Angie and her father Lee
The following story tells the individual experience of someone using insulin pump therapy and frequent blood sugar monitoring to manage his/her diabetes. As you read, please remember that the experience is specific to the individual. While clinical studies support pump therapy and frequent testing as effective tools for controlling blood sugars, results may vary, and not every response will be the same.
I have been meaning to write up my Medtronic Diabetes testimony for a while now, and finally will tonight. My dad was diagnosed at age 11 as a type 1 diabetic. My years growing up are full of memories of chocolate chips in the freezer for lows (oh, the things he thought were good for him), his declining desire to play long tennis matches with us for fear of lows and his endless insulin shots in the leg.
Then I was diagnosed at age 23 with type 1 diabetes—also a real surprise for everyone in my family. For 18 months I took shots and got adjusted to a new lifestyle. I worked with a Christian campus ministry, and would be away from home and a refrigerator for many meals during the week. The Humalog pen was the closest thing to freedom.
Then, I called a friend to wish her a happy birthday and the first thing out of her mouth was, “You've got to get on the insulin pump!” I took her advice, and it's changed my life. Within a month, I knew it was what I needed to do. FREEDOM! In spring 2000, I got on the pump right before I changed jobs, a position that required travel around the world. Looking back, the timing was perfect. There was no juggling needles, vials of insulin and dealing with time changes and long-acting insulin. I was finally free!
For a year I prayed that my dad would also choose the pump. Once I got diagnosed he began taking better care of his diabetes—checking his glucose levels more consistently and asking questions about my new pump. Almost a year after I started, he joined me in getting a Medtronic Diabetes pump and he's in the best diabetic health of his life, I'd say.
I've always been active, but always a little leery after becoming diabetic. Going low during a workout is the fear of so many of us. In September 2003, I began taking Jazzercise classes nearby. The stereotype I had of the classes were shot the first time I went. It wasn't old and fuddy-duddy. It was fun dancing for an hour to great music, and I came home soaked with sweat! I could easily take a little bolus before I unhooked my pump for the hour-long class and do great. Glucose tablets were always on hand, if needed.
I loved Jazzercise so much that I began praying about becoming an instructor. Approaching my 30th birthday, I realized I wanted to choose an exercise program that I loved and that would help me to be a healthy diabetic the rest of my life. I also realized that there are many women out there, with diseases like diabetes, who are fearful about exercising. I wanted to be an example of a woman who says, "I am not my disease," and continues to live a very normal life. In October of 2004 I became a certified Jazzercise instructor and LOVE it. I'm in the best shape I've ever been and my doctor is thrilled that I have started a platform in educating others that diabetics can do things many may never think is possible! Thank you for helping me to achieve this landmark!
Angie and Lee
To find out if intensive diabetes management using insulin pump therapy and frequent blood sugar monitoring is right for you, call 1-866-948-6633 (toll-free) for a referral to a diabetes specialist.
