#308 Psyco-glycemia
Scott Benner
Cute kitten content
Sara's daughter Adelyn was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in South Korea while her husband was active duty military.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
Hello, everybody, welcome to Episode 308 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. And by the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump, you can find out more about the Omni pod at my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. And that that link, you'll be able to order an absolutely free no obligation demonstration pod that will be sent directly to you. If you'd like to hear more about the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor, that link is dexcom.com forward slash juice box. All the links are in the show notes at Juicebox podcast.com. Just in case you can't remember them. I have tried to record this opening six times it has not gone right once so maybe me admitting that out loud will help the seventh chance. Sarah is on the show today to tell us about her daughter's diagnosis. The diagnosis happened in South Korea because the family lived there. Because Sarah's husband is active duty military. This is very interesting to hear about the diagnosis as it happened in South Korea, and how the family quickly got back to the United States. There's some twists and turns along the way and even a kitten. But none of that explains why this episode is called psycho glycemia. This weekend, I'm going to be in Atlanta speaking at the jdrf type one nation event. I think it's sold out I'm sorry. But however, I'm very excited to see those of you who are able to get tickets. Next thing I'm doing is in Wisconsin that still has tickets available. So I'll be in Wisconsin on March 26. It's a Thursday evening, I will be speaking from 5pm until 8:30pm. all about being bold within so I'm going to talk all about the tools, how to use them, get people going in a better direction. Hopefully, you go Arden state.com forward slash events to learn more. Please remember that even though most of this story happens in South Korea, nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, please always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. or becoming bold with insulin.
Sara 2:23
My name is Sarah Beth, by trial and I am an active duty spouse My husband is in the army and our daughter adilyn. Who is seven has type one diabetes.
Scott Benner 2:41
Okay, you're about 15 other children. Is that correct?
Sara 2:45
No, I have a total of four daughter.
Scott Benner 2:49
Wow. Did So did you have triplets or two sets?
Sara 2:52
No, no, we actually had two canceled appointments.
Unknown Speaker 2:57
is how that happened.
Scott Benner 2:58
You just talking about free time that we're looking at here.
Unknown Speaker 3:03
Within town,
Unknown Speaker 3:04
that's what happened. Well, I have to tell you.
Scott Benner 3:08
I'm gonna join the military immediately if that's how this works. I've never been drawn to service until I realized that it creates a lonely woman that I can visit once.
Unknown Speaker 3:23
Pretty much that is accurate.
Scott Benner 3:25
Well don't tell the kids that make up something about you wanted to have kids and you really loved the first one and couldn't get enough you'll you'll find a way to get through it. You really, I you imagine that when they get much older Sarah and you're like, you know like a wizard and veteran of life and you're like in your 50s like, Why are there four of us? Like how your father wasn't home a lot. They're gonna have this horrified look on their face for a second. And then Thanksgiving dinner. We'll just go on as normal.
Unknown Speaker 3:53
I'm gonna traumatize them. Yeah,
Scott Benner 3:54
they're gonna picture you in that moment still do. And they're just gonna be like, Oh my god, do you think they still do? Oh, yeah. And you're gonna say why do you think it's a stovetop stuffing? I didn't have time for the
Unknown Speaker 4:08
Yeah. I have time for nothing.
Scott Benner 4:09
Well, Sarah, you're a player. I think that's what we've learned right off the bat and we're gonna get going. So you are stationed or your husband is stationed in South Korea when your daughter's diagnosed.
Sara 4:23
That is correct. We were actually all in South Korea, Korea.
Unknown Speaker 4:28
So when you
Sara 4:31
get orders to go to South Korea, you can do one of two things you can go what they call unaccompanied. And go by yourself. And that usually you are you are going to be there for a year. Or you can go accompanied and bring your family and Jeff and I chose to go as a family because he had actually just returned From a nine month rotation in Korea, so he was gone for nine months. He came home for about four months. And then we went back to Korea as a family.
Scott Benner 5:11
Now, sir, that's what he told you. He wanted you to all come along. So you could be together. He really just didn't want a fifth kid and he thought I can't afford five children. If I go to South Korea and come back a year from now, I know where this is going. Yes. You guys. Yes. Bringing bringing you in the children to South Korea was birth control and your anyway, so you said that's when you choose a deployment? It's with your family? Does that mean more time? Or?
Sara 5:41
Yes. So when you take your family, you pretty much committed to two years
Scott Benner 5:47
while you're over there, except moving cost?
Sara 5:50
Yes. So we went and we had spent a year and Jeff was offered another job, that would be a two year commitment. So in order to take that job, he had to actually extend and do a total of three years in Korea, which we were on board for. And we went with that we decided to come home over the summer after the first full year in Korea, just to visit family. And I didn't notice adilyn her symptoms at that time. But it was immediately after we returned to Korea to do that second year, that, you know, she started having all the basic symptoms.
Unknown Speaker 6:45
And they
Sara 6:47
I took her in to a doctor, and it's very hot, very humid in the summer in Korea, in fact, one of our friends when we first moved there, I said this is the hottest you will ever be and the coldest you will ever be at this duty station.
Scott Benner 7:06
Terrific.
Sara 7:07
Yeah. Right. So um, so it was summer, you know, as we were rounding out summer and ready to go back to school, and I noticed she was urinating a lot. She was losing some way to just all of the basic symptoms that you know, typically show up. So I took her into the doctor. And they thought it was just the, you know, the heat, the humidity was warm, she was drinking more, she would produce more urine. She was growing, she was getting taller, but she was losing weight. So they just thought, you know, push some more. Yeah, yeah, put puts put some more fat in her diet, stuff like that. Um, so then we were on the playground. And adilyn fell off the slide and busted her chin open and had to get some stitches. So we had to take her to a local hospital off post there. And they gave her a form of an antibiotic that she had the stitches. They gave her some antibiotics and injection of it. And she broke out in a rash. And this is right before she was diagnosed maybe two weeks. She, we took her in again, she's at this point. Now she's very frail. She's we're seeing bones where, you know, it's it's,
Scott Benner 8:34
Oh, my gosh,
Sara 8:35
it's significant what she's lost. And mashed up
Scott Benner 8:39
you right there at that at that juncture, when you're like looking at ribs and things like that. Are you saying to yourself, like are you and your husband speaking to each other and saying, look, there's something incredibly wrong with her. Oh, what's the love?
Unknown Speaker 8:53
Yes, I actually had brought up
Sara 8:55
diabetes three times at the doctor's and I know it's that I'm not faulting anyone, because I know, it's something that's often overlooked that, you know, we don't get it right the first time. So it just happened that all of these other things were going on at the same time. That That is why she was overlooked. Yeah. So she broke out in the rash. I took her back to the doctor, I said, you know, something's off. She's at this point not feeling well. And they thought it was the antibiotic, which was typically an antibiotic that they don't give to kids or don't mean he prescribed in the US often, because it is reactive. So they thought that that was part of this antibiotic that she had been given. And then they just said they thought that she had, you know, picked up a virus while she was in the hospital.
Scott Benner 9:55
So we kept being excuses for what you could see right in front of you, but that wasn't leading you to end Like in, like, what was the waiting? Like was was their expectation like, Oh, this is getting better because we've done this thing or this will get better because we've taken this step, or were you at that point just staring and thinking, we're not really doing anything and she's getting worse.
Unknown Speaker 10:14
Right. And so as
Sara 10:18
a couple weeks later, we run into Halloween. And you know, every kid is excited about Halloween. She adilyn did not at this point was so she just wasn't herself. She didn't even want to do the, you know, we lived in these towers, and there were three of them side by side. And multiple floors, like 1213 floors, depending on the building. So lots of apartments, tons of candy. And she ended up just doing our building. And then she went back in and laid on the couch. She didn't want to do the additional two buildings with the other girls and it's totally not like her. And so from Halloween on, she pretty much laid on that couch. She was very lethargic. I finally it was a Saturday morning, and I got up and I said to Jeff, I said I feel like I'm watching her die. Something's not right. And so I called the doctor and said she's very lethargic. And that was the key word that threw everybody off. And they were like, well, if she's lethargic, you have to take her to the hospital.
Unknown Speaker 11:26
So
Sara 11:27
at that time, the hospital on Camp Humphreys wasn't completed. So we had to go drive about 20 minutes up to an Air Force Base, and have her seen at that emergency room. So we took her in and they again in the hospital said they thought it was a virus. And finally, you know, I had stayed home with the other three girls and Jeff had scooped adilyn off the couch because she couldn't even at this point, she wasn't even coherent. She wasn't even doing basic functions like walking. So Jeff scooped her up, took her to the hospital drove her there. She was kind of in and out of consciousness and the car is what Jeff had told me. So he took her in and they just thought again, it was this virus. And I happen to for some reason. I got on my phone and I googled type one diabetes symptoms. And I sent Jeff an article. He reviewed it. And then while the doctor came in and was saying, you know, it's a virus, he said to them, can we please test her for diabetes. And they were hesitant. They said, You know, I don't think that's what this is, but we'll do it. And a few minutes. minutes later, they came back in the room and said you were right. She's a diabetic. So that's how her diagnosis happened. We were taken from the hospital. by ambulance, I had swapped, I had a friend come up and watch the girl so I could go to the emergency room to be with adilyn. And Jeff was going to come home and be with the kids. And I wrote in the ambulance up with her to into Seoul to Samsung hospital there. And that's where she was in the hospital for about a week. We were out of that. Er,
Scott Benner 13:23
so I have a number of questions about that first part. Okay. And it'll give you a chance to regroup. It's a it's a well told story. Thank you. How much of a language barrier is there at the hospital? Do you and your husband speak Korean? A little bit?
Sara 13:40
Just I mean, I could speak very I could I could get by at the market is basically what I do. I there is a language barrier. But Koreans are very good at English. They just don't. It's like any culture. You know, if we go to another country, if I go to France, I'm not going to even if I was fluent in French, I'm going to be hesitant to actually use it in conversation. So I think that was the piece because they everybody that I
Unknown Speaker 14:12
worked with.
Unknown Speaker 14:14
They would
Sara 14:16
you're assigned a translator. So I had someone that they would speak in Korean because I mean, that's their language of comfort and they the translator would translate it for me
Scott Benner 14:31
at work
Sara 14:33
no not at well. So at at work for Jeff, is that what you're asking?
Scott Benner 14:38
I just I got lost for a second there because you said you were assigned to translate or just in your regular life or
Unknown Speaker 14:44
no at the hospital
Scott Benner 14:45
in the hospital. I'm sorry. Yeah, there was just that one piece that I missed. So okay, all right. So no, no, please don't be sorry. So there's I'm sure it was my fault. You don't realize that while you're talking I'm also trying to formulate what we're gonna say next. Once in a while I drift away and I'm Like, Oh, you know what I'm going to ask about. And then I started thinking about this South Korean zombie movie that I really liked. And I was like, I wonder how I can work this into the conversation, which is meaningless. And then I missed a key key thing that you said there. Anyway, I apologize. So there's a, there's a translator at the hospital. And that though, that makes total sense, even though you feel like the hospital staff could have probably spoken to you.
Sara 15:23
They actually, there was a few moments where, you know, you're assigned a translator, and they come into the room when you have like education classes, or your team of doctors comes in, and there would be a few moments where maybe she was running behind. And they would speak to me in English. But I think they just weren't comfortable.
Scott Benner 15:41
Yeah, one thing either I would have met.
Unknown Speaker 15:43
Yeah,
Sara 15:44
yeah. So it was, they could do it. And they were very good at it. They're the team that I had. Would you know, after the meeting, they would say thank you, you know, for being so good about my English, they would always think that their English was poor. And it was, I mean, it was phenomenal. In my opinion. They would did very well, I could understand everything.
Scott Benner 16:08
I have to say, you know, in your note, you say that her eidolons Awan see at the time she was diagnosed with 17%. I'm fairly comfortable saying if you don't Google that article and push your husband, she probably doesn't make it if they send her out of that hospital again, telling her that it's that it's something else, especially with your description of her.
Sara 16:28
Yes, she I don't think she would have made it either. I really do think that it was something I don't know what it was about that moment where I just happen to pick up my phone and say, I really think we're missing something. And I asked about this. And it just was something that was you know, I remember we went on a trip around right before she was diagnosed, I took her to Everland which is kind of like a Korean Disney Land. And it was maybe maybe 40 minutes to an hour trip and adilyn we had to stop twice there and twice on the way home for her to use the restroom. She just couldn't. I mean, in 40 minutes, she had to go twice. It was just something he was frequently urinating. It was not something with off, you know,
Scott Benner 17:17
and not drinking that much.
Sara 17:19
No, I mean, he was he was definitely chugging water. But it was it was, you know it. There was just so many things that were off it and she had all of those key symptoms. And then when we started I mean, I could see her full pelvis by the time that we took her in. So it was like she is this is not right. This is not healthy. Something's wrong. Do you have a feeling for how much weight she lost during the time it took you to kind of figure this all out? When she was taken to Samsung. I think they weighed her in and she was under 40 pounds. She was about 3837 meaty. Right now she's well over 50. So she it was it was a lot of weight.
Scott Benner 18:01
Yeah. And you said and she was getting taller. So it probably even looked.
Sara 18:06
Yeah, it was not. It was not good. I mean, I even had it was to the point that I was taking pictures of her just to have it, you know? So I could compare how much Oh, I see. Yeah, of course, she was losing just the amount of bone that was coming through.
Scott Benner 18:23
I remember Arden gaining about two pounds in the first 24 hours. She was on insulin. Yeah, because she was in that scenario. So she's much younger. But you know, she only weighed 19 pounds prior to us. figuring it out. By the time we figured out she was like 17. And then she put the two pounds like as soon as it's like he injected the insulin in her and she just you know, the weight went back on her which was this really magical. Wow. But yeah, she looked like I said on the podcast recently, like our Arden looked like a, like a runway model with a heroin problem. Like she was really, he had gotten to that like gone. thing. And it is funny because as you were describing, and I thought I did all the same things you did, you're like, well, there's reasons for this. Like everything that happened, you were like, Oh, I can see why this would happen. Instead of just thinking, you know, this isn't normal. And let's go to a hospital and banging on the door until someone fixes it. Like, why would we leave? You know what I mean? Like why would I ever walk away until there was a actual answer found? But it's just the process. It's how it goes and you know, it really is. It shows you how what happens next to most people happens right and you're gonna talk about it after a while but like you know, you doctors don't tell you everything you go home It doesn't seem right. And you still just swallow. You know what I mean? You just swallow it you just like okay, sure, you know, I'll inject the insulin and then eat right away and now I see my blood sugar spike right up. Well, they said it's okay. I saw someone online say the other day like, my blood sugar goes to like 280 but then it comes back and the doctor says that's what it's supposed The dude and the right and the person saying, I don't feel like that's right. But how do I trust myself? You know what I mean? Like and how do you trust yourself during the diagnosis when you're like, hey, this really seems like diabetes like no, no, that's a virus. Yeah, you know, you just go Okay, fine, Iris. Thanks. And can you imagine and I don't want you to, but I guess you know, for the sake of the conversation. Imagine had you not followed your instincts there and your daughter passed away?
Unknown Speaker 20:29
Yeah. Although I think about it often.
Scott Benner 20:31
Yeah, absolutely. Your husband owes you huge. And seriously, I'm seriously one of the kids you're way ahead in the marriage right now. Whether you realize that you could probably screw like three major things up. I don't even think he could say anything. Look at it. I'm keeping score over here. So that's how I know but yeah, you're you're way ahead. Just so you know, you could probably stop cleaning. I'm gonna say for six months. You know if the cleaning something you do you want to cheat once I think you get away with it. What do you think of that?
Unknown Speaker 21:03
I like it.
Scott Benner 21:04
You rollback me like a Jeff. Remember the time I save the kid? We're gonna let this go.
Sara 21:09
probably throw that out every once in a while.
Scott Benner 21:13
could at least get you out of like some mundane task you don't want to do right? Like, why doesn't somebody who didn't save adilyn come over here and pick up these toys. Right. So I would roll? I really wouldn't. But it seems like so much fun to think about it that way to me, my brain gets a little off track. I I don't want to apologize for it, because I like how I am. But I was online the other day and someone said something to me. And I responded in a way that I thought was fun. And then someone came on and said like, Man, you're not right. And I was like No, it's funny, like, don't you? And then I looked at I was like yeah, I don't see anyone else answer things like this like this. There is something wrong with me. But in a delightful way. So who cares? Right? All right. Anyway, you. So you're at the Samsung Medical Center. All this is going on? How long? Did they keep you there? And by the way, is everything named Samsung in Korea. Okay, let's go to my omnipod.com forward slash juice box and find out what we see my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box? Well, I see that I can request a free experience kit at that very web address. So if you're using MDI, and you're thinking about pumping, or if you have a pump, and you're dreaming about what it might be like to be tubeless Oh, did you not know, the Omni pod has no tubing that you won't be connected to a wired controller something that you'll have to clip to your belt or your bra or hiding your pants? or disconnect disconnected to take a shower or go swimming or to play sports? Wait a minute, you didn't know that. Now you do. The next step is to get a demo sent to your house a free pot experience kit. They're just going to send it to you. Now don't worry, it's not functioning, right. It's a non functioning, but you can try it on and wear it. And I think you very well might learn what I did when I wore my free pot experience. Get it after it's on for a few minutes. You just don't notice it's there anymore. And next thing you know, you're going about your life. So whether or not you're a person living with Type One Diabetes, with a parent or caregiver of someone who does, you owe it to yourself to check out the Omni pod. It's my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box get the absolutely free pod experience kit sent to your house, there's no obligation, they're not gonna hound you if you try to just check it out. can't hurt. The Omni pod is one half of the irreplaceable technology that my daughter uses. You know what the other half is. In case you couldn't guess it was the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. I'm going to kind of keep going here with my URL trend URL, the URL URL dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. Now when you get there, you're going to find out everything you need to know about the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. I'll tell you a little bit about it. Zero finger sticks, glucose readings that are right on your smart device Android or Apple customizable alerts and alarms the ability to share your data with someone else that could mean your sister in Poughkeepsie, or coming your child across the street at a playdate. But someone with Type One Diabetes, who's wearing a Dexcom g six can share their data with a loved one or friend. I'm not even gonna edit that out. That's my daughter's right there. We have a customized alarm set at 120 means my daughter's blood sugar has just drifted above 120. We're going to take care of that right now with some insulin that will avoid a high blood sugar that later will require a ton of insulin that will probably cause a low blood sugar later. Now your results may vary. Right, these are hours. But the truth is, knowing the speed and direction of your blood sugar is at the core of how you make good decisions with insulin dexcom.com forward slash juice box or the links in your show notes, or Juicebox podcast.com. I cannot believe that thing beat right then, and I wove it into the ad. I'm a genius. Alright, let's get back to the show.
Sara 25:38
Yeah, well, and I shouldn't say everything. But Samsung has a very big influence. I mean, they have everything. Air Conditioners like anything. Samsung. So
Scott Benner 25:50
I love you. I'm looking at one right now to be perfect.
Sara 25:53
Yeah, so we were at Samsung for about a week.
Scott Benner 26:00
Yeah, I think it was just maybe just shy of a week. Do you think that's because of how far along she was? Or also because they don't see type one that often.
Sara 26:10
So from my understanding, they don't see type one that often. I don't know if it's genetics. I don't know. I again, this is something that I was told. I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. But I don't think that it's as predominant as it is in the US. So, you know, they kind of in the first week, it was
Unknown Speaker 26:34
it was a very
Sara 26:37
strong learning curve.
Unknown Speaker 26:41
they
Sara 26:42
first started talking about you know, I had tons of questions, obviously. And you know, you've even mentioned it on a few of the podcasts where you're almost in like a haze. So everything's being thrown at you all this information, then you have the language barrier, as well and the translator and it's, I felt like I was drowning, like I felt like I was underwater. And then the translator would speak and my head would pop up and I could kind of understand that I go back underwater while they were speaking. So it was it was very, it was hard for a while. But I finally think I got a grasp. And I felt comfortable going home, I guess. But while we were at the hospital, the doctor that I had seen at Humphreys before we had left. She was a pediatrician there. She actually personally called me. Now I don't know how she found out that we were at the hospital. I'm not sure if the emergency room reported that we you know, this was all going on. But she personally called me while we were at Samsung, and she talked to me for maybe an hour and said, I really feel like you should pursue going back to the States. And so it was with her it was really hurt because I hadn't even thought that far ahead at that point. You know, I was still trying to understand injections and finger pokes and all of that, you know basic stuff. Yeah. We were still trying to figure out her Tarceva and you know if she was on Nova rapid at that time, and so like all of those ratios and everything we were there was still a lot going on. So
it wasn't until I got back home that
she asked to see me in her office with adalind. She wanted an immediate follow up. And that's where all of the extra work. We're going back to the States. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess what I meant to say is while we were in the hospital, the the staff started talking about pumps, insulin pumps, CGM, things like that. And I know that
Unknown Speaker 29:06
the specs
Sara 29:08
on the equipment in Korea don't match us specs.
Unknown Speaker 29:12
So
Sara 29:14
it was also I think, an insurance issue. Maybe I'm not exactly sure. Because in the States, try care pays for the the supplies, but over there, everything is out of pocket. So I remember they showed me a CGM. That was huge. It looked like a an old pager almost. And they were like, Well, you could this is, you know, kind of explaining it to me and how it worked and we could get it.
Unknown Speaker 29:42
But it was
Sara 29:45
the day following my phone call with a pediatrician. I said, I don't know if we're going back to the states or not. And so they kind of said, Well, I would advise that you, you know, see what's going to happen and then come back if you're going To stay and get the the equipment versus buying it because they were the ones that told me it doesn't meet us standard so it won't operate there.
Scott Benner 30:09
And so when you're in the hospital still, and you described kind of drifting away, do you recall? Did you just go to a numb place? Where were you? overwhelmed? it? Was it like being in math class and not understanding? Was it like, were you? Were you daydreaming about this not happening? Were you thinking about worse things? Do you remember what happens in that space? You may not.
Sara 30:38
I do remember. Just I, I just kept thinking, Why her? Why adilyn? Why did this happen to us? So it was more of a you know, like, I really struggled with it. I remember I cried so much that adilyn I remember asking the nurse the first day that she came in and gave her an injection before she ate breakfast because they had her fast. So that they could, I guess, you know, do some testing, monitor her stuff like that. So by the next day, after we had, we went left to the ER went to Samsung that whole entire time overnight, they were fasting her and she just kept waking up and she was crying. She was so hungry. Finally, they sedated her so that they could give her some potassium. Because you know, that burns going in. So they tried to give it to her before we left the ER, but it just she was screaming in pain. So they sedated her and they gave her the potassium. And that helped her get through the night. But by the time the next morning came, she was starving. So they came in to give her her insulin. And I remember I just looked at the nurse and I was crying. And I said, so I have to do this to her for the rest of her life. And Adam and Adam looked at me and she was like, Mom, why are you crying? You know, she just I think she had seen me cry so much in that short time. That it was like, What is wrong with you?
Scott Benner 32:06
Like this lady? Oh, yeah, I need someone here and you got to really help me. I'm six and I'm hungry. And none of these people speak English. And I really would love someone here was on Alan's team, you know, they midnight here. I think it's a listen, I mean, it's an adage of parenting, right? Here's a line between how much do you show them? And how much do you Buck up and do what you're supposed to do. And I'm a fan of somewhere in the middle. I like my kids to know, I'm a real person. Without them feeling the stress and anxiety of the things that I worry about, you know, I think about, um, you know, bills or, or you know, how you're going to pay for college, that kind of stuff. And I want my son, for instance, to know that this, you know, the college he's going to, it's not easy for us to pay for. And at the same time, I don't want him getting up every morning and thinking, Oh, I better not screw this up. Because my parents are paying a lot of money. I want him somewhere in the middle. You know, I like that your daughter sees that you care about her. But you got to stop short of when she thinks Oh God, I gotta grab one of these other adults and see if they'll say this woman just lost it. She's probably, you know, I mean, my dad has gotten her pregnant so many times that he's probably tired, you know, and, and what are we gonna do? I listen, I cried during the, during the first kind of like, lesson from a nurse about counting carbs, and then figuring out how much insulin to use during the ratio, like I just fell apart. And my wife was like, Cognizant enough to send the nurse out of the room just to give him a minute. He appears not to understand seventh grade math, so let's get him out. You know, like, and, and I'm gonna need this here, because he's the guy that stays with the kids. You know, so she cleared the room out. She's like, what's wrong? I'm like, I'm gonna kill her. Like, I'm gonna make a mistake with this math and I'm just gonna kill her. And then what am I gonna do? How am I gonna turn to you and say, hey, look what I did. You know, we met each other when we were kids. And we have these two children in this house and everything was going great. And then she got diabetes, and then fast forward to me killing her. You know, like, I really, you don't keep you're a nice person. You don't keep score in your head. But I know for a fact if I kill one of my kids, my wife's bailing on me. Yeah, you know, aside of the part where I would really like Arden to stay alive. I you know, but I've always had that thought before diabetes, like even driving in the car with my son when he was little. I thought I cannot have an accident hurt this kid. She's just a girl. I married like, like, you know what I mean? Like when it comes down to picking if I kill him, she's gonna leave. Like, why would she not and I really To be honest, she pays a lot of the bills. So I was like, it really I only kept my son alive to get the electric bill paid is what I'm saying. That was my was my key focus of being a stay at home parent. I wish that you know,
Sara 34:50
anyway, I do remember leaving the hospital I basically I wagered with these with the staff like You know, they were first they were going to release us the night before. And traffic in to Seoul is horrific, like highway one. It's I think six lanes per side, maybe eight. I can't remember. But, you know, it's bumper to bumper traffic and especially rush hour. So I'm thinking, I'm going to have this kid in the car. And how do I feed her? How do I give her an injection on the way home? So I just basically said, Can I leave? Saturday? Morning?
Scott Benner 35:36
There's no one outside? Well, you know, I looked while we were talking the population of South Korea's 51 million people. Most of them are in Seoul. And per Emperor perspective, there are 320 9 million people in the US and South Korea, South Korea is you know, not seven times, you know, larger than the US it's, there's there's a lot of people jammed into a very tiny space. Mm hmm. Did you ever listen to the podcast while you were there?
Unknown Speaker 36:05
I did not actually.
Scott Benner 36:08
So you thought I was meeting the people who downloaded it from South Korea, but apparently Yeah, I'm sure I
Sara 36:14
know. But at the time, I didn't have a diabetic while we were over there. I mean, it was, by the time adilyn was diagnosed November 3, we left country, December 17. That is something that
does not typically happen.
Unknown Speaker 36:31
And that was
Sara 36:33
a lot to do with our doctor being on board. Jeff's chain of command being very supportive. And they would check on things for us. I mean, it was, we were getting pushed through the system very quickly, which is this is not typical.
Scott Benner 36:51
So when you get home, I'm assuming you you don't have a home in the US at that point, did you? You're not it's not like yours a house at home somewhere that you're renting or family members living you go to another base, is that correct? Um,
Sara 37:06
so before we left, they, Jeff was getting in contact with his branch manager. And they basically give you an assignment before you leave, you have to have a place to go, you know, where you're headed, and they were in you, when a child or anyone I guess I shouldn't just say a child, but when someone in your family, if your active duty service member
Unknown Speaker 37:31
has a some form
Sara 37:34
of disablement or disability or, you know, disease, you, you qualify for what's called efmp, which is an exceptional family member program. So adilyn is now an efmp qualified member of our family and so that basically, it's an identifier on Jeff's paper paperwork that says, you know, we can, because of that, we can only go to certain places now.
Unknown Speaker 38:09
So,
Sara 38:11
they, they basically give you options that has Cara for her, okay. So they gave him a list. And I had done a little bit of research. Before I had left. My good friend Kathy was helping me kind of see where we possibilities of places we could go and where care was. And I had in my mind that I wanted to come back to Fort Bragg. We were here before we left for Korea. And they offered us a couple of places. And I said to Jeff, you know, I would really like to get back to Fort Bragg because I had already I have a support system here. I had left friends I was familiar with the area. So I knew going into this newly diagnosed that I needed that. So he got with his branch manager and asked if there was anything available here, which is not like my husband at all. We usually go wherever the job is we're not very selective
Unknown Speaker 39:11
with that, so
Sara 39:14
he he basically asked, and they they assigned him here. So that's how we ended up back here. But when we left Korea, Jeff and I are both from Michigan so we had stored like his truck, things like that at our parents homes in Michigan. So we took a direct flight out of Seoul into Detroit picked up our belongings and then headed down to North Carolina.
Scott Benner 39:42
Wow, that's a lot all while not really understanding diabetes at this point and trying to correct Yeah, together. Yeah, I have a lot of a lot of feeling for you because I was not good at even getting in the car and going to like the grocery store without pre planning for like two hours before I would take art now. I'd be like getting your blood sugar in the Exactly. place where I thought it'll stay here we can get across, right? You don't mean like, if you would have told me to get in the car in in Detroit and drive to North Carolina, then like maybe in a couple of years,
Sara 40:11
I think you know, the car trip down with a lot easier than the 16 hour plane ride back. That was terrifying.
Scott Benner 40:19
This is a plane make you feel trapped. Like if something happens, we're stuck on
Sara 40:23
Oh, I was so worried. I remember when we went to Korea that someone on the plane had some sort of medical emergency and they, you know, got on the intercom and asked for any medical providers that they could come up to whatever row seat, whatever, you know. And so I just I kept thinking, what if that happens to us? Yeah, I have to be very aware of where my child is what row we're in what seat? We're in.
Scott Benner 40:48
You overthought all of that? Yeah. Because you really did overthink all because now you know, I mean, you would fly now and it wouldn't be such a big deal. Right?
Unknown Speaker 40:55
Right.
Scott Benner 40:55
Absolutely. Yeah. Back then, without the tools, it really Oh,
Sara 40:58
yeah. And I mean, I had like a year supply of insulin. I really did. I my pediatrician, before we left at Humphreys told me we you know, we had a follow up with Samsung about a month after diagnosis. So it was beginning of December. They wanted to see her back. So I think it maybe was like the first week of December, we were up there. And before we went the pediatrician said, make sure that they give you a three month supply of insulin before you get on the plane. Because you know, there will be a gap between your care that you know, stablishing a doctor or things like that. So I went and I asked for three months supply, but they handed me you know, the pens come in those boxes where there's multiple pins in a box, and they handed me like three or four boxes. And so I had tons of insulin, that I'm walking on a plane, I'm thinking how am I going to keep this cold? You know what happened, Willie, let me on the plane with this. I have all these needles in my bag. You know, it was just,
Unknown Speaker 42:01
it was a lot
Scott Benner 42:04
going on? Not a lot of questions. Yeah. I hear you. I really do. I I so you make it home. There's actually great episodes in the podcast that people who are like really world travelers with diabetes, and they talk about how, with a tiny bit of pre planning and just understanding things a little bit how easy it really is. It's not
Sara 42:23
much yeah. Now I could get back on the plane and I would feel completely comfortable.
Scott Benner 42:28
Yeah, yeah, no, it's, uh, I know how to. I think I could go anywhere at this point. Seriously, like, but But back then. Like I said, I couldn't leave the house. So she you get home in? Right? Well, even that I didn't realize just now that sucks. Like you. You had to come home like right before Christmas. So do you celebrate your and so you're like, isn't that interesting? The leap. I made them like you're in the army and you're from Michigan. You're Christian. And so I wish I could. I wish you could have watched the synopsis make connections in my head. I was like, Oh, it's comfortable to say. And now that I said out loud, it's less comfortable. But that is how my brain works. In case you're wondering, I just let go very quickly push it for kids. No. So it just like not that quick succession like that. Anyway. So you're rolling in stateside just a couple of days before Christmas. Now I have a tiny bit of experience, but this rush, because one year we build a house. And we bought this tiny little rancher and it was junk. And the plan was always to knock it over and started, you know, because the land was what we wanted. And rd gets diagnosed, you know, right is we're thinking of like doing the work. So no lie. We had a construction person. They're moving things around, like walls and support inside of our home to facilitate the next step of the process. Okay, and one of the things we had done to get ready for the construction was we had the front stairs to our house and the sidewalk completely taken out. And the dorm moved to another position. And then Arden was diagnosed for years. My children had to jump out the front door to go to school. Arden was diagnosed, and then everything stopped while diabetes, you know. So anyway, we finally get our house built many, many years later, Arden was diagnosed in 2006. And we built our house in 2012. So for six years, I was the person in town that didn't have a sidewalk out front door didn't line up with any sort of pathway and the pizza guy would just like roll through the front yard, you know, I mean, like it was all it was like it was horrible. And we built this house, but we couldn't afford to build it and to relocate. So it's a long story but we had gotten the money all the sudden out of nowhere for the construction that that money did not matter. clewd relocation, and we were screwed, we were going to have to skip it and not do it. I said to my wife on the Kelly, there is no way we are not building this house. And so one day I called her at work. And I said, this weekend, we're going to go and buy a huge travel trailer and park it in the backyard. And we're going to live in it during the construction because we can put $1,000 down on it, pay some small payment a month on it and sell it right away when we're finished with it. And there's a whole story of what it's like to live in a trailer with a dog and two children and diabetes for six months. But he didn't do it. Okay, we did it. Yeah. Except the construction that of course, you know, I know now always takes longer than you expect. And so we are the last six weeks in that trailer, it's freezing outside, and those things are not made for the weather. We have like electric heaters going like as a fire hazard. I'm sure you know, we'd get up in the morning, I could hear my wife getting that tiny little shower and she was like, ah, like in and out like two seconds or whatever is free everything right? But we'll move back into the house about 10 days before Christmas. And rush to try to make a real Christmas was like horrible. And I wonder if that happened to you? Did you get home like because I'm you're you seem like a really good mom, like did you get home get back into North Carolina? What's your next thought? I have to make a Christmas for these people like
Sara 46:23
so it's funny that you bring this up because I had planned, you know some of the girls gifts and things like that. And I actually ended up returning them all. And I started ordering things online and sending them to my mother in law's house. My my parents, what they call snowbirds. So they leave Michigan if they stay in Michigan for six months and live in Florida for six months, so they had already headed down to Florida. We actually have a travel trailer that we store at their house. So we had to go over there and pick up the travel trailer. But we ended up staying at Jeff's parents house and doing Christmas there. So she already had it set up. And you know, I'm blessed with an amazing mother in law. And so she did like she had, I think it sparked happiness that we were coming back. And she was going to have Christmas with all of us, you know, so it was a big thing. All of us were at my mother in law's for Christmas. So myself, Jeff, the girls, his sister Jamie, her husband, their children. So it was a big thing we did. They always have a family Christmas party. So we had to go to that. So it wasn't it was very felt very normal. But I was able to step into that. Now if I had to
Scott Benner 47:47
start from you know,
Sara 47:48
yeah, it would have been completely different.
Scott Benner 47:51
Yeah, well, she owes you two. I mean, four kids get what I mean, like at some point, she must even call Jeff at some point. But like, he cut that girl a break. Like, you know, you just you know, you kept plugging away. No, there's no pun in there at all. And you you know, I think she owes you is what I'm saying. Like seriously for kids. She's gonna listen to this. At some point, this woman really came through for you with the grandchild. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 48:11
I think I think
Sara 48:12
she knew that it was something on my mind that it was I was trying to still make it normal. So she just she was willing to. And Carol goes overboard at Christmas. There's no, there's no way around it. So it was it was nice that she was already set up. And we were good. We were taken care of
Scott Benner 48:31
right. So eventually, then you end up back at Bragg where you're at now. Right? You're speaking to me from from there. And you I'm assuming settle into a life of managing diabetes. And how did you find it to be in the beginning?
Sara 48:46
So coming back, we have this funny little story that we came back to Fort Bragg again, because we came right back to the neighborhood we lived in before. And in fact, we rented a home and our neighbors to that home. Were actually at the time trying to sell the house we're in right now. And so they weren't the movement cycle had already come and gone and it was sitting empty. So I contacted them because we're friends and I said, No, Hannah, would you be willing to rent the home to us? And because she knew us. She was like Absolutely. Anything I can do to help you guys because I mean, again, we were friends. She understood what was going on. We were communicating from Korea at that point. Once we found out we were coming back to Fort Bragg so I we actually are living in the house next door to the house we rented before. So when we moved back, I would have to like you know, the girls were in a very family friendly community and lots of children, lots of outside play. So when they were like riding their bikes, for example, and the kids had used the bathroom they would like Jump off their bikes and run to the old house and Jeff and I would have to sit outside for like the first month and scream at them not.
Unknown Speaker 50:09
And they,
Sara 50:10
they would have to like it, the light bulb will go off and they'd be like, Oh, that's right. We live in this house now, and would come in. But we also with another reason why we chose to come back is my best friend actually lives across the street. And another peaceful piece to this is that they're starting to hear her cat right now. I'm not sure why she's yelling.
Scott Benner 50:35
But I genuinely thought one of your children had fallen in the note
Unknown Speaker 50:40
that the cat actually
Sara 50:42
Yes, it's adalind cat. We had to get a cat that was at ease. Like, you know, the moment of, Hey, I have diabetes. You're gonna sympathize with me and get me a cat, which I'm allergic to. She was able to pull that
Scott Benner 50:55
off at six.
Sara 50:56
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, while still in the hospital, Jeff came home with a cat. The kid
Scott Benner 51:02
right? I need a cat when she saw you guys crying?
Unknown Speaker 51:06
Uh, yeah, pretty much. how that went down. So yeah,
Scott Benner 51:10
anyone listening? 810 20 years from now don't marry this girl. She's got a plan. It I mean, she's like, Look, they look sad. She got her list. She's like, what's at the top of my six year old list?
Unknown Speaker 51:20
Ooh, Cat, cat.
Scott Benner 51:22
Mom's logic. Whatever.
Unknown Speaker 51:24
Doesn't matter.
Scott Benner 51:26
Wait a minute. Did you fly from Korea with a cat? You didn't write?
Sara 51:28
Oh, yes, I did. Also, yes. Oh, yeah. a kitten. And I mean, she was just a kitten. She would just, you know, was old enough to get her rabies shot and things like that. I mean, she screeched the entire way. We were those people. It was awful.
Scott Benner 51:45
Second, what's Jeff job in the military? Is he a test dummy? How did he come through with that? And
Sara 51:51
Jeff is an aviation officer. So he he flies
Scott Benner 51:56
sounds like he's got a heart made out of putting that kid said cat and he ran right? Oh, yeah. Well, it was more me. She had asked for it. And there was this like adoption. They it just all lined up the stars were all aligned. And we ended up with this cat. I put you back in that scenario right now the person you are today that kid goes I want a cat. You look right at it and go, I don't care. And then that's the next. Right
Sara 52:18
now. She can't pull that on me anymore. It was just that weak
Scott Benner 52:20
moment. She blew all of her currency on that cat. She doesn't realize cuz she's so little. But that was the overreach there. She doesn't know. Yeah, well, whatever. Good. Now she can live I swear I wish you guys could all like, my default is no. You like if my children are like, Hey, Dad, the house is on fire. Should we go outside to go? No. And then we think about it. I say everything I started. No. And if you get me to Yes, huge win for you. I would never my son said he was in school the other day. And some kid was like, Hey, we should just go do this. And my my kids, like my dad won't pay for that. And and he's like, just you know, you have a card. Like, let's just do it. Like he's got like his, you know, his bank card. And my son was like, Oh my god, no. Like, he'll drive up here and take me out of school over over $50 you have no idea. Like, I can't do that. And I was like, proud. I was like, that's right. When Arden goes clothes shopping, she picks out three outfits. And as she's heading to the register, she stops and puts one back. Am I Oh, my wife goes. I feel bad. Like you've made her feel bad about money. I'm like, I see that exactly. The opposite is you but okay. Yeah, I see that as shit her being careful with what she's spending anyway. Yeah, your kid wouldn't I got a cat. If she was my daughter. I would have actually laughed at her. I would have like pulled people into the room but like, Hey, guys, Everybody listen to this story. My daughter thinks just because she has diabetes. Oh my God, that's delightful. You're a pushover. I like you. Okay. So we're home. And and and we you know,
Sara 53:53
we moved in next door to or across the street from my best friend who they actually have their nephew is a type one diabetic. So it was it was it was a relief for me because they were aware already how to you know, manage Addy in a sense, you know that they they understood it most people don't understand and you know, on the on that on the level that you need them to.
So yeah, it was it was extremely
it wasn't as difficult as what I thought it was going to be.
Scott Benner 54:28
And and you using a meter or pens or palm the CGM. What did you settle into when you got?
Sara 54:34
Yeah, so I had, she was using a meter. She's getting finger pokes. And I mean, it was to the point that I was so nervous with everything that was going on. I mean, just in that one month time span of, you know, we're in another country. We're getting on a plane. We're taking this huge car trip like we're moving to your house. So it felt like I was I was testing her probably every two hours, her poor little fingertips were just right.
Unknown Speaker 54:59
All.
Sara 55:01
By the time that we ended up getting a CGM, we came to North Carolina and on pote, you usually go on post to be seen for your health care, but they were over strength. So they refer you off post when you can see a medical provider that takes accepts try care. So I found a really reputable pediatrician, and then had to go in to get a referral for a pediatric endocrinologist. So they, at first, thankfully, our pediatrician, she, her best friend's daughter is a type one. So she's also aware at this point. So that was super helpful. And she had come to, you know, in the first meeting with her, and, you know, evaluating adilyn was saying, you know, I think you should go to UNC, which we had gone to UNC before, when we were stationed here for my second daughter, Kenzie needed to go to some specialty care up there. And I knew it was quite a drive, you know, about an hour, hour and a half to the main campus. So I you know, at this point, now, I'm like, Well, I don't want to be that far away from the doctor. So I said to her, you know, like I said, earlier, I had done minimal research on whether there was care here for add on or not. So I knew that there was a doctor here in the immediate, like Fayetteville area. So I said, Can I see the doctor at Cape Fear? And she, you know, was kind of like, yeah, sure, you know, but I, she did say, I want you to know, that if anything happens to adilyn, and you have to take her to the hospital, I want you to go direct to UNC, if possible. So I said, Okay, and flash forward, I go to adalind first visit here at Cape Fear for the endocrinologist and the doctor, the doctor was fine. It's just she's the only doctor in our area. She's the only pediatric endocrinologist for all of the
Unknown Speaker 57:20
Fayetteville area
Scott Benner 57:22
kids in every person that needs her. Yeah.
Sara 57:24
So I mean, she was I remember the first visit, she was very, very helpful in getting us a CGM. She said, you need this. And, you know, I come in and saying, Can I have it? I, you know, I'm finger poking her every two hours, because I'm uncomfortable. And she said, you know, you need it. So she got us that very quickly, but I do remember, you know, obviously, it's all new and uncomfortable. And, you know, I didn't understand it. And she said, if there's a video to how to put it on how to, you can watch the video, if you have any problems. She kind of I don't want to paint her in a poor light. But she said, I'm just too busy. You're not going to be able to come in here and see me if you have any problems with it. I can't make time for that.
Scott Benner 58:12
Figure it out.
Sara 58:13
And yeah, and so I I just remember standing there like, okay, and she had adalind ha once he had by the time from diagnosis, she was 17%. The month later, when we went back at the follow up in Korea, she was like nine something. And then we got back to Fort Bragg Sorry, I'm like losing my mind. We got back to Fort Bragg and that first visit her ha once he was like, 8% Okay. And so she was she was declining, and that was great. But I had in my mind, you know, we were Jeff. Jeff is very research based. So he was watching some like, like YouTube channel on diabetes, and like how they were doing it. And, you know, so I was aware of what a
quote unquote good ha one C was.
And I'm a perfectionist, so I was like, we're gonna get her there. I want her to be in a really good range. So I remember I walked into that first appointment, and I was expecting everything to get changed. I just thought
Scott Benner 59:21
I knew what that's not five and a half. So let's make some adjustments now.
Sara 59:26
Right and and I was saying, you know, there were so many times where I mean, I was finger poking her so I didn't get the the graphs. I didn't get the arrows, the number like you get with her Dexcom now, but I knew well enough that I was like, Why is she going up to 300 every time she eats and you're telling me that you want her in this tighter range. And, you know, when we left Korea to be on the safe side, they told me don't ever let her you know go under. I can't remember what number they said. But they were basically telling me the 200 Mark was it Good target, right keeper around 150 200. That's great. And then when I went into this appointment, I just knew something was off. Because, again, we're already my husband's watching all this stuff on how to figure out addys disease. And I'm seeing all this, you know, all these other success stories, and I'm like, Okay, so this isn't right, something's off. And I expected her to help me change it. But she kind of just said, You're doing great. I'm not changing anything. See you in three months. And I remember I walked out and I was like, this doesn't feel right. Something is you know, I know she can do better. And I am still not comfortable. So we get to CGM, and I ended up. I was doing I was on Facebook or something. I was on a page. And your podcast was suggested. And so I just decided, you know, I'd never listened to podcasts before. So I was like, Alright, I'll give it a whirl. And so listening to some of the stories that you had featured on the podcast, it's where you started talking about Pre-Bolus. I had never even been told to Pre-Bolus just that, in and of itself was brought down catalanes stuff I kept could keep her in a better range. She wasn't spiking to 300 with her food. You know, it was I was told give her the insulin Letteri. And then she'll come back down, like you had mentioned earlier. And I knew it wasn't right. So I finally called our pediatrician back and said, Hey, can you can I go to UNC? I'll, I'll do that. I'm going to I need to make a change. I don't, this isn't a good fit for us.
Scott Benner 1:01:42
So worth the ride.
Sara 1:01:44
Right. And so she gave us the referral. And now we're at UNC. And between the information I've received from the podcast, and the doctor, the team of doctors, she's doing really, really well.
Scott Benner 1:01:57
Great. What is well, where were you? Where have you gotten to? Are you? Okay?
Sara 1:02:02
Um, so her next appointment is in October 2, but the last appointment her a one C was 5.7.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:11
License. You did it? Yeah, I did it. Yeah.
Sara 1:02:14
I mean, it. I don't know if I could do it without the CGM. And I don't know if I could do it if I would have stayed where I was. and accepted. Okay, I'm not doing anything wrong. I don't. We're not gonna make any changes. Everything's great. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:02:27
Yeah. They said it was okay. So it's okay. You just have to trust yourself at some point. I mean, honestly, you retold you know, you basically told me a story about seeing how sick your daughter was, and pushing through and getting them to test her for diabetes. And then you saw that what you thought, you know, what they were telling you was right about her care. didn't look right, you push through. And, you know, that worked out as well. So I say trust your gut. I say it all the time. Actually. It's a big part of this. Is that, you know, is that idea that when you see something that doesn't make sense, you should say something you should do something can't just stand still and go. This doesn't seem right. I hope this doesn't hit me. Oh, look, it hit me. I can't believe that, you know, like, it's just yeah, gotta move, you got to do something. And you did it. That's really cool. I mean, I'm really, it's very encouraging for me to hear you say that. Because, you know, I get everyone's notes and letters, and, you know, messages and people are in different variations of this process. And at any point along the line, if you give up you'll get stuck right where you are, and then eventually you'll drift backwards. So you have to push through till you get to the point where it's just like, it's easy now. And and, of course, I don't mean easy, like, easy. I just mean, like, it's, it's old hat like you do this thing and you get the blood sugar you expect. Like that, that kind of stuff. And when it goes wrong, you know, troubleshoot it, and and you figure it out.
Sara 1:03:57
That's Oh, yeah. I mean, Jeff even listens to the podcast now. And it was just the other day with Addy going back to school now we've had to make some changes because her summer, you know, routine is different than her school routine. So our numbers that have needed to be tweaked a little bit, and I would, you know, I'm basically talking out loud to myself, I mean, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about where you're, you know, you're looking at the PDM I'm like, Alright, I know I need to change that. And I'm, you know, I'm, blah, blah, blah to myself, and just, like, just change it. You know, he's like, just like what Scott says on the podcast, like, don't wait, do it now.
Scott Benner 1:04:37
That Okay, that's great. And it makes me feel bad about considering calling this episode, Jeff bought a Korean kitten. So very, very close to that. I've made notes. And it's a it's a it's a contender, just so you know. I just keep thinking you like it's such a wonderful image of, you know, parents Love or that feeling guys have I don't know if women completely understand, like, when you guys look upset, we scramble in our brains, you know what I mean? Like, we're like, oh, how do we fix this? And I know everyone says that it's like it. But it's not just, it's not just guys ignoring the world and being like, I'll just say something, I'll make this better. You have an internal feeling like this woman that I really love is upset, and I need to fix it. And I'm imagining that there had to have been some common sense in while he was standing there with that kit and thinking, I really shouldn't do this, but that he just was overwhelmed by how much he cared about you guys. And he shows,
Sara 1:05:36
it didn't help that he had the other three with him when he adapted it, either. You know, it's like,
Scott Benner 1:05:42
it's really unfair.
Sara 1:05:44
I'm sure the feeling of this, I should not be doing this right now was going through like his mind. But of course, all three of the other children are there going. Oh, dad?
Scott Benner 1:05:56
Yeah, you guys, you're very, you're much too nice. The size of you very nice. I don't even know. There's almost nothing I think my children could say to put me in that situation. Right? Like, yeah, you're right. It's good. I just, I don't have that in me at all. I have another places not there. I defend my happiness first, does he know you're allergic to kittens when he buys this kitten? Or is that something you found out afterwards?
Sara 1:06:18
Um, no, we we knew. But I, I don't know what we were thinking. We should just get off the subject. No,
Scott Benner 1:06:26
no, this whole episode to me is about buying that kit. And just so you know.
Sara 1:06:31
Yeah, we were in a very, very bad.
Scott Benner 1:06:34
No, no, I, you know, and I highlighted a little bit to kind of, listen, I highlighted it a little bit because I want medical professionals to hear your story. And recognize that when they're standing in front of you, in a in a classroom, or in a hospital room and trying to explain this whole new world to you. And you're standing there stoically, and you're listening, the doctors, like, Oh, they got it. They didn't get it. They're, they're doing stupid things they shouldn't be doing. They can't think they're quietly in their head wondering why did this happen like that? You know, and then you send them out the door. And you act surprised that they didn't, like, you know, pick up more of it. And I'm not saying that you can stop people from being upset in a scenario like that. But you can recognize that it's happening, and spend a little more human time with them, to get them somewhere. That's what this podcast does. And I have I'm a little like, lit up about it right now. Because I see somebody I know who has some sway in this community. And they're partnering with a government agency to talk about how to talk about this with duly diagnosed people, like how do you get the people and get them the right information. And I'm seeing people talk to them. And it's all the same bowl over and over again, like the stuff I've been hearing for 20 years, like, here's what's important, this is important. That's what's important. I'm telling you right now, that what's important, is solid information. That's easy to understand, that you can put into practice immediately and see results so that you can build on it. It's not, it's not all of the stuff, you know, it's not the damn Pink Panther book. Like that's, that's not what's going to help anybody. I, it was seriously like, I don't know how many people have to listen to this podcast and have your experience before someone in the medical community hears it and says, Hey, you know what, we should probably just tell them what they need to know, in a way they can understand. And, you know,
Sara 1:08:31
I think it was helpful to that, you know, on many of the episodes, you've talked about just doing it on your own, I think I had to get comfortable with that and say,
Scott Benner 1:08:41
okay, yes, I have medical care if something were to ever happen, I feel comfortable taking her to the emergency room and letting them handle it that point because I'm not familiar with that. But the day to day, I don't really contact her team, ever. I just make the changes on my own. I don't, and doctors will say it to you, Hey, you know, some Well, some good doctors will say, Look, you're gonna have to get comfortable and make adjustments. But that's a different scenario, you standing in a in a cold room with a doctor aside, you know, saying, you know, this is on you, that feels different than hearing me say it. And so you need a person, you know, in my situation, speaking directly to other people so that they can be comfortable, they can see themselves in it. You know what I mean? And not, and not just feel like a guy just told me to do something, there's no way I can do because it's what it sounds like when a doctor tells you and then you I mean, I, I don't want to downplay what I'm doing here, but like, you know, you come on and you're like, you're listening to this regular guy here. And you know, and he's, he's doing it. If he I genuinely believe that people listening should think if this guy's doing it, I could do it. You know, because they're just there's nothing particularly special about me and I, I do it by not being scared by being the person who would have said no to Three crying girls about a kitten just by just by kind of standing up and having a backbone and saying, I'm not gonna put up with this. I don't know the answer, but I'll figure it out. And so now all the things that you guys hear now on the podcast that seemed like, I don't, I don't know how to put it, but like, they seem like staples in the community, at least for those of you listening, these ideas, just remember that they all started with me thinking, I'm not going to let this happen. And now and now I'm going to figure out how to stop it. And no direction whatsoever. Because I was not smart enough to Google anything. I don't listen to the doctor, I very much got in my own head and broke this all apart, which is now I think, why I understand it well enough to explain it easily. But but you can do that too. Like you can I hate to say think outside of the box, because that just sounds, you know, trite, but like there's a way to reverse engineer problems. And to remember that your first inclination comes from your fear, like, you know what you mean, like, the first thing you think is like defense, like, Oh, I want to make sure this doesn't happen. I want to make sure this doesn't happen. I flipped it around. And I thought, I want to make sure that this happens. You know, like, forget being scared, I want to be bold. I want to figure it out. And that's why I now talk in T shirt slogans on a podcast. I'm glad helps people. But I really think that you know, better direction better tools. easy to understand, repetitiveness. You can't let that go. Like, you know, when people always want to ask me like, which podcasts will tell me exactly how to do this. And I tell them, Look, I know there's a lot of episodes, but just listen to all of them. Because eventually something will come up that will stick to you. And I can't know. You know, I can't know what Sarah Beth we're here to make her feel good. versus what Jeff will hear versus what the rest of you listening will hear. Like, you all need to hear something different. So I had to keep prattling on until I cover all of you. Like that is sort of how it makes me feel when I'm recording it. Like it's why I like having free flowing conversations because they don't lead me to say the same thing over and over again. And I'm just really thrilled that this worked out so well for you. And how old is she now? Tell me a little bit about what's going on with her life? And then I'll let you get back to yours.
Sara 1:12:16
Oh, she's seven. She she's doing really well. I hope that it should we continue to see results. She just actually in July, she ended up going on the Omni pod. And so we've been fooling with that learning that system, which was a relief for me. I had mastered MDI, I would like to say I shouldn't say I had mastered it. I like to think that I mastered it I had done we were doing really well. I mean, she got those a one see results without that was on MDI that was not with a pump.
Unknown Speaker 1:12:50
Yeah. So
Sara 1:12:54
now that she has that, you know, I remember there was a time where she didn't want the the injections, she would do it breakfast, lunch and dinner. And then she do a lot of, you know, cheese sticks for snacks, or you know, something very low carb. So because she didn't want the shot. And she had said to me one day, she just broke my heart because she wanted something and I said you can have that. You just have to, you know, she started out by saying you don't let me eat
Unknown Speaker 1:13:21
anything.
Sara 1:13:23
And I just hurt so bad because she could have it. She just didn't want the shot that went along with it. So we finally I went into the doctor and said, I really would like to get her on a pump. Because this is now what I'm struggling with she she realizes she recognizes what's going on and doesn't want it. So and I don't want it to you know, become this, this piece for her. I want her to be normal. So
Scott Benner 1:13:53
I, I try to remind people that you know, you don't want an eating disorder and type one diabetes, and you don't want to create that kind of an adversarial relationship with food. And that's exactly what that is when she starts saying I'd rather not eat. If I have to do this, then you got to find another way. You know, right away. That's also what helped me believe it, believe it or not, that's what you know, when I talked about doing like over bolusing a meal that you can't Pre-Bolus for. I started figuring that out when artists had something similar one day when I she's like, Hey, I'm hungry. I was a great just, you know, let's bolus this much and like 10 minutes from now you can eat it and then she said never mind. Oh, and I was like, okay, she doesn't even want to wait the 10 minutes not not in this moment. She's okay with it Other times, but in this moment, she doesn't want to so instead of pushing. I just thought well how do I stop this from being a problem? And you know, then I just I just started did that math about putting in too much insulin to cover not just the food but the spike that's gonna try to happen and the numbers. Like I just sort of extrapolated out I did all that I was like, Well, I think about Did this much right here? And she eats, maybe the spikes still won't happen. When that happened. I was like, oh, wow, look, I got around another problem, you know, and kept her from feeling like she couldn't say that she was hungry. So I love that you did that. Good for you. You were terrific. You really are. And we went way over time. So I'm sorry about that.
Unknown Speaker 1:15:20
Oh, that's okay.
Scott Benner 1:15:22
Did you end up being nervous the whole way through?
Unknown Speaker 1:15:25
Oh,
Sara 1:15:26
no, I would say like, really, it was a lot to do with the podcast like it was other people's stories. having that connection, knowing that it was possible, and then be able there was I can't remember exactly which one. But there were. I mean, you've said it multiple times. But the focusing on being afraid of insulin, I there was a point where I was afraid. But you know, it's funny, because I talk to adilyn providers now. And it's, I have the opposite. I saw what happens to a kid with super high blood sugar, right? I see the effects of that. And that scares me more than the low. You know, so often, people are scared of their children going low. I've even seen people treat blood sugars that are like 8090. Because they're like, Oh, that's, that's too low. But not that that's wrong. I don't want to make it seem like that. That's what they're comfortable with. But I'm not. So it's kind of like I if I see, you know, anything above like 150 adilyn. Her whole persona changes. You know, we we jokingly sometimes I shouldn't probably say this, but we say that she turns psycho glycaemic. She's she just becomes this raging person when she's high, and it's harder to get through to her. So I mean, it's, it's stressful to see the numbers. And then it's also stressful to deal with the type of you know, her personality that evolves from this high blood sugar. So I hate high numbers. I mean, I would rather deal with a low and give her a juice box or, you know, a suite of some sort than
Scott Benner 1:17:15
and have the high so Beth
not only am I glad you shared that with people, but you just save Jeff on the cat title. Because psycho glycaemic is probably going to be the title of this episode. You really pulled his butt out of the fire, right? And then ninth hour, look at you. Excellent. 11th hour Excuse me, I forgot the saying, but you really came through unless you don't want that.
Unknown Speaker 1:17:38
Oh, I don't care what your title let you do your own thing.
Scott Benner 1:17:41
I got another note. The other day someone's like I needed an episode on this. It would be helpful if the titles had something to do with the content. I was like, too bad. Just listen to them. You'll figure it out. No, seriously, thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it.
Unknown Speaker 1:17:56
It was my pleasure.
Scott Benner 1:17:59
Thanks so much to Sarah for coming on and sharing her story. And thank you Dexcom and Omni pod for sponsoring this episode, please check out those links dexcom.com forward slash juice box and my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box in mere moments. I mean, it'll probably take longer than moments. But in no time at all, let's say you could be wearing the world class Dexcom, ci, six continuous glucose monitor, and the amazing tubeless insulin pump called Omni pod. Just have to get started. You're looking for results like you're hearing about from people. These are some of the tools that some of those people are using. You could be some of those people too. last little thing before I go. Like I said, I'm speaking in Atlanta this week, and it's on February 29. For those of you who snag tickets, I can't wait to meet you please come up and say hello. And for those of you who didn't get tickets in time. I know you're not used to a type one nation event selling out but you're bringing Scott down there. Yeah, Jenny Smith. These tickets are not going to last. Anyway, I hope to see you. If you're in Wisconsin, I will be there Thursday, March 26. From 5pm to 8:30pm. Doing a three and a half hour talk. It's going to be a talk followed by q&a. I'm flying all the way to Wisconsin, I want that room nice and full. Okay. These uh, you can find these links at Arden state.com for slash events. After that, I'm taking a little break to watch my son play some baseball. I'll be back at it on Saturday, May 30, at the touched by type one event in Orlando, Florida. And then I've got something coming up in August at the jdrf type one nation event in Virginia. I'll be in Richmond, that Saturday, August 22. I think there's a couple of other things that are going to get put on the calendar between now and then but for now. That's all All I have booked and trust me. I'm getting tired of flying places. So please come see me before I I'm too old for this. I just I got sick The last time I flew. There was a kid in the back of the plane. I sat down I heard it right away. Like that's it. I'm dead. Sure enough, lost my voice. You heard it in the last episode, right where I'm doing the promos and my ha I couldn't even get like my words out. Terrible. I'm better now. Thank God. I'm going to Atlanta in five days to speak for four hours. And two days ago, I couldn't speak on the telephone. So I've been resting my voice, which is probably something you can imagine and something my family seemed kind of happy about. They were like snickering at me with a doctor said I had to rest my voice if I was going to make it to Atlanta, but I will be there. Will you? I'll be back at the end of the week with some technology news. I think you're going to enjoy hearing about
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