Happy New Year to all our customers and their families. May 2023 be good to you and allow you to thrive and prosper.
The end of 2022 has been a blur for me personally, with so much happening and one big change that arrived at the very end of the year, in the form of a fancy, new, closed loop insulin pump.
The Dream of a Closed Loop Insulin Pump
The dream: a pump that can finally take the pressure off the 24/7 job of being a pancreas for my son. I quickly relinquished my pancreatic responsibilities and handed over to the technology. It all started so well, and we really felt like we had this figured out. After all, we were not newbies anymore and we had pump experience.
Boxing Day 2022: When the Cannula Wouldn't Cooperate
Boxing Day 2022 was spent with a few more surprises than we expected, as ketones of 2.3 quickly built up and it became clear the pump was not giving any insulin. Two set changes later, we had been unlucky with the cannula, right? All sorted and behind us. Except the cannula failed again, and then again. Ketones back up, pen insulin to bring them back down, and a whole load of stress and tears.
It turned out we just could not get on with a particular type of cannula. Since swapping to a different one, all is working as it should. They call it "teething problems", don't they? I don't remember teething being so painful. We are over the hump of the learning curve now, thankfully, and our reward is finally sleeping. Something that, despite all our past efforts, we simply could not master with a regular pump.
The Closed Loop Difference: Finally Sleeping
All hail the mighty closed loop. It really is making a huge difference to our well-being and to the dark circles under my eyes, as we are no longer at the constant mercy of early-hours low blood sugars. I haven't entirely left the club, but I am getting much-needed respite.
It's funny how you don't really appreciate how much sleep you need until you can't actually get any. My son too was clearly sleep deprived. He slept for twelve hours solid the first few nights of the tech working properly. He never sleeps like that.
Access to T1D Technology Should Be for Everyone
We are so blessed to be able to access this technology and experience the life-changing benefits of it. It is my hope that all people with Type 1 will be able to access this technology, until the cure is found. I think about how far tech has come in the treatment of Type 1 and the medical advances in understanding autoimmune diseases, and I remain positive.
If you or your family are starting 2023 with a new insulin pump too, we hope your journey is smoother than ours was on Boxing Day. And if you want to dress up that new device, our insulin pump overlay patches are designed to keep it secure and looking good through every learning curve, every cannula change and every twelve-hour sleep that follows.
