comes to diabetes, because people are gonna judge you either way, you know.
Yeah. I I I'll tell you. I don't know if I've I've it's not a thing I would normally wanna say, but the day before Christmas last year, I had to run out to get one last gift. And I definitely haven't told this in the podcast because it's So I go out to the out to the garage. I open up my garage door.
I noticed that my son is parked in an odd place behind my garage door. And I literally say to myself as I'm walking around and getting in, like, I'm gonna have to be careful of his car. And I'm backing straight out. And as my eye line clears the the garage, so I'm I can kinda see outside of the garage now, this Amazon truck comes flying into my driveway and comes to an abrupt stop. And, I mean, the guy's he's clearly like, he's rushing around like crazy.
Right? Like, you know, the day before Christmas. And god bless him. That's what we all want him out there doing. But, anyway, the timing was such that my eye cleared the garage.
He was, like, doing that rocking to a stop thing in a big truck, and my brain just went, what the hell is that? And in the split second that it took me to go, oh, that's a big truck. It's a delivery truck. It's not gonna hit me. I hit my son's car.
No. Yeah. Yeah. Because it was that close. Like, we were right.
It was close tolerances. Right? I wasn't going fast or anything like that. It was literally I listen. If I
just Listen.
If I just messed up, I would tell you. It was it was that it was just the confluence of what happened right then and there. Right?
Yeah.
Anyway, I'm telling you this because I get out, my bumper's trash, his hood and his bumper need to be replaced. And I went, And then I pulled forward, backed up, and went and did the shopping, came back home, walked inside. My son came down, I said, hey. I got bad news. I hit your car.
I'll get it fixed. Don't worry about it.
Yeah. Because, like, what are you gonna do? This is it is.
And I'm telling you that before diabetes, I would have had a meltdown.
Same.
I I would have thought about the money and the time and how irritated I was with myself and how let down I was and I felt stupid and the guy in the Amazon truck, why is he driving? So and I just didn't think about one of those things because I think I have a different perspective than I used to have.
No. For sure. It it definitely does. I used to be like my kids call it a crash out. Mhmm.
That's the term. Mhmm. They're like, mom's like the biggest crash out ever. They oh, sorry. They call me a d one crash out.
I love that.
Oh, those boys wanna play baseball in college. That's nice.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, a division one crash out. But, like, now, just some of this stuff, I'm like, this is just not this serious.
I mean Yeah. Like I said, they both they both play travel baseball and, you know, the mornings of these these these tournaments are crazy because you're trying to get your son ready and, you know, do they have the right pants and do they have the iBlack and what battery you're swinging today? It's not that serious because I'm also like, hey. If your sister doesn't have like, if her side's bad this morning, she could be in DKA by the end of this tournament. So it doesn't really matter.
She might ruin the whole day, like, one way or the hey. You know what, too? I'll I'll tell you something and to try to find a a silver lining in this. When you pay that 50 k off, you're gonna think, We paid off $50,000. I bet you we could save $50,000.
A 100 yeah. It totally puts it into perspective. It totally does. Well, even, like, the price of diabetes supplies, like, you know, it puts it in perspective. I'm like, well, overnight, you have to find the money for this overnight.
Like, one day, you're like, I got this, you know, whatever. And then the next day, no. No. No. No.
No. And people think, like, your insurance covers everything. I don't know what what the misconception is there. Like like, I'm like, no. These little fun over patches that she needs for over her Dexcom, like, yeah.
We can go without those, but Dexcom's gonna fall off in forty eight hours.
Mhmm.
I'm the one paying for those. I'm not asking, you know, my insurance to do that. I'm the one paying for them.
What the Diagnosis Reframed32:31
Yeah. Yeah. I I I absolutely I just think it really does shift your focus about what matters. And if you let it For sure. You you have to let it.
But, it's such a gift. Like, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it is one of the best gifts of this diabetes thing Is that I just I feel more centered.
Yeah. I mean, I definitely feel more centered and, you know, we are we're we're Christians and we're big believers, and my husband and I have plenty of days where we just sit down and, like, cry over diabetes. Yeah. And I'm like, this is the worst diabetes of day ever. But my husband's always like, you have to find a silver lining.
And most days, it comes down to, I think our family is supposed to educate as much as we can. Are my daughter's the first one in her school that has had type one. We also do not have a school nurse at our at our school.
Yeah.
So that's a whole another, you know, a whole another pot of things that we deal with. I teach there two days a week, but the other three days, there is no trained medical staff there. It's a lot of texting with me and the teacher Mhmm. Which is fine. Like, we we've figured it out.
We're in our groove. She's only in second grade. So she is not self managing. The teachers are really good, but there are days where I definitely have my moments of panic of, like, could they handle an emergency?
I mean and you're gonna educate them as they go. Listen. I I don't know if if somebody put me in a position like you think. I don't know that I believe that or it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. But I can tell you that, yesterday, I had, a moment where I went out with, I met a friend.
I'll just I'll just be I'll just be clear. Right? I met a a buddy of mine at a reptile show. And sorry. That's just something.
I'm still embarrassed. But but and his name by the way, his name's Frank. He's a great guy. And if you wanna buy reptiles, you should go to Living Art by Frank Payne. He has some of the most I
will absolutely not be doing that.
Right? Some of the most unique little lizards that he that he breeds and sells. Really lovely guy. Anyway, I get there a little early. I pay.
I get the stamp on my arm. I go, oh, I gotta go to the bathroom. But as I'm walking through the place, I have this feeling. And I go, I I think I look terrible. I shouldn't have picked the shirt that
I picked.
Your shirt.
Your shirt. I read the I read the post.
You read the post. Okay. So so I'll give people context who are listening, but then I'll tell you why. So I'm, like, pulling at it. I'm like, it's grabbing me weird.
I think I look I you know, in my head, I'm like, I think I look fat. Like, I can't believe I picked this shirt. Like, blah blah blah. And I and I so I go into the bathroom to use the bathroom, but also to figure out, like, how can I mitigate this, the, you know, abject disaster that is so that I'm not walking around feeling like this the whole time? And I look in the mirror and I go, oh, yep.
There it is. Like, look at my and then I looked harder. I was like, what am I talk like, this is ridiculous. I look fine. Like, I don't just look fine.
I look like anyway, I I thought, you know, a lot of people must be feeling this now. I know there's a lot of people using GLPs in the community. Like, I'm gonna take a I took a picture to prove to my actually, I took the picture to show my wife to go, I think I have a mental illness. And, like, you know, but I looked at it. I'm like, I'm gonna put this on Instagram, and I'm gonna tell people how I feel because other people must feel like that as well.
And then you get back hundreds of people who are like, oh my god. I feel the exact same way. I've and then I realized, like, yeah, that just helped a lot of people. And while they were responding, a lot of them would start by saying, Scott, I've lost a lot of weight in the last two years because I listened to your weight loss stuff.
Mhmm.
And it's funny because I saw a number of people online making fun of me about that weight loss, the content that I made, you you oh, when I first started doing it. And and it and, you know, so one person looks at it and mocks me for being open or whatever they who cares? But two years down the road downstream, I'm looking at 50, a 100 people just who saw that picture yesterday. Not necessarily the only 50 or 100 who are like, my life is much better off today because of the thing you learned and said out loud. And I think you can do the same thing even if it's just in your school or in your neighborhood or your community.
And you guys, everyone listening could be doing that. You could be moving things towards a better place. You could take your bad thing and turn it into something good. You know?
GLPs and Better Family Choices36:45
That's absolutely right. And you do. You kinda have to deal with with diabetes. Talking about GLP ones, my husband and I are are both on one, as are my parents. My brother loves to make fun of us.
Like, he's like, no one's eating at the family's option because we're all on GLP.
Yeah. It's how we're saving money for retirement. We're not buying food.
We have to pay off these medical bills.
How how am covering this 50 k if I'm buying if I'm buying Oreos? I gotta make a cut somewhere.
And we have two boys who are playing baseball, so we gotta, like, we gotta cut back. No. I'm kidding. But, no, mean, those those have been life changing. And, honestly, like, leading into her diagnosis, I was only one on a GLP, and I had made a lot of livestock changes.
And not like we don't make her eat like she's on a GLP, but, like, we try to make better family decisions.
Sure.
Probably decisions that I couldn't have made for our family before a GLP one.
Yeah.
So that that totally feeds into it. My mom is the same way. My mom had had she'd had gastric sleeve, and she tried all these things, and and she'd been on a GLP leading up to Eloise's diagnosis. And it's just helped us make better choices at our family events. Mhmm.
You know, like, we don't need to have a cookie cake, ice an cream and all these things. Like, let's try to choose a low carb option, not because we make her eat low carb. You know, I know
is supernatural. Say low carb. How about, like, why don't we just mitigate how much sugar is in the food we're eating? You you you know?
Like, let's just not go we call it hard in the paint. Let's just not go hard in the paint while we're eating, you know? None of us need to do it. Exactly. We all say that we have a TTC, a tendency to chunk.
So let's mitigate that TTC and, try to do better for her. You know, she I tell her all the time, like, you're probably going to be healthier than your brothers at the end of the day because you make better choices.
Paying attention to your health more so than most people do.
Right.
Yeah. That that's one of the things I've brought up to people before is that just by, you know, by proxy, you have to pay better attention to yourself if you have type one. And it probably has a ton of downstream effect after that.
For sure. I think that's the that's, you know, that's the whole huge picture of it. And we want our boys to be healthier. Yeah. You know, so our family kinda we we kinda dial in a little bit more and things that we wouldn't have done ten years ago because we just weren't thinking about it.
Mhmm. It totally makes me feel insensitive to my father-in-law who was, like, trying to make good choices. And then, you know, we're all, like, let's have spaghetti every single day.
Yeah. Let's have spaghetti every single day. Well, it's cheap. Listen. You know, there's a a fair argument.
I've I was listen I'm listening to an interview this morning, with this doctor in England who's talking about how, you know, he was managing a bunch of people with type two and how he blamed them and tell them, like, you know, eat less and and move. And then when they didn't have success, he blamed them. And then he said, do you he's he's telling a story about how one of his one of his patients comes in one day and just kinda chastises him. He's like, you don't even understand. Like, I I moved to a lower carb diet, and I'm off my metformin now.
And look at my blood sugar and blah blah blah. And the guy, he actually looked up and and paid attention and and and took, you know, took responsibility for the things he was saying to people and stopped saying it to them. And, you know, it's just real and but in the course of him talking, he, you know, he talked about how just by cutting some carbs out of your life makes you less hungry. So my point is you don't realize that you're on on a hamster wheel. Like, you know, like, somebody gets you started and, you know, you're eight years old and someone's giving you soda and something else, and then your body craves it.
And then it just keeps going and it perpetuates and perpetuates, and you grow you wake up fifteen years later. And, you know, you're you're 25 years old and you're 70, and you can't stop eating. And people are like, just, you know, just eat less. You know, like, I can't, like, you know
Oh, okay.
Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. You're just caught at that point, you know.
Yeah. I mean, I got super excited listening to you talking about Arden, and I think you said she microdoses hers. But I was like, wow. That's amazing because by the time Eloise is an adult, like, they're going to know more about the correlation between GLP ones and type one diabetes. And, you know, that's that's amazing for her.
Yeah. Lots of studies are going on now. So you we'll we'll wait and see. And, hopefully, maybe I mean, just they put that Ozempic out in a pill. I mean, my my brief unders that.
My brief understanding of it is that it I think they have to hit you with a lot of it because it's going in through your stomach, and it maybe is causing some some problems for people. But, you know, maybe they'll figure that out. Maybe they'll figure out better ways to inject it. Like, I don't know. You you know?
But at least people are talking about it.
For sure. I mean, there's so much stigma around it. I don't really know why. Mhmm. I just Why?
I do know why.
I just bullied my neighbor into it, two days ago. Let me get a drink. I'll tell you. So he's an older guy, and, you know, he's got issues, but he's got you know, he's probably prediabetic or has, you know, type two. And I got him a meter two years ago, and I don't think he used it.
And, you know, I've been I tried an he's you know, I'm not related to him. I tried a number of different ways to explain it to him, and he's like, you know, he's got some neuropathy in his feet already. He's, you know, he's gaining weight. His his energy is low, blah blah blah. And I'm standing outside with him the other day, and he's like, I got these terrible body aches.
They put me on a a statin. And I'm like, what well, I said, what are on a statin for? And he goes, oh, he starts talking about all the reasons the doctor put on the statin. I said, I I gotta tell you, I'm stunned they didn't just try to give you a GLP.
Right.
And he goes, oh, no. They did. And I went, oh, did you start using it? He goes, no. I'm not gonna do it.
Oh.
And I'm like, why? He goes, side effects. And I said, what what are those side effects? And he goes, I don't My wife said there's a lot of side effects. And that was kind of it.
And and and so just like that, he wasn't gonna do it. So I pulled out a photo of myself from three years ago, and I went, come on, man. Like, look at this. Like Yeah. I I he said, well, don't you have side effects?
I was like, I'm awesome. I was like, is that a side effect?
Was like The side effect is I might live a little longer.
Yeah. Yeah. How about I'll live longer? How about I I said it's it's dissolving fatty liver disease for people. It's you know, your weight will go down, but then it's interesting to hear me.
He goes, well, I don't really need to lose weight. And I'm like, sure you
do.
I was like, what do you and and you just you realize that people get comfortable with that or don't see themselves the same way. So then I just shared with him. I said, man, when I started doing this, I thought 20 pounds. And I lost 20 pounds. I stood in the mirror, and I was like, what in the world made me think I only needed to lose 20 pounds?
And then I thought, well, 30. You know? And then I got the 30, I was like, that's not enough. And then I got the 50, and I was like, oh my god. I thought I needed to lose 20 pounds.
I'm at 50. It's not even I'm no I'm nowhere near this yet.
Yeah.
You know? So I was like, you need to lose weight. I'm like, it's gonna lower your a one c. You're gonna I said, your brain you know, I started going over things. I was like, you have brain fog?
He goes, yeah. I'm like, that's gonna go away. I'm like, it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna, like, balance your blood sugar. I was like, I'm like, what do you think? And he goes, well, but what about the side effects?
I said I said, the side effects you're having now is you're dying.
Right.
Yeah. I was like, I'm I'm like, I don't know what's gonna I I can't. I don't have a crystal ball. I was like, I don't know. Maybe you'll get diarrhea for three months.
Okay.
What are you going out? Like, go to the toilet. Like, I said, your body will regulate. It'll it'll get better. I said, maybe you'll get constipated.
Take a little magnesium oxide. You'll be fine. I was like
That's interesting, GLP journey for us because my provider originally put me on it. My insurance would not touch it unless I had a type two diagnosis, which is probably the case for most people. And so she called it and compounded, did that for about a year, lost, And then my insurance or I'm sorry. The the compounding pharmacy that I was going to stopped carrying it. Mhmm.
So I like, what am I gonna do? Like, you know, once you're on it, you're like, what am I gonna do? Yeah. So I don't know if I could say this on the podcast. I guess I can.
My husband and I started compounding it ourselves. You know, you can order the peptides, which I I know is is controversial.
You really?
Yeah. So he just, like I said, he was a a lab technician before this, so knew enough scientifically to be able to do it. So he just, orders the orders the peptides, and we do it at home. And it's he's lost. He gained a ton of weight when he got out of the military, but he's lost a 150 something pounds.
Good for him.
I have stalled out at about 45, but I think I need to up my protein. And I I really think managing Eloise's diabetes makes me so much. It makes me more conscious of what I eat, but we're so busy that I don't really dial into my own nutrition.
Yeah. You do have to keep eating and and and the nutrition has to be I I have found that if there sometimes if I'm cut back on food too much, I don't lose weight.
And that think what's happening to
me.
Yeah. Really do. I'm so focused on her and, like, right now, a huge thing is figuring out breakfast. Breakfast has been just a huge disaster for her. I think her basal maybe needs to be turned up a little around that first hour or two of school.
Mhmm. I mean, today, she sat at, like, three like, 02:50 for, like, two hours. And, of course, I'm not at school. The school cannot give her a bolus of insulin. She's on the tandem Moby, so it'll give her those automatic boluses.
But sometimes they're just not enough.
No School Nurse, and the Daily Lunch Drive45:59
Why can't the school give her insulin?
I think it's like a I think they don't want the liability of of administering it. And, again, it's it's from the phone.
Can you just text her and be like, hey. Give yourself a bonus.
I think next year, we'll probably end up doing that. I have a lot of nerves about doing that right now. Again, we're only, like, a year and a half in. Yeah. She's pretty responsible.
Thank goodness it's her, not the boys, because she's way more responsible than them.
The mullets?
But the mullets would not be, like, the most responsible with it. But so yeah. I mean, next year, I think I'll probably be able to text her and say, hey. Give yourself a correction. But right now, she's she's she's super smart, but she has her moments where I'll be like, Eloise, bullish yourself 20 carbs.
And she'll just, like, type in two and administer her. And I'm like, that yeah. We can't and, you know, we have a limit set on there, but you can't give yourself 200 carbs as opposed to 20.
Yeah. You think you just don't think she's quite ready for it yet?
Not quite. I think in about a year, probably will be.
Fair enough.
But right now, she's just kinda meh. And I get the school. You know, that's a huge liability on them.
But can I make it an easy right now? Can I make an easy suggestion?
Yeah.
Summer's coming. Right? Right. So just do all of her bullsing through texting even when you're with her.
It's a great idea. Yeah. That is a really great idea.
Yeah. Just say, hey. Look.
We're gonna swing of it.
Yeah. We're gonna practice this here at home, and then we're gonna be all ready for school next year. And then we're gonna try to eliminate, you know, nursing visits and your blood sugar staying high all day. And, you know, we'll we'll practice, like, you know, when you need to drink a juice or have a gummy or whatever you're gonna do. Like, we'll do it all by text so then you can go back and look and see what she did until you're comfortable that she's gonna be good with it.
That's a a great idea. And I think, you know, the the phone is used way more than we ever wanted to use it. Right now, I primarily will just text the teacher and be like, two gummies, half a juice, and her teacher's great. Last year, when we went back to school, I did not know what we were gonna do. I I remember telling the the PICU doctors, like, look, we don't have a school nurse.
She has a male teacher who's in his twenties who is petrified of blood. Like, how are we gonna do this? And we go back to school and I'm like, shout out to our teacher last year. I love him. He's great.
But I said, hey. I need you to practice. She wasn't sticking her finger at the time. So I said, need you to practice helping her stick her finger. And he's like, yeah.
I got it. Young guy. No kids. Give him the alcohol wipe, and he wipes his own hand.
You know, like, uh-oh.
So that's not right. So we had to we had to really fine tune that a little bit, and, you know, she she does great with it. She just I think she needs to build a little more confidence with it and doing it herself. I know she'll get there. She and her brother will be in the same class next year.
It'll be a combined third and fourth grade class. So I'm a little bit nervous that either he's gonna feel I I feel like he's gonna feel too responsible for her next year.
You don't wanna put a lot him either.
Yeah. That's a whole emotional side of things where, you know, I I don't want him to feel like you're responsible for your sister, but I do think he will ultimately feel that way. It's taught both of the boys just a ton of empathy. They they know if we go on a family walk, like, they're gonna they're gonna be smart enough to stick fruit snacks in their pocket.
Mhmm.
So they have that, I'm I'm super impressed with, and I'm I'm proud of them for that. I had a bad mom moment last week. We went on a family walk or not family walk. It was just Eloise and I. She's on her scooter.
We leave the house. Blood sugar's, like, two fifty. We had pizza. We're gonna get the blood sugar down, we have some insulin working. All of a sudden, Dexcom's, like, 70 double arrow down.
No problem. We drink a we drink a juice box, sit down on the curb for a second, and then it's, like, 58 double arrow down, and I had no more low snacks. So I'm like, great. Okay. We're gonna hang out on the curb.
We're, like, we're probably half a mile from home at this point. My husband's not home. So we just sit on the curb and blood sugar was not coming up. So I called my sister, and I'm like, you're gonna she lives ten minutes away. I'm like, you're gonna have to come get us.
Bring food. Do what? Bring food.
Well, literally, I'm like, that's I think that's why I felt so bad. I'm like, how am I so dumb to just leave home with one juice box? So I go home at night, and I'm just I'm sobbing because I'm like, this is a terrible diabetes parenting moment. Like, I just didn't have it together. You know?
Yeah. But that's just kinda the way it goes. You have those days.
It's happened to all of us, if that makes you feel better.
Yeah. I just I felt so terrible. I was like, how am I? And then if you even tell that story to somebody who is not a type one parent, they're like, how could you? Like, do you know your daughter has diabetes?
How could you not load your back down with 13 juice boxes before you go on a walk?
People being bad to you or do you is that just your fear?
I think it's my internal thought. I do. I think peep I think I, like, I pride myself on being the best mom ever. Whether or not I am, I don't know. I think if you if you are worried about how your parenting style is, you're probably doing a good job.
At least you're paying attention. Right?
Right. At least you're paying attention. So but no. I mean, even, the mornings when we go into school and she has a crazy high blood sugar and I'm talking to people and I'm like, oh, she probably has this high blood sugar because she had a waffle this morning. I feel like they are thinking, why would you give your daughter who has type one diabetes a waffle?
Yeah. Because they're
Probably not. Yeah. They're probably not. Probably don't even know, like, what the carb count is in a waffle. They probably don't think that.
But that's my own, you know, my own thoughts. Mhmm. I don't want her to have those thoughts, and I'm trying to help her get to the point where she does not like, like, she had a low blood sugar at at gymnastics the other day, and I'm like, why didn't you come off? Like, why did you not look at your coach and say, my blood sugar's low. I need to go treat.
And she's like, I don't know. I just didn't wanna stop.
Why Kids Don't Stop to Treat51:47
Yeah. It's, it's super simple. Like, just it's not a thing. Listen. I've been watching it for twenty years, and I've had countless conversations with people.
It it's not as easy. Like, when it's you Yeah. When it's you, it's not as easy as, like, oh, these are the rules. We follow the rules. They they feel a certain way.
They don't wanna be inconvenienced or and it's not even that conscious, I don't think. I think it's just that, like, it doesn't even occur to you. You don't think of yourself as diabetes No. From what I can tell from talking to people and watching Arden. You know?
Like, I and I'll say to her sometimes, hey. You gotta, like like, now's the time. Like, if you do something right now, you won't get low. And some and sometimes she just won't. And and then she'll get low.
I'm like, Arden. And she's like, yeah. But it's not I don't know how to put it exactly. It's not them ignoring anything. It's it's just part of, like, the human side of
it. Yeah.
You know?
That's so tough. And, you know, I see that with my father-in-law, and it's it's made me reframe how I view him and his diabetes management. He is I would say he handles his diabetes management differently than we do for LOEs. Like I said, he's not on an insulin pump. He was on one in the nineties, and I guess it gave an automatic bolus and he had a horrible seizure.
And, you know, since then, he's like, I I don't wanna go through that again. I think maybe we'll be able to to to change his mind when he sees Eloise's success with it.
Oh, you might wanna assume that thirty five years later, something's changed.
Right.
Yeah. Yeah.
But, you know, even this past Christmas, we're sitting there and he and my husband were playing a board game and my husband realized, oh, his blood sugar is low. He's, you know, getting a little silly and, he had a pretty bad low that day. One of the one of the South Carolina family members hands him a Diet Coke. And we're like, okay. Probably not that.
Give him a diet Coke and get him get him some beef jerky. I've heard that's helpful too. I will need
anything but that. Maybe the box of honey buns over there. But anyway
Well, you know what
you should
do is just open up a chatbot, like, window or, you know, like, I don't know, get AI on your phone, open it up, and let him talk to it for ten minutes. Tell him, hey. Look. Have a conversation with us about something you don't understand. And then when you come back, instead of talking to him about that, go, can you imagine how much better insulin pumps must be by now?
A 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know, did does he have a CGM?
He has just started wearing a Libre. Good. And he, I don't think is in love with it. Like, I think he's like, this is cool, but not that impressed. But yeah.
So he's having this he left his phone outside at Christmas, so he did not realize his blood sugar was low. And then it it got pretty bad pretty fast. You know, he was probably seconds from having a seizure when my husband stepped in.
Mhmm.
And I'm watching my daughter watch this happen. And, you know, she's seven, and I can see on her face, she's petrified, like, petrified. And, you know, I asked another family member to take her outside, but it's it's tough to I can't imagine being in her shoes and watching that happen knowing, like, this could be you. So it's it's just that's tough. That's tough to explain because I'm I think he has a lot of, like, diabetes burnout, and I never I don't have diabetes.
I don't know what it's like to live with it for decades. But I'm sure that there's a lot of burnout there, but I also want her to see, like, you don't you need to do better because we know you can do better. We know we can do better.
Yeah. No. It's hard for I mean, it's gotta be hard for her because there's part of her is just probably worried for him, and the other part of her, if if not in that moment later, she's gonna think, oh, like, is that gonna happen to me?
Yeah. She's brought that up a couple times. She had probably her worst low blood sugar this past summer. We had gone to a pizza buffet. And, not my favorite place under the sun, but we've gone, come home, she's jumping on the trampoline, and I don't remember what I was doing, but I was busy.
And somehow her blood sugar had gotten into the forties, and we sit her down. And I like, I could tell by looking at her face, she was very, very low. My husband comes in, like, I have the glucagon on standby, and my husband is holding her face to try and get her to drink. And she does. And afterwards, we're both just, like, sobbing.
You know? It was so scary. And my husband's like, I think I'm more upset because I've seen how bad this can get with my dad. Yeah. And I asked him.
I was like, is it more traumatic watching your child or your parent? He's like, a thousand percent your child. You know?
You know it's the trampoline. It's trampoline. Dad. You know it's the trampoline. Right?
It's a 100% the trampoline. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. A 100%.
Like, I hate the trampoline anyways. But, yeah, she goes out there and and that's just that's I I I wish the trampoline would have blown away in the hurricane two years ago, to be honest with you. I was hoping it would, but all that all that was lost was the net. She goes out there and she knows it's a whole thing. She's a competitive gymnast and she knows what jumping does to her blood sugar.
She knows all that, but she still asked and I go out there and I feel bad because before she can even go out there, it's a discussion of what is your blood sugar. Your phone needs to be close by so you can get your blood sugar reads. It's a whole thing for her to even go on the trampoline, you know. And I think people don't realize that. Like, you know, she wanted to go swimming with a friend yesterday, and I'm like, oh, you probably can't go.
I can't just send you. I don't know if this person I don't know how comfortable they are with your diabetes, and we gotta disconnect the pump, and we gotta wrap the CGM. And you feel terrible in those moments.
Yeah. Are you Because
you want childhood to be normal, but it's not. It's not the same.
What do you think makes that more normal? Because there obviously, there are people do you think it's time? Like, what's gonna get you to the point where you go, go ahead. Go swimming now.
I think her getting more mature and, you know, just her taking more more control of her diabetes, I think that's gonna help a ton. Mhmm. But, like, that's the only thing I can think of. You know? We're not at the point where I can send her to a vacation bible school or a cheer camp and be like, oh, I think she's gonna be fine.
Like, I have to know who's there. Do they know how to handle the diabetes? Is she in enough control? We're just not there yet.
An Endo Who Has Type 1 Too57:48
You know, there's a camp in, Texas called Camp Sweeney. That's a diabetes camp. Yeah. That one might be good for her.
I've heard of it, and we kinda looked into that. Our local hospital here does a daytime camp. It's three days. Her endocrinologist actually, like, helps work it. Nice.
Shout out to him. He's on your, like, list of great providers. He's amazing. He also has type one diabetes.
Oh, cool. Juicebox.i just wanna say. Yeah. Yeah.
He's on there, and he didn't even tell us he had type one until, like, four visits in. Oh. He was just casual guy. Like, yeah. I'm telling him
Yeah.
But you know the first couple visits.
You don't wanna give it all away in the first episode.
Absolutely not. You know, we're we're it was the the first few visits, I'm like, I cannot take this kid home. I do not got this. This is terrible.
She lives with you now. Bye, sweetie. I'm like,
you I'm like, can can we just she's with you. But, like, the fourth visit, she was on a pump within three weeks. The fourth visit, he was like, this is the insulin pump I wear. Would she like to wear this one? I was like, oh, that guy also has type one.
So it's kinda nice. Yeah. You know, he's not just speaking from a he's not just speaking from a textbook. He's speaking from personal experience.
Yeah. No. I mean, you've gotta you've gotta imagine that that's a value. I think that, you know, most people I hear who who say that, oh, my endo or my nurse practitioner, somebody has type one, it is a huge benefit for them. So
Yeah. Absolutely. He's and he's not judgmental towards any of the questions that I have. Like, he's very, he's like, no. I get it.
But, you know, I I think going into this next year, my biggest fear for her is she has she's going into a different class. It's an older grade. I want her to have better management, but this is there's gonna be 20 kids in her class this year and, you know, no nurse. I'm like, how's it gonna go? How's she gonna do?
You'll be okay. I'm telling you, practice over the summer. You start texting with her about it. You'll be surprised.
I really love that idea. I think that's gonna be and that's tangible right there. You know, I can look back to the text messages. So I think that's that's a great idea.
Well And even if you're, like, even if you're panicked in the beginning, like, she could snap a picture of the screen before she gives the bold there's a lot of things you could do to make yourself more comfortable and to get her feeling confident and focused so that she's doing the right thing. Like, you don't wanna like, listen. She needs to understand. You don't wanna scare the hell out of her, but she needs to understand. Like, if I say two, it's two.
It's not it's not 20 or, you know, or, you you know, that kind of thing. But and stick stay with where she's comfortable and what and what you're comfortable with. But in your situation specifically, where the teachers are squeamish, the school doesn't wanna be involved and there's no nurse, like, what she just gonna run around 02:50 all day?
That's the thing. Like, that that can't be a thing.
No. Right. No. No. You gotta figure out something else.
And and you can't be driving over I mean, I don't know where you live. You probably live
I drive every single day to the school for lunch insulin. So I work there two days a week. It is insane. So I work there two days a week, and the other three days, I drive to school every single day for lunch. And it has been fine, but I'm getting to my limit, if that makes
any sense. No. That's gotta come to an end. That
that's Like, I'm I'm totally getting to my limit with it. And
Wait. Someone in the office won't act as a proxy? Just look over her shoulder while she's doing it?
So once or twice. And by one of the times, my husband was supposed to go and he forgot.
Hey. Listen. We have a lot in our minds. Okay?
Yes. So I had to text her. I had to be like, hey. I don't know if you know this or not, but our daughter needs insulin to live. He's like No.
I didn't say that. I nicely said, he sounds so incompetent to this podcast. He is not. He is the most involved dad you'll ever meet.
Listen. He figured out how to compound GLPs in his house. I figured oh, also, let me just say, nothing you hear on the juice box pocket should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care It I feel like you just made it in the kitchen. It's fine.
Well, listen. It's you know? Anyway, sorry. He forgot to give her the insulin. And what was the rest
of that story? To give it to her. So that day, the teacher just FaceTimed me and was like, hey. I'm going to physically let her plug it into the phone. I'll look over her shoulder.
You double check via FaceTime. And that was fine. Like, that worked. You know, I just it's it's exhausting. Like, my whole day revolves around diabetes, and that's you know, that's not including, like, I gotta fill the prescriptions every four weeks.
I gotta call for the prior auth. I gotta make sure I'm making the endo visits. It's just
it's just a a way also alive and you have a job and those you have two other kids and a house and everything else. Yeah.
Well, that's the thing. People are like, why don't you just work at her school five days a week? And I'm like, who is cleaning our house?
Why don't we just text each other and figure this out? Like, that's fine. And by the way, this this teacher, he's in his twenties. You could talk him into it in three seconds. He doesn't know anything.
Just be like, look. We did it once at work, man. Let's keep going, baby. And it doesn't have to be FaceTime. I trust you.
You know what a two looks like. Right? Come on. Get in there.
I love all the young teachers at her school, though, because they're, like, they're the best. They're like, we're gonna learn this. And they whenever they do a great thing, like, sometimes I'll I'll see her trending down, and then she randomly will study out, and they'll be like, just so you know, I gave her two gummies. And I'm like, wow. Like, they are getting it.
Yeah. They got it. And I'm so proud of them too.
I gotta tell you, it's not a there's not that much to it. It's not it's not it's I mean, it it seems reasonable that people should be able to understand, like, you know, sugar in place of low number, you know, high number gets insulin.
You would think. Yeah. You would think.
Well, I know.
Still say super dumb things, you know. They they still people still say super dumb things. People still like, I went on a walk last week and a neighbor said, how's Eloise? I said, she's doing great. And she said, my my nephew was diagnosed this past year in college with type one, so he obviously wasn't taking care of himself.
Because
he was in college? Oh, wait. She thinks oh, this person thinks they were diagnosed
diagnosed with type one.
Oh, they think they they think the kid got type one because he was away in college.
Well, because he wasn't taking care of himself.
Oh, you know how that goes. Type one. You know how when you don't eat chicken, you get type one diabetes.
Right. And Eloise was standing right there, and I just said, and some days, you know, you're like, it's my job to educate. And some days, you just wanna be like, can you shut the hell up?
Yeah. I'm not doing this with you right now. Yeah. You can't listen. You can't tell everybody.
Also, it's not even like, it's not their fault. Like, I I used to say a lot before. We could make a long list of things I don't have any meaningful understanding of. And, you know, and if you did, you might mark me as, you know, as uneducated or ignorant or something like that because I don't know about a thing you know about, but just not how it works. So In
the South, we just say bless your heart.
I know what you people do. I I've been there.
No. But if we say bless your heart, we mean that. But if we say bless it, that's very condescending. Like, that's not a good thing.
Oh my god. I know when you when you look at how some people react to things, I'm just like, I don't know. I I don't even know how we're all still here. You know, like like, there's a post up now where, you know, where I it's I I I I I mean, it's not a big deal, but, like, I listened to the, the financial call that Dexcom put on the other day, they announced some, like, product stuff. And so I kinda did a breakdown for it online.
And, you know, like, look, It's gonna g eight's gonna come out in the next year or so. It's gonna be smaller. They think there's gonna have improvements. Here's what they're shooting for. Blah blah blah.
Now, you know, some people are like, that's enough of all this. Just cure this.
Oh my gosh. You're like, oh, is that it? Okay. Cool. Oh, you're right.
Why didn't we think of that?
Say wild things online now. Like, things. And it I'm not gonna lie. It's usually, like, the demographic of my parents' age. It's kinda like the whole, like, AI making themselves into different people thing, and then they take the compliments for it.
I don't know why. Why are they doing or one person said, it it looks bigger in the picture, not smaller. And I'm like, those are AI representations of what they might look like one day. Like, you really don't know that, do you? That's fascinating.
Like, you think
don't make yourself into, like, an AI character and then have everyone be like, Scott, you look so good. And you're like, thank you so much.
Can you imagine that someone doesn't, like, realize that something that doesn't exist yet, if you have an image of it, it isn't actually the the thing?
They can't. Like They cannot. They can't.
How do you not be able to make that leap? Like, I don't understand.
Those are the people who are not finding the podcast early enough, though, also because they don't know how to use the Internet.
I don't think this is a bigger problem. Like, there's the thing that doesn't exist yet. It'll be out in two years. Here's a graphic because, by the way, if I don't put a graphic with it, then Facebook isn't gonna show it to you. So I have to And do and and so, like and now you know about it at least, and that's good, I think.
But I don't know. They're like, that looks bigger than the other one in the picture. I'm like, yes. Well, they're not this.
Oh my gosh.
They're in my head.
People get so tripped up. Even yesterday, this, like, this guy that he's a family friend, and we love him, but bless his heart. He came up to Eloise and he said he was pointing to her Dexcom and he was like, why is your thing not on the other arm? It was on the other arm at church last week. Like, he could not he couldn't process what was happening.
I was like, oh, you know, we move it every 10. And he thought that was her insulin pump and, like, she doesn't even bother to explain anymore. Like, she's just like, mom, take the wheels on this because
Your friend is annoying.
That's exactly how she feels. And I think now we've realized that little boys do not really care that much about the devices. It's the girls who do, and they will ask her every question under the sun.
Mhmm.
Every question. And she gets so perturbed. Like, she's like, please stop. But the boys don't care.
And boys don't well, I mean, your your husband didn't remember she ate insulin for lunch, so we don't really we don't really think about they think you think you do.
Care. They don't care. They're just like, this girl has a computer on her, and we don't really care. But the the girls, they're like, what is that? And telling you, these little girls now are so mean.
I don't know what you've been through with Arden, but they're all mean.
They're all like I've seen
a couple sequence.
I've seen a couple of mean ones over the years. Not usually about the diabetes, It's interesting.
And that's like well, and that's where I have to ask myself, like, am am I thinking that they're being mean or are they actually being mean? And, like, just now, Eloise is to the point where, like, this summer, the other day, we went to the pool and she was like, I wanna wear a one piece bathing suit instead of a two. And it it slowly clicked with me. She knew she was gonna be around all these girls and she didn't want her sight showing. Mhmm.
Which is fine. You know? I'm sure she's gonna have those days where she does and she doesn't. So, like, trying to help her with that, but also, like, I don't want her I try to always tell her, like, if someone is making a rude comment about your diabetes or, like, that they can catch it, whatever, that says more about them. It's not personal towards you.
They're probably just having a bad day. Move on.
Yeah. I mean, once you can I mean, that's tough as a kid? But once you realize that what other people are saying or doing is not any impact on you, it's a it's a pretty freeing moment in life. I don't know. It takes people a long time to get to it sometimes.
I'm sure, like, you know, the the way that everybody has contact with each other now. Like, I've I've mentioned to people in the back. I'm like, you you know you have a text chain with a bunch of friends where you make fun of other people. And they're like, no. I guess we definitely do.
Yeah. And I'm like, right. Right. So, like, when that's going on and you know those people are, you know, like, you know, I'm not in their texting. I'm I'm I'm sure they're talking about me in there.
But you gotta
be You probably have so many people with text chains about you because you're on a podcast.
Oh, I would imagine a lot of people hate me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, but I would never think about it, to be perfectly honest with you.
No. You have to get past that.
You have
to just say, okay. Well, that's on them. What what other people think of me is none of my business.
People try to come to me. By the way, I've even come to believe that those people aren't don't have like, they'll come to you and be like, I don't know if you know this, but this person's saying something about you online. I'm like, I don't care. I'm just
like I literally do not care. I'm on the Internet. I don't care. You have to just let it I struggle with that. And even, like, I've made, like, a couple TikToks where it's, like, informational things about diabetes because a lot of my friends do watch them.
But then I'm like, what is so and so from high school thinking about, I don't know, my hair length? You can't care about that. You cannot care about that. The other day, a lot of people are very curious about, like, glucagon. And I'm like, I should probably, like, either share something or repost something that kinda gives an overview of glucagon should she ever need it.
But I'm like, I can't record that because what if my house is not clean enough, You know?
Yeah. I don't
I will have to go to a deserted island.
I don't think about anything like that at all. As and listen. In the end, it I think the podcast is valuable because I am just sitting here like nothing's planned out. I am just talking off the top of my head. And I'm certain that I say something that annoys people every five seconds.
I I don't know how I couldn't possibly otherwise. If you wanted me to sit here and sanitize this to the point where no one would ever have their feelings or no one would ever disagree, then what this would be is not valuable. And it would and yeah. And so then it's just it's gone. I listen.
I I was contacted the other day by a person who I don't know that well, who I think probably thinks I know them better than I do, who I have a really, like, solid feeling about. Like and it's the best way I can explain it to you. Like, I know if they heard this, they'd probably be like, oh gosh. Like, you know, they're they're minimizing how much they know. I really don't know them.
You you know what I mean? But I I'm aware of them. I've had some short interactions with them.
They're a fan. They're a fan.
I I don't know even that. I but what I can tell you is I really genuinely I like this person. And this person comes to me and is like, I don't appreciate what you said. And I'm like, I I don't even know what you're talking about.
K.
Like, I I I really don't even know what you're talking about. Then they're more clear, I'm like, I don't remember that. And I was like I'm like and I I don't and then I then I get to drill down to figure out what it was I said, and then I was like, that's I meant that positively. Like, I don't now I don't even know what to do. I'm confused by this whole thing.
You know? And then I tried to talk to them about it, and then they they they clammed up about it. So they they come to me, like, kind of aggressively, and I'm like, hey. Like, let's talk. I don't I guess I don't know what you're talking about right now.
I have nothing but good feelings about you, so this might really just be a misunderstanding. I'm not sure. And now I can't get them to interact. And I'm like, ugh. I'm like, what do you I I don't know what you want from me.
Like like
You do a good job though of keeping it real. Like, even in the past when you I don't know. I love when you kind of passively talk about someone who is either trying to be an influencer or trying to, like, sell something diabetes related. I love when you call that out because that's gotten out of control.
I don't love the the the selling part. I don't care if you wanna be an like, if you wanna be an influencer, I guess, I don't really I don't care about that. Like, I think it's another way of, like and by the way, what does it matter what I think? But, like, but, like, I think that's just another way of getting information out there. And if someone's gonna come along and offer you an ad for something or something, then god bless you.
Like, I have no trouble with people making money at all. Like, that's the I again, nothing I I think it's fantastic. I I have it I have trouble with the coaching stuff.
Predatory DMs, Forty-Eight Hours In1:12:44
But Yeah. Within forty eight hours of my kid being diagnosed, like, I had posted something about her being diagnosed. I get this inbox from this person who actually seemed like, their profile seemed a little bit organic and the conversation seemed organic. And then the next thing was, okay. You should buy this horse.
I am forty eight hours into a life changing diagnosis Yeah. And you're trying to get me to buy something.
It's predatory.
It is.
Yeah. And
I just thought, what?
Well, I'll tell you what I've been doing. This is pretty recent for me, so there's no way for me to talk about it yet. But I have right now, have 50 people doing like, demoing a thing that I made. So Okay. What I so what I did was is I looked up and I I looked at these like, what are these people selling people?
Right? They're selling them courses, and they're not necessarily medical. They're almost more support like.
Yeah.
And and I'm like and then they're selling them for, like, thousands of dollars. And I'm like, I why don't I just make one of them and just give it away? That's what I was thinking.
And so gonna be real bad at yourself.
I don't care. So I made a 21 here, I'll tell you about it. I made a 21 let me see how I can explain it to you. So it's basically, like, the pro tip practice. Right?
It's, twenty one days plus an extra day, and you just agree to it and then, you know, go to day one. I'll reach you day one. It says most people come into something like this thinking they're catching up. They're not. There's no schedule for understanding type one diabetes.
There's no syllabus you missed. Whatever you know on the day you start is the right amount to start with. Whatever you don't know is what the next three weeks are for. And then it says today's idea, time with type one isn't the same as fluency with type one. There are people who've lived with type one for fifty years and still don't understand basal insulin.
There are people newly diagnosed who are already seeing patterns. Their their care team has missed it. The two often have nothing to do with each other. What separates the fluent from the time served is whether they've ever moved from passively receiving information to actively noticing what's happening. The pro tip series puts it this way, and there's a little quote from the series.
And then it says, today's affirmation, I'm not behind. I'm starting. Then today's notice, notice how you feel when you check your CGM today. Not the number, not the the feeling. Curiosity, is it dread, is it tiredness, nothing.
Just notice it. And then it gives you a link to a small sips episode. It says, if you want to listen to this short episode. And then there's an evening reflection. What did I notice about my relationship to the CGM today?
That's it. And when you mark that complete, it moves you on to day two. And this goes on for
That's so helpful. Yeah.
Yeah. And it's and then then day two is name what you've been carrying, and it goes on from there. And so I have 50 people right now. God bless these people. Very nice.
They're demoing it. 50 people with type one diabetes who are demoing it right now. They're going through the twenty one days. They're gonna give me their feedback. I'll make it better for them.
I'll find ways for it to do other stuff, and then I'm gonna move on, and I'll do an onboarding that'll that'll lean more on the bold beginning series. And I'll make a bunch of different things that people are selling you for thousands of dollars, and you can just have them. And that's it.
Wow.
Yeah. So it it just I don't know. Like, again, if you if you have a coaching thing and you're making money on it, like, that's great. But when I start I don't know. Like, I I interviewed somebody recently who was like, I paid $3,000 for a course.
And I was like, did it help you? And they went, not really. I was like
Absolutely not.
I was like, oh, god. Like and, you know, then why'd you do it? Well, I was lost. I was stuck and blah blah blah. Or I'm like and, you know, I don't know.
And listen. Everyone's not running around paying thousands of dollars for courses, and I'm sure that people are doing it or most of the people can afford to do it. And I don't and I I genuinely don't have a problem with somebody making a dollar. Like, I make money. You know?
I I I sell ads, But I I don't know. Like, it feels wrong to me to, like, charge somebody money to teach them what a pre bolus is. Or For sure.
And, yes, that's happening.
Yeah. And it just I mean I mean, okay. Like but but even that aside, that I even understand. Like, you're forty eight hours out of being diagnosed and someone's creeping in your DMs and be like, hey. I know everything.
Blah blah blah. I'm so sorry for you. Oh, hey. Buy this. Are you fucking kidding me?
Like
That's exactly what happened, and I was pissed. Yeah. And then, like, the next day is literally somebody in my inbox who was like, have you paid attention to her gut? I guarantee this has started in her gut. And I'm like, dog, I'm literally just trying to keep this kid alive.
I'm just
gonna sleep right now. Yeah. Your gut biome's off. This is happening. That's happening.
You know, we have these these pills that'll take care of the everyone is just like, listen. I'm gonna give you some advice that I've been giving my wife for thirty years. I said that's our money. Everyone's trying to get it. It's your job to defend your defend it.
You defend our money, like, because somebody's coming for it. And Yeah. That's just what's gonna happen. The Internet is it's way fuller of people trying to take a dollar out of your pocket than it is trying to help you out for for nothing. And listen.
Again, I was able to figure out how to do this. Okay? And fair enough, maybe everybody can't figure out how to do it so that it's free for the people listening. But, you know, I don't know. I figured it out.
Like, you could probably make a living without, like, reaching your hand in people's pockets. Like, try to,
like Without conning people.
Yeah. Yeah. At the very least, just offer them something legitimate, and they can make a decision about But don't come to them when they're crying in a in a hospital.
Yeah. It's no. That's exact and that's exactly what it was.
I didn't even know that was happening. That's terrible.
It it was it was I was so upset about it. Yeah. And I know you have mixed feelings on this next topic, but we're in the process of a service dog right now. And I don't know how much you know about that, Scott, but that is a wild and crazy and interesting market. Let's put it that way.
Listen.
I We can leave it at that.
I assume it's another opportunity for decent people to do a decent job and shitty people to rip you off. Like, it
That's exactly right.
Yeah. And and also, I mean, from I'm not gonna tell you what to do. I don't think you need a service dog. Like but if you want one, then go get one. I mean
I know it's I know it's it's got its goods and its bads and, you know, you have to you have to I will say this much. If you are, like, a newly diagnosed parent, do not jump two feet into it. Like, it's kinda like what she was saying in the the Boggs family when they were on a couple weeks ago. You know, do your do your research. Like, this is not a dog who is going to solve every single one of your problems.
Like, that is not the case.
Well, did you hear what she said at the end of that about the dog?
I think I remember her kinda being like, I don't know that I would've done this.
Yeah. That's my recollection that she was like, I don't know that we needed a service dog. So somebody definitely go listen to be sure, but that's how I remember.
Yeah. We've really we've really we've really put a lot of thought into it. And, you know, I'll say this much. We had a really generous person who is funding it. And I think it'll be great for her.
I think it'll be great in situations like, hey. You wanna go jump on the trampoline or you wanna, you know, go in the backyard by yourself?
I'm sure it will great.
Yeah. It's gonna be, you know, an extra line of defense at night for her when she's like, she's still sleeping in our room at night, and that's we're we're getting to our limit on that.
The Service Dog Question1:19:56
Really? Why is she sleeping in your room?
Her room is upstairs. Ours is downstairs. And, you know, it started out as, okay. We gotta wake up and do the finger sticks before we were on the CGM. And now I think it's just I think it's an extra peace of mind for me.
If we're going up and down the steps is annoying. But I I think we're getting to the point where I'm like, I want her back in her room. I think she's getting to that point. And maybe it'll make me feel a little better when we have this dog just you know, maybe it can work the night shift, and I don't think it's gonna catch every alert. It doesn't have opposable thumbs.
Like, it can't go get a juice box.
Maybe you should be talking to a therapist.
Right. Yes. I think that's lot of it. I think a lot of it is just being anxious about her at nighttime.
Yeah. Have you tried weed? They say that helps.
You know, the way being a teacher set up
Oh, then you're not allowed to smoke weed in South Carolina?
I don't even know. I think I think we actually have way more lapse laws here than other places do.
Mhmm.
But I I mean, for me personally By
the way, I'm not suggesting it. I'm just asking what you've done. Yeah. Yeah.
So yeah. I mean, I I think I think at the end of the day, it's know, you we just need another lot of defense for us just for me to feel a little bit better at nighttime. But this is still, you know, a pet that has to go everywhere with us. So it's gonna be a whole a whole lifestyle shift, but even that people ask stupid questions about and make stupid assumptions about. Mhmm.
You know, like, they just like I said, they think it can go, like, open their refrigerator and get a juice box. I'm like, it doesn't have opposable thumbs.
Listen. If you're looking for everybody not to be stupid, I think you're gonna you're gonna get let down there. But, listen. For me, I wouldn't want it. Like, I just I I I would think of it differently.
Like, I I hear all the positives you're saying. What I think is, can you imagine having to take a dog to the airport with you to the grocery store?
Think that will not be I think that will probably not be what our life looks like that this dog will go everywhere, which for some reason really offends people. Like, if you say, we're getting this service dog, but it's not gonna go every single place we go, they're like, what?
Yeah. Listen.
The animal will stay at home some? I'm like, I have three kids.
We're gonna make a list of things that people are offended by and will be done by the time I'm 350 years old. So be offended by whatever you want. It it doesn't matter. I'm gonna tell you that if she doesn't want people looking at her pump when she's at a pool party, I wonder how good she's gonna be with the dog with the vest on laying next to her.
Yeah. And we definitely had some discussions about that because I'm I'm curious to see we've talked a lot about that. She's a huge animal lover. So, again, if this comes to us and this is a very glorified pet, I wouldn't be shocked. I think she'd be okay with that.
Huge dog lover. But, yeah, I think I think you have to think about all those things and people don't. They just think, oh, I'm gonna get this dog and it's gonna solve all these problems or kind of like what Shannon was saying, like, they're like a less of a type one parent if they don't. No. Like, that's not the case.
And and that's kind of everything with diabetes tech and, you know, dogs and everything diabetes related. Do you feel like you I guess that's parenting in general. You have to go get all these things and do all these things or you're less of a parent or less of a caregiver? No. At the end of the day, you do the best that you can as a parent.
You you know, I don't I can't wrap my head around feeling that way. I really I'm I'm listening to you and I I I commiserate that you that you feel that way or that other people have, but I I don't understand, like, why you care what anybody else thinks.
Yeah. No. I mean, you're exactly right. You're exactly right. I've had conversations with other parents who who have children with type one diabetes, and sometimes it does feel like a little bit of a comparison game.
And I'm like, look. Everybody's just doing their best. You know, this is enough.
I'm unaware if like, I'm sure people are doing that constantly. I am completely unaware of it. And and I Scott. Well, I'm is that what it is? It's because I'm a guy?
That's probably part of it. I think I think moms, you know, they they have those comparisons.
I'd be like, fuck you. Trust
and believe that's what I'm thinking in my mind a lot of days.
I just wouldn't think about it after that. I'm I'm busy. I got stuff I wanna do.
Yeah. No. You're exactly right.
I can't imagine letting someone else make you feel a certain way. I already
just have to be like, I'm doing the best I can.
And my brain's already doing it to me. I don't need it done for me by somebody else.
My husband says the exact same thing. He's just for lack of better words, you know, he's like, screw them. Like, they we're doing what's right for our family, and that's what you have to do at the end of day. Diabetes has limited some perspective to that too. At the end of the day, nobody has to walk in your shoes.
Nobody has to be in your family situation, so you gotta do what's best for you.
Yeah. I boy, I have such a hard time wrapping my head around that. I don't even know how to properly think about it because it sounds insane to me that you're concerned with it.
Yeah. I mean And
I don't mean let me be clear. I don't mean you're insane. I mean that I I can't I can't grasp the idea of of of letting someone else's ideas, thoughts, things I imagine they might be saying impact my decisions. I couldn't possibly care less.
Yeah. This has definitely been one of the best things for me just to
Good.
You know, say it is what it is. It like, again, nobody else has to wake up with her when her blood sugar's low. Nobody else has to, you know, do all the things that come along with diabetes. Nobody else has to have the two mullets sitting right there.
Listen. Even down to, like, if you think of service dog's a good idea, you shouldn't, for a half a second, think about what I think about it.
That's right.
Yeah. That's meaningless. No.
No. No. No. I tore I you're exactly right. You know?
No. Your lifestyles all look so different. And that's a lot of diabetes too. If people think that their management style has to look like other people's, I want you to do what's best. I want you to care about your a one c, but I don't like, you don't really have to care about what other people are doing.
I know.
You know? Because lifestyle is different.
You Don't Have to Do It My Way1:25:44
Yeah. The first time somebody said to me on the podcast, they were like, I'm so sorry. Like, I tried so hard to follow all the things you were saying. I was like, you were trying to follow all the things I was saying? I was like, that that didn't even occur to me.
I was like, you're not wait. What? I was like, you thought I was laying out a a, like, a a list of rules? Was like, this is the stuff that I find that works for me, or it's been valuable.
Helpful. It's still helpful.
Listen. What, you don't have to be nice to meet you. Obviously, I've done an amazing thing for the world, but that's not the point. Like like but my point is is that, like, if you hear me say 10 things and five of them are valuable to you, then awesome. Like, you don't have to go find a way to shoehorn the other five in.
Like, this go make your own thing or or, you know, like, make your own stew out of, like, the carrots and the potatoes that I left you. Like, you know, like, you don't have to, like, anyway, my point is that I it never occurred to me that somebody would be like, oh, I have to mimic this exactly. Like, I really don't
social think media is a huge part of that too.
You think so? How how? What does that do?
I think, you know, it's like it's like with anything with social media. You see, oh, well, the person's handling it a b c way. And you're like, well, I I should probably be doing that because that looks really good. Everything looks good. You don't show the bad things on social media.
Right? Like, everyone's life looks great and fantastic. So if them handling their diabetes this way looks really good, I probably should be doing that.
See, think that's so
That's not the whole picture.
I think that's a lack of self confidence.
Probably.
Like, I think when you look at somebody else doing something and you think, oh, they must know what they're doing. They're taking the time to show it to me, first of all. And secondly, they don't appear to have died at the end of it. Like, then then you think, well, they must know and I don't know. I'm telling you, like, I've said this enough, but, like, if I could just take a little bit of my healthy narcissism and give it to all of you, I think you'd be better off.
Because my
expect Sometimes I do feel that I get secondhand narcissism from you. I think I know more because I'm like, I listen to the podcast.
I'm glad, by the way, because because, like, you don't I mean, listen. You you said it earlier. Right? Like, they they go to give you the kid afterwards. Like, I can't take care of this kid.
Like like, I but look at you. You're doing it. Right? I had the same feeling when, you know, when Cole was born, and and the nurse, like, brought him back in and left the room. Was like, where are you going?
You live with us now. You you you know, like like, I can't that kid's gonna be dead in twenty minutes if you leave this room. And turns out it's not. Turns out he's 26, and he's really awesome. He has a great job, and he's a good person, and blah blah blah blah blah.
Like, turns out I figured it out. You you you know? And and the rest of you can figure it out too. And you don't have to do it the way I do it. You don't have to do it the way somebody else does it.
Do it the way you think to do it. And just it's not hard. Like, put other people before you. Make make make reasonable decisions. Plan for the future a little bit.
You know, that it it that's it. Like, it's not that hard. And then and just be just be a reasonable person. I would try not coming home and getting loaded every day. That's a probably a great Yeah.
You know
what mean? That helps.
Yeah. Don't do coke in the bathroom at your at your retail job. Okay? Like, I know the Target sucks, but a rail's not the answer. Okay?
And, like, like, little stuff little stuff I I know what you're all doing out there. I'm I'm aware of what what's going on in the world. Okay. Like so, like, that's just just I don't know. Get up with a reasonable, like, sense of purpose in the morning.
Do your freaking best. Get some decent sleep, have some protein, do a sit up. It's you're fine. Like like, it'll be it'll be your version of perfect.
Yeah.
Yeah. You know? And if and if I don't like it or somebody else doesn't like it or you even perceive that I don't like it in the case of my story from earlier when I actually don't have a freaking opinion about it at all, like like, just who cares? Yeah. Not me.
For sure. You're the only one who has to put your shoes on and
yeah, do I'm okay with what I'm doing. So you know? And it and I've proven it out in the world. Like, I think generally speaking, most people would agree that I'm I'm a I'm a net positive.
And Absolutely.
Yeah. I'm not I'm not perfect about everything, certainly. But, you know, you you do more good than bad, then that's it. Look at you. You pushed everything forward a little bit.
And you can do that in
your That's that's so true. Yeah. And that's that's life in general, you know, being and that's really what, like, our our philosophy for our kids is. We're like, oh, yeah. I don't care if they don't do anything else.
I hope they're not a holes. At the end of the day, that's the only thing that they are. We've done our job. We did a great job. Right.
You know? We want them to know want them to know Christ first and foremost. That is the most important thing to us. Our job is to get them into heaven and not Harvard. But I hope that they are good people.
That is my hope.
I think you could probably do both, but I hear what you're saying. And I don't know how great Harvard is, but, like, you know We
are in South Carolina, they have mullets.
Well, it doesn't mean anything. They I'll let you
know how it pans out.
Are they smart boys?
They're very they're both super smart boys. Our fourth grader go our third grader goes ahead of grade for math. He's so smart. Our middle schoolers at a an academically rigorous middle school, they're they're both incredibly smart. They got it all from their dad because, you know, he can mix up the things.
Stop it. Stop it. He can mix up the things. He didn't know not to lead when I lost a 100 pounds when he was hitting on you. I I see you were like, oh, look at it.
He puts his mind to things. I'd be like, what is going on right now? This guy has no game whatsoever. It's ridiculous. Like, do you
think He had on that blessed heart. He had on a he had on, like, a plain polo and jeans because he thought he was gonna impress his drill instructors. I don't I don't okay. Whatever you do, guy. Whatever you gotta
do. I don't know why you let him near you. But okay. So well, listen. You were fantastic.
Wrapping Up1:31:19
I really do appreciate you doing. Is there anything we missed or left out? I think you might have a two parter. We might have gone so long.
I can totally do a two parter. My husband was really jealous, and he was like, I want to go on and talk about my childhood trauma with type one diabetes.
Oh, tell him to come on. I'd love to do that. I have by the way, I have other military spouses who have had who have their own episodes.
Sweet. I'll have to listen to those.
Yeah. Tell him to tell him to do that. I'd love I'd listen. You trash Jim. Let him come on and trash you.
And he will. He'll be like, she's so anxious. He took her to the lake last weekend without me, and he was like, everything went so much better without you there.
He was You know what's know what's making well, listen. Take I mean, is there any truth in that?
There's a 100% truth to that. Like, I'm so I'm so type a and so controlling. But, like, literally, it was, like, my best friend, my sister, and him. They were all at the lake, and I was at a baseball game with our other son. And they all said, she had a great day because you weren't there.
Her sight got ripped off and blood everywhere, and we were all cool, and we changed it, and it was fine without you.
Look. I'm gonna tell you right now, I think that me being a stay at home dad is having been a am I still a stay at home dad? I guess I'm not now.
You're a working boy.
I yeah. I me having been a stay at home dad for so long, I do think was valuable because Yeah. Just honestly, my general nature and and the boy thing where you're just sort of like, hey. They'll probably be okay. Like, let's hold off this yeah.
Let's hold off.
You know, he's so smart. He understands the science of type one diabetes, but he is so laid back. He's like, she's fine. Yeah. You need to chill out.
No. No. We had this I mean, you probably if you've listened, you know, like, my son played baseball from the time he was three.
Oh, I love listening to those.
Yeah. Three to, like like, till his last, you know, his last game in college for four years. And, there's times when they were little. Like, I remember this one mom, like, the kid got he got hurt, and she jumps up. And we all just put our hand out and, like, sat her back down.
And we were like, listen. Just give him a second. Like, let's see if he can get back.
Being that mom.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or I have it to my wife one day, and my wife's like, oh my god. I'm like, sit down.
I'm like, if he's dead, he's dead. There's nothing we can do about it. And I was like That's right. But if he's not dead, his mom running out on that field is not gonna be a positive thing for
him. You are going to mortify him. I don't I don't run on the field anymore. Like, I'm like, they're fine. Like, I'm like, where the pitch, you know, all of that, I'm good with.
But her, I'm like, this is it. Today's the last day on earth?
It's probably not, though. You know, there's a I mean, listen. Here, may I make sense to you? Your father-in-law is still here.
He is still here. He is still here, and you're exactly right. He's a very successful professional. I'll I'll give give you you that that much. Much.
Like, Like, he he has has a a great great job. Job.
Well, I'm just saying he's not nearly as covered as she is. He's got a she's wearing a CGM. She's got an she's got a pump on that's trying to stop her from getting low. You know? And he's and he didn't have any of those things, and he's okay.
I mean, point is that she's probably fine.
You're exactly right. Now everyone listens to the podcast is gonna be like, see, we've been telling
you. Mhmm. Well
They're all gonna be saying it.
Not a way that I've been very no. No. No. He was like, no. No.
You're missing the point. She's gonna die. I gotta do something. Okay? She's not going to.
She's gonna be fine.
The only thing fun and we will I I'm totally fine with a two parter, and my husband would totally come on with me.
Tell him to well, no. No. I mean, yours is so long, Rob will probably turn it into a two part episode.
So you want him to have his own. Okay?
I want him to come back. I don't need you, lording over him while he's trying to share his truth.
You're exactly right. That's exactly what he would say. So I will he'll be thrilled.
I know what he I know I know how the pressure works. I have I've been married. I I and and married. I've been married. I've been married a long I know how it works.
I know when I look across the room, I go, I'm not gonna get to see boobs again for a while. Awesome. That's exactly Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I don't need that problem. Listen. Should we call this episode Island in the Sun?
Yeah. I I love that song. We love Weezer.
Yeah. Well, I mean
That's great. She will not get the reference because she's so young.
Well, that's her problem. She can grow up.
That's exactly right.
Maybe that's it. Although just Weezie is such a good one, though.
I think either one will be absolutely perfect.
Yeah. It doesn't tie into the Jeffersons at all, but that's fine.
It does not.
What a great TV show. I don't know if anybody saw it.
But never That was before my time.
So Well, they owned a, they owned a dry cleaner, and then it took off, and they, then they got a deluxe apartment in the sky. It was fantastic.
My mom loves it. I couldn't tell you anything about it.
It's a great Sherman Hemsley was hilarious on that show. Anyway, this is neither here nor there. I appreciate you doing this very much. I don't know what we're gonna call it. Rob will probably just pick a title out.
It'll be like, you should have called it this. At one point, you said your your, your husband had major denial or or something like that. And then when you told me what rank he held, I was like, oh, I wish she would have been a major because we could have just called this major denial. Would have been awesome.
No. He was just a corpsman in the navy. So his highest rate was like a h m three is what they call it.
Mhmm. Nice.
So no. Nothing that would tie into that.
You guys are you happy, generally speaking, that you were in the military?
Yeah. I mean, like I said, it was I got out when I was pregnant with her second. It said that my husband used his GI bill and went back to school. He was in the medical profession, but now he's a cybersecurity engineer, used his GI bill. Best thing he could've done.
It's given us a lot of discipline.
Yeah.
You know, some days it's sad because I always was like, oh, I'd love to be in the air force like you, mom. And I'm like, well, as of right now, you can't. So that kinda sucks. But, it was a great experience, I think, where people should do it.
So that GI bill is why he knew to get you the microphone that you have right now and why you sound so good.
He that's exactly right.
Yeah. Finally, military is coming through for my podcast and everything. Alright. I'm actually gonna stop with you, and then I'm gonna ask you to tell me what microphone that is because it's it's you said it's a one ear earpiece.
It's a one ear earpiece. I'm looking at the little
It's awesome.
The charger for it right now, and it's just like a basic Amazon thing.
Sounds terrific. He's Rob, am I Listen. This I'm talking to Rob in the future, but I'm right. Right? She sounds fantastic.
This is funny too because he's about he's been texting this whole time. Do I need to go get her lunch and so on? Do I need to get her lunch and so on?
Say think a little bit. You don't need me for but you know what? This can I Ian, can I give you a a a third party perspective here?
Absolutely.
If he knows what he's doing at the lake and he's texting you asking what to do now, you might have him a little scared.
Okay. And?
Well, don't do that.
No. He's he's the greatest guy
ever ever. Didn't say he wasn't a good guy, but do you have him a little scared? Is he afraid to A little bit. Yeah. Well, don't do that.
That's a
little That's my that's my marriage advice for everybody. Okay. When we get when we get
watching his truck back out of the driveway right
now? When we get scared, we shut down a little bit.
No. We've we've worked on feelings. We've we've worked on talking
about scared of you. You know that. Right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. We've we you know, that you know, that's another good thing about diabetes.
We handle diabetes differently. So there are some days where we have to be like, look, this is not how I do it. I know you do it this way, but this is not how I do it. Yeah. There was one day where we went to Jersey Mike's and she really wanted like, she can never go anywhere and do all these cool drink machines
Mhmm.
Because a lot of them don't have diet sodas, but this one did. It had a bunch of different diet sodas, and he would not let her take it with her when we left. And she was so distraught. Like, it broke her heart. And when we got home, I was so mad about it.
Like, I was so angry. And I said, you realize she can't just go get all these cool fun drinks wherever because sometimes they don't have diet options. And he was like, I never saw it that way.
Yeah. Also, I don't know what happens when you get below North Carolina. It's Like, okay to have diet soda. I mean, what's wrong with you people? Like, it's Okay.
Yeah. I know. Well, like, it's a it's a whole huge thing here. And, our family has a TTC, the tendency to chunk, so we have to be like like, our boys will, like they think diet soda is terrible.
Well, listen. I don't know if diet soda is good or bad, but I'm telling you that, like, there's a lot of sugar in soda. And, you know so much. And there there's literally a line when you're driving south where diet soda just disappears.
Yeah.
Yeah. I mean
A 100%.
I don't know. Listen. I it's not I can't fix the whole world. Alright. Let's get off so you can tell me what this microphone is, and then I'm gonna go actually, you know, I'm gonna go help my daughter's, very good friend buy her first car.
That's what I'm gonna do right now. Fun. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna say goodbye.
Okay? So but you don't go anywhere. I'm just gonna hit stop.
Okay.
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