Ten Year Old Jennifer's Story

My daughter, Jennifer is 10 and has been diagnosed for 4 years. She had been blessed with an exceptionally long honeymoon of 3 1/2 years. During this time, I had always talked to her about the importance of taking care of herself and that when she was a teenager, she would go on the pump. Little did I know, but she wanted to go on it much sooner.  The kicker was the glucose level of 24 at 9am at school. And of course, that night she was 300. I spoke with her endo, who was very supportive. And the Minimed sales rep just happened to be there at a meeting with the docs that day. We spoke at length. Minimed was wonderful in writing the insurance company, getting the appropriate information from me and submitting everything.   Jennifer was very attentive while watching the instructional video, so when the educator came to our home, she did beautifully. I put the softset in her rear, because she has little fat in her abdomen.

Two days after going on the pump, she got the nasty flu bug. Illness has never been so easy!!!!!!!!! I bumped up her basal rate, did frequent glucose checks and bolused as needed. Her highest was 220! Without the pump, she would have easily been in the 300-400's. And since she didn't feel like eating, SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO!!!!!! I cried because it was so easy! Since then, life has been much more relaxed about mealtimes and snacks. We'll never go back to shots. Jennifer loves it. Life is much more normal. Although she has been on the pump only a month, she is pretty much independent in counting carbs, bolusing the right amount, and adjusting her basal rate for exercise. She can now look forward to a life that should be complication-free. And everyone knows how good that makes me feel!!