Third times a charm

Note to self, do not attempt life changing things on Friday the 13th.

We are podding but it has not been without its glitches. We had to put on 3 separate pods, but it was our fault, not the Omnipod system. After much discussion with our endo and Evin, we decided to place the pod on the right side of his belly. I wanted to use Emla cream to numb the infusion site. I had gone back and forth on this, but wanted it to be as painless as possible for him. I did not anticipate the problems he would have putting on the damn cream. You have to apply the Emla fairly thick for 60 – 90 minutes before use. You then cover it with a band aid like thing that will not soak up the cream but will keep it from leaking out. Sounds good, right? But you see, my kid hates band aids – I mean really, really hates them. I have no idea why. Other kids will gladly put a whole box on their bodies for no reason and mine will refuse one even if he is bleeding profusely. The first battle already...did I make the right choice? Once on, you are not supposed to touch the band aid. Try telling a 4 year-old not to touch something... not only will he continuously touch it, but his brother, who overhears the warning, will touch it as well. But we were on our way.

Our Omnipod training was done by a woman from Insulet Corporation. She's fantastic to work with and, being a RN and CDE, knows her stuff. Once we get through all the setup, it's time to activate the pod. Evin is bit strung out by now because of the Emla battle. He is also scared. He has been lied to by medical people in the past (you know, those kind hearted people who are about to do something and say something like, “it’s ok honey, it won’t hurt” and then it does) and he is now very skittish. We distract him with a new Thomas the Train movie. The band aid is removed, Emla wiped cleaned, pod placed, activated and then…“pop”. He doesn’t feel a thing! He’s excited, I’m excited, and then the pod starts falling off. It seems the Emla was not cleaned up enough. This actually shocks me. The Omnipod has some impressive tape. After our trial run with a pod, I thought we were going to have to dynamite the thing off Evin. So we get out the alcohol swabs and clean the kid up to try again. Evin is less than happy and is scared again. It’s activated and then…“pop”. Everyone starts dancing around like fools because once again he doesn't feel a thing. Ten minutes later the thing is falling off.

Have you figured out where we are going with this? We move the pod to the other side of his belly. So the dilemma is…do we tell him it will hurt or just go for it. We just go for it. We put the pod on, activate it and then…”pop” and a huge scream. He looks at me with such shock on his face. I was certain I would hear, "Mama, mama, please don't hurt me". Less than a minute later he's fine, but my heart aches. I'm also pissed off at this shitty disease. I am tired of hurting my little boy - bone weary tired.

We had promised a bribe – I mean reward – once the pod was on, so we finish up and pile him and Donovan in Homer the Minivan. It's gone pretty well since then, but I’m sure I won’t get much sleep tonight. My first impression is that I like shot free life and the Omnipod is pretty cool. Our settings are a bit high, but I know that’s what all endos do at first, just to be cautious. Better high than low, right?

There is more to tell but its time to test the boy again.