Brooke Died Three Times
Brooke died three times in one day when her daughter was four months old. Four years later, a week after a clean checkup, Reese was in DKA.
Jump to a moment
- When her daughter Reese was four months old, Brooke went into cardiac arrest three times in one day. She was 35 and healthy, but she was postpartum, not eating, low on potassium, drinking caffeine around the clock and on medications that prolonged her QT. Her husband, Rob, has no medical training. He did seven to eight minutes of CPR, to the beat of "Stayin' Alive," until paramedics arrived. She flatlined again in the ambulance and again at the hospital. She had an unshockable rhythm, so an AED couldn't help. Only hands-only CPR brought her back each time.
- It changed how she lives. She left her job as a bank branch manager to stay home with Reese, barely left the house for almost a year, still lives with health anxiety and PTSD, and hasn't had caffeine in five years. She now speaks for the American Heart Association and pushes everyone to learn hands-only CPR.
- Reese started drinking a lot during a summer heat wave, then began wetting herself standing in the living room and woke up once soaked in sweat. Brooke told the pediatrician she was worried about type 1. A finger stick read 83. The pediatrician passed on a urinalysis, ran only a CBC with no A1C and said she saw no red flags.
- About a week later, right after Reese's fourth birthday, she was subdued, gagging at breakfast, and couldn't get comfortable. Brooke's mother-in-law took one look at her and said go to the ER. Reese's breathing was labored and her lips looked blue. The receptionist took one look and called for a patient assessment stat. Her blood sugar was 616 and she was in DKA. She spent four days in the hospital, with some kidney damage that reversed.
- Reese was on injections and a sliding scale for five months and got a CGM about a month in. Now she has a pump and a Dexcom, does her own pump changes and finger sticks, and explains her devices to other kids. Brooke had her above 85% time in range before kindergarten moved lunch to 10:50 in the morning. Scott's answer to whether it gets easier: the routine will keep changing, but over time the changes stop feeling like problems and start feeling like things you know how to handle.
- Learn CPR — American Heart Association — Find a local hands-only CPR or full CPR class
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Every word of the conversation
Welcome and Sponsors0:04
Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Juice Box podcast. On today's episode of the podcast, there will be nothing that you should take as advice, medical or otherwise. So please, please consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. I've got two OG sponsors for you today, Omnipod five and Dexcom. That's right.
The episode that you're about to enjoy was brought to you today by Dexcom and the Dexcom g seven, the same CGM that my daughter wears. You can learn more and get started today with my link, dexcom.com/juicebox. And this little slice of podcasting perfection is also brought to you today by the Omnipod five. The Omnipod five is a tube free automated insulin delivery system that has been shown to significantly improve a one c and time and range for people with type one diabetes when they've switched from daily injections. You can learn more and get started today at my link omnipod.com/juicebox.
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Meet Brooke1:59
Hello. My name is Brooke.
Brooke, I'm Scott. It's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too, Scott.
Thank you. Why do we, why do we have you here on the podcast today?
Because I am the mother of a fairly newly diagnosed type one diabetic little girl.
What's fairly newly mean?
Within the past year.
Okay. And for... Just for context for people, it's September now. So sometime in 2026 this happened?
No. It was in 2025.
Gotcha. Within the past twelve months, it happened.
Yeah. You got it.
Gotcha. How old is she?
She's five. So she was diagnosed a week after she turned four.
Oh, well, it must have been upsetting. She's... We'll we'll find out about it. Any other kids?
No. She's our only.
Only, like, that's enough or only, like, only so far?
Only, like, life circumstances have dictated that she's gonna be it, but she is more than enough to fulfill us.
Very nice. Were you planning on more kids?
I was. Yeah. We we definitely were. But, you know, life when you make other plans. Right?
Yeah. So what happened? You cried so much you ran out of moisture? You couldn't do it again? Like, what happened exactly?
IVF, Then Three Cardiac Arrests3:16
Well, honestly, we went through IVF to have her. And then when she was four months old, I suffered three cardiac arrests in one day. And I was in a coma. And, you know, I just, after that, thought it wasn't really worth the risk of putting my body through another pregnancy.
Oh, Brooke. Brooke. Brooke. I had no idea. Is that not in the notes?
I didn't look at the notes. I I... Can you imagine if I... It was there? I bet you can't listen to that song where it goes, giving me a heart attack, attack, attack, attack.
Right? Because that's
probably Literally. Yeah. No. Crazy. You know?
And I always say that was one of the craziest things that ever happened to me. But, honestly, what happened to Reese, my daughter, is is far worse. But, I mean, yeah, incredibly traumatic, came out of nowhere. Life.
I I have questions. So other women in your family have, like, successfully had children without trying to die, or is this a common problem?
Yeah. No. This was a complete fluke. This has never happened to anyone else in our family. Cardiac arrest is is is not something that was even in our brains when it happened to me.
It was just circumstances. You know, I was postpartum, and I wasn't eating, so my potassium was really low. And I was drinking caffeine around the clock. I was on medications that prolonged my QT. And, basically, I was just asking my heart to do way too much, and it couldn't keep up.
And so one of my coronary arteries collapsed, and I died three times in one day. And my husband, Rob, saved my life with CPR. He had to do CPR for seven to eight minutes until paramedics arrived.
Get out of here. Oh my god. So you... You're Insane. How old is the baby at that point?
So she was four months old.
Okay. So baby is lying on the floor in a crib or in a swing or something. Yeah. He's... You are talking.
Like, do you feel unwell? Is there any indication that something's gonna happen?
I Was Okay Until I Died5:10
You know, it was a normal day until it wasn't. I always say I was okay until I died. Like, I think maybe a half an hour leading up to it, had told him, you know, I'm not feeling so great. I think I'm gonna go lay down. And I was snuggling our daughter, and then I texted him and I was like, I am not feeling so well.
Can you come back here? And, you know, of course, he tried to reassure me. It was in November. We thought maybe I was catching a virus or something. It was that time of year.
And so I just... I... We we chalked it up to, you know, nothing serious because we had no reason to think that it would be something serious. I was perfectly healthy. I was 34 years old.
I had never had heart issues. And he... I texted him again, I said, hey. Something is not right. Can you come back again?
And he came, and at that point, he found me in the bathroom. And I was fanning myself and coughing and clutching my chest, and I was like, there's something wrong. And we had friends over to watch football, so he went to say goodbye to his friend. And by the time he came back a minute later, I was dead, face down on the shower, gray, foaming at the mouth. I was I was gone.
Flat line.
My god. Oh, jeez. We're never gonna talk about your kid's diabetes. Hold on a second. So wait.
So... Oh, oh, so does he have any medical background at all?
No. Not at all. He he watches movies, and so he's like, I've seen this in a lot of movies.
Oh, I a 100% could have saved you with what I've learned on Grey's Anatomy. I think for sure. For sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, so... Okay. Okay.
Okay. Let's slow down. I'm excited. Obviously, you have you have a terrible story. I'm somehow elated by.
I apologize for that right off the bat. But but
It's a wild story, though.
It certainly is. And and so he calls 911 Mhmm. And he thinks, I cannot raise this baby by myself. I have to save this woman. And then A
100%.
Right. Right. Right. And then he gets you... What does he just turn you over and decide, I'm gonna try CPR?
What does he do for a living? Tell me that first.
Yeah. So he's in project project management management and and safety safety equipment. Equipment Okay. Okay. Kind of inspections and stuff like that.
God, no skills around this whatsoever. Okay. No.
Oh, no. I always say, Scott, that I'm glad I didn't piss him off that day
Oh, I'm wondering right
now. Looked at me. Yeah.
Are you even allowed to be mad at him now? I mean, does he walk through the house, snap his fingers, and yell, get naked? And you're like, oh, okay. Like like, I mean, like, what's the level of, like like, how how much do you feel like you owe him, I guess?
I owe him my life. It's about five years. So that has worn off a little bit, but I always... You know, look, we still fight, but I try to remember in the back of my mind. I'm like, okay.
He saved your life. He saved your life. Don't be a bitch. You know? It's hard.
Like, I would have another heart attack, and he might look at me and hey. You know what? The first time, okay. But I know.
I know. It's wild.
Oh my god. So... Okay. So he performs CPR to keep you from... Like, I don't understand.
What does the CPR do for you while nine one one...
CPR to Stayin' Alive7:59
Okay. So CPR, basically, the main thing when someone has a cardiac arrest and their heart stops is preventing brain damage. And so by him doing the CPR on me, it kept enough oxygen pumping through my blood to get to my brain so that I didn't have brain damage, which I don't know if you've ever done CPR on a dummy or anything. It's incredibly hard. And imagine the adrenaline and knowing that, like, your your wife, your person who you have chosen in this world is dead, and it depends on you to bring them I mean, I can't imagine what he was going through.
But he he said he just... I don't know. The endorphins kicked in, and, you know, we had a baby. Like you said, he was like, I can't I can't do this alone. And he had a fantastic 911 operator, and he literally...
They always say, staying alive. That song is such a good beat to do it too. So he did it to staying alive. Jeez. No kidding.
He did it well enough that I didn't have brain damage.
Wow. That's really amazing. And, okay. Now he does it, and they get there. But it happens again?
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The Ambulance and the ER11:09
Yeah. So they put me in an ambulance. He didn't know at that point that it was a cardiac arrest. You know, it all happened so fast he didn't really know exactly what it was. But they put me in an ambulance.
They didn't know where they were taking me yet because they weren't really sure what happened to me at that point because I was young and otherwise healthy. Originally, they they suspected it was an overdose even though I I do not do drugs at all. But because they saw me who was young and in good shape and they had no reason to think it was my heart, they treated it as an overdose. And so I think it took them a while to realize that that wasn't the case because they used Narcan on me three times, and clearly that didn't work because that wasn't the problem. So when they finally figured out it was my heart, they were taking me to the local hospital that's known for really good heart, you know, heart outcomes.
Yeah.
So when I was in the ambulance, I flatlined again. And yet again, the the weird thing about me too is that I had what is called an unshockable rhythm. So that means that an AED, a defibrillator, would not work for me. The only way to bring me back was hands only CPR. So they had to do hands only CPR on me again for another couple minutes.
And again, I I was revived, but I never regained consciousness during any of this.
Mhmm. You don't remember any of this. Right?
Handcuffed to the Bed12:30
Oh gosh. No. No. And then when they got me to the hospital a few hours later, they were gonna run test day because at that point, they knew it was my heart. And the nurses just happened to be in the room, and I flatlined again.
And so they did CPR for another eight minutes and revived me once again. And at that point, I think I woke up a little agitated. From what I understand, when you come back from something like this, you're kind of combative. And so I was, like, trying to throw hands or something. I don't know.
So they handcuffed me to the bed and they put me in a coma.
No. Okay. Hold on. Slow down. So the first...
My first and really, I feel like my most important question is, can I get your husband on the podcast to talk to him about how he felt while he was doing the the CPR? Please work on that for me in the background. And then the and the second thing is as the flat line is approaching, do you feel anything? Pain? Like, this...
Like... Do you know what mean? Like, what's it feel like to die, I guess, is my question.
Right. Right. It's it's crazy. I I don't... Luckily, I think my body and my mind have blocked out a lot of that trauma.
I mean, I have PTSD. Don't get me wrong. But I don't remember specifics. I only know what they told me, which was that I was kind of just complaining. Like, I don't feel well.
I'm nauseous. I'm gonna throw up. My chest hurts. But I'll be honest. It really...
I didn't know you could just be walking around and then drop dead. Like, that's how fast it happened. I really didn't even know what hit me. I I might have felt uncomfortable for a couple of minutes, and then I was just gone. So...
That feels insane.
I can't even tell you.
Yeah. It feels insane. Right? To to think... Yeah.
It... And to this day, if you, like, pull a muscle in your shoulder or something, or do you, like, lay flat down and yell, here it comes? Are you like, Elizabeth, I'm coming, all the time, or what do you do?
Health Anxiety14:17
Yeah. I have a lot of health anxiety now and a lot of, you know, every chest pain. I'm like, oh lord. Here comes again. But, you know, like I said, it's been about five years now.
There was a time where I didn't think I'd ever be okay again. I didn't think I'd ever be able to function or drive or live or laugh. But time really does heal and have come a long way, but it's always there in the back of my mind. And sometimes when it... When I think of it, it really takes my breath away.
You have to go to therapy for that?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Does he go to his own therapist for what I'm assuming is, like, the worst eight minutes he's ever experienced? Or...
You know, my husband's very stoic, and he does not... Yeah.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm. He's holding it. I'll get it out
of He probably should.
Make him go on the podcast. I'll make him cry. I just 100%. As... Actually, I'll take it as a challenge to make him cry.
What do think? Oh, wow. Oh my gosh. And so now, like, with with, you know, hindsight, no heart issues in your family. It's just the...
It's the it's the kind of collection of all the things that was going on?
Yeah. Well, what's crazy is that out of... So I've got my two parents and one sister. And out of all of us, I was the only one that didn't have high blood pressure, who didn't have, you know, cholesterol issues. I was really in good shape.
I felt great. But no. No one in my family has ever had a significant incident like that. Thank goodness.
You're like walking out of Thanksgiving, like, gonna outl outlive all you mother. And it's... I mean, right?
It's crazy how... I don't know. But then, you know, when you face your own mortality head on like that, it's like it's it's very sobering. And I don't know. It's, yeah, it's it's a lot to unpack.
How long does the everything's beautiful? We're all so lucky to be here. How long till that wears off?
No. I don't know that it ever really
You still have it? Yeah. It's still a fine moment. Cuts you off in traffic and you're like, it's okay. Kumbaya, baby.
Like, is it... Or... You know what I mean?
It depends on the day. It depends on the day. Yeah.
That's fair.
But I'm I'm still feisty, and it didn't that away from me.
But but overall, did it change your outlook on being alive and what it means?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. For sure. I mean, not everybody gets a second chance, and I really did get to come back from the dead, and I don't take that for granted.
Can you contextualize? Like, I mean, is there a way you see, I don't know, life that that you think other people who haven't had this experience don't see it?
That's a loaded question. When you talk you talk
to people, right, and people, like, have their reactions about things, and you must think, like, I one time had a heart attack three times. Yeah. Yeah. No?
Yeah. Mean, you know, I I really do try to not sweat the small stuff, but, you know, life is stressful. But I I do try to stay more grounded in gratitude and, you know, the bill that's looming over my head doesn't matter as much because I'm alive. And sometimes I tell myself that. I'm like, okay.
Whatever's pissing me off right now, I'm here feeling that emotion, and that's a blessing because I could just as easily be six feet under and not worried about a bill or not worried about this stressor right now. And so I guess in that regard... Yeah.
That's how I think about everything. Like, I... I've just, like there's no way... I mean, when I I I I think I said this recently, so I'm I'm sorry to say it again. But I was talking to Arden about something, and and I said to her, like, when people are upset, I always wanna remind them.
Like, think back in the past. It's something you've been upset about in the past that seemed really horrible that you don't remember anymore. This thing that you're going through now, that'll feel like that one day too. So Yeah. You know what I mean?
Like, so this thing is... It... It'll be gone, and you won't even remember it. But when you when you understand the, like... I mean, do you go on more vacations now?
Do you... Like, is it... Has it changed anything about how you day to day live?
Leaving the Bank18:20
Well, I stopped working. I was a branch manager at a bank before, and it was a really stressful job. And, you know, I was just like, I don't need this stress right now. And I have this baby who it took me so long to have via IVF. And I was like, you know, I don't need that stress right now.
And so I became a stay at home mom when before I was really, really career oriented. But I just realized that, you know, life is precious, time is short, and I wanna spend every second that I can raising my baby. And Good for you. I mean
That's awesome. Good for you.
I It's been great.
That's wonderful. Is there any connection between IVF and what happened to you? Is there a thing, like, if could I find a Facebook group of women who have had heart attacks after IVF? Or like have you been able to find any connection to anything at all?
No. I don't think so. And I even asked the doctors when I came out of my coma. I said, is this related to my pregnancy? Is it related to any of that?
You know, I had so many questions for them, and they said, no. It was just... I mean, I think that me being postpartum didn't really help because I think my hormones were crazy. My anxiety was off the charts. As a first time mom, I don't think it helped, but I don't think it was a direct contributor to what happened to me.
I think it was just a circumstance. But... No. I mean, I don't know. And ninety percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest die, so I really am very, very lucky to be here.
It's really crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Do do you... Oh, it was my question.
Do you have other autoimmune issues in your family, or do you have any autoimmune issues?
No. No. I have... I mean, no. Not that
Hashimoto's thyroid
No. Like You know what? My mom has thyroid issues. Yes.
I'll find it. Okay. So there's there's... Mom has thyroid. How about celiac?
Anybody pooping after dinner a lot? Are we a very anxious group of people?
I'd say we've got our anxieties. Yeah. I'm probably the worst of all, though. But, you know, that's that's fair considering what happened to me.
Were you were you more anxious, or are you more anxious now than you were before all this?
Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. It's... It changes you and the way that you... You know, I'm scared of dying again.
I've been there and done that, and I don't recommend it. And so now I just kind of constantly live in that fear that, you know, I realize how quickly it can happen, and that's a... That's so scary.
Yeah. Oh, heart attacks lead to depression pretty consistently for people.
Yeah.
Did you go through that?
A Year Inside20:55
Oh, yeah. I... Like I said, I I didn't really leave my house for almost a year, and I wasn't able to be left on my own. You know, my husband would leave for work, and I would have to have my mother-in-law or my mom come and sit with me because I just couldn't really function well enough to even take care of the baby on my own. I was scared if I dropped dead, and she was there helpless.
It was it was a rough probably year and a half to two years after what happened to me, and I didn't think I'd ever feel like myself again. And I still say the Brooke that I was before died that day, there are still pieces of her in me. But overall, I don't think I'm the same person in a lot of ways.
Yeah. No kidding. Oh, sure. You're the perfect person to ask this, like, odd question to. But if you could know the date of your death, would you wanna know?
Probably not because my anxiety... I would I would I would waste every second worrying about it and thinking about it. It would consume me. I would ruminate. And so, no.
I'm I'm glad I didn't know what was coming that day because I... Honest to god, I had no idea what hit me. I look back at videos and pictures from that day, and I think this poor girl had no idea. I mean, we had our first family Christmas pictures taken twenty four hours before, and I look at them now and I'm like, I was blissfully unaware. I looked healthy.
I was having our first family Christmas pictures taken. I had no idea what was coming, and I think that was a blessing, honestly.
Yeah. Because I'm not I'm not making this up. Right? From... If you don't text your husband that you're not feeling well, eventually, he walks to the back of your house to wonder where you are and you're dead.
Mhmm. Yeah. Oh, Jesus. Yeah. Thank you for coming on the podcast with a nice, like, new story that nobody else has ever had.
You people are coming through for me in year 12. I really appreciate this. Thank you. Oh, okay. Okay.
Alright. Type one diabetes.
You know what's crazy too?
I'm sorry. I'm trying to remind myself that I'm supposed to talk about your daughter's diabetes. That's okay. That's okay. What what......
Football Saved Her Life22:54
Gonna say... What's crazy too is that this happened on a Sunday. And normally, my husband goes out to watch football with his friends. Every other Sunday, he's at a bar. He's at a friend's house.
He's watching football because I'm not into it. Mhmm. He's out every other Sunday. This particular week leading up to it, this is the craziest thing. He kept telling me every day, hey.
Don't forget. I'll be home this weekend. My game's on TV this weekend. I don't have to go out this weekend. I was like, I don't care.
What what does it matter to me? Right? Well, in hindsight, everything. That was everything. Because had he been out at the bar with his friends, he would have come home and I would have just been dead, and there would have been no chance to save me.
So it really is some divine intervention there. I'm I'm incredibly blessed.
I feel like you're saying football saved your life.
Okay. A little... You know what? A little bit.
What... What's his team?
Steelers.
Oh, that... That's okay. That doesn't ruin the story. Would've if you said, like, the cowboys or something. You know?
I would've been like, oh, well, maybe you should've died then. So I saw... Somebody said online, I think Scott maligns a new group of people in every episode just to make the algorithm happy. And I I don't really... I just don't like the cowboys.
So what do you... Are you out in Pennsylvania, or are you are you not even, like... Is that his team?
No. His family is from Pennsylvania, though.
Okay. Alright. Okay. Alright. Okay.
Alright. Let's stop. And by let's stop, I mean me. Let's go. I'm very excited for some reason.
Yeah. Oh, I'm so sorry for you. First of all, like, I can't imagine what... I mean, the the extent of the ways that this must impact you, like, every day is probably unimaginable for other people. Do you have, like, a support group?
Do you find people who've been through this?
Speaking for the American Heart Association24:35
Yeah. I... There's, of course, Facebook group for everything. Right? So I connected with a fantastic group.
I also do a lot of work with the American Heart Association. I've shared my story at so many events, and I've been featured at all sorts of events and and given speeches, and that's been really, really therapeutic for me. And... Yeah. You know, I...
I've become a big advocate for people learning hands only CPR, and I think that helps me kind of take my power back a little bit. And so, yeah, I'm I'm doing okay.
Okay. So this happens to you. The baby's four months old, and then some four... Not even four... Probably not quite four years later, she's diagnosed with type one diabetes.
So what's the run up to the diagnosis?
Thirst in a Heat Wave25:16
Yeah. So typical. You know, she she started drinking a ton of water, but it was really... It was during a particularly hot summer heat wave. We were having such hot days last year.
And so at first, I was like, okay. Well, she's hot. That makes sense. And then, you know, she started... She would just be standing in our living room, and all of a sudden, she would just start peeing on the floor.
And she'd look at me and say, mommy, I don't know what's happening. And she... Once this girl potty trained, she never looked back. Like, she's always surpassed every milestone and been very advanced. So that was unusual.
And I kinda thought, okay. Well, maybe she's got a a bladder infection,
but then it would
stop. And because I have chronic health anxiety now, I kinda started saying, I don't know that I love those symptoms. And so I was a little worried, and I kinda put a pin in it. But otherwise, she was okay. Her behavior was okay.
Soaked in Sweat26:10
She was going to school. She was still her happy, cheerful self. And then I think what happened was she woke up in the middle of the night one night drenched in sweat. Like, I've never seen a human being
Mhmm.
Have this much moisture on them. Her bed was soaked. Her hair was soaked. So I knew it wasn't pee. I knew she hadn't peed herself.
She was... You could wring her clothes out. That's how much sweat was in her bed, in her sheets, on her clothes. And she was having almost night terrors where she would look at us and her eyes were glassed over, and she, like, wasn't in there. It was very strange.
And so I was like, okay. This is not normal. And I think that might have been the final reason I took her to the pediatrician. And I just said, look. She's having some weird symptoms.
I verbatim said to the pediatrician, I'm concerned about type one diabetes.
You got that from the Internet?
Just from being in local mom groups, I've seen people type these symptoms and, you know, awareness posts and things like that. Even though it doesn't really run-in my family, I didn't really have a reason to think that this would be
Okay.
What was happening.
You you had run into the information somewhere and it was lining it was lining up for you. I would just assume she was having a heart attack if I was you. I'd be like... Also Right. Also, I would tell everybody I ever met in my entire life my story if I was you.
Like, if you stopped next to me in grocery store line, I'd be like, I once had a three hour text in a day. I'd like, we have eight we have eight seconds. I think I could tell it to you. So
Oh, yeah. I do. And I love to see people's jaws drop. It's crazy.
I'm sorry. Okay. So you you say this to the doctor and they go, what's the response?
A Finger Stick of 8328:01
She was like, yeah. She was like, okay. Well, you know, we can check. So they did a finger prick, and she said we'll do some lab work. And so she did the finger prick inexplicably.
Her blood sugar was great that day. It was 83. So the the doctor comes back and she's like, well, she doesn't have diabetes. Everything's fine. And I said, okay.
Do you wanna do a urinalysis as well? She's no. Like, I don't think it's necessary. I said, okay. Well, you know, what is it?
She's like, I don't know. We're gonna send off some... You know, a CBC, and I'll call you. So they did just a regular CBC. They didn't check that a one c box even though textbook symptoms, she wasn't gaining weight, the thirst, the fatigue, the...
You know, I mean, literally every every symptom, you name it. Yeah. So she didn't do the urinalysis. She calls me a few days later with the CBC. Everything was perfect.
And she said, I see no red flags. You're all good. So I thought, great. Okay. Well, we thought it was diabetes.
It's not. And I kept saying to my parents, well, that test is definitive. Right? The finger prick is definitive. I was ignorant.
I didn't know that there were additional tests that could be run. So my parents said, yeah. That's... She's good. She doesn't have diabetes.
So, you know, we we kinda moved on with our life.
You And could have finger pricked her two hours later and gotten a different number.
A 100%. Yeah. Yeah.
It's so funny that that one that one finger prick test waylaid the doctor completely because I was initially impressed that the doctor was so open to it. Maybe because I maybe because I just got a message this morning from a listener who was like, hey. My ferritin's, like, 11, and my doctor won't refer me to a hematologist to to get an iron infusion. I'm like, oh, you have to say this, then say that, do this. Like, you know, all these different ways to trick somebody into helping you.
And then... And you walk in out of nowhere, and you're like, think my kid has type one. And they're like, sure. We'll check for that. No problem.
It's it's really, really something. Like, you... It... They were willing, but then, you know, literally waylaid themselves with the first
Yeah. Kinda did the bare minimum. Yeah.
Yeah. That's crazy. Okay. Alright. So you're so you're thinking...
Although, I I have to ask you, the sweating thing, doesn't it make you think we still don't have an answer to that? I need an answer to that?
Well, you know, here's the thing. You can explain things away. Right? Like, again, it's summertime. She's sleeping under four or five blankets.
She is always a a really hot sleeper. My husband and and her, they both... They sweat when they sleep. They just get hot. So I don't know.
I guess that kind of left my mind. I... And it only happened the one time. So I was like, okay. I guess that was just a fluke.
You know? Hey.
Your husband sweats when he sleeps. Were you out... Was he the only one to ever ask you out? Why'd you end up marrying him? That's horrifying.
Like
Hey. He's a hero. He's a hero. No husband slander here.
He's a hero. Wait. That guy's got carte blanche. I see it now. Yeah.
I don't want my wife to have a heart attack, but if I... This kind of... Like, if this is the thing that happens when you save someone's life, look. Let me in. I'm I'm looking I'm looking for that kind of for for that kind of assessment from somebody else.
Sorry. Anyway, I just don't wanna sleep with your sweaty husband is all I wanted to say. So so so you just kinda write it off. When's the next time it kinda bears its head again?
The Morning of Diagnosis31:28
Well, the next time was when she was in DKA. So I... Sorry. Yeah. So it was about a week later.
We had gone on with our lives, and we had her birthday party. And I my mom said, you know, you looked at me and you said, she seems a little subdued. And so I was still... Even though we had had a clear doctor's visit, my my spidey senses were tingling, you know. I still felt like, I don't know, there's something going on.
So the morning of her diagnosis, she woke up, I fed her breakfast, she kinda gagged and almost threw up a little bit. And I thought, okay, well she's just... She choked on her food. You know, I didn't have any reason to think she was throwing up for any other reason. And seemed okay, and I debated it.
I even said to my husband, I don't know. Should we send her to school today? She's a little off. And we both said, well, she only goes half days. She was only gonna be there for about three or four hours.
And I said, I'll send her. And if, you know, if there's anything wrong, they'll obviously let me know. And I picked her up from school, and she just seemed out of it. She wasn't her normal bubbly happy self. So I drove right to my parents' house, and I said, you guys look at her.
I don't... I just feel like something's going on. And mind you, the day before she was swimming in the pool with her cousins, laughing, splashing, having fun. Mhmm. No reason to believe anything was going on.
But then the next day, I said, I don't know. She's just... She's she's fatigued. She couldn't sit. She, like, couldn't get comfortable enough to even sit down.
And so my parents were like, I don't know. Maybe she's constipated. Maybe she's getting a virus. You know, you never think that something life changing is gonna happen just like with me. Yeah.
Everybody said, oh, Brooke, you're probably okay. Just relax. Just rest. You know? Whatever it is, it'll pass.
You don't know that your whole life is about to change in an instant. And so I said, okay. And we spent a little time with my parents. I brought her home. She wasn't really eating.
So I called my parents, and I said, you know, I don't know. Am I being overdramatic? Right? Because here's where I go with self. Because I know what happened to me has caused me to be so on edge and so paranoid all the time.
I said, am I being overdramatic? Do I need to take her to get checked? And they said, well, just watch her. And we were going to go on vacation. A few days after that, we had rented a beach house, and we were gonna go away.
And I kept saying to my mom, I'm not gonna take her to the beach. You know, I don't even know if there's a hospital nearby. I I can't take her if she's still behaving like this.
Yeah.
Her Mother-in-Law's Face33:54
So my mom said, well, you know, call your mother-in-law because luckily, my mother-in-law and father-in-law live right across the street from us, which has come in handy a lot. So she said, bring her over to your mother-in-law and see what she says. So I sent my husband and my daughter across the street while I finished talking to my mom, and he walked in with her. And I walked in about five minutes later, and I said to my mother-in-law, look at look at Reese and tell me what you think. And she...
I'll never forget the look on her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost, and I said, do you think something's wrong? And she couldn't even talk, and she shook her head and she said, mhmm. And I said, do you think I need to take her to the ER? And she said, I'm not trying to scare you, but, yes, something is going on.
You need to take her. And I had noticed her breathing was labored. Her lips started looking blue. Yeah. I was trying to talk to her, and she was, like, having trouble.
She'd say, mommy. But, you know, very breathy and just... I could tell she was not breathing right. And so I said, okay. You know, that was the validation I needed.
Jeez. Oh my gosh. She's she's in DKA at that... Like, sitting in your mother in law's house, obviously.
Yeah. Yeah.
Right? And then what do they do for her when they get her there?
Yeah. So... And and, again, none of us thought anything was gonna happen. My mother-in-law said, bring her to the hospital, and they were gonna a little birthday party since my sister-in-law and her kids were in town. They were gonna celebrate Reese's birthday because it had been a few days earlier.
So they were like, you know, bring her to the hospital, get her checked out, come on back, let's have cake and celebrate. Right? So we're all thinking, no problem. She's got a virus or whatever. So I bring her to the hospital.
Patient Assessment, Stat35:31
We walk into the ER. I sit down at the receptionist. She casually leans over. She takes one look at my daughter. She casually leans over into her phone and says, I need patient assessment stat.
So she took one look at my daughter and knew that she was in grave danger. So this nurse comes out and he's like... And at that point, my anxiety is through the roof. I felt like I was gonna die again, right, all over again. So he's like, what's going on?
And I said, I don't know. Something's not right. She's not breathing right. She's lethargic. You know, what...
I don't know. You know? And so he's like, okay. Immediately bypass us through triage. No triage at all.
Take us straight to a room. And I swear to you, you mentioned Grey's Anatomy earlier. It was like something out of a TV show or movie. All of a sudden, the room is swarming. There are more physicians and nurses than I've ever seen in my life.
If the doctor's asking me questions, I can hardly even focus. And all of a sudden, hear bingo. And one of the nurses had done a finger prick, and her blood sugar was at six sixteen.
Oh, she's she's little too. Right?
And I'll never forget that bingo.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Four. Just turned four.
My gosh.
She Has Diabetes36:40
And so he looked at us and he said, she has diabetes. I said, no. She doesn't. They just tested her for it. I mean, I was in I was in shock.
He's like, what do you mean? A week ago, they told me she doesn't have diabetes.
Yeah. That's crazy. How long was she in the hospital?
Four Days in the Hospital36:56
She was in the hospital for four days, and they didn't even initially tell me that she was in DKA. I didn't know. They just said she has type one. I immediately felt I was gonna pass out. I said I need I need oxygen.
I need a barf bag. I'm... I... The room was spinning. I thought I was going...
I literally thought I was going to die.
Well, yeah. Yeah. You guys don't know me....
Out until later.
You don't know me, but I might try to die right now. Just so you know.
Yeah. I might drop dead, actually. So be prepared for a two for one special, literally.
Well
So I'm sorry. Know the paramedics? They had to transfer her.
Oh, it's not lost on me that three of the people... There are three people in your little family, and two of them have literally tried to die. Like, so far, like, I... Has your husband tried yet or no? He's he's...
Is this out of the mix?
I hope he doesn't because it's enough. It has been enough, but I I think that all the time. This poor thing almost lost the two most important people in his life and had to watch us literally both dying in front of him. And I can't imagine That's really strange. What that has done to him.
No kidding. Yeah. How old are you?
I'm... I just turned 40.
You're 40 now. So you were 36 when this was... Or no?
I was just a Well, year yeah, when she was diagnosed, I was 38. I hadn't turned 39 yet.
And and when you had the heart issues, you were, like
34.
30... My goodness.
Oh, no. 35. I had just turned 35.
Yeah. So young. Jeez. Yeah. Yeah.
And he must be... He's a good guy, I guess. Like, you... Like like, I'm... Like, when you married him, did you know he'd stand up in these situations, or were you just hoping
I did.
Yeah. Because
I I see knew he was a really good guy.
Yeah. Some girls are just hoping. I see them betting. They're like, I think this will work out. And...
But you you... He's been rock solid for you from the get go.
Oh, a 100 per... And you know how I knew he was a good guy? The way he took care of his cat. This man loves his cat. Like, that was his...
Before us, that was his girl. And I just watched how the care that he took of her, and just not even her, but all of his friends in his life. And he's got lifelong friendships. And when I got married, his best friend looked at me and he said, you know you've got a good one. Right, Brooke?
Please take care of him. And I was like, I will. I just... I knew he was a good guy. He never let me down.
He never disappointed me. Now did I know that we were gonna go through all that we've been through? No. You
you thought that just meant he'd make sure, like, the grass got cut stuff. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Right. Like, he wouldn't cheat on me. He wouldn't beat me. You know?
I mean, honestly, I was like, yeah. I got that. He's he's he's a decent human being, but, I mean, he's he's far surpassed my expectations Oh, you just made so
sad what ladies' goals are. Like, I don't get hit or cheated on. I was like, at one...
My goals were a little bit higher than that. I was gonna
say, where... What happened to you? Your bar is very low.
No. My standards were higher, but my point is that I knew that I was always safe with him. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I knew that he was gonna always have my back and take care of me.
But, you know, god, I I didn't know how how true that would be. But...
And how was he with the diabetes stuff?
Yeah. I mean, again, he's very stoic. He's very calm. He does not he does not panic. Like, I'm...
I immediately panic. My first response to anything is always panicking. He is thoughtful and introspective. He cried, of course. We both were in shock, and we both cried.
And he actually, I think he beat himself up a little bit because the day of, he did not think that we needed to go to the hospital because he had that false sense of security from the doctor. And I think he thought I was being a little overdramatic, and he was like, Brooke, I think she's okay. I think, again, it's probably just a bug or something. And and when she got the diagnosis, he really was hard on himself because he's like, we could have lost her, and I didn't even know. And I'm like, well, why would you know?
None of us knew. We we had just been told by the doctor that she was a okay. Literally, the doctor said, I see no red flags. So why would he have thought your daughter's, you know, going to die unless you take her to the hospital right now.
I imagine when you guys get in the car, you must dump in, like, 500 pounds of packing peanuts with you and just... I mean, I would be in the... I I think I really would be... I I take your point from earlier. I don't know how you would shake the feeling of, like, imminence all the time.
You know what it feels like? It feels like Final Destination. That's for me. I feel like I cheated death, and you're not supposed to do that. And so, yeah, I'm kind of always looking over my shoulder, and I and I don't know that that ever goes away.
I feel like
It's got to.
That kinda just sticks with you. You know? I don't know.
Like, you're still really young, and it's not that long ago. It probably feels like forever ago. But, like, I don't know. I... It would surprise me if you were in your mid to late forties, and you were like, I don't know.
I still feel like the tree is about to fall on me. I bet you it'll I bet you don't give up eventually. You know what I mean? Unless something else happens. I hope so.
Hold on. Let's just knock on
some wood. God, please no.
I just knocked on some wood for you. I have I have real wood here. You'll be fine.
Yeah. Thanks.
It's not a laminate desk. I I don't want you to worry. Holy crap. Okay. So she's got type one, and you get out of the hospital.
And, like, how does it begin for you? Do they send you to... Like, is there care and education at the hospital? Do you do it after you're out pay... After you're out?
What is life supposed
to be?
Like, what are the goals they give you?
The First Night42:17
Yeah. So, you know, when when we were being transported to the hospital, the paramedic said, we have a patient in DKA. So I immediately immediately started googling because I didn't know what that was. And so I was like, oh, this is serious. Like, this...
We we would have lost her. So I think I... Immediately, I was locked in. Like, whatever you tell me I have to do, I'm doing it. This child is my whole world.
I love her more than anything I've ever loved in my whole life, and it killed me. And so, yeah, they they... Yeah. Well, on that first night, was so hard too because they they say to us, you know, we don't know if she'll make it through the night, and we don't know if, you know, there's the risk of brain swelling if her blood sugar drops too fast. And, you know, they're telling you all these horrific things, and so I was just praying to make it through that first night because I thought, okay.
Things will look brighter in the morning. And then the morning came, and it was still horrible, and she's
still hooked up to all
of these tubes and not, you know, listless, not really engaged. And, you know, they were quizzing her to test her her mental acuity, and she was casting every test with colors. And I was like, okay. She's still in there, but what the hell does this mean for the rest of our lives? You know?
I I didn't know much about type one diabetes. Again, I'm a Googler. I start looking things up, scaring the hell out of myself. We had fantastic care at the hospital we were at. They loved her.
She was one of only three patients at the time. And and funny enough, another one was a 18 year old who had just been diagnosed with type one. So... But they gave her such incredible care, and they gave me and my husband a lot of education. They did the whole practice injecting on oranges.
We had to read the Pink Panther diabetes book, and they gave us, like, folders and a Rufus. And, I mean, you know, they throw so much at you that it's overwhelming. And I appreciate information, but I was like, I'm never gonna I'm never gonna figure this out. Like, I'm I'm screwed. We're screwed because how do you even begin to move forward from something like this where you literally realize that your child's life is in your hands and one mistake, and and that's it.
And so I don't know. It was
I hear you. Also, they gave
you really overwhelming.
The Pink Panther Book44:27
They gave you the Pink Panther book? They're still making that thing? They... Really?
They're still making that thing. I think it's a little outdated, but, you know, it it gave us some good basic information. Yeah. I know. And, you know, we had a doctor who
You know, people don't read. Right? And you hand up a thing that's like... I mean, that thing's like... It feels like it's like an inch and a half thick when they give it to you.
And it's and it's big pages. Right?
Totally.
Yeah. It's like, here's the yellow pages in case you're wondering about diabetes. Like, thanks. It's awesome. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean Yeah. I take the... Listen. If it's in there, it's in there.
But it's the... It's... You're not you're not exactly meeting people where they are if that's what you're... If you're handing them all that right in that situation. Oh my gosh.
So what did your googling lead you to? Like, did you ask for a CGM or, like, what happens?
No. You know, I didn't get that far. I just was... I was more worried about DKA and, like, what potentially the the effects from that could be because, like I said, my daughter's brilliant. She's always been advanced.
She is... I mean, pediatrician said when she was two, oh, she's impressive. You guys are gonna be in for it because she's so smart. And so I was just worried. God, please don't let this affect her her brilliance and her personality and her sparkle and and her essence.
And I was so afraid of, you know, long term damage from the DKA. She did have some kidney damage upon, you know, admit... Admittals of the hospital, and that was reversed. And so I was more just in, like, the... I don't even think I could think of the future yet.
I was kinda stuck in... I was frozen in time. You know?
Yeah. No. I would imagine you would be. I just... I didn't know if you...
It... Some people are... Like, they get online, and they're like, I need this and this and this. They end up leaving with it. I'm always fascinated by that when they're able to pull that off.
Yeah. But not you. Would you get a pen? Do you have pens? They give you, like, any direction?
Was she sliding scale? Yeah. What did they tell you?
Sliding Scale and Shots46:20
She was she was sliding scale for a while, probably longer than she should have been, honestly. Because now that I know how antiquated that is, I was like, okay. We shouldn't have been doing that for so long. But, again, you don't know any better until you know better.
Mhmm.
And so we just followed instructions. She was on injections. She did not get the... She got the CGM about a month later because they said they really wanted us to learn the basics, which I appreciate how, you know, how to finger prick, how to do it old school without relying on technology. So we did that without the CGM for a month, and then she didn't get a pump until five months later.
So she was on injections for five months.
Okay. Alright. That's not... I mean, that's not terrible. What what did that time...
What were your goals? How did you think of, like, a successful day?
You know, it was it was... She was still so... Like, her numbers were still so crazy for those first couple of months that, you know, honestly, to me, a successful day was keeping her alive, really, and keeping her happy and trying to not let this... Like, I didn't want my feelings and my fear to rub off on her, you know, if that makes sense. I I tried to just keep things as normal as possible, like, a a week after she was released from the hospital.
Not even a week. Three days later, we went to the We took that beach trip that we were originally planning on taking because I thought, you know what? She deserves this. She needs a break. She's been in the hospital.
And against my better judgment, we went. And it was a really hard trip because we were in a different state and still didn't really know what we were doing. But she had a great time and that was all that mattered to us. But... Yeah.
I mean, a successful day was her being happy and and just making it through the day.
Yeah. I... So there's not a lot of time to try to perfect things. Or Yeah. Yeah.
I... There are times I hear from people... So it... You know, it's personality driven or where they are exactly. But, you know, the kind of the best we do when people show up in the Facebook group, for example, is, like, look.
Here's the Bold Beginnings series. And, you know, if you're ready for this, this might help you, like, soften soften your launch a little bit. And I will hear from people sometimes, hey. Listen. I wasn't ready for that then.
Like, I wasn't ready for anything. And I do wonder if there's just no... At a certain part of it, if there's no... It's not the right time, you know what I mean, for some for some people to to dive in. So how long did it take you to get to this doesn't seem right?
You said about four or five months. And then then do you, like, switch gears at that point? How do you figure out what to do after that? Like, how how do you end up on this podcast less than a year later?
Give the Groups Some Time49:05
Yeah. Well... And I'll say too, unfortunately, in any of these groups, right, you're gonna read horror stories, and I wish that there was a way to filter those out. So and so died. So and so had this complication.
And I will say that, like, I would probably recommend to anyone of my friends who's newly diagnosed or, you know, their child, maybe don't join the the groups for a little bit. Give yourself time to process because I think if you dive right in, you're gonna be even more terrified than you already are. And some things I wish I could unsee and unlearn. But, you know, I did get a lot of useful information from the groups and learned what to ask for and learned that, hey. Maybe the sliding scale is not the best way to do it.
And so I did start... You know, I mean, they they were never rushing me. They said when you're ready to start carb counting, we're ready. You know, you you do things at your own pace. And I think we had to get comfortable enough to feel like, okay.
What what if we screw up? What if we don't count the carbs right and we give her too much insulin? What if we give her not enough insulin? And we had to get to a place where we trusted ourselves enough to know that, like, okay.
Mhmm.
You know, we we can we can try something different now. And even with the pump, we were really hesitant because, again, I've read some horror stories about pump malfunctions and this and that. And I was like, I... I'm I'm never gonna trust it. I'm never gonna do it.
But at the end of the day, the thought of sticking my child five to six times a day, where it's like a constant reminder to her that she's different, that she has diabetes, I thought, you know, if I can stick a pump on her and we really don't have to worry about it except for every couple of days unless something goes wrong, how much more normal will she feel? How much will this be kind of on the back burner for her? And and I think that's kind of the point we arrived at.
What She Wishes She Could Unsee50:52
Okay. Give me some examples of things you saw online that you wish you could unsee.
Oh, well, just like so and so's pump malfunction and dumped a 100 units of insulin and they died. Or their Dexcom didn't alert them and they died. I mean, you know?
In in a few months, your numbers of stories of people dying, I don't see these stories at all. What what are we talking about?
Well, I'm in so many diabetic parent groups. Like, there's so many.
Is there? I think there's one.
Oh, I found, like... Mean, probably five or six.
I'm just saying.
I I... Oh, but that means... Listen. Listen. There's one main one.
Right?
I was just joking. But...
Here's the best one.
I... But I do think that that's why we kinda strive in there to keep it, I mean, real, but also positive in in such a way that you don't you don't need to, like... I don't know. You don't need to unfurl those stories in front of people. Not that people shouldn't know that, know, what circumstances are, but it's just not necessary every five seconds.
And
so agree.
Yeah. Yeah. And I think people's like... I don't know. I I...
Listen. I... I'm sure it would take a a psychologist a million years to tell you all the different reasons why people jump online and, you know, show people their ass. And, like... Or or to say, hey.
Let me tell you the worst thing that I think could happen right now to a bunch of people who are likely gonna be scared of it. Like, maybe they think saying it out loud stops it from hap... There's people who have some weird feelings about, like, you know, how to control their surroundings. Mhmm. But I don't get it.
Like, so if you do something crazy like that there, we're like, hey. You know? Come on. You know? Like, it's okay.
Like, chill out a little bit. So... Okay. I just didn't... I mean, I haven't seen two stories like that in six...
I'm online constantly Yeah. And and watching people talk about diabetes. I don't see stuff like that. So... Okay.
Well, just... Well... And it could be that my algorithm just tortures me and knows and knows that those are things I don't wanna see. And it's just like, here, we're gonna put this right in front of your face. And I'm not one that can just scroll because I wanna read...
I I probably do it to myself, honestly. You know, I I should just scroll away, but I can't. More with curiosity.
Yeah. So once you look at one, then you get you get delivered more and more of that stuff.
Exactly.
Yeah. Okay. Well, I mean, that makes more sense. Okay. Management wise, what are you doing now?
Kindergarten Changed Everything53:16
Yeah. So she's on a pump. She's got her Dexcom. She's doing great, but I will say she just started kindergarten. And so that has been quite a wrinkle in things because, you know, her schedule is completely different at school.
Her routine is different. She eats lunch at 10:50 in the morning and not 12:45 like she used to in in preschool. And so it's just... It's been really, really hard. And I was solidly over 80% in range, rolling, you know, 85, 86% in range, which for me, for a five year old was pretty darn good.
Yeah. Well, she just turned five. That was even when she was four. I I really was feeling pretty good about it. And now it's really...
We've taken a big hit. And so I'm I think I'm having a really hard time relinquishing control because, you know, I know the potential future complications of them allowing her blood sugar to be high all day or it just being high because of stress, because of anxiety, because she hasn't hasn't adjusted while the kindergarten... For the first three weeks, she was crying every day. And I know how that affects her blood sugar. And so it's been...
I've been incredibly stressed lately because of that. Because I finally felt like we had hit a sweet spot where we had our rhythm and her blood sugar was pretty stable and, you know, we were still allowed to... We were given our treats more frequently because we knew how to how to work it. But now, you know, I feel like it's it's just everything's become... I don't know.
It Will Keep Changing54:43
Oh, let me say something that I hope you find comforting, but likely won't. This is gonna just keep happening. So you're gonna get you're gonna get to a stasis spot, and then something's gonna change or she's gonna grow, and it's just gonna... It's gonna morph. It's...
And it's gonna happen again and again and again until one day when you're like, even that seems normal to you. Yeah. It really is about time. It it just... It's just time in the simulator having, you know, had enough experiences that you just, like...
You you just kinda bop with it. You go, okay. Well, they moved for lunch again. I remember having that feeling. Like, I I re Yeah.
I think Jenny and I were recording the first episode of the pro tip series that day. And Arden, like, if you... I think it's the pro tip series. I think it's literally, like, episode 1,000. Right?
And you'll hear, like, we start recording it, and I'm like, Jenny, I'm sorry. I have to go. Like, Arden's pod failed or something like that. Ugh. And, like...
And I literally had to, like, leave the house and come back, and we had to do it later. And I remember that was wrapped around her her her lunch at that lady later, Jenny were... Like, she's like, when when does she eat? I was like, she eats at, like, 10:20. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And and she, at that point, was in, like, middle school. You know what I mean? And then one year, they're just like, hey.
Your your lunch is 10:20 in the morning. And, you know, and then the next year, it's noon. And the next it's
at work.
And people are all the time, like, they have to stop putting my kids... What's the other thing that people get upset about? Oh, they put recess after lunch. So you're bolus, and then you try to be aggressive with the food, then they send the kid outside to run around. And and it's the same problem.
Yeah. It's the same problems everybody has. But just one day, they stop being problems, and they start being things that you expect that you know how to handle. And the only way... I I don't wanna say, like, something, like, completely, you know, douchey, but, like, the only way, you know, around is through.
You know? So... And you just gotta do it a few times. Plus, it's not gonna kill you. So you already have context for what that is.
There, done that.
Yeah. Yeah. And, I mean, how much worse could it be? You... Did your chest hurt for a month after that?
Were you sore?
Six months. Oh, just sore. Gosh, please. I was sore for so long.
Did you try drugs after you you did?
No. Never. No. I've... That's never been my thing.
I didn't mean, like, something you bought on the street. I meant, like, did they get... I wasn't like, did you pick up, like, a smack, like, a problem or something? I just meant, like, they don't call heroin smack anymore, do they?
I don't even know.
Okay. Alright.
No Caffeine in Five Years57:21
So... But... No. But, you know, since my cardiac arrest, I'm so limited as to what I can take anyway because, you know, there are so many meds that could that could really mess with my rhythm, my heart rhythm. So I have to be so careful.
Anything. I can't... I haven't had caffeine in five years. Can you imagine?
Oh, what a what a sad thing. And do you have to just see a cardiologist with frequency?
Oh, yeah. All the time and go through testing and... Yeah.
And they've never seen, like, anything that's, like, worrisome after that?
No. No. It was... I mean, knock on wood again. It was it was a fluke.
It was just a... But I am on... I take medicine every day. Probably for the rest of my life, I'll be on heart medicine.
You're making me wanna get a scan. You know how when you You should. Yeah. You know when you hear people say all the time, like, you know, that scan you could do on your heart is, a $120, but for some reason, your insurance doesn't cover it, like, whatever that one is? I'm gonna go do that now.
You should.
Yeah. I ain't going out like that. That's some bullshit.
And make sure your wife knows CPR.
Oh, well, if I'm counting on her to save me, I think we're in trouble.
I always say that. I'm like, if it had been reversed and it was my husband, he'd be screwed.
He'd be like, oh my god. What's all over his mouth? Oh, guys. Hey, guys. The...
Come back here. Rob's dead.
Yeah. Literally. He would have not No.
He's not. No. He is. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. We're we're not gonna be... Ugh. Yeah. My gosh.
Do you think you would tell the people you would have helped him? Right?
Oh, I would have tried my hardest.
But but you you pretty much think that would have been the end of it. You're like
I got little bony, frail arms. I don't know that I would have had the strength to do it. I mean, thank goodness he's strong and strapping.
The rescue squad comes in, and you're just, like, sitting on his chest bouncing up and down going, I I I don't know if this is helping. Yeah. Yeah. What were those balls called with the handle on it? You remember
Pedal? No.
Yeah. Yeah. But you know what I mean? Like, when you were kids, were like... Yeah.
You... Not we were kids. I was I was an adult by the time you were born. But, like, you know, like, you could, like, bounce... Like, sit on the big...
What the hell are those big balls called with
a handle? I know exactly what you're talking about. I know exactly what you're talking about.
Anyway, that's how I picture it. Yeah. You're, like, holding his face and, like, bouncing on his chest. Like, I don't know. I I get...
My hands got tired.
Mhmm.
Oh my gosh. Oh, okay. So her understanding of her diabetes at her age, Like, is she... Like, how do you, like, get her involved, or is she not? Is she kinda just a bystander?
How do you manage it?
Reese Takes It in Stride59:51
She's so... And, I mean, she has I'm so proud of her because she's become such an advocate. She wears her devices proudly. She always tells me, oh, so and so asked me what that is, and I explained to them that I have type one diabetes, and this is my blood sugar monitor. And, I mean, she's very aware.
She does her own pump changes whenever she wants. You know, we don't make her, but when she says, mommy, wanna do it, by all means, do it. She pricks her own finger every time. I mean, she's incredibly involved and really so positive. Like, honest to god, I don't think it slowed her down much.
We, of course, have days where she's like, I hate diabetes. I wanna kill it. I wanna punch it in the face. And I'm like, girl, I feel that. Mhmm.
But for the most part, she's just so happy go lucky. And I think that scares me because she... She's at the point where she doesn't feel her lows and, you know, that's that's a little scary to me because she'll be 40 straight arrow down. And I'm like, how are you? And she's like, I'm great, mom.
And I'm like, but you're not though.
Everything's good. But... Well, at
least... Everything's fine. Everything's fine. She's very... She she has taken it in stride.
She really inspires me, honestly, because I think she... I always say she's handling it way better than I am. But I I realize the gravity of it, you know, and I don't know that she fully does yet.
Yeah. And in fairness, you're a mess too. So A hot mess of a shit show. She'll get older people, like, tell me about your parents. She's like, well, my mom is going through something.
And my dad Always. My dad mumbles to himself a lot. I shouldn't have saved her. I don't know what that means. But...
Anyway. Oh my god. I I swear there's part of me that wants your husband to cheat on you so that you can go in court and go, I can't believe after all of this. My god. No.
No. You understand. I... Well, you guys will be married forever. He can't go anywhere.
Oh, oh, for sure. Neither of us. We're we're bonded.
You definitely can. I mean, what would... Seriously, what would your excuse be to break his heart?
Oh my god. No. And I would look like such an asshole
if I ever left him. People would hate you. Oh,
are you
kidding me? You know how they would talk? Oh, the ladies would go on and on. Brooke... He saved Brooke's life.
Did I ever tell you that certain? Yeah. Did you see what she did?
Ungrateful little.
Oh. And then the story come out and be like, I think she hits him. And and then they'd be like, well, maybe he deserves to because, like, you know, like, he... Like, you wouldn't be able to win even in the worst situation. Ugh.
Never.
No. You're screwed.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm stuck.
Oh, I I... Now I wanna make this podcast for, like, fifty more years and talk to you again. Like I know. Yeah. Yeah.
Oh, this is so interesting. Good for you, by the way. Also, I don't know if I can talk you into, like like, letting it go, Elsa, and all that stuff, but, like, I would just do my best to take this as a second chance and not look back.
Yeah. Because the It's hard... It's easier said than done, but I I hear you. And it's just... It's a lot.
Always in Fight or Flight1:02:49
And and then, you know, it's just like I hadn't even really processed that trauma, and then we have the trauma of our daughter's diagnosis. And I feel like we're just... I think my husband and I are always on edge. We're always in fight or flight. Right?
Because it's just been one thing after another after another. And it's hard... You know, it's hard. I feel like it's it's affected us. We're...
You know, we get irritated easily with each other sometimes, I think, because it's just such a... We're in a pressure cooker all the time.
No. That... That's... That'll last for, like, the first ten years at least. Yeah.
I'm sure. We... I can say this. Right? Yeah.
Arden in the ER1:03:24
So in the last handful of years, Arden's had a few, like like, ovarian cysts that have burst, which are... It's an incredibly painful thing. Mhmm. And it sort of will come out of nowhere. So my wife and I traveled to kinda look around at places where we we might wanna, like, retire to.
So we were gone for a number of days. We're old, so we got back really, like, a little tired. You know? And a week goes by, and then my wife has to travel for work. She had to go to Europe.
She was gone for seven days. And she got back. I'm like, how'd you how'd you make it through all this? Because we traveled a little. She had been, you know, like, you know, she had just had...
I don't think I've said... My wife had a pretty big surgery this summer. And so I'm pretty sure I've said it on here. I'm not sure. She had a hysterectomy.
There. There. She had a hysterectomy this summer. It's a it's a long recovery. She finally felt well enough to travel and look at houses a little bit.
We did that, got home, then she had to fly overseas. She got back, and she got back, and she's like, I am surprisingly doing well. And I was like, good for you. And she's like, I think if I pace myself this week and rest, I think I'm gonna, like... I think I'm okay.
Like, after all this stuff, like, were pretty excited for not to feel run down. You know? Yeah. A day and a half later, we are sitting around, and it's, like, a Saturday afternoon. And Arden had been having, like, stomach pain for a while, and we think she...
She's going in a couple weeks to find out if she has endometriosis. Right? And so, like, so we thought it might be that. There's, like, things you do to help her get through it. Then all of a sudden, I'm upstairs trying to work.
It's a Saturday afternoon. And Kelly... Like, I can hear Kelly downstairs go, Arden, open the door. Arden, it's mom. Open the door.
And I'm like, what's going on? And she's like, open the door. Open the door. And, like, she bangs a little bit. The door opens.
I'm like, what's happening? I go downstairs. Arden's in the bathroom, almost passed out. And, like like, just... Like like, from pain.
And we end up in the ER, and we're there for, I mean, if... I think we were there for maybe ten hours. Like, you know, we got home at, like, three in the morning kinda thing. It was an entire fight with the doctor to get them to even, like, do the correct scan for her. I...
Had I not been there, would have gotten none of the testing that she needed. They would have railroad... They would they would have hit her with one pain medication that didn't work, then they would have hit her with morphine, then they would have morphined her up and sent her home with, like, no, like, no... And given her a bunch of tests that were clearly not necessarily not the one test that she needed, which would have been like a a a stomach and a pelvic CT. So I I have to, you know, I...
They they send her for, like, you know, ultrasound and they... You know, she's like, oh, we're gonna look for a... They always look for a torsion ovary. And I'm like, that's not what it is. Like, she's been through this before.
It's not what it is. Like, you need to do a scan just to make sure it's not stones and make sure that, like... Plus, you could look for endometriosis on this CT. Like, just go... She's here already.
Go ahead and do it. Don't send her home without an answer. It's just gonna happen again. Everybody stares through you. So I got ahold of the nurse, and I said, listen.
Is he gonna do the CT or not? And she's like, I don't think so. It's not in the orders. And I said, I need you to go tell the doctor that if he's unwilling to do a CT, pelvic and and, like, you know, abdomen, that I need him to very carefully note the chart about why he's refusing to do it. And then I need to talk to a different doctor.
And as soon as that happened, the doctor comes over, and he's like, so I understand you'd like to get a CT. I don't think you need one. And I said, no. I said, that's fine, but, you know, this has happened to her before. She's never gotten the CT.
It would show a lot. It would it would it would rule out a lot. She's already here. She's already in pain. The insurance will pay for it.
Like, you know, let's give her the CT. He goes, well, I don't think she needs it. And I said, I hear that, I appreciate it. I'd like you to do it anyway. And he smirked at me.
And I went, what's happening here? I was like, okay, man. Meanwhile, they didn't give her pain meds for five hours. They just let her sit there. And then he looks at her and says, Arden, I don't think you need a CT.
Would you would you like one? And she looked at me like, you see this asshole? And I was like, yeah. I said, yeah. I was like, I see it.
And she goes, yes. I'd I'd like one. Thank you. And then he smirked at her and smirked at me and said, well, I think it's a waste of time, but it's up to you. And then he bopped off.
And I and I was like, idiot. So now meanwhile, the CT shows it's it's exactly what she needed. It showed exactly what didn't happen, which is what she need... She needed to be able to rule things out so that she could move forward and do something else. Right?
Like, you'd try to be helpful a little bit. It also was able to rule out, like, kidney stones. Yeah. It was able to rule out a lot. Right?
All good... And you know what it showed? It showed that she had a cyst that just burst. And so now instead of being there thinking, like, I don't know what this pain is from, you have an answer for which is a really big deal, like, having an answer for pain. Right?
Anyway, what is the point of me telling you this? Oh oh, I do know what the point of me telling you this is. So she's in a ton of pain. You're sitting there being, like, an adult and, you know, holding people's hands and hugging them and telling them it's okay. We'll get through it.
It's gonna be alright. We'll figure it out. Like, you're doing all the things you're supposed to do. They're not letting both of us back because they're so busy they have her parked in the hallway. And so my wife and I are, like, having to swap back.
I'm sitting in the car for hours. We're swapping back and forth. My wife is like, I'll stay with her because she doesn't wanna leave her alone. But the truth is we kinda need the part of me that gets the stuff done to be there too.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? Like, so we're, like, jumping back and forth. Because I'm saying to my wife, I'm like, make sure they do this. And she's like, I don't think they're gonna do it. I'm like, well, tag tag me in.
I'm coming in. You know what I mean? Then the nurse... Then one of the other nurses starts to get annoyed because I don't leave right away when I'm done when my wife comes back in. So she comes over, and she's like, you can't have two people here.
And by then, I'm like, it's two in the morning. I'm like, everyone's gone. Like, what do you care? Like, you know what I mean? Like...
But I smiled. I said, I'm so sorry. I walk out. I go to go to the bathroom as I'm walking to go back out to sit in my car again. I must have lingered too close to the door.
The security guard ran at me.
Oh my gosh.
One person at a time. I'm like, yeah. Yeah. I got the message. Thank you.
Like, I'm I'm okay. Anyway, here's why I tell you this whole story. We get home. We get Arden in bed. We get...
I go into the room. My wife's getting changed. I walk into the room. We look at each other, and we stare into each other's eyes. And for five seconds, you feel like you're 20 years old.
And you're and you're like, what is happening? Like, why... I don't... Like, I I I wasn't up for all this. Like, if you would've, like...
I... I'm so mad at you for being pretty when we were younger. Like, I got just, I'm like, oh my god. And so I just... I was like, you alright?
And she goes, yeah. And I went, she goes, you? And I'm like, yeah. And I said, why did you make me have kids? And she's like, I don't know.
And I was like I was like... And I was like, okay. Meanwhile, we didn't get pregnant on purpose the first time, so, like, she didn't really make it or anything. We're married. It's okay.
And Yeah. And so... But but I was, like, you know, like, that feeling of, like Yeah. How is this happening?
You know what mean?
And then on top of all that, the way you feel and the way it screws with you, Arden's like a living, breathing person actually going through that thing.
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then and then... And I don't want that for her.
And now, like, it's
Yeah. You can't take it away. Yeah.
It's my job to figure this out for her or to feel my entire life like I wasn't able to help her.
It's so much responsibility.
Yeah. Just should've stuck with the cat. You know what I mean? What was the cat's name, by the way? Mister Whiskers or what was it exactly?
Our cat, little skinny.
No. No. I mean the cat that he loved and made you, like, think he was gonna be okay.
Yeah. Oh,
it's Little Skinny? Little Skinny? Yeah. I would love if that was my nickname. I just spilled it by myself.
She
was neither of those things.
Oh oh, it was an ironic nickname.
Well, she was when he first got her. He found her on the street. But
Look at that. Yeah. That's how my wife got me. Yeah. She's like Oh my god.
She's like, I don't think anyone wants this one. I'll take it. But... So Okay.
Does It Get Easier?1:12:13
Go ahead. But tell me, Scott, does it get better? Does it get easier? I mean, how many years are you out from diagnosis? Are you still every day stressed all day, or does it get easier?
No. I'm not stressed all day. About the diabetes about the diabetes?
Yeah. Yeah. No. No. I'm everything.
No. No. No. I'm stressed about everything, not about the diabetes. No.
No. Yeah. I take your point. No. You're very early on in it.
You really will have a a number of cycles of experience that'll build on themselves. Themselves. You will start to get, like... It'll be intuitive. Once it once it gets intuitive, that really helps lighten it a little bit.
The next time it's gonna be a problem... Let's see. She's gonna rebel against it at some point. That's gonna be upsetting. She's gonna suddenly not care about a blood sugar maybe, or that'll never happen to her, you'll think, oh god.
She's so neurotic about this. And then you'll worry you'll worry about her in a different direction. Yeah. You know, like, hopefully, there won't be any big problems. But, I mean, it's...
I really do think about the management of it specifically. Eventually, you just really do... You get good at it, and then it it seems easier. I mean, it's not technically if you sit and break it down. It's the same it's the same disaster it always is.
But, like, at least it doesn't feel like it. You know I mean?
Do you stop feeling like, oh my gosh. She's might... She might die every day. Like, does that feeling go away?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That that that goes away. Yeah.
That goes away. After, like... You know what you have to do? You have to sleep through a couple of alarms and wake up and her... Still be alive.
And then you go, oh. Yeah. Okay. Then you then you can listen to those old heads that have diabetes... That had diabetes before the sensors, and they'll be like, I'm alive.
And I'm like, oh,
well Yeah.
Fair point. You you know? So... Yeah. I mean, for me, it got better.
And Okay. I still don't like... I mean, there's still things... I'll give you an example. Like, last night, her...
A Lost Connection Overnight1:14:10
So I I guess if people are listening, know that Arden was, like, working her way through, like, a needle phobia, and she's getting better and better at it. So, like, last night, she shot her GLP last night before she went to bed. But fairness, shoulda happened two days ago. So Mhmm. The settings are not quite where they need to be because I'll I'll, like, kinda go up to her and go, hey.
It's cool if you don't wanna shoot your GLP, but we have to put your settings back. And then she thinks... She's never said this out loud. This is me supposition. But I think she thinks that moving the settings is failing at doing the shot.
So she's like, I'm not gonna move the settings. I'm going to get to... I'm gonna do the injection. And and and having... Does that make sense?
Putting the the set... The settings back makes it feel like you failed to do the injection.
A failure. Uh-huh.
So she won't move the settings back, and I've been helping her through it. Like, I kinda, like like, I'll sometimes, like like, low key, like, put some insulin in, like, the... Like, you know, like, I know the settings need
Yeah. With
her feeling like she's being helped. Anyway, two days later, she did the GLP. So there's gonna be, like, a gap tonight... The... Last night where settings aren't gonna quite work, but we made some, like, extra boluses before we went to bed.
Everything seemed like okay. But then at, like, two in the morning, her CGM lost connection Mhmm. With... So Arden uses Trio. So her CGM somehow lost connection with Trio.
So Trio defaulted to just a standard basal, so she wasn't getting boluses that she needed for, like, three hours. And I I woke up to a high alarm, which probably, in fairness, had been going off for two and a half hours, and I didn't hear it. And it Yeah. It woke me up at, like, 05:15, and I was like, hey. She doesn't have a CGM.
Like, that sucks. And I opened up my app, and I saw her last blood sugar as rising. And I was like, uh-oh. I know what's gonna happen. So I go in.
I I don't even know how to explain it to people who make trio were listening. You just basically crash the Dexcom app and reopen it, and it comes back, and then it reconnects. And it reconnects, and her blood sugar's, like, three ten, which which is not a thing, like, we normally see. And so I'm like, alright. And I just looked at all the basal she missed.
I was like, oh, so there's this much basal missing plus the correction. And I put the insulin in, but in my heart, I know that's gonna take a few hours to come down. Mhmm. Because I don't wanna make her low. Right?
I want her to be able to sleep through the morning. So I don't crush it because I'm not gonna be awake to catch it. So I'm just like, let
me just
send it on its way. In the past, I would have sat up, like, staring at that high number, but I I didn't do that. I just was like, alright. Okay. Insulin's in.
I know what it's gonna do. I'm going back to sleep. And
I Okay. I'll get to that point someday.
Yeah. And I woke up this morning, and her blood sugar wasn't all the way back down, but it was one fifty. And I was like I was like, okay. Like, this is... And and I don't want her blood sugar to be one fifty.
I certainly don't want it to be over 300. I don't want any of this to happen, but I will not sit around feeling like I killed her all day Yeah. Which I would have when I was younger.
Okay.
Yeah. When I... When when we were newer at this, would have thought, well, this is a major failing. I didn't Yes. I didn't hear the alarm.
This is clearly my fault. Like, you know, all of that would have happened.
That's the phase I'm in now, and I'm looking forward to that not being... Like, I don't wanna live with the constant pressing guilt all day.
Plus, you don't want the thing to actually be happening. That's the that's the problem with the with the guilt. The guilt is it's not... What are the words here? It's not it's not real in in that you didn't actually make the thing happen, but the impact of the blood sugar is real.
Like, do you
know what
I mean? Like, I might not... Like, I didn't make a mistake that led to this, like, some malicious mistake, but I certainly didn't do something I could have done that could have gotten the way of this. And now I feel like this elevated blood sugar means some horrible things gonna happen in the future. Also, wanna say, I don't know that Arden didn't lose, you know, forty seven seconds off the end of her life last night.
I have no idea. But I I do know that if I act like that's what's going on all the time, we're all gonna be dead way before we're
It'll drive you crazy. Absolutely. I feel like I could literally combust at any moment because of the stress, and I I I don't want that to be the case.
Taking Care of Herself1:18:42
Yeah. Have you tried, like, one of those pills that takes away your anxiety?
You know, I probably could benefit from it. But... Yeah. I don't know. I'm I'm in the phase right now, though, where I'm so focused on her.
I'm not really taking care of myself, which is a... It's dangerous place to be, especially considering my history.
So was
gonna say to definitely.
Yeah. Isn't that how you gave yourself three cardiac arrests in one day?
Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much. So
I gotta be real careful. Look who doesn't learn.
No. Seriously. But this is... It feels all consuming, though. And I'm sure you can remember those days where it feels all consuming.
The Night Scott Thought He'd Die1:19:18
Oh, listen. There... I I I, you know, I probably said this many... Too many times. There was this one night before...
I don't know if it was before CGM or before AID, maybe. It's just... It was at least before automated systems. I was laying in bed in the middle of the night awake with, like, that gravel feeling feeling in my eyes. And Mhmm.
I'm like... And Kelly's like, why aren't you going to sleep? I'm like, I can't. Like, her blood sugar's, like, messed up. Like, I just need to get it to come down a little bit.
Like, I decided to test again in twenty minutes, like, that whole thing. And Yeah. And she's like, are you okay? And I'm like, I think I'm gonna die. And she was like, what?
I'm like, I... Because I'm so tired and numb and my chest hurts and my eyes hurt. I think I'm gonna die. I'm like, Kelly, like, something has to happen. I I don't think I can, like, keep doing this.
And, you know, and I was so exhausted by that point. Like, really, like, genuinely exhausted. Like, when the
I feel that.
Yeah. But when the person who came on told me I should try a loop and then I slept through the night, I was like, oh my god. I might be able to live through this. You know? So I I always I always assumed that I was gonna die early so Arden could be healthier.
Oh. And I don't and I don't feel like that anymore.
Well, that's good. That's progress.
It's progress. It's a long time ago, but it was before all this. Like, you guys now are, like, wearing CGMs and your pumps are making decisions for you and stuff like that. I'm talking about, like, I had a meter and, like, a handful of needles. And I was I was like, I got it.
It's gonna be fighting. By the way, we still have some of those needles. So
I'm sure.
Yeah. They just sit around here in a... Well, we use them for other stuff now. I'm sorry. For GLP.
Not nice. I don't I don't know how that sounded.
I wasn't gonna ask questions.
Naming the Episode1:21:09
It's just I said that, and I was like, I should probably qualify that. Any... Anyway, do you have other... Anything we should be talking about here? You you feel good about this?
Or can I
call this one
Elizabeth, I'm Coming? Or what do you wanna call it? Does anyone know that reference? Do you even know that reference?
Yeah. The the the... What's his name? Oh my gosh. The old god.
The ugh, I know his name. The something. The something. The Jeffersons.
Nope. So close. Sanford and Son.
Sanford and Son. Okay. Okay. I knew it was one of those old shows.
Yeah. George Jefferson was moving on up. Okay. Fred Sanford would clutch his heart and pretend to have a heart attack all the time. And that was the comedian Redd Foxx.
He's a very dirty comedian for his time.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I think that might be too obtuse, but it's what it's what the episode's called to me. Although, I think we're just gonna call it...
You know how there's, like, two truths and a lie? Yeah. Maybe we'll call it, like, three heart attacks and a diagnosis or something like that.
Hey. That's not bad.
Thank you. I do this for a living. I appreciate it. Yeah. You were really great.
Thank you for... I have to look in your notes real quick. Hold on a second. Yeah. Don't go anywhere.
I'm clicking on my thing. Pediatricians not taking parental concerns seriously when all symptoms are present. DKA and almost losing our daughter because of negligence. How life changing it is for all of us. You did not mention any of your hard stuff in there.
I swear I did because I remember you wrote back and you were like, we'll see if it comes up because I I know I......
In the email, not in the...
Yeah. It was in the email. It was in the email because I said I said I've done several podcast before because of my heart. And, yeah, I knew I had mentioned it somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Okay.
Yeah. It was in the email.
Learn CPR1:22:57
I'll tell you what. Before we end, tell people how they can learn to do CPR.
Oh, they can go to heart.org, and the American Heart Association can help them find local classes. It's very easy to learn, but it's seriously a lifesaving skill.
How long are the classes?
I mean, I don't know. Maybe an hour. But if someone suffers a cardiac arrest, immediate bystander action can double or triple their chances of survival. It is literally the only reason I'm still alive today was because my husband did CPR. So I always tell people, you can't hurt someone who's already dead.
There's really no harm in trying. Even if you don't think you're doing it right, at least try. And it's just... It's it's... You never think you're gonna need to know it, but it it happens most of the time to people at home.
And, you know, it could be someone love.
Heart.org? Okay. Thank
you. .Org.
Yeah. Everybody... I mean, you could spend a Saturday morning learning how to save somebody's life. Right? That's not a bad thing to do.
I know I'm picturing my son with a 100% YouTube it.
Well... And you know what? I'm sure there's videos on YouTube too. There's there's so many ways they can learn.
It's interesting. I I
The important thing is to just learn.
To do it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I...
I'm... I love the Yeah. Generation of how they do things. Like, I I know I've said this before, but the day before my son was supposed to take his driver's test, I realized I never taught him how to parallel park. And I was, like, in a panic about that.
I couldn't believe I forgot to teach him that part of it. You know what I mean? And... Because it's not like how you would park around here, generally speaking. And he just was like, oh, it's no big deal.
He YouTubed it, watched the video once. I watched him scrub back and forth, and he jumped back in the car and parallel parked. I was like, oh, okay. Nice. Awesome.
I was like, awesome. I I guess everything's fine. So... Alright. Brooke, seriously, congratulations on not dying.
And Yeah. It's really awesome story. I appreciate you sharing it with me. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you so much, and thanks for letting me share Reese's story too. And I just... I hope things get better.
Oh, it will. Did you really think it won't? Yeah.
I don't know. It depends on the day.
Just keep going. I mean, seriously, like, just put your head down and keep going, and you'll just pop up one day and you'll be on the other side of the cloud. That'll be it. It's really simple.
Good advice.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Life works that way, basically. And it has to because if not Yeah.
You know, what's the alternative? So
Right. Gotta keep going.
Sponsors and Close1:25:26
Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Hold on one second for me. Heck of an episode today, wouldn't you say?
Let's thank Dexcom and Omnipod five for sponsoring. That's right, my friends. We were sponsored today by the Dexcom g seven. Dexcom.com/juicebox. Head over there right now.
Look into that fifteen day Dexcom g seven. Fifteen days is a long time. It's like half a month. Don't check my math, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. And let's also thank the Omnipod five.
My goodness gracious. Omnipod five tubeless. That beautiful algorithm's updated now with that new 100 target. Get in there. Find out more about it.
Omnipod.com/juicebox. You want some tubeless insulin pumping? Yeah. You do. By any chance, have you tried the Small Sips series?
It's curated takeaways from the juice box podcast voted on by listeners as the most helpful insights for managing their diabetes. These bite sized pieces of wisdom cover topics like insulin timing, carb management, and balancing highs and lows, making it easier for you to incorporate real life strategies into your daily routine. Take a deep dive, take a sip, and discover what our community find most valuable on the journey to better diabetes management. For more information on Small Sips, go to juiceboxpodcast.com and then go... Oh, actually, we changed the website.
Let me see. Go to juiceboxpodcast.com. And from there, there's these two little lines on the right side top. That's the menu. Then click that.
Then click series. Then there's pro... There's Small Sips right there. Pro tips at the top, bold beginnings, bolus four, asks that. There's a lot of them there.
There's actually a little search there too. Could you just type Small Sips into the search? Oh, wow. That search works great. Look at that.
And then you could go right to, like, all results for Small Sips. Oh, and that takes you to the FAQ. You should check out the FAQ page too. I think that's juiceboxpodcast.com/jbfaq. Seriously, that thing's amazing.
Actually, the whole website is... I mean, have you, like, seen it? You should you should go check out the website. The website rocks. It is a potpourri, a never ending cornucopia of support for you and your diabetes journey.
That's right. It really is. What else we got over here? Oh, I don't like the way that works. I'm gonna fix that.
Note to self. Change the change the masthead on the frequently asked questions page. Page. Yeah. I don't like that.
Fix that. Oh, Claude. Oh, hell. I forgot to say thank you. Thank you so much for listening.
I'll be back again very, very soon. What is that noise? Stop it. Stop. Can you hear that?
It's my chameleon squeaking. Are you squeaking? What are you rubbing the branch against the... Don't tell people I have reptiles. They'll think I'm weird.
Thanks so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the juice box podcast. Look at me. Get all deep in there with another episode of the juice box podcast. You can hear it.
What was that? Oh, I'm getting alarms and alerts on my phone. I was gonna get real deep and tell you about the juice box podcast.
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