Scott Benner 11/5/25 Scott Benner 11/5/25

#1671 Deez Nuts - Part 2

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Part two: Scott and Kirby dive into fat/protein bolusing, gaps in clinical guidance, parenting/language around food, online noise, and real-life T1D pragmatism—with laughs, candor, and Buffalo Bills jabs.

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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
Welcome back, friends to another episode of The Juicebox podcast.

Kirby 0:15
My name is Kirby, and I'm a mom of a eight year old who was diagnosed just about a year ago with type one diabetes.

Scott Benner 0:23
This is part two of a two part episode. Go look at the title if you don't recognize it. You haven't heard part one yet. It's probably the episode right before this in your podcast player, my diabetes Pro Tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward, practical insights that truly make a difference. This series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin dosing adjustments or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. I'm joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal experience, and we break down complex concepts into simple, actionable tips. The Diabetes Pro Tip series runs between Episode 1001 1025 in your podcast player, or you can listen to it at Juicebox podcast.com by going up into the menu. Nothing you hear on the Juicebox podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. This episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their mini med 780 G system designed to help ease the burden of diabetes management, imagine fewer worries about missed boluses or miscalculated carbs thanks to meal detection technology and automatic correction doses, learn more and get started today at Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox today's episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. This is the meter that my daughter has on her person right now. It is incredibly accurate and waiting for you at contour next.com/juicebox oh my gosh, yeah, yelled up at the doctor. That's one

Kirby 2:14
that drives me nuts, if I can talk about that drives me nuts, because there is no doubt that you need to Bolus for those things I get, especially as a dietitian, that even just teaching carb counting is an uphill battle for a lot of people, luckily for me, like I was teaching it for a decade or more before this happened, so it was I was old hat. It drives me nuts that that wasn't one of the first things we learned about I get it is very difficult to kind of suss out, because everybody's a little bit different, and you got to kind of tweak the way that you do it. But it is just just yesterday I was re listening to your fat and protein pro tip with Jenny, and I sent my husband a text. I said, OMFG answers, because I wanted that the idea that you were guys were talking about with doing the protein at the end, and what was it like doing 0% up front, 100% over three hours. I wanted that. I also wanted. I hadn't even heard of the concept of doing a temporary basal increase for the fat, and both of those things make perfect sense to me, because I understand how protein gets turned into glucose, and I understand how fat slows down digestion. Why is it almost a year later that these pieces are being put together for me? Because I have an eight year old who eats pizza, he eats mac and cheese, he eats all of those things. So we went a year not being able to practice and nobody teaches it.

Scott Benner 3:40
It's not. It was never going to occur to you that's like, how

Kirby 3:43
would I even know to like and I did actually ask early on about bolusing for those and somebody said, No, people don't normally have to do that. Well,

Scott Benner 3:51
if it makes you feel better, two things if, first of all, it makes you feel better. I didn't recognize it. Somebody told me about it. I recognized the action and the need, but I didn't put it together with the fat and the protein, right? It wasn't until, like, I was talking about it so much that somebody who knew about that was like, yeah, that's this. You should talk to this lady. There's a lady in Canada, like, she's got a website called waltzing the dragon. She came on the podcast and, like, laid the whole thing out for me, really technically. And I was like, oh, that's what I do. I just didn't know that's why I was doing it. Yes, yeah. And now it's part of the thing. Like, you know what I mean? Like, that's why this thing keeps building. It really is me learning as I go right, just like you are. And I think that if someone would have said that to you on day one, I don't think it would have stuck to you anyway.

Kirby 4:35
It might not have stuck, like the way to do it, but acknowledging that it was something that we could address when we were ready, would have been nice, because, you know, it would be like, then I would know to ask. But instead, I had somebody early on say, you don't have to. And you know when, when your kid gets diagnosed with something, even, no matter what you know, even as a dietitian, as a mom, everything I knew flew out the window, everything it was gone for, like. A hot second. So like, anything, people said to me, that's what we did for a little while just to stay safe. And then I was like, well, would have been nice if they had said, when you're ready, we can talk about this. Well, it

Scott Benner 5:12
makes the assumption that they know too. And I suppose, bring this full circle by telling you that the person who was chastised in the doctor's office was told by the endocrinologist, not that, like, that's a difficult thing to explain to people, or like, let's not confuse them with that. Told them that's not real.

Kirby 5:28
Oh my gosh, see now that I have to laugh because it's infuriating. Of course, it is absolutely infuriating. I

Scott Benner 5:34
don't know what to tell you. Like, people are people aren't perfect, and some of them are

Kirby 5:38
doctors. I suppose my Yeah, my expectations are way too high for people. My dad has always said that, like, Well, I mean, are they really that high?

Scott Benner 5:47
I think so. Mean, I really do. I yeah, I try very much to have a more human view of this. Like, I know doctors, they're just people too their husbands and wives are mad at them. They have kids that don't listen. They can't afford stuff. They, you know, like they're paying off their blah, blah, blah. They, you know, their moms are sick. I can't believe any of us get up in the morning and go do the thing we're supposed to do half

Kirby 6:10
the time. I will. I will give you that, yeah, but, but because the fat and protein thing is real, your dog dying shouldn't prevent you from acknowledging that. No, you know,

Scott Benner 6:20
but it does. And you know, because you forget, or you're tired or whatnot,

Kirby 6:24
well, in the case you just said, they actually denied it, or they don't know, maybe they don't know. Yeah, I'm fired up. I give people a lot of grace right now. I'm just fired up. I'd

Scott Benner 6:34
be, listen, I'd be happy to get fired up with you. I, you know, I started telling you about something before we got on here, and I alluded to it at the very beginning, that I don't know if I'm getting older and surly or if I'm starting to like, really, I pay a lot of attention to things. Like, I'm either nosy or I'm interested by things, right? But I watch the world as closely as I can, and I've noticed lately that no one seems to know how to comport themselves anymore, right? In public, right, right? They're unaware of each other. They don't know what they're doing. They're I watched two people talking the other day. One guy just coughed in the other guy's face. He didn't like flinch when he coughed, and the guy that got coughed on didn't flinch. And all I could think was like, we're like, a couple of years removed from covid, where everybody wouldn't even, like, stand near each other, right? And now it's all gone out of your head, like, not the button, but forget covid. Like, it's all going out of your head not to cough in someone's face. Then go, Oh, I'm so sorry, or for the person to even react. I was like, why is so? I watched that app, and then I walk around, I see I'm in the grocery store just for contact, right? And this woman's like, you know, she grabs something off the shelf, she walks a few feet, gets into what I would consider to be the main thoroughfare at the end of like, she's she couldn't be in more people's way if she set out to be in more people's way. And then she stopped and started doing something that could have happened anywhere, but she's now blocking the traffic of four different directions, and she is completely unaware that this is happening. So I stop, because whether you think this or not when you're listening, I'm a good person, okay? And like, I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt here. Kirby, right? I just stop. I got headphones on. I'm listening to something. Truth is, I ain't in a hurry to get back to where I'm going either, so I just sit, I chill out. I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I'm waiting for her to, like, figure out what it is she needs to figure out and get and start moving along. And she looks up and sees me, and then eyeballs me, like I'm doing something to her. And I was like, Is this a fucking joke? Yeah, I'm like, lady. I didn't say anything. I just smiled and gestured for her to go by. And then she walked by, and I was like, Oh, my God, she's mad at me.

Kirby 8:52
It's wild. That's awesome. Really wild.

Scott Benner 8:55
In this same trip, people are going along. I watched a guy get sherbert or, like ice cream or something, right? Like the colorful ice cream, is that sherbet? Herbert sorbet? No, it wasn't sorbet. Anybody know I was in the sorbet section. I would have known if it was sorbet. Okay, gets it out, takes 10 or 20 steps, realizes he doesn't want it, and puts it down somewhere that's not frozen anymore. I was like, okay, and then no lie as leaving and checking out, checking out, checking out, checking out, doing the whole thing. There's a waste paper basket, like, there's like, there's like, super cashiers. They don't actually have to run the registers, but they seem to run the whole thing. You know what? I mean, they have a little like, podium. They have, right? Yeah, and the podium has a little waste paper basket, actually, because they do a lot with paper. And this family's walking out. Father, I'm going to call him, 3840 years old. Wife, same age. Son, eight, 910, range. Daughter, seven, eight, range. Like walking along, I see the daughter get a look on her face, and then she just Hawks up a loogie and spits it in the waste paper basket that the people are standing next to the cashiers are standing. And she just kept going. And the mom saw it happen, nothing. The dad saw it happen. Nothing. The brother kept going, and all I could think was 1978 I'd be 50 feet from that location right now. My dad would have hit me so hard, right? Like I would have just flown. I just would have flown through the air, through the grocery day. Is it right to hit your children? I don't

Kirby 10:37
think so. No, there's we got to get somewhere in the middle somehow,

Scott Benner 10:40
from the time I was nine till the time I'm 54 went from like, this is a beatable offense, to like, No one looked up, right? And this was not okay, like she wasn't get for any of you listening, I know how you all are now you try to make an excuse for everybody, like there was no reason she couldn't have just like, lived five more seconds and spit that into a bush outside. She was so close to being outside, you know what I mean, and no direction, even, not even like, so now I'm watching, God, I got my car too. I'm leaving so, like, I stay not close. I'm not being creepy, but I stay, I stay close enough to see, like, am I gonna get outside and see a little parenting? Hopefully, no, that part was over already. That's what

Kirby 11:26
was in my head. Is like maybe they were waiting to talk. I thought so

Scott Benner 11:29
too. That was me again, given the benefit that they get girl outside, they pull aside. Nice to go. Hey honey, listen, you know we don't want to spit in the trash can. Blah, blah, blah, you know nothing,

Kirby 11:40
and I don't know how, like, I mean, I could have all sorts of, you know, speculation about how all this came to be, but I can, at least, with you, acknowledge that it's just something has disappeared, and some it's sometimes I find myself like, gosh, this seems so obvious. Like, how to be a good person, how to think about our impact on other people. Well, why

Scott Benner 12:05
do I bring this up here? Because I think that the only because my my initial reaction was, I went home, I said to my wife, we got to go right, right. She's like, what? I'm like, we got to bug out. I was like. I said, if we can sell the house, great. If not, let's just burn it to the ground. We got to get out here. And she's like, why I tell my long winded story about the grocery store? My must have caught my wife in a mood, because she was like, agreeing with me. She never agrees me. We've been together way too long. And so I was like, okay, but then what I landed on was running is the wrong thing to do. I got to keep going to the grocery store and just acting the way, like a generation ago knew to act right and like, and maybe that'll help something.

Kirby 12:43
I think so that's the whole idea of Be the change that you want to see Right? Like, that's it

Scott Benner 12:47
for the people you're talking about, like, who are very honestly, probably listening to this. Like, if you know something, like, put something into action. Like, maybe, maybe your work will say yes to it. Like, you know, like, try something. Because otherwise, whatever the version of spitting in the waste paper basket is 10 years from now is gonna happen. Somebody doesn't stand up and say, Hey, I think we should talk about the fact that sometimes fat needs a Bolus. Like, it'll just go away. Like, nobody's gonna like, I don't know where we're all headed exactly, and I don't want to be high minded about my stupid podcast. I think people who know have got to keep saying so Agreed, agreed, right? And maybe you'll be wrong, or maybe you'll bump into people won't agree with you. Maybe, if I would have said to the guy, like, Hey, man, your kid just spit in the waist paper basket. Like, are you going to do something, even if he didn't take offense to it? Right? Which, of course he would. But like, say he was going to be thoughtful about it. He might be like a kid had to spit. Like, what do you want to do? To spit on the floor? Like, right? No, I wanted to hold it into her mouth, swallow it like a human being. Live through it. Go be uncomfortable for five seconds, and don't make everyone else part of your problem. A guy just coughed right in the other guy's face. He didn't even notice he did it contour next.com/juicebox that's the link you'll use to find out more about the contour, next gen blood glucose meter. When you get there, there's a little bit at the top. You can click right on blood glucose monitoring. I'll do it with you. Go to meters, click on any of the meters. I'll click on the Next Gen, and you're going to get more information. It's easy to use and highly accurate. Smart light provides a simple understanding of your blood glucose levels, and of course, with Second Chance sampling technology, you can save money with fewer wasted test strips. As if all that wasn't enough, the contour next gen also has a compatible app for an easy way to share and see your blood glucose results, contour, next.com/juicebox and if you scroll down at that link, you're going to see things like a Buy Now button. You could register your meter after you purchase it. Or what is this? Download a coupon, oh, receive a free contour next gen blood glucose meter that. To tell contour next.com/juicebox head over there. Now get the same accurate and reliable meter that we use. Today's episode is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the mini med 780 G system. The mini med 780 G automated insulin delivery system anticipates, adjusts and corrects every five minutes. Real world results show people achieving up to an 80% time and range with recommended settings, without increasing lows. But of course, Individual results may vary. The 780 G works around the clock, so you can focus on what matters. Have you heard about Medtronic, extended infusion set? It's the first and only infusion set labeled for up to a seven day wear. This feature is repeatedly asked for, and Medtronic has delivered. 97% of people using the 780 G reported that they could manage their diabetes without major disruptions of sleep. They felt more free to eat what they wanted, and they felt less stress with fewer alarms and alerts. You can't beat that. Learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes by visiting Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox,

Kirby 16:14
and that's this is why it's so hard to do the right thing, because we are living in this kind of and I wouldn't say it's not so hard to do the right thing. I was saying it's we have so many different perspectives on the right way to be that are existing around us that make it kind of hard to move things forward. But truthfully, like, as I sit here, I think, like, Where will I be with all of this in five years? Right now, we are just getting our legs under us, but as soon as there is a path, like I want to be on that path talking about it, and maybe I'm not the one to make the change, but my voice could potentially be one of the voices that propels it forward. Well,

Scott Benner 16:50
all of our voices, yes, exactly. Everyone's got to do it, because I earlier said there's no way it's going to happen. That's me being cynical, telling you that it doesn't look like things are going that way. It doesn't look like they're going in a direction where enough people say, hey, you know what? We got to say something about this and around diabetes specifically. Like, I'm not the only one. But you know, when I was writing a blog, most of those blogs were just like, I don't know how to put it exact. They were just like, Woe is me. Blogs, right? They were like, diabetes is hard, isn't diabetes hard? It's so hard. It's hard for me. I know it's hard for you. Let's be sad together, you know? Like, that's a lot of them were like that. I had conversations back then with people writing those blogs. Some of them were really and I was like, I'm like, I look at you privately, like you're doing so well, why don't you tell people about this, right? I don't want to get involved in that. I'm like, oh, okay, great. Yeah, I don't want to tell people what to like, because then it's going to open you up to, like, somebody's going to tell you you're wrong, and then they're going to yell at you. And I was like, people been yelling at me for 15 years. It's not bad, you know. It's really not that bad. You can live through it, you know.

Kirby 17:54
And you know, like, how long it takes and what actually goes in to being able to discover these things, and the things that you discover sometimes really are just for the person with type one that you're considering. Yeah, right. And some of them apply to everybody, but especially when you're early on, you're like, can't make heads or tails of things. Like, you don't know what the difference between those two things are,

Scott Benner 18:14
right? So I agree, too that you're not going to know what they are. So somebody should say them all, and then you can just figure out which work for you and which don't exactly. It's fine. Everything's not a rule. And the other thing is, too, is when someone's, you know, online, you know, disagreeing with you, you know, that's a minority of people, right? Like, you know, I Kirby, I'm not going to bring up where we are in the world's history today, because it's not for this podcast, right? But, yeah, I told my kids yesterday, I was like, I know it seems like the whole world knows about this. And I was like, but it's really only a small fraction of people. And, you know, there's only a small fraction of people who even know who that person is. There's only a small fraction of people who know that this happened. I just went out to I stopped by a health food store yesterday afternoon. No one knew what happened in the world. If I would have said to the person, hey, do you know about this? They would have said, I don't know who you're talking about. Most people are not the internet. I was like, I know it feels like everything that happens on your screen is everything. And I was like, but the truth is, is that if you go look it up, only a small fraction of people are online every day, right? And as you get older, you'll realize that that's not the whole world. It's a piece of it shouldn't be ignored, and it's not nothing. But there are a lot of people out in the world just doing their thing, living another day. And I was like, and you you should. That's, in my opinion, what you should be doing.

Kirby 19:38
I agree. I actually it's funny that you said that. Because I went to see a new therapist, I realized that I wanted to talk to someone after my son was diagnosed, because I was, you know, having all the stuff going on, I'm like, I just need something to ground me. The first thing I talked to her about was some stuff I was seeing not related to type one, but things that were causing me a. Lot of anxiety and panic that I was seeing online, and she was just like, limit your exposure. Like, how much of that do you need to know? I was like, Well, I think I need to know. She's like, No, you don't actually need to know any of that. If you need to know something, will that information get to you? I said, Yeah. And she said, limit your exposure. So I had to take an action. Yeah, it's like a spring cleaning, almost. Of the things that you're exposed to, it's like, really remove the stuff that is not serving you, because you're gonna get the information that you need. And why do that to yourself? Because you get sucked in. And so anyway, that's that was some of the best advice I got.

Scott Benner 20:40
Yeah, it's great advice, and also it counts for everybody. Like, it would be easy to say, oh, you know that that's how famous people get treated. Like, I've heard people say, like, well, they deserve it. They want to be famous, so, like, they take what they get, right? But it happens to me. It would happen to you if you had 10 followers on Facebook. Like you can go online right now. And I am either a deity or an asshole, and neither are true. And you know, like, who knows? Like, where does that come from? Like, why would you like listen? I'm happy I get that. If you if the podcast has helped you, then you're grateful about it. Like, that's very cool. I think that's awesome, and I'm happy that it, it helped you. But like, at what point I don't know. Like, how could this make you so angry? You need to tell people that I'm a bad person, right? This person, like, said something that I disagreed with, and now I'm gonna go make sure to tell everybody that I can find, to let them know that they're wrong. And I'm like, my god, like, what are you doing? This isn't hurting anybody. It is bonkers, but I'm saying that happens to people. Like, I'm not famous. It happens to me. It doesn't happen often, but it happens to me, and it happens to people in their regular lives too. Like, right? Like this, listen, I don't understand people's psychology enough to really, like, speak about this, but like, whatever that framework is that applies to, you know, the most famous person in the world, down to some guy with a niche podcast about a niche disease, because that's really what this is, right? Like, it's not even diabetes, it's not even type two diabetes, type one diabetes, right, right? Like, there's as few people as possible within diabetes in your regular life, like I saw yesterday, there's people online ranting to three followers, and one of the followers is busy telling them how right they are, and one of them's busy telling them how wrong they are. And I was like, Oh, my God, this is four people talking. Is what I'm seeing here.

Kirby 22:33
And that's, I mean, that's a microcosm of what is like happening, yeah, everywhere.

Scott Benner 22:37
To bring it back to what you were talking about around diabetes, specifically, like you can get into that space and what happens? Like everything feels so what like Why was, what was the feedback online doing to you? What did you see and how did

Kirby 22:51
it make you feel regarding type one or the other? Stuff that I was the type one thing that mostly it made me feel comforted that there were so many questions and so many people that had found their way through it, but early on, it felt a little confusing, because so much, and still, I mean to a degree still today, because there's so much that's so specific to our situation, and it's very hard to explain all of that, like on a Facebook post, you Know, Like, here are all the things you need. And that's one thing. Another thing, if you know any of the tech people are listening, would be great to have the ability to put more into like, if, I'm say, if we have to treat a low and to put in how much we treated and when, because I don't remember, I don't I wish we could put a little bit more that wrote alongside the graph, so that when we're looking at it, because I don't remember, I don't remember what happened last Friday, I'm like, I know that he had pizza and we I can't remember quite what we did. So I think that that's partially how I feel sometimes when I'm trying to piece things together based on other what other people are saying online is like, it's not exactly what we're experiencing, and it's hard to place it, kind of transpose it into our situation. So, but what we do is, I know you asked this earlier, is like I hear something, and then I try it and I see if it works, and then if it didn't, I try to figure out why, and then maybe I'll go back and see if I can find information on somebody else saying the same thing, and try something else. And so it's just like you kind of keep trying new things until you find it which you know is going to is going to change again with, you know, as the years go on. But I had to figure out how to use it, because at first it did feel like a little bit. It made me feel a little anxious, because it was kind of, it seemed like so many people had so many answers, which was cool, but then I was like, Well, I really don't know how to, like, really into what we have going on. I mean, there's

Scott Benner 24:44
something about the way the internet works and being online works, and, you know, social media something that just, it just, I don't know if it's the the speed it runs at, or what it is that it helps people who are already anxious to feel more anxious. Right, right, right, or in an anxious situation to feel it turned up somehow, yeah. But the irony, of course, is this is the best place to get the information for sure,

Kirby 25:10
yeah. And I think what I, you know, I would urge people to do is just be mindful of, you know, how you know your tone comes across different when you're typing versus talking. And what struck me a couple of times is when people say things so definitively, like, Do this, do this, do this, do this. It's like they don't come along with your disclaimer of, this is not medical advice. It's like, you know, it's like, you have, you have, I'm so happy for you. You have found what works for you. But when you kind of say it like, this is exactly what you need to do, which not everybody does, I will say that's the minority. But when you're searching for answers, sometimes the minority feel a little bit louder to you. You know, it's like if you get a haircut and, like, a million people tell you it looks great, but one person tells you it's not the best look on you. That's the one you focus on. So

Scott Benner 25:56
you should try being me long enough you learn how to ignore those

Kirby 25:58
people. Well, I don't know if they have wonderful hair, though. I mean, so come on, the

Scott Benner 26:02
voices who have been scared in the past are often the the loudest, yeah? Like, because I see that through throughout a number of different conversations. Like, you know, my kids blood sugar has been high for two hours. What do I do? Go to the emergency room? Like, wow, yeah. And then, right, you get the like, well, if they don't go and something happens, then what? And I'm like, okay, okay. Like,

Kirby 26:24
not on you. It's not, you're not responsible for that.

Scott Benner 26:27
Something that happened to somebody, another one that I and I don't, I don't see any humor, and I don't see any humor in any of these because it's something bad's happened to somebody along the way. But like, anyone who's had an eating disorder, and you start saying, like, Yo, you know, I didn't want my kid to have this cookie. It turns immediately into the worst part of what happened to them. They are now going to, like, they're gonna tell you about right? Because they don't want that to happen to your kid. And it's a loving thing. Like, I really do think it comes from a good place. I think all this stuff comes from a good place. Oh, for sure. Of course, it does. Often their experiences change the way they communicate it, yes, absolutely, the communication can feel very aggressive, and then they don't. They don't know it's aggressive,

Kirby 27:13
right? And I think, you know, I'm very tuned into that, because I see it all the time with, like, weight loss. So I don't work directly with people, but I hear a lot of weight loss conversations, and somebody will find something that worked perfectly for them, then they'll tell somebody, say, You should do this, whatever the thing is, and because we're different people, everybody has a different body, it might not work for that person. And what sometimes I'll say often will happen is that they'll blame themselves. They'll think that they did something wrong, when really it wasn't the right thing for them. And I think the same thing kind of applies here, is like if, if we say things with authority that can leave somebody feeling like they failed if it didn't work for them, or if maybe you didn't have all of the information. So, and I don't, I mean, I think you're right. Everybody is seeing this from a very loving place, because if they found something that worked, they want to spread the good word. Right? When

Scott Benner 28:04
I was just writing the blog, there was this moment, this lady, she's a lovely woman. She wrote a book called Kids, first, diabetes, second. And I mean, I want to be completely honest, I have a passage in the book. I haven't read the book. So I want to just be clear. I'm so sorry. She hears this, I haven't, I haven't read your book, but I don't read. Nobody should take that offensive. I haven't read her book. I don't actually know what it means. I think what she meant was, like, try to see the kid first, and then, like, I mean, there's no other way to put this. I watched kind of like, very aggressive low carb people say, Oh, she means that health isn't as important as having fun. And I'm like, I don't feel like she's saying that at all. Yeah, yeah. You know, it was like that. That's a weird distortion of what she's saying, right? But around that time when that book was in the zeitgeist, and it was popular enough, and, you know, like, it was like kids, first diabetes, second, this lady doesn't care about blah, blah, blah. I mean, some people, some people, some people think it's a great way to think, like, hey, let's make sure your kid's happy first. Like, who knows what you care. But I got wrapped into it at one point, because I started making the podcast. Then on the kind of the tail end of that, and it was the it's episode 11, which is crazy to say, because, like, so early years will be like episode 1800 or something like that wild. Oh my goodness. But in Episode 11, I was searching for a title, and I back then I didn't know how to make the titles, so while I was editing it, I just wrote down things that I heard me say in the middle of, and it was like a talking head episode where I just was talking to myself. And I think at some point in the episode, I said, that's when I learned to be bold with insulin. I was like, Oh, I'll call this episode bold with insulin. Oh, my God, right. And I call it that. And it became a thing, like, it's, it's a mantra. People use that term, right? And for sure, that wasn't on purpose for me. You know what I mean? Like, I just, it was a catchy phrase that I heard inside of the 45 minutes that I made the recording and I made it the title, and now that's a movement. Now. Well, those same people came at me, oh yeah. He just wants you to use a bunch of insulin for everything. He doesn't care if you eat healthier or not. I'm like, I don't think that at all. But then I got to make a choice, and the choice that I fell to was that what I see mostly from people, is they have trouble with high blood sugars, and that caused them problems long term. And I don't think it's a good idea to put into their head that there's an amount of insulin that's too much, right, because it could lead them to not use enough insulin, and to ride with higher blood sugars, and to think that higher is better than low, and all that other stuff, right? And so, like, I've got to pick a messaging basically, like, what side of this coin am I going to stand on more firmly? And I stood on the idea of, like, I think you should learn how insulin works so that you can use it very effectively. I'd like you to Pre-Bolus so that you don't you know, because that that is definitely going to keep you from using more insulin. You're not going to be fighting highs later. I don't want you to get low afterwards. That is certainly not a goal. But in the end, you need as much insulin as you need. And for 10 years, that small group of people you know are like, Oh, he's pushing insulin on people. He's, you know, why won't he just tell them to eat low carb? And what I mean, you as a nutritionist, know, like, you can't tell people how to eat. No, that isn't gonna work. No, well, it's just not gonna work. Like, even if I was, even if they're right, like, like, just say, give it to them for a second, right? Like, you know, I'm thinking to this one person, you know, like, sorry, I'm laughing, but she's just so crazy, but in a very lovely way. And by the way, now there's like 20 people who think I'm talking about them, and they're all like, I'm not crazy. Actually, you all seem a little crazy to me, but that's just my opinion. Maybe you're not

Kirby 31:46
like each other's crazy,

Scott Benner 31:47
but at the same time, like, I think that they just have been saved by a thing, and they know it's working for them, and they want other people to know, and they and they do think that, like, too much insulin will cause problems, by the way, hey, between you and me, it is better to use less insulin. Yeah, yeah, but not so much so that, like I That would be nice in a perfect world, right? If you ate lower carb and you got all your nutrients and you were using less insulin, that would be, I do think that would be a better way to go, right? But when most people don't live lives like that. That's not good messaging for them, right? Yeah, you got to do the bigger picture thing. Like, look, I've never gone all the way on what I think, but like, I do say it out loud enough that, like, I don't understand if you're drinking soda with sugar in it. I do not understand you. I don't understand why you would do that. Having said that, I'm in the minority. Cook and Pepsi are pretty big companies. They're doing okay, you know what I

Kirby 32:48
mean, right, right? And, and I think, you know. And that's interesting, that you're bringing that, that up, because that is something I have struggled with, because in it, you made me think of it when you said, kid, first diabetes, second or later, whatever it was that that has been like this convergence of the way I wanted to parent around food, and now trying to make it make sense in the context of diabetes, because I had a very specific and I still hold it philosophy about the way we talk about food and the way we talk about what we consume, and it really pressed me to figure out how to stay true to that and align with my own personal philosophy and still help my son and help our family manage his diabetes. So like, you mentioned soda, but I'll use juice, because I know he's mentioned like orange juice a few times, right? Like, I come from a place of there's no and I hate saying this because it's been said so many times, but it has been said so much because there's truth to it, which is, like, no food is bad food and but then you have to start asking yourself, like, what constitutes food, and is it the amount that you're having that is the issue, or is it the actual food? So like in the case of orange juice, or any juice, part of the issue, especially with kids, is that it has been over served. It's at too many meals, they get too big of a portion. But we come from a place of it has a place and it has some nutrients in it. It can be considered part of your fruit intake. So the way we talk about that is different than what you might tell someone who's trying to manage their blood sugar right like so it's been really interesting, even with I'll back up a little bit more too. Even just what I've told my kids about food is that I won't tell them. I would never force them to eat anything. It's something I told them so early. I will never make you eat anything. I'm not even a try a bite club type of person. If you don't want it, don't eat it. But fast forward, and my son has a low blood sugar, and he has to eat or drink something in the very early days. He said, Mom, you told me that you would never make me eat something if I didn't want to. I didn't know exactly. So it's like all of these things coming together. That's it's just so interesting to see. Like, I say interesting, but really, sometimes it's challenging to walk the line between. The two, because I think as he gets older, he'll find foods that are that he enjoys, that are better for his blood sugar management. But right now he's still a kid learning to eat, and part of that is letting them explore, letting them you know, you're in charge of what you put in front of them, but at the end of the day, they can eat of that what they want, and I have to try to help manage his insulin around that. So it's just, it's, it's tough. I think when, when you start talking about the actual food, with with the kids, and the drinks, we're still finding our way,

Scott Benner 35:33
but yeah, you just shouldn't drink sugar. Like, I think it's just, yeah, like, that's

Kirby 35:39
the thing. Like you can, I mean, it's if I had my druthers soda probably wouldn't have been invented if I could. That's not the world we're in. You know,

Scott Benner 35:49
don't not drink soda, by the way, I do. I drink diet soda with, I know frequency is the right word, but, like, I drink diet soda. I said this recently when I was talking to Jenny. I was like, you know, like, orange juice. Like a couple of swallows of orange juice, like, is, like, that's awesome. Like, a 16 ounce glass, exactly, right? Yeah? Like, that's way too much.

Kirby 36:09
And I think I always use the example, like, we all, like, you'll people say, like, we shouldn't, you know, donuts are bad for you, right? Like, that's, that's the thing that people will say. It's like, Well, so is an apple, if you only eat apples and bags and bags of apples, and only apples for your life, like it is the dose, it's the dose, and that the environment that we live in right now is not really that conducive to, you know, foundational foods that are good for health and moderation of the other foods. That's just not where we live. I

Scott Benner 36:37
don't understand the chemical mechanism of it. But I can tell you, like, after, you know, having used the GLP for two years, now, if you gave me a donut, I could take a bite of it and go, Oh, that's good, and then not eat the rest of it, right? But I know for certain that before the GLP, I would avoid the donut, because, if you because, if not, I would eat as many donuts as was there,

Kirby 37:00
right, right? Yeah, it is working on your hunger and your fullness hormones. It's also helping with food noise. I don't know if you experienced that, but like, the internal narrative so that it

Scott Benner 37:09
is, I hear people say, like, oh well, you just, you know, have to have more, you know, restrain or something like that. Like, it's not just, I don't know how to explain that. That's not what was happening. Yeah,

Kirby 37:20
no, I'm with you. I mean, I think that those are it's people don't, even the experts, we don't fully understand all that goes into hunger, fullness, weight, metabolism, you know,

Scott Benner 37:31
yeah, you have to experience it to understand it, yeah, and I can't. It's still hard to put into words, to be perfectly honest, like, I'm not, I was not an undisciplined person, but I definitely had weight to lose, and I was definitely eating, you know, too much, or the wrong thing, or whatever, enough to hold that weight. And, you know, and there's plenty of times where I didn't eat that way, and my body just never, like it never responded to eating well, and no kidding, like, without a certain amount of sugar, like I would have told you in the past, if you said to me, like, cut out sugar, I would have said, Oh, I don't know, like sugar, so only one of the ways, like, my digestion works the best. Like, if I cut too much sugar out, I can't go to the bathroom. Interesting, that's the thing I would have told you. I believed 100% and it seemed like it was proving itself out in my life. I don't know what it was doing or not doing, but I can tell you that I don't have as much sugar anymore, and it's not a problem. Yeah, so, and I wasn't having a ton of it, but I was having some, right? I don't know, like, I just think that the entire thing is, it's easy to say, like, this is the way to do it, if it's working for you, exactly. It's also not easy to put into practice, just like anything else, like, say, you know, if you're a runner, you you tell a great shipment, everybody should run. Well, that's, oh, yeah, too easy. That's not true. Yeah, it's not gonna work for everybody.

Kirby 38:49
That's, that's right, some people can't even walk a mile, you know. So it's, and that's that you can use that as a, you know, what's the word? Metaphor, you know, like, some people can't do what you're doing even at a slow pace. So

Scott Benner 39:01
I just think that in the end, like people shouldn't suffer, agree, and no matter what pathway it takes to get them to that, if it's eating low carb, then that's great. If it's running every day and they can do it, then that's great. If it's somebody needs a GLP medication, then awesome. Like, in the end, like your life is a is a very finite thing. It is very short and very finite, and it could end at any second. And even if it lasts as long as it possibly can, it only lasts 7580 years. And those last 15 years aren't gonna awesome to begin with. So, like, so maybe you're getting like, 60 years that are awesome. But also, if you're an adult, remember this, you don't really remember your life before you were like 16 anyway, so you lose the first 15 to that maybe 20, and then the last 15 you can't walk. So basically, making this not sound great, Life is 35 years long, okay, so, like, while I'm in those 35 years, I gotta struggle the whole time. No, no, no, I'd like people to be as happy as possible in that

Kirby 39:59
great yeah. And I think that's what like, the foundation that we lay with the kids, especially like in the setting of type one, is so important, because though they won't remember every single thing you said, you are creating their formative experiences around food, around their diabetes, and the way you talk about it is so important. And that's what like I with with my kids, and especially with our type one. I won't ever say like, Well, you shouldn't eat that because of your diabetes. Those words will never leave my mouth. I won't even say that. You know, that's not a great food. That's not a bad food. The only thing I'll ever say is, if there is something that is has something in it that's not great for them, like an ingredient that's not good for little bodies, I might say, Oh yeah, it's got something in there that's not great for little bodies. That's as close as I get. But what you're describing like the joy that we can get out of food, that ability to do that, is laid. It's a foundation that's laid at such an early age, like I grew up in the area of, you know, the Jenny Craig's and all of the women and my family going on diets and eating salads. And that has stuck with me till this, this exact moment I still struggle, and that was put there early. It doesn't mean you can't learn to cope with it and learn, you know, ways to to thrive, but it has just been so, you know, it has come into focus for me so much with the diabetes, because the way we talk about food, we have started kind of walking on ice a little bit for a minute. It was or eggshells, then ice. What's the you know, whatever. Yeah, we can walk on thin eggshells or on ice.

Scott Benner 41:26
How about you walked on thin ice shells? I love it. That's that's the episode. Walking on thin ice shells. There you go. Okay, I don't know, these nuts is

Kirby 41:35
awesome. I know I'm gonna, how about go bills? Can we do one of those? Oh, my God,

Scott Benner 41:40
that's insane. The bills are never gonna win anything, and for you to assert otherwise is ridiculous. Gosh, okay, in this moment, what a disaster.

Kirby 41:54
You have enough stuff

Scott Benner 41:55
when that quarterback will win. You know, when that quarterback will win? Think long and hard what you're gonna when he leaves buffalo? That's when it'll win, because he's pretty good. Yeah, you guys are jinxed. I don't know how to put it. Remember the time you lost four Super Bowls in a row. I think

Kirby 42:11
what you mean is, remember the time we made it to the Super Bowl four times in a row.

Scott Benner 42:16
That's not what it felt like, please.

Kirby 42:20
So see again, formative memories that gave me grit.

Scott Benner 42:23
Brother, hey, listen, there's something to be said for that. Like, you know, like living through a lot of disappointment really is helpful. Sometimes.

Kirby 42:33
I'm telling you, I do look at it as they went for years. So I mean, not every day that no one

Scott Benner 42:39
there's the only way you could possibly look at that, because otherwise you would have to fling yourself into one of those frozen rivers. You know, they mean that you live near and honestly, no one should live, no one should live where you are. It's too cold.

Kirby 42:50
It's not that bad. You know, we had like, 90 degree days all summer, so,

Scott Benner 42:55
but humidity, right? Yeah, it's been, it's been hot, yeah? No good.

Kirby 43:01
All right, listen, talk nice about your food, people. That's what I'm saying. Just be me.

Scott Benner 43:05
I'll make a point to that too. Is you don't always say what you mean, either, and it's hard to, like, remember it day to day, moment to moment. Like the other night, Arden and I were doing something, and it was something she had trouble with. And I said, Okay, well, you know, I said something like, let me know if you're gonna do it, because if you're gonna do it, because if not, I have to throw it away because it's not going to be good after this time. Doesn't even matter what we were talking about. And she felt bad about that. But I didn't mean. I wasn't trying to make her feel bad about it. Like, I just, I was like, I was like, and then I realized, I'm like, Hey, we have more. It's not a big deal.

Speaker 1 43:36
Back track, back, track, back. Yeah. I was like, I just

Scott Benner 43:39
want to like, like, I just want to know, like, what am I supposed to be doing with it? Right? Doing with it right now? Like, you know, I mean, because it won't last past this, and I want to toss it so it doesn't get confused with something else. Blah, blah, blah. And then she's like, well, thanks a lot. And I was like, what? She goes now, I feel bad. And I was like, Oh, I didn't mean for that. Yeah. Wait, did you look back over your life and figure out how many times something like that happened? Oh,

Kirby 44:00
my gosh, yeah. And I'm sure it happens without them even telling us, yeah.

Scott Benner 44:04
My point is, you're doing it. You're doing it right now. Like you don't know it. You think you're trying not to, which is commendable, but like, it's gonna

Kirby 44:11
happen. It is, yeah, it's tough, and it's like, it's a learning process. I think as long as your intentions are good, that's the part that will stick. You know, we're not bringing our own baggage, and putting that

Scott Benner 44:21
doesn't really work is when somebody makes you a Bills fan, like, that's, oh, my damaging and there's no way out of it. You know what?

Kirby 44:27
I mean, you're gonna be feeling so ridiculous in February of 2026, about this conversation.

Scott Benner 44:35
So after the joy of the Eagles winning a consecutive Super Bowl happens, what? How will I feel? Exactly what's

Kirby 44:41
gonna you're gonna feel so silly when we bring that home. You're just gonna feel

Scott Benner 44:47
I'm so sorry you had Stefan Diggs and you ruined it.

Kirby 44:50
Oh, please. He's fine. He's good, we're good, everybody's good.

Scott Benner 44:55
You ruined Stefan

Kirby 44:56
Diggs. What do you think of that he was part we you

Scott Benner 44:59
ruined his. Career,

Kirby 45:01
I'm not gonna I have opinions, but I'm not gonna share them right here.

Scott Benner 45:05
Just been on a decent football team. Imagine what would have happened for him, stuck up there. Remember, you ruined that beautiful defensive ends life, too. He was so good. What was his name? Oh, my God. Which one was the most famous defensive lineman you've ever had in Buffalo? Ever? Who you mean? Ever? Oh, my God, look at how young you are. How old are you?

Kirby 45:27
I'm 42 really, I'm trying to think of who you could be talking

Scott Benner 45:31
about. Wait, are you sure you're thinking of the bills? I definitely am. Hold on, like, old. What? Like a Yeah, older, older. I'm just gonna do it here.

Kirby 45:39
Like, like Bruce Smith. You can't be talking about him. No,

Scott Benner 45:42
you ruined his life too. Yeah,

Kirby 45:46
I can't believe the turn this is taking. If you could see my face, this is

Scott Benner 45:49
like, what did he win? Nothing. Uh, he won the one of the great defense events.

Kirby 45:56
He still is. If you asked him today if he would have, he would say, I would there was no place you'd rather be than right there, right then you

Scott Benner 46:05
would have said, I would have rather been somewhere warm where we could have won something. What

Kirby 46:08
do you think? Bruce Smith, if you are listening, please tell Scott Benner that you are proud to be a bill and that you wouldn't trade it for the world.

Scott Benner 46:17
I don't believe. I think he wished he would have played in the year of free agency. Think

Kirby 46:21
of his name, because I thought you couldn't be talking about him. I was trying to lead

Scott Benner 46:25
you to the greatest defensive end that ever played for the bills.

Kirby 46:28
But you said that we ruined him. His

Scott Benner 46:32
career was ruined by playing in Buffalo.

Kirby 46:34
Like, why does he still spend half of his time in Buffalo then? Because

Scott Benner 46:37
he didn't make enough money to get out of there, because he was before free agency, and he got screwed.

Kirby 46:42
He's nuts. That's it. I

Scott Benner 46:45
can't believe you didn't say, put these in your mouth and shut up.

Kirby 46:51
You just said it. You say all of the

Scott Benner 46:53
things. For me, the bills are terrible. I don't know what to tell you.

Kirby 46:56
We can't go bill. We can't end like this.

Scott Benner 47:01
They should be a good team, and they're just not. I don't know why.

Kirby 47:04
Oh my gosh, you did watch the game on Sunday, right? It doesn't

Scott Benner 47:07
matter. And you have our old defensive coordinator, and I like him, McDermott,

Kirby 47:12
right? I'm gonna send you, yeah, he's amazing. I'm gonna send you a note in February. Just wait. Make sure you're checking your inbox. Make sure you're checking

Scott Benner 47:20
I will look for when you say, oh my god, I can't believe how they lost in the playoffs again.

Kirby 47:25
Okay, listen, here's a deal. If they lose, you have to send me and my family on your juice

Scott Benner 47:31
cruise. Listen, I can't afford that. Wait a minute, are you referring to the game was, was it the ravens and the bills? The game that the Ravens lost, you're taking credit for winning. Well, not me personally, okay? Because that the bills didn't win that game. The Ravens lost

Kirby 47:48
it. You do know that everybody plays until the last second, right?

Scott Benner 47:52
You can't lose a game when you're up 40 to 25 that's your fault when that happens. This is just a difference of opinion. It's a difference of opinion, right? Like between somebody who was watching the game from a third party position and a person like yourself who's trying to make yourself believe something that's not true. I want I swear I don't even care.

Kirby 48:11
How about that? I'm going to tell you something cute. My son said, because when they were playing Sunday night, I did not make it through the first night. I watched the highlights because I had to get up in the morning. But my husband was watching part of it with my son, and pointed out, I can't remember his name on the ravens, who's a type one. And my son, yes, yes, yes. And my son so sweet. He says, I wish Josh Allen had type one, like not

Scott Benner 48:33
because he wanted, because he wants some of the room for with diabetes. Yes.

Kirby 48:38
And I loved that he felt so okay about having diabetes, that he wasn't like, he wasn't wishing it on an enemy. He was wishing it on a hero, because he wanted it. You know, it was such. I was like, That is

Scott Benner 48:49
sweet. I take your point. Noah Gray has been on the podcast. He's, I

Kirby 48:52
just listened to that one. So good, right? Actually,

Scott Benner 48:56
I think I have an email here from here. I have an email here from, oh, my God, look at all these emails. You people, you got to stop emailing me. It's enough. I don't, I don't have a person. It's just me over here.

Unknown Speaker 49:13
Oh, where's her drawback of fame?

Scott Benner 49:15
I Yeah. I am emailing with, yeah. I'm emailing with Chad, mumas. Mumas, oh yeah, wife, right now. I think they're both. That's awesome, yeah. So that's, that's another guy, like he's, yeah, we love

Kirby 49:32
seeing it better than the bills problem. Stop it. Just are the bills we were going in such a good direction. We were getting off of it. And then he went back. He went back.

Scott Benner 49:43
I know I felt like I did. Okay. I think we're just gonna call this the episode The bills suck, and then that'll if I swear I would

Kirby 49:50
be the worst. The worst I would choose these nuts. Okay, I would.

Scott Benner 49:54
We've spoken for an hour and a half, even longer. Rob's gonna have to turn this into a two episode pod. Podcast. That's gonna be a two part podcast. Oh, and I never once brought up that my mom bought a Kirby vacuum cleaner when I was younger, and to ask you if you knew what that was,

Kirby 50:10
of course, I did, because I have to always say to people say, like the vacuum my response, which I've been working on since a child, is yes, except I don't

Scott Benner 50:19
suck. There you go. Not like the bills. So we were so close see what you did, though, you allowed me to do that by saying, Oh yeah, okay, all right. Well, thank you. We're done now. Goodbye. Okay, hold on a second.

Thanks for tuning in today, and thanks to Medtronic diabetes for sponsoring this episode. We've been talking about medtronics, mini med 780 G system today, an automated insulin delivery system that helps make diabetes management easier day and night, whether it's their meal detection technology or the Medtronic extended infusion set, it all comes together to simplify life with diabetes. Go find out more at my link, Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox, I'd like to thank the blood glucose meter that my daughter carries. The contour next gen blood glucose meter. Learn more and get started today at contour, next.com/juicebox and don't forget, you may be paying more through your insurance right now for the meter you have than you would pay for the contour next gen in cash. There are links in the show notes of the audio app you're listening in right now, and links at Juicebox podcast.com, to contour and all of the sponsors you Okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app, go to YouTube and follow me or Instagram Tiktok. Oh gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page you don't want to miss. Please. Do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 74,000 members. They're active talking about diabetes, whatever you need to know, there's a conversation happening in there right now, and I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. If your loved one is newly diagnosed with type one diabetes and you're seeking a clear, practical perspective, check out the bold beginning series on the Juicebox podcast. It's hosted by myself and Jenny Smith, an experienced diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal insight into type one, our series cuts through the medical jargon and delivers straightforward answers to your most pressing questions. You'll gain insight from real patients and caregivers and find practical advice to help you confidently navigate life with type one. You can start your journey informed and empowered with the Juicebox podcast, the bold beginning series and all of the collections in the Juicebox podcast are available in your audio app and at Juicebox podcast.com in the menu, the episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording, wrong way, recording.com

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Scott Benner 11/4/25 Scott Benner 11/4/25

#1670 Deez Nuts - Part 1

Scott and Kirby trade stories about kids, chaos, and humor before diving into Kirby’s son’s type 1 diagnosis and the need for better education and support after the “don’t-die” stage.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Welcome back, friends. You are listening to the Juicebox podcast.

Kirby 0:14
My name is Kirby, and I'm a mom of a eight year old who was diagnosed just about a year ago with type one diabetes.

Scott Benner 0:22
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Kirby 2:17
my name is Kirby, and I'm a mom of a eight year old who was diagnosed just about a year ago with type one diabetes. Okay,

Scott Benner 2:24
and I'm sure we'll get to that. But Kirby and I were having way too good of a time speaking before we started recording, so I just hit record very quickly. Now we have two things to talk about. The way I say it Okay, is that all the first one, well, I mean, from the get go, Okay, the first one is my assertion that people are just wandering through the world, unaware of each other, right? And that I feel like that might be getting worse. It's not just me getting older and being a bigger complainer,

Kirby 2:52
but that two things can be true.

Scott Benner 2:54
Both can be true. Thank you, Kirby. I appreciate that very much that you can't just let me have it for a second. But I think maybe the other thing we have to talk about is like, Why do I have so much anger about my vision getting worse, right? But there was something else in there.

Kirby 3:07
What was your friend caught a murderer?

Scott Benner 3:11
So Kirby, I are talking all very related. I use a completely ridiculous example of something about why I have my file naming system the way I have it. And I said, you know, because, like, five years from now, when I get a note that says, hey, you had this person named Kirby on your show one time, and they murdered three people, and we need you to find the recording. I need to be able to find it. And she laughed, because that's silly. Then I said, Hey, don't like she said something about like you might catch a murderer one day. And I, Kirby felt like you're being sarcastic, no. And I said, my friend of mine caught a murderer once, and then we had to share Yes, and now I will tell you about it. Okay, so my friend is mortician,

Kirby 3:54
and I thought that would go, yeah. See

Scott Benner 3:56
now you now, you feel like there's a story here. There is a story. He was preparing a body of an older person, and he was doing all the things he does. And he checked the airway, down the, you know, down the throat and everything, as this part of his process. And he felt like he saw something. And he looked and felt like he did see something. Got a forcep, I believe, and tried to find out what it was and what it was. Do you want to guess? A bouncy ball? It was a rag. Oh, someone, this poor person's neighbor, for reasons I don't, I don't remember. Maybe he didn't even know when he was telling the story, an elderly person's neighbor accosted them and jammed a rag down their throat and suffocated them for the love. Yeah, and then he called the police and did all the things, and they caught the person that did it.

Kirby 4:54
So wouldn't they like when they collected the body? First of all, I didn't think I would. Say that sentence this morning, by the way. But wouldn't they, like, check for

Scott Benner 5:04
that? So I think the person was old enough that they were they were just deceased, yeah, and they just probably thought that's what was going on there. Your question should be the indicator, from what he told me, of how far the person somehow jammed the rag down. That is wild. Yeah, that it was not, it was not obvious, huh?

Kirby 5:27
Yep, that's quite a story. Yeah, there you go. I said bouncy ball because my kids have been taking to putting bouncy balls in their mouth, and I keep having to tell them to stop. So I immediately pictured that happening.

Scott Benner 5:39
So are they big enough that they could not swallow them, or I feel like

Kirby 5:43
everything could get in there. You know, I just, how old are the kids? So I've got an eight year old, that's my type one, and then two, four and a half year old twins, all boys. So, like, everything's just always very chaotic, and feels like it needs attention. The

Scott Benner 6:00
twins putting the balls. I almost said, balls in their mouth.

Kirby 6:04
Well, now you did. So there you go. The older one doing it. They all do it, yeah, like he'll look at me and be like, Look. And I'm like, stop it.

Scott Benner 6:12
Are there any other indications your kids are a little dumb? Or this the only one so far. I feel like

Kirby 6:16
this is fair exploration of, you know, the world around them right at some point they'll stop. I think, oh, yeah, sure.

Scott Benner 6:27
I'm still staring at I'm staring at my kids, going, like, is that ever going to end? You know, looking at myself and think, I mean, honestly, I'm looking at myself thinking the same thing. Because, to your point, you know, I'm sitting here trying to type your name in, and I can't see. And instead of just putting my glasses on, I just sit here pissed. And you're like, oh my god, I heard you talking about this in the podcast race. And I'm like, Yeah, I'm not making it up. I'm angry that I can't see.

Kirby 6:51
This is the equivalent of putting the bouncy ball in your mouth. It's just like a mature version of it. You're doing something repeatedly that is not serving you well.

Scott Benner 7:00
You think that me not wearing glasses is the equivalent of me putting balls in my mouth, but we should call this episode these nuts. Oh, my God.

Kirby 7:10
You know of all of the things that floated through my head of what you would decide to call this, that was not one of the options that I can see what happens? Oh, my God, my husband would be just thrilled. So yeah, I mean, he would go just celebrate.

Scott Benner 7:23
Arden went on a Dee's nuts tear for like, three weeks this summer.

Kirby 7:26
What does that just said it all the

Scott Benner 7:29
time, oh, just all the time about anything that got said for like she was delighted by it, like she was five years old for about three weeks.

Kirby 7:38
I can't wait for the trend to end. I don't know how long this one will be around, but I'm I might be a little over it. I'm over things nuts.

Scott Benner 7:46
Yeah, well, you've been married for a while.

Kirby 7:48
Oh, my God. Let's just take a turn. I don't know what we're

Scott Benner 7:51
going to talk about when this thing starts. I'm trying to be upbeat today, the world, the world got weird again yesterday.

Kirby 8:00
I am here for it. Thank

Scott Benner 8:01
you. All right, so, so we've covered all the unimportant things. Actually, you know what? This may be a thing I do because May I share something with you before we go on and talk about your kids diabetes. Of course, I don't do you listen to the podcast. I do. Okay, so I think it's fairly obvious that I record daily with people who are not accustomed to being recorded, right? And so the episodes all take on sort of a same, a similar vibe in the beginning, because I ask people questions that they know the answers to. It's usually around their kids, like, how old your kids are? How old are you? Have you been married? Like, sometimes I'll say, somebody, are you married? And people are probably like, the hell's that got to do with anything? What it has to do with it is they know the answer to it, and it's something they're they're going to be comfortable. Then they get themselves comfortable, and then I get them comfortable, and then we keep talking. Makes sense, but look how we did. I got you comfortable by talking about a dead body and these nuts what does that say about me? I don't know, but I what I can tell you is that you gave off the vibe that I could do this. So, yeah,

Kirby 9:01
I don't know what that is. And I'm sitting here thinking, Gosh, I was gonna share this episode with like, family members, so now I'm gonna have to, we haven't said anything wrong. Come with a disclaimer. Some people might not even know what is happening right now. So you know, and I can always blame you. I gotta follow the host leads.

Scott Benner 9:16
Yeah, you just say, Oh my god. Another guy's crazy. I I didn't want to, God knows how these things become.

Kirby 9:22
Write an email pleading my case or anything. I didn't

Scott Benner 9:25
send a long note about wanting to be on the podcast anyway. Tell me about your family and how diabetes came into your life.

Kirby 9:33
Sure. Okay, so I already said about our kids. I'm married. We've been married. I'm not even gonna try to guess

Scott Benner 9:38
12 years. Kirby, you don't know how long you've been married.

Kirby 9:42
I do. So this is what I do. Okay, all of the dates of all of the things and all of my life float around like a jumble in my head. And I sometimes forget when people were born. And there is a cutting board in my kitchen that my sister had made for me with my wedding anniversary on it, just the date, so it was 2013 and I just picture the cutting board. So now I. Can do the math, it was 12 years. Wow. So that's I was trying to save you from that

Scott Benner 10:05
circuitous route you took to that that was awesome. You and I might get along really well. My brain works, so you only know how long you've been married because your sister bought you a cutting board with your wedding date on it.

Kirby 10:17
That is a reductionist description of what I just said, sort

Scott Benner 10:23
of what I do. I don't know if you realize what this is. I generalize things. Then we talk,

Kirby 10:27
my gosh, it's how I do the math quick, because we were together much longer than this. We've been together, like almost 20 years, you know? So it's just like the dates are a jumble, like I said. So we've been married 12 years, so we've got three beautiful boys, and my oldest, my eight year old, was diagnosed. We're actually five days away from his first diversity. So we're coming up on

Scott Benner 10:49
it. This is only 361 days old. Yeah, it's

Kirby 10:53
fresh. It feels fresh. It feels feels still fresh, even though we've come a long way. I just

Scott Benner 10:58
want everyone to know it's 360 I just got the math wrong. When that right, didn't I? I don't know. Is it a leap year? How many good point? No, it's not. I was trying to help you, but it's not. I tried to do the simplest of math, and I was I did that wrong. I found myself going like, wait, 364, three.

Kirby 11:14
Cutting Board. Buy the cutting board.

Scott Benner 11:17
It said, how many days there weren't a year this all would have been much easier. That's 100% right? So you have these three, three lovely children, yeah, the oldest one develops type one just a year ago. He's diagnosed, yeah, yeah. Tell me what led you to believe that he had it? What got you to the doctor? Or yeah, yes.

Kirby 11:35
We had just come back from vacation, so we were in the Adirondacks, and typically we left like, a week between vacation and when school started last year, it actually was just we got home the weekend before school started. And that's important, because he started having some nighttime accidents. So he was wetting the bed overnight, and because we thought that that was potentially related to the quick transition to school, because he had some history, you know, he took a little bit longer to, you know, go all night when he was younger, and he had some history of night terrors and stuff like that, really. So we just thought it might have been a regression, and maybe that transition was a trigger for some of those things. So first couple nights, we didn't think anything of it. Then it was continuing. So I emailed the doctor, and I said, Hey, this is going on. We didn't see anything else happening. Everything else seemed fine. She asked a couple questions. She said, don't think it's going to be a long term issue. I laugh now at that, because, like, little did we know, so we just monitored it, but it just continued for a whole week. We couldn't wake him out of sleep. He was like, in a dead sleep, when we tried to wake him up to try to have him go to the bathroom again. And then that's when I was just like, I kind of knew, you know, because I'm, I'm a dietitian, so I this is something that's rattling around in my brain that I know that is a symptom of. And I thought this is either type one or the rarest time of a kid getting like, a UTI, which doesn't,

Scott Benner 12:52
oh, you got diabetes from wet in the bed. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Kirby 12:55
Because, because of how it was happening, it was just like every single night and the tiredness that he had. And then over the weekend, before, we were able to get an appointment for him, like the Monday, after all of this, after a week of this had had been happening, he had a daytime accident. And that was actually when I really was like, this is diabetes, because he He's seven years old. He's not That's not typical, sure. And then something, he was with some family members who said he was drinking a lot. And I a lot and had the bathroom a lot. So that all happened in the span of, like, you know, the wedding, the bed was like a week ish week and a half, and then that daytime accident and the increased thirst was just only a few days. So then he went to the doctor that Monday, and that was that we found out right away. I told the doctor, what's that? What do night terrors look like? So he would wake up, like, screaming and crying and yelling like he was just terrified, like he was in the middle of a nightmare. And it was odd, because he had had this kind of glassy look to his eyes, so we could tell that he wasn't, like, conscious of what was happening, and we would have to wait him out. I mean, it's we just keep him safe, because sometimes he would thrash a little bit, and we just kind of waited him out, sat with him. We were there to comfort him, but just kind of let him run its course. So it would happen not often throughout his young life, but there was a period of time where it was happening often enough that we cousins slept over. We had to tell them, you know, this might happen. So

Scott Benner 14:22
has it gone away completely? Yeah.

Kirby 14:26
And once in a while, I think he'll wake up and, like, just kind of sleep, not sleepwalk, but he'd be, like, not really awake. Do you know what

Scott Benner 14:33
I mean, I slept walk as a kid. I don't do it anymore. I haven't done it in forever. But, like, does he do that as well?

Kirby 14:39
No, no. Okay, so it all kind of, you know, went away. So

Scott Benner 14:43
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Kirby 17:18
Yeah. This is great. Yeah, really, great. That's fantastic. This is exactly what I thought life would be

Scott Benner 17:24
like. We used to just drink and go out on the weekends.

Kirby 17:28
We would say that would be like, remember what it used to be like? Obviously, you know, it's like, you can't do that your whole life, but it's just there's all these things that you're not ready for, because each family, each kid, each person, has their own story. I always say nobody gets out unscathed. So I believe this was, you know, it was something we had to quickly learn how to, you know, manage and help him through. And then it went away. And, okay, now we're where we are. I'm

Scott Benner 17:52
sorry for the detour. I was just interested. Okay, okay, so you sniff the thing out pretty quickly. You just call a doctor. Or do you think it's emergent?

Kirby 17:59
My husband actually happened to have his own annual checkup scheduled. So we actually just asked them if they could use the time for my son instead. And they said, Sure, and I'm at work, and I knew what time this The appointment was, and with my chart, you know, I I'm just keeping my eyes on my phone, and I saw the my chart message pop up that said, you have a new test result available. And I saw it, and I was like,

Scott Benner 18:23
Why does your husband see a pediatrician?

Kirby 18:26
Oh, she's a family doctor, so she sees us all. He's awesome. Oh, because he's a child. He's my fourth child, that's why.

Scott Benner 18:33
Well, okay, so it pops up on my chart, and you're like, that's, isn't that crazy that that's how you found

Kirby 18:38
out? Yeah. And I know a lot of people might not know immediately, but like, it was, I can't remember the exact number, but it was number, but it was over 400 so I was just like, well, that that's what this is. So I just, I actually called the office and talked to the doctor while she was like, in route. She was like, I knew you were gonna call. I was like,

Scott Benner 18:53
so you people who understand lab results?

Kirby 18:56
Yes, I know. But yeah, she's so she's amazing. And so we went to pre folks around here, though, no Golisano Children's Hospital, which is an incredible resource. We're incredibly lucky through urm C and he stayed, I think we stayed two nights, and then we, we came home. Okay, he wasn't in any DKA or anything like that. He just, I'm sorry. Folks near where, oh, near where we live, they the Rochester area. So it's just, it's a very it's a gem. We're really lucky to have the resource. So giving a shout

Scott Benner 19:28
out. So in your note, you say that there was confusion and challenges in the early days and months of diagnosis. Do you remember? So it sounds so formal, doesn't

Kirby 19:38
it? Because I know I was re reading what I wrote. I'm like, gosh, I was having some feelings.

Scott Benner 19:44
Yeah, that you went on. You're like, assumption you did use a lot of big words. You were like, No, and perceptions of support systems, my God, should I have used smaller words for you? No, I understood all of them. And a couple of my looked up. And then once I looked them up, I took it to somebody else, and I said,

Kirby 19:59
Hey, right. You just had to make the font bigger, like zoom to 200%

Scott Benner 20:04
you know, that I saw over somebody's shoulder in the store the other day. This guy's font on his phone was as big as it I mean, there were five words on each screen, you know, like, as it went by, and I thought, This is what's gonna happen, isn't it? Well,

Kirby 20:17
at least we have the ability to manage but, but, yeah, so I think I'm trying to remember what I meant by that, but it was just like, it depends on where you are, like, the information you get, but everybody gets the same kind of basic information. And I know you've you've referenced it as, like, the do not die information, which makes sense, right? Like, they don't know who these families are, what their capabilities are, what their ability to understand it, so I get it. I think when we we got home and we started to realize how many factors outside of, just like the basic carb counting, were involved, I think I got very frustrated, because I was like, Well, geez, like, now that the dust has settled, I want more information on this, because we are intelligent people who want to dive into this, and if you give us the tools, we'll use them. So I think that's probably what I was referencing, because I do think there's a lot that could be done in the early stages, or, like, in the, you know, the three to six month stage after diagnosis, to kind of identify what families are ready for. And there's not really a lot available. That's formal, right? There's like, I think I refer to as like a patchwork of user generated stuff that we're relying on, which is amazing. But sometimes I wish there was something a little bit more formalized. So it's kind of like I can work through almost like class work, because that's how I learned. So I think that's probably what I was talking

Scott Benner 21:36
about, what you want, you know, I find interesting that I don't know how you probably wrote that six months ago, right? And six months later, you're like, Oh, I wonder what I meant by that. Like, I it just, it's very, I guess, just indicative of how quickly things change. Yes, usually when I bump into people who are more newly diagnosed and they're out of their minds, and, you know, they think I actually have to, I have to answer. A lady online today, you know, who just said to me, like, when is the sadness gonna stop? I saw that one. Yeah, so I have to get back to that one. And I think the answer is, honestly, you're not going to feel like this soon, and it's going to, once you get there, it'll, it'll actually be much quicker than you expected. It to be. It just, I don't know, like it's, you just got to make it your amount of time. And I think it's more about learning and becoming comfortable than like I assume that her sadness just comes from uncertainty. Today's episode is sponsored by a long term CGM. It's going to help you to stay on top of your glucose readings the ever since 365 I'm talking, of course, about the world's first and only CGM that lasts for one year, one year, one CGM. Are you tired of those other CGM, the ones that give you all those problems that you didn't expect, knocking them off, false alerts not lasting as long as they're supposed to. If you're tired of those constant frustrations, use my link ever since cgm.com/juicebox to learn more about the ever since 365 some of you may be able to experience the ever since 365 for as low as $199 for a full year. At my link, you'll find those details and can learn about eligibility. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox,

Kirby 23:23
check it out. I think so, yeah, and I think that that's another thing that could have been. And I don't know, looking back, it's easy to say this, but to take away some of the uncertainty at the get go, I think should be, yeah, it should be a very routine part of this, because I remember even looking back, nobody actually sat us down and explained what this would look like long term. It's like, get them the tools that they need to, you know, keep him alive, right, and then follow up in six weeks, and then every three months after that. But at the get go, like nobody actually sat my son down and us at the same time to say, this is what this means. And I was actually the one that had to tell my son that this was forever, because he thought when we were in the hospital, the injections and everything after we left, they would be done. He thought they were all just to get him back, steady, fix, fix, whatever was wrong, and then go home. So I had to do that, which, you know, I want to be present for when he's being told that. But it was kind of like, wow. We just went, we're about to go home. And nobody actually said this.

Scott Benner 24:24
Oh, listen, you knew, but like, oh yeah,

Kirby 24:27
of course, yeah, exactly.

Scott Benner 24:29
Did you know that? He didn't know, or did you did it? Like,

Kirby 24:33
I didn't know until he he said something. I can't remember what it was. This is over, yeah. And I his face. I was like, Oh, my God, I'm gonna have to say it like, in this moment, because I don't even know that he was in the room. I mean, you know, we're in and out. There's all these people in and out. That was something too that I wanted to make sure, I think, in my early note to you that I am a dietitian. So like, I these are, like, theoretically, should know a lot about this. Yes, but it's still hard for me. Like there's stuff that makes no sense to me still, and I wanted people to hear that, especially for the, you know, the person who's experiencing sadness, not to make them feel worse. Like, oh, even a dietitian can't figure this out. How what hope do I have? But it's like, it's okay, like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It will eventually be fine. I feel like, you know, I think people have different perspectives on that.

Scott Benner 25:24
Yeah, I retold somebody yesterday, just very briefly, that I once took a private call from a, like, a literal brain surgeon whose kid got diabetes and was on the phone, like, I don't know what to do. Please help me. Yeah, and it's funny, because the way you just said it, like, you see it backwards for me, like you were like, Oh, I don't want them to feel bad that, like, you know, a dietitian doesn't get it all the time at what chance do I have? I saw it the other way. I was like, Oh, he didn't get it either. We're all in the same boat Exactly.

Kirby 25:49
Well, that's exactly what I mean. Is that, like, that might be the knee jerk response for people, but that's kind of the point is that it's okay, that it's hard. Because I think there is a feeling that, especially with the technology now, we can get such tight control. So a lot of the information that I see kind of being bounced around is people trying to get tighter, tighter, tighter, tighter, right? Like, get that A, 1c, under six. Get it under 5.5 like, get it as low as you can. Here's all of the things that we do. For me, I think that's great. It gives me a lot of hope, but I wonder if it sometimes gives the impression to others that that's what they need to be striving for. Because for some people, that might not be possible right now, it might take longer to get there, and if you don't get it quickly, maybe you feel like you're never going to get it, especially early on, when you're trying to get as much information as

Scott Benner 26:39
possible, you're bringing up something interesting that is a little back end that I'll share here. So when I start making the podcast, I don't really know what it is like that's just fair, like, I just, you know, I've told people a million times I thought I was going to read my most popular blog posts into a microphone, like, because I had these blog posts that people found really valuable, and I thought, I'll just read them, and then they can listen to them too. I mean, very ridiculous, but it was my thought. That is how I intended to start the podcast. I got away from it pretty quickly. And I've said on here before, like, I think I was 20 minutes and doing it the first time, I was like, Oh my God, no one's gonna listen to this. I was having trouble doing it. I was like, if I, if I can't deal with it, like they're not gonna want to listen to it, you know. And you know. So I don't know what happens the podcast starts, it starts following my personality more and becomes more conversational, and me just chatting with people and and then I had this idea that, like, well, I'll be like an avatar for you listening, and I'll just, I don't know a lot of this, so it's perfect. I'll ask questions, and I'll assume the questions I'm asking are the questions you would have, and you know, hopefully you'll, you know, you'll like it that way. And I think it built that, built on that. And then, like I've said before, couple 100 episodes into it really was like I was always learning on the job, and it started to become apparent from people's responses and letters and everything, the people were just saying, like, Hey, I don't even know what to say, why, but I've been listening to this podcast for a year in my a one season the sixes. And I was like, Oh, awesome, yeah. And then, you know, like, and then I just kind of realized that the I had a framework about how I did things. Then people would come on and add their two cents, or things that worked for them, and that we were basically making a really long winded manual for diabetes, right? Yeah. And then I go to Jenny, and I say, hey, what if I like? I said, I think I have these things. I've like, I've written them down, but I think these are the things I do. And then when I do those things, Arden's a 1c, stays in the sixes. I want to tell people because I think it's unreasonable to ask them to listen to 200 episodes of a podcast to get that information, but I think it'll be crazy if I sit there and talk about it by myself. I was like, I just, I think it'll be hard to listen to and I'll probably start rambling. I was like, and I love the way you think about diabetes. Like, would you come have these conversations with me, you know? And she was like, yeah, right on, that sounds good. And, you know, and we made that Pro Tip series, yes, right? Like, so the way that works is, I didn't expect it to work that way, like I didn't. I didn't expect any of this to be perfectly honest with you. And now we are in a really strange situation, Kirby, because I forget why I started telling you this. Tell me, you know. I know, you know. So just tell me, I

Kirby 29:26
think, because I was saying the impression it might give folks. Thank you. We're back. Okay, hold on.

Scott Benner 29:32
So at some point, when you start realizing how it's all building and working, there's this decision for me to make, right? Do I lay it out there and say, if you do these things, you have a really great chance of this working out, and run the risk of making some people feel like I can't do that, or, oh gosh, it's not working for me. I think in there, in that problem, lies my theory on all this, which is, I. Think that aspirational is the way to go? Yes, I totally agree. Yeah. I think you set up look other people can accomplish this. I'm an idiot. Like, I mean, if you listen that for any I mean, if you listen the first five minutes of this, you can say, I'm not that. I'm not either

Kirby 30:15
self deprecating or calling yourself a genius. It's a really interesting, like, kind of line

Scott Benner 30:20
you are. I appreciate that. I think the answer again, that is in the middle too. Yeah, yeah. I think there are moments when I'm like, Oh no, I there might be something wrong with me, and there are moments when I'm like, I am exceptionally smart, actually. What did we somebody told me the other day, I was sharing my IQ with a personal friend. I was like, I'm a genius. And they went, That's not how the chart says. And I was like, shout up says you're not a genius. Actually, smart. You can't even read the check. I also don't believe I'm a

Kirby 30:50
genius. I was just joking. We all know it. We all know thank you. I do

Scott Benner 30:54
think I'm smarter than some

Kirby 30:56
people are. Yes, and I think that's okay to say that yeah, and your your point is so well taken. And I think the reason it occurred to me to say it is because of my work as a dietitian, I often see the way that people consume information and the way that it might land, you know, differently with people. And that was part of the reason that I think I asked to come on was to say, well, it's one of the like, I think I listed, like, 14 things. It's okay if this isn't the exact right way for you, like, the way that I think the word you use, aspirational, is exactly the way I personally use your information, because it doesn't quite match my full learning style. Because, like I said, I kind of want to sit down, I want calculations, because I start from them, and then I get more freedom, you know, but I use them as a starting point, yeah, but a lot of people learn like that, right? So I think it's good to know how to use this for your own self. Yes,

Scott Benner 31:48
there was a moment, I'd be perfectly honest with you, like, there was a moment where I thought, Oh, I've laid it out for you, and then you'll just hear it, and then that will work for you, right? And then it took me a while of, like, interacting with people. I think it's really important to interact with the people you're talking to, so that you it's not just my assumptions of what's going on. I'm actually seeing returns, you know? And I was like, oh, not everybody uses all of the information, right? Not everybody agrees with me about that piece, or forget, agrees like it doesn't work that way for them or whatever, like, you know what I mean? And then that was a real building moment for me. I was like, Okay, so I've laid out here what works for me. You should pick and choose from it, like a, you know, like a buffet, take from it what you what's going to help you, or what lands with you, and then go off and learn some other stuff and build on that somehow, have your own experiences. Like, what do I care? Exactly, you know what I mean? Like,

Kirby 32:42
yeah, exactly. And I think what has helped me is that this actually helped me identify questions that I want to either ask my husband about what we think we should do or to bring to the end, though, when we go to say hey, you know, I'm kind of uncovering some stuff here and applying it to our specific situation. Because honestly, like when I found your podcast, it was from another mom who we just randomly gotten in, you know, connected with that. We found out that her son had type one as well. And she's like, You got to listen to Juicebox. So this was, like, in the early, early days. So of course, you're looking for anything after, after you kind of come up for air. Yeah, and I'm just starting. I started with the first episode. Then I start, because you have so many, you have so many, and they're so awesome. So I just started picking and choosing, like, based on the not very helpful titles. But that's fine, but it's like, you look at it and you say, Okay, I think this is where I'm at today. And so you start to get this feeling of community. You start to hear other people's stories. And that was like a warm blanket in the beginning, it was like, oh, okay, like, there is so much hope here. There's other people. But then I start going through our actual day to day management, and it starts to get a little trickier for me to find information. Sure, and it's a little trickier even with a because if I'm on Spotify, right, I'm looking for pro tips. And I'm like, Okay, I think I understand this because of my background. I'm like, I don't really need to know about carbs. I've got that. So then I'm starting to piece things together. And I think when I reached out to you, I was in the middle of, like, trying to sort through how to integrate it into our story. I think I've finally found a way that's kind of working for my issue. It's really just like, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

Scott Benner 34:21
I want to hear but I also want to say to you, how great will it be that to know that six months a year from now, sometimes five years from now, someone will ask a question online that this episode will answer and that Nico will have to tell them, hey, put these nuts in your ears and you'll get the answer.

Kirby 34:37
You can't do it. You just can't be awesome. You're either gonna get a ton of people to click on it or, like, nobody, most

Scott Benner 34:45
people know what it means. Don't you think

Kirby 34:49
could it be like to catch a murderer? I mean, like, we gotta workshop this a little bit.

Scott Benner 34:55
I know what you were saying a minute ago. It's like, like, listen, some of these titles don't are meaningless. And. And, but I know, I know there's Thank you. I do. I think of a more as like monikers. So I do see people say like, oh, go listen to, you know, whatever, like and, and I look at it, I think that's a strange title. Like, who came up with that? It's interesting. So you don't need all the information, because you have some from your professional life you're picking through. Obviously every answer is not in the podcast. That's not the goal of it, right? So to kind of finish off my earlier thought, and then we'll move on to what you put together for yourself, I think that the reason the podcast ended up going in this direction is because I have an aversion to kind of lowest common denominator teaching. I don't like when we do that. I feel, yeah, yeah. I don't. I don't like when we dumb things down because, you know, we don't want to leave anybody behind. I think, first of all, that's reductive to that person. I think that's the second time someone's used the word reductive in the list. And I think there's a way to reach that person. I don't think you have to give them less information because you've made some sort of a, I don't know, decision that they can't handle the information. And what about let's say, let's say you're right. Let's say you did find somebody who's just never going to handle the information. Now, everybody gets that level of information, that's insane, right? So let's lay it out there, as easy as as, I mean, listen, I I feel like I do a pretty good job of every Manning this conversation. And I will say, like, for anybody listening who's like, yeah, that's because this is your level. Like, you're right, yeah, right. I'm not having any grand thoughts that I'm distilling for you, dude. I mean, like, I the words that come into my head are the words that come into my head. I think I listened to an episode the other day where I said hospital people made me laugh. I was like, Oh my God. I said whole episode of me not being able to come up with the words I wanted. And I said hospital people at some point. But I think that that's partly why it works for everybody, because doesn't matter really what level you're at, the way I talk about it should be pretty easy to understand, and yet it's not leaving anything out, right, right? So if you hear something that you don't get, that somebody else understands, then that's great. And if it makes you feel badly. I feel bad about that, but I don't think hiding things is the way to

Kirby 37:25
go. I don't think so either, and I didn't, I certainly didn't mean to okay so. And I think that it struck me in a moment where I was like, gosh, I hope people know, you know. I hope people know that it's okay if you're not here and you're so and I think they do, and I think you do an excellent job of of that too. Is that it might take some time,

Scott Benner 37:44
well, Kirby, I told you all that to let you know that, like I hope that too. Yeah, it was worrisome for me, because there was a moment when I made a conscious decision that I'm not going to just, you know, I said this before, and I probably have sounded angry about it at times, or confused about it at other times. But I think that the diabetes community, at least the one that I grew up in, like writing blogs for and stuff like that, very often hid information from people.

Kirby 38:10
Yes, yeah. I think I'll still do, yeah, that's part of my frustration. Is that we, and I don't take this the wrong way, like I think we need to have all of it. But I don't think that there is no other condition like this that I can think of where there is so much management put on individuals, there's so much calculation, there's tech involved, there's medication that you're essentially dosing on your own. I mean, truly, yeah, there's no other condition like that, but there is very little. I will just call it formal support. There is your Endo, and if you're lucky, you've got a good one. I've seen people who theirs doesn't even answer them when they message them in, you know, maybe an immediate need. And so that shouldn't be that should not be the case, that we are left to to do this in this way. So I guess my point in bringing that up is because I know so many people listen to this, and I hope that somewhere, someone is hearing this and says, gosh, wouldn't it be great if we had something that was slightly more formalized so that people could tap into it, especially people who maybe don't have maybe they don't listen to podcasts, maybe they don't learn this way, or maybe they don't read stuff online. Maybe they don't trust anyone besides their doctor. It frost. It frustrates me that. I mean, can you think of another condition that is like this, where it's lifelong, calculating your

Scott Benner 39:34
change doses, yeah, on your own, 24 hours a day. What if you had

Kirby 39:39
to do that, like, with your heart? What if you were responsible for, like, what's the thing called that? The thing that makes your heart beat? Yeah, pacemaker. What if you were in charge

Scott Benner 39:48
on it? You were like, I wonder where I should put this dial.

Speaker 1 39:51
I'll try four. It would be banana.

Scott Benner 39:55
Does feel like that? So I saw somebody online the other day. Outside of my ecosystem, which I think I feel like, I actually felt like a douchebag saying that, but I do think there's like a Juicebox I do think there's like a Juicebox ecosystem now, right? Yes, there is. And I saw somebody outside of it, and this person is struggling, like, significantly, talking about, like, I don't know that life is worth living. I can't figure this diabetes out, and it wasn't my place to say something, but I could have been like, Hey, here's a list of episodes. I think they'll help you, and I think they would have, but everybody is so I don't know territorial that I can't I'm not gonna look like I'm because, to me, it would be helping somebody to the person who's running that space. I listen, I think this is disgusting, because I don't see it this way, and I don't reverse engineer this idea, but I've seen it. I've seen it had a number of times, have been yelled at about a number of times they see it as you poaching their people. And so I'm like, Look, I can't get involved in this, because I don't want to be like, the Oh, Scott's running around, grabbing people out of other places, and this wasn't even Facebook, by the way, and so I don't get involved in that, but I felt, I felt terrible for for a while after I walked away from that screen, I was like, I really think that this stuff would help this person, and now I'm just left hoping that somebody else gets the information

Kirby 41:15
to them. Yeah, and I think those are the people I'm really thinking of, because I think those of us who have found our way to this. There's a reason we've gravitated towards it and stayed there, yeah, but then there's everybody else, and so that's, you know, and

Scott Benner 41:29
there's a lot of everybody else's. That's my other point that I'll make this point over and over again. I hope for people listening who are in a position to do something to help people, this will mean something to them. I very likely reach more people with type one diabetes than anybody else. Agreed, okay, and I don't reach a small fraction of people with type one diabetes. That's a problem. Exactly. Yeah, whether you like me or not, that's not really the point. I figured out a way to reach more people than anybody has ever and I'm not touching a small fraction of people who have type one. And so there's a lot of people walking around out there, you know, you don't realize that if you're listening to the show, they'll be and you're like, Oh, I got to get my my seven down to a six. A lot of people wandering around with 12, A, one, CS, more than you think, you know?

Kirby 42:18
Well, I mean, I know it's a lot. That's my point, I suppose, is that whoever the big we is, we need to do better. Because this is, do you have any idea how to do that? I mean, I've thought about like, I wish, and I told so we had this amazing nurse practitioner who just retired, and on her way out, I said, Hey, are you gonna, like, do anything in your retirement? Because maybe you could, because, you know, most people don't fully retire who love this work as, like, You should do a master class for for caregivers. And she said that it was something that they have tossed around. But like, for some reason, I think there was, you know, nursing shortage, and there's all these staffing things. So for me, like, I don't think that that's the only thing. I think it would be a starting point is to establish this as, like, a standard of care is that classes could be available when you know caregivers are ready, parents and the caregivers who are going to be responsible. Because obviously, my son's not only with us, that they

Scott Benner 43:10
can happen though, right? No, but you

Kirby 43:13
asked, and I think it should be through like a hospital system or a doctor's only because, for the most part, I know people are, there's some camps that are kind of anti doctor and establishment right now, but for the most part, that trust has been established, and it could stem from there, but it doesn't even exist.

Scott Benner 43:30
You know, I was listening to a podcast the other day. I was coming home from, where was I coming home from? Oh, I got to go see the Super Bowl trophies. Oh, yeah. Well, not, of course I did. Actually, that was a great Can I tell you something I'm going to

Kirby 43:47
get to the podcast. Don't forget where we came from. Podcast, don't worry.

Scott Benner 43:51
Hold on a second. So my brother and I don't live in the same state anymore. My brother moved away. He's a turn coat, okay? And for work, I guess, something like, he had to keep his job. He had to come back to go to a professional event, and it was being held in the Eagles stadium. And he's like, Yo, why don't you come with me? You know, we don't get to see each other enough like, he's like, we can hang out for the day. He goes, it's gonna be really boring for you. And I was like, right? I was like, I don't care. I was like, we'll get to, you know, we'll hang out, we'll see each other. And I was like, that'll be great, you know? So I moved my recordings around, and I did the whole thing. I had to go tell my wife I was taking a day off, which is not a thing. You guys don't know me and my wife, we don't really take time off. So she was like, Oh, this must be nice. And I'm like, I know. I'll just sit here and kill myself. And I was like, Okay, you go enjoy your work myself right into the ground while you're out gallivanting. I'm like, I'm at a conference for something I don't understand and have no need for, right? Well, I get to see my brother and Brandon Graham was going to be there linebacker formerly the Philadelphia Eagles, who I believe is the reason. Why we won the Super Bowl against the Patriots, and like a small child, I brought his rookie card with me to get signed. Right? Yeah. Anyway, my brother and I spent two hours walking the floor. He's going from he's actually working. He's going from place to place, gathering information about vendors they might use and stuff like that. I'm out of my mind board. I'm like, oh my god, what they've been talking about, but they're doing a raffle, and I want to win the raffle, so at every table, I have to get somebody to initial my goddamn card so I can put my thing in for the raffle to try to win the raffle, which I did not win. And that's not the point of this conversation, but I got in this position where I had to start talking to people, because why not? And do you have any idea how many people were like, what's Juicebox? Because I had to have a thing, right? And I'm like, Oh, I make a podcast about type one diabetes. And they're like, you know me, people are like, Oh, my son has type one my gosh, I get so many conversations, right? Maybe two hours into this thing, my brother's talking at a table. I've gotten my card signed already. By the way, I'm an adult. I could have just forged the card and handed it in as my entry. But no, I got people to sign the card. I have this feeling that someone's looking at me, and I look over and there is a guy standing in front of me, and he is like, eyeballing my name tag. And I was like, he probably just is, like, what is Juicebox ridiculous? You know what? I mean, I might have smiled and I kind of looked away, and then a brief moment later, he kind of reappears in my peripheral vision, and I'm like, okay, something's happening, right? So I turn I go, Hey, man, can I help you? And he goes, Are you Scott from the Juicebox podcast. Oh my god. And I was like, I am he goes, Oh, like, AC is a vendor there, and where he worked for the event, maybe I forget. And he goes, I saw your name on the list. And I was like, that's crazy. He's like, my wife's such a big fan of your podcast, no way. And so he's like, talking to me and everything, and it's really nice. And we're chatting for a couple minutes. And then it occurred to me, and I was like, you want a picture to send to your wife? And he's like, Yes, please. And I was like, oh, okay, this is crazy. So we take a picture and say thank you and everything, and walk away, and my brother goes, What are you famous or something?

Kirby 47:13
You're like, yeah, in a community.

Scott Benner 47:16
I said, Well, I usually say to people like, yeah, diabetes events, I am right, but yeah, wasn't a diabetes event, and I was like,

Kirby 47:25
That's wild. Is that the first time that's happened outside of something connected to type one?

Scott Benner 47:29
I have been recognized for my voice once in public. I could see that I had a person across an airport to say hi to me once, and I couldn't believe they even recognized me. That was crazy. Yeah, this was different, because I just got back from, like, I went to friends for life, I did a bunch of stuff. Like, there's no doubt, like, in those settings, I'm famous, but you take me out of those settings and, like, no one knows who I am, and honestly prefer it that way, right, right? But anyway, so we're driving home from driving home from that, and I'm listening to a podcast. Watch how I put this all together. This is why I have a podcast, and you don't. I forgot yet, I don't yet I was talking to everybody, not just you, okay? And also, don't start a podcast. It will not work. You'll just own a microphone that you have to embarrassingly explain to friends later. Okay, all right, thanks for the advice. I'm driving home and I'm listening to a podcast, and it's a CIA agent who wrote a book, and I don't know, I'm just listening to him tell his story about being a CIA agent, and he said this thing, and he just said, you know, there's the way people want the world to be, and there's the way it is. And that popped into my head when you were like, Well, what I wish people would do is, like, give, like, master classes on but there's a way the world is, and there's the way things are for real, you know, and the way you want it to be, and the way I want it to be, I wish that person would do that class, right? Yeah, but along the way, the hospital is going to say, like, wow, we don't want, you know, you don't work here anymore, you're not covered by our liability insurance. Or, you know, not everybody's gonna understand, or not everybody will be able to agree on what gets said in the thing. And people will, like, you know, go back and forth for years and never, you know, never come to any conclusions. It's why I like the DIY algorithm stuff so much, you know, like, you know, trio and loop and Android APS, why I think that's so amazing, because it doesn't get caught up in committee. And when it does, somebody just takes their stuff and runs into a different branch and goes, Hey, you know what? I was arguing too much with that person over there. Here's my version of this. Right, right? I wish the world would do that more often with these things, yeah, yeah, but I don't think it's gonna happen. No,

Kirby 49:36
it probably won't. And the thing is, though it does, none of it happens if somebody doesn't try to make it happen, right? No, it won't. And it is. I mean, I guess it's just an expression of frustration, because it seems completely ridiculous in my mind. So it's like, red tape, your bureaucracy, just and egos and all of the stuff. You know, it's like, just do the right thing. It's not, I. That hard.

Scott Benner 50:02
You know, I know no one's gonna do it, because you live in the real world. Well, because, well, I am a realistic person, but I've been listening to a lot of stuff about stoicism lately. I'm wondering if I don't lean that way, it's not for this right now, I think I believe it's not going to happen, because it's easier for it not to happen. Oh, for sure, it's proven to me over and over again, because, because of all the and I'm glad they do it, and they should, but the amount of actual, like professional people who direct people to the podcast is an insane number of people. So that's them saying. That's them having the same thought that I'm having. Like, look, I can tell you about this, but I'm gonna get fired. And if I tell you to Pre-Bolus, like I just heard from somebody recently who got chastised a professional person who got yelled at in a doctor's office for telling somebody that they might have to Bolus for a fat or a protein rise.

This episode was too good to cut anything out of but too long to make just one episode. So this is part one. Make sure you go find Part Two right now it's going to be the next episode in your feed. The podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by tandem diabetes care. Learn more about tandems, newest automated insulin delivery system, tandem Moby with control iq plus technology at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox there are links in the show notes and links at Juicebox podcast.com Arden has been getting her diabetes supplies from us med for three years. You can as well us med.com/juicebox, or Paul, 888-721-1514, my thanks to us, med for sponsoring this episode and for being longtime sponsors of the Juicebox podcast. There are links in the show notes and links at Juicebox podcast.com to us, med and all the sponsors. The podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored by ever since CGM, they make the ever since 365 that thing lasts a whole year. One insertion every year. Come on, you probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox Hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox podcast.

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Scott Benner 11/3/25 Scott Benner 11/3/25

#1669 14 Months

Stage-two type 1, nursing-school instincts, daycare roadblocks, and a family’s grit after a wrongful CPS nightmare—Hannah’s candid guide to catching signs early and advocating without apology.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of The Juicebox podcast.

Hannah 0:14
My name is Hannah Marion. I am a mom to a two year old who's currently in stage two of type one diabetes, and we discovered that with me being in nursing school and kind of picking up on the signs, if

Scott Benner 0:29
this is your first time listening to the Juicebox podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple podcast or Spotify, really, any audio app at all, look for the Juicebox podcast and follow or subscribe. We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy. Want to learn more about your diabetes management. Go to Juicebox podcast.com up in the menu and look for bold beginnings, the diabetes Pro Tip series and much more. This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin. Nothing you hear on the Juicebox podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan. Just in time for the holidays, cozy Earth is back with a great offer for Juicebox podcast listeners. That's right. Black Friday has come early at cozy earth.com and right now you can stack my code Juicebox on top of their site wide sale, giving you up to 40% off in savings. These deals will not last, so start your holiday shopping today by going to cozy earth.com and using the offer code Juicebox at checkout. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod five now with my link, omnipod.com/juicebox

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Omnipod.com/juicebox Terms and Conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox this episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom g7 the same CGM that my daughter wears. Check it out now at dexcom.com/juicebox

Hannah 2:20
My name is Hannah Marion. I am a mom to a two year old who's currently in stage two of type one diabetes. And we discovered that with me being in nursing school and kind of picking up on the signs,

Scott Benner 2:35
wait a second. So you have just one, one kid, I have two, two. Okay, but this is my youngest. Okay, your two year old. Your youngest. She, right. He, he Sorry. Okay, so you're in nursing How old are you? I am 26 oh, what got you into nursing school? Now, you know,

Hannah 2:52
I have always wanted to. I went a whole different path for a while. Kind of got back to it because I said, How can I tell my kids to follow their dreams if I don't follow mine. So here I am following mine, but definitely kind of helped out

Scott Benner 3:06
very nice. So you wanted to be a nurse initially, but you decided on something else and then pivoted. Yes, exactly. You don't have to tell me what those things were, but like, did you do it because you thought it was going to be more like, stable or like, why did you pivot away from the thing you dreamt of to do something different?

Hannah 3:24
I had some health issues myself at the time. I was actually previously in nursing school for a couple of months doing just like pre requisite classes, and then started having some seizures. So I had to drop out of school because of that, because obviously I can't be seizing in nursing school. So once those cleared up, I kind of just jumped back into the work field with wherever I thought things would work out for me, and have bounced my way around to different fields and ended up back at nursing

Scott Benner 3:53
Did you ever figure out what the seizures were? The seizures were about?

Hannah 3:58
Yes, I have pots, and they were actually a form of syncope for me.

Speaker 1 4:01
Oh, okay, so you weren't. You were passing out, yes, but it presented as a seizure.

Scott Benner 4:07
Gotcha pods. How did they define that? How do you get a diagnosis? I

Hannah 4:12
had the basic symptoms standing up. My vision would go black. Oftentimes, I would lose my balance, end up on the ground. I did a tilt table test. Initially, it didn't show anything. However, I went back to a different cardiologist, and he said, Absolutely, you have pots, your heart rate and your blood pressure, all of that matches exactly along with pots. And he sent me to a different specialist who's actually a like specialist only in pots. So that was kind of how that all wrapped it up. But that's the formal diagnosis of that

Scott Benner 4:44
any other issues medically for you or in your extended family.

Hannah 4:50
So we have a genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it.

Scott Benner 4:56
That's an autoimmune issue where, like your your ligaments and all are. Super stretchy,

Hannah 5:00
yes, exactly and kind of matching. Along with that, I have Hashimotos hypothyroidism, and then I also have celiac, all the autoimmune things you have everything but type one, exactly. My son's endocrinologist was very surprised that there was no history of type one in our family, but there is not

Scott Benner 5:22
wait your son's endocrinologist didn't see your celiac Hashimotos and ears dandler as like an obvious connection to type one diabetes through autoimmune

Hannah 5:32
so I should clarify his first endocrinologist. No, they did not. We actually switched his endocrinologist to someone we now have to travel for. But that's okay, because they're really good, and they did kind of acknowledge that.

Scott Benner 5:45
How about on your or on I didn't You didn't say if you're married, but I assuming you're Yes, I am on your husband's side. Is there anything going on over there?

Hannah 5:55
Autoimmune? They don't have any autoimmune on his side that we know of. My husband doesn't even go see a doctor, he doesn't have a doctor. So he could have 15 different things, but we would never know.

Scott Benner 6:06
Is he similarly aged to you? Are you guys around the same age you are? Yes, How old's your oldest? Four, four. Okay, you get married pretty early.

Hannah 6:15
Yes, I did. Yeah. On We Got Married at 21

Scott Benner 6:19
wow, because you wanted to be married, or because you didn't want to have a baby when you weren't married,

Hannah 6:24
which one, honestly, it's a lot of formal paperwork if you have a baby not married. So that was a speeding along thing where, when we got pregnant, we did get married for the formality of the paperwork

Scott Benner 6:36
gotcha, but it's working out. Yeah? Awesome. I mean, you did it again, right? So, yeah, you're like, I guess we can do this on purpose the second time.

Hannah 6:45
Yeah, well, that's very different,

Scott Benner 6:50
not quite on purpose. Anna, I got, hey, listen, however it happens, you're in school for nursing. I think that's where we should pick it up. We're in nursing. You're in nursing school, and what are they teaching you when you start connecting the dots?

Hannah 7:04
So this was fairly early on in my journey through nursing school. It was really kind of the basic classes. But, you know, they teach us kind of the basic things, the 3p associated with type one, so the polydipsia. And I was just kind of like thinking about it. And we were talking about how, like, fatigue is a common symptom for early onset or new onset, as well as, like, the excessive thirst and sleeping while that goes the fatigue and then the peeing a lot. And I was like, Huh, that's really odd. That sounds exactly like my son, he had an appointment that next week, so with that, we took him to his pediatrician's office, and I said, Hey, I know these are some signs, and I'm seeing him doing this. Do you think? What's your thoughts? And he told us, he said, you know, these could be toddler things, just common things that toddlers do. I wouldn't worry about it. I bet a nickel. He said that everything will turn out just fine.

Scott Benner 8:08
To make him pay the nickel I should have,

Hannah 8:11
I keep meaning to go back and ask for my nickel.

Scott Benner 8:13
Also tell him in your in your vernacular, nickel is 500 that's how you were thinking of it. Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Hannah 8:22
I mean, I think he could fork it out. It'd be fine. I mean, he's a great doctor. I just think that it was something that was a little bit overlooked, but they did do a glucose check in the office, and it was 153 hours after eating. So while it wasn't like go to the ER, he's in DKA. It was kind of suspicious that something was going

Scott Benner 8:44
on. Okay, can we stop for half a second so we can fill people in on the three P's? So I have to admit, when you said that, I thought, I don't really know what that means. So I checked into it, and we're looking at polyuria, which means frequent urination, polydipsia, excessive thirst, polyphagia, increased hunger. And if you're looking for a little more etymology, the poly part comes from the Greek meaning many or much. So, much urination, much thirst, much eating. And I guess those are just words you learned in nursing school, right? Yes, exactly. Okay, okay, sorry, you can keep going. So I bet you a nickel that this is nothing. Yes, yeah, that is. How do you lose that nickel? What did you start like? Did you say this? Don't seem right to me? And you moved on to another doctor, or you went back to that one

Hannah 9:35
well, so this was the pediatrician, and we've seen him for a while. I think he's a great pediatrician. Honestly, in this circumstance, he with the blood sugar of 153 hours after eating, he kind of popped his head back in and he was like, I mean, it's not what I like to see, but it's not horrible, but definitely, like, needs some more tests. Okay, so he actually. Sent us for an A 1c and I think some other testing, honestly, but I forgot which ones. But I know he did an A 1c because about a couple of days later, I got a phone call saying, hey, his a 1c is 5.8 or, I think it was 5.3 at that time. So that's normal. You're totally fine. He doesn't have type one. I was like, oh, okay, well, that's really odd, because I just finger poked him, and he's at 242 that was kind of another sign where we were like, yeah, no, there's something going on here. So I actually took it upon myself to do some research and got a hold of someone at the ask program, and we did the antibody testing through the Ask program, where he came back positive for three out of five at that point. And then the confirmation testing was four out of five.

Scott Benner 10:50
I have to say, the 150 blood sugar, the three and a half hours after, like, that should have been enough. Like, I get that he's a good pediatrician all but like, I want other people listening to know, like, you know, that's That's enough. If your blood sugar is 153 hours after you've eaten, you probably have type one diabetes, you know, or you're on your way to it, so. But your child's blood sugars were variable, because the A 1c was holding pretty low. But you saw a two, you know, a two and 250 kind of blood sugar. When did you, I guess, is ask were they introduced you the idea of, like, different stages of type one?

Hannah 11:26
Yes, they were. I had done a little bit of research on my own. I like to understand, kind of all of the information behind things. So I had done some research and kind of had a little bit of an idea, but they kind of formally went through it all and told me what this means, and gave me, they sent us out a Dexcom, and we put that on him to determine kind of what stage he was in. And we were able to take all of that data to the endocrinologist that they connected us with, okay?

Scott Benner 11:53
And they explained to you that three antibodies is a it's a slam dunk, right? Yes, yeah. So then, how long ago was this?

Hannah 12:02
This was actually October of last year. So we're about one year out from when that

Scott Benner 12:07
happened. About a year out, is he in stage two? Still now questionable?

Hannah 12:13
Um, he spikes up with meals to like, 370s, 378, I believe, is the highest that we've seen his. So that's pretty high where it's kind of thinking like we might be like in between stages, but he is able to still bring it down on his own, okay, just very slowly

Scott Benner 12:33
away from meals. Is he stable at in the 80s, the 90s, hundreds. Where does the stability sit?

Hannah 12:40
Some days he sits like 140s 150s other days, he sits like 115, 125

Scott Benner 12:47
What's your inclination now? Do you think he should be using insulin?

Hannah 12:50
Well, one thing that I find really interesting is they say that stage two does not have symptoms, but we are seeing symptoms with him, so when he spikes up that high, and when, oftentimes, when he gets up that high, he's very cranky, he You can tell he doesn't feel good, yeah, we want to be able to have a little bit more control to prevent that. While I know it's not completely preventable, he's going to spike up. We want to be able to control it, rather than sit back and watch my child like have the symptoms and feel yucky and not be able to do anything. How long do those spikes last for? Typically, hour and a half. I'd say, Okay.

Scott Benner 13:32
And have you approached doctors with this? Your endo with us?

Hannah 13:36
Yes, we sent them a message, and they were kind of following up on that. The one thing that's pretty unique about him specifically is he has some malabsorption issues also, so that kind of presents another issue for him, where, when he, like, has these malabsorption issues, his sugar either normalizes or goes low. So that's impacting his a, 1c, and it's impacting his Dexcom time and range. So it kind of complicates things on if it's time or not. So

Scott Benner 14:06
when he eats food, is it absorbed slowly, too quickly? What's the malabsorption?

Hannah 14:13
They're actually not quite sure exactly what's going on with him. The thought is, like he's allergic to dairy, but not severely. He's not really symptomatic with it, other than like they did some stool studies, and they are able to see that he does have carbohydrates still in his stool. You're not supposed to, and he's he's tested positive for it, not carbohydrates, sugars in his stool. That's what it was.

Scott Benner 14:39
Is this a lifelong issue, or did this start around the time of the diabetes

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Hannah 16:55
I feel like it started around the time that we would start of we would have started to see symptoms of the diabetes. Okay, he also had some issues where he'd get super pale. We always thought it was really odd, but it was ghostly pale. And now looking back, I know that that was low blood sugars.

Scott Benner 17:13
Okay. Well, I'm asking about the absorption, because, you know, your pancreas does more than just make insulin, so it also helps with digestion. And I'm wondering if maybe, I mean, people talk all the time about like my kid was diagnosed now their stomach hurts all the time, really common. Some of them end up using a digestive enzyme with a meal to see if that helps. And I'm wondering if, if that's maybe not the connection there for him, or if that's not worth asking a doctor about. Yeah,

Hannah 17:41
I'll definitely bring it up on that next one, next appointment with his GI. Thank you for that. Yeah,

Scott Benner 17:47
no, you're welcome. People around here have used them off and on. I use them sometimes when, if I'm having like, a particularly, like, high protein, or if I eat fat, I don't eat a lot of fat or grease. So when I do sometimes I'll throw a I'll throw an enzyme in there with it. But, you know, we ended up finding out about them because Arden had, like, stomach pain constantly, and you know, she wasn't going to the bathroom on a regular schedule. And then we just hit her with some enzymes for a while, a little bit of magnesium oxide to make her go the other way. It actually kind of like found a stasis. It's a little more balanced now. She doesn't use those all the time, or hardly ever, honestly, and that ended up being it. But there's a great episode of the podcast just called, uh, I think it's called, owner of a useless pancreas that talks about everything that the pancreas does not just, you know, in some production,

good, good to know. I don't want his belly to hurt. You know what? I mean,

Hannah 18:38
yeah, it's, it's a lot, it's difficult. There's a lot to it, and with that like it, it just further complicates the whole picture of like, what's actually going on, because we don't even know if he's absorbing on a normal day to day basis, right? Completely, fully. So maybe his spikes, maybe he is in stage three, but the absorption issues are kind of presenting and making it seem like stage two. It's just really a confusing picture

Scott Benner 19:05
well, so let me ask you, because I have my opinion after you've explained it to me, but, but if I put you in charge, and you didn't have to talk to a doctor, what do you want to be doing? So

Hannah 19:14
we actually switched his endocrinologist for a couple of different reasons, but one of them was the new endocrinologist uses diluted insulin. My perfect picture, we would do some diluted insulin, because I feel like that could just kind of stabilize him a little more than what we're currently dealing with. How old is he again? Now he's two. He'll be three in January. Oh, he's little. How much does he weigh? Yes, I'm about 28 pounds. So I

Scott Benner 19:40
gotcha. Okay, it sounds like you're on your way to figuring out. But, I mean, I'm very compassionate to the idea that his, you know, his blood sugar is high and he doesn't feel well. That's, you know, a number of times a day. It's not, that's not fair to him. You know what? I mean, it sounds to me like I vote insulin. So I think you're, yeah, I think you're there. Do you think that'll be. Happening soon.

Hannah 20:01
I we follow up with the endocrinologist in about two weeks, actually, but the further complicating part of the story, and I know many people have dealt with the same thing, but his daycare will not give insulin. We're not quite sure how that's going to work out, which in that case, we're not quite sure if that's what we want to push towards. But at the end of the day, I want what's best for my kids.

Scott Benner 20:24
So, oh, that's cause a ruckus. Well, you're, they're gonna have to do that or find another place. Because, I mean, you know, as much as, as much as it would be great if you know my daycare won't give insulin so you don't have diabetes, would be a nice way, a nice way to ignore it. Yeah, it's not gonna, not gonna be the case. And 350 blood sugars. I mean, are, I think that's too much in a situation where you have the ability to get the insulin, but your bigger problem is now, what did they say? They said they just won't do it. Perhaps the best gift that you can give to yourself or to a loved one is that of comfort. And this holiday season, if you use the offer code Juicebox at checkout at cozy earth.com you won't just be getting something that's comfortable. You'll also be doing it at quite a discount. We can talk about that in just a moment. Right now, I want to tell you that I use cozy Earth towels every day when I get out of the shower. I sleep on cozy Earth sheets. Every night when I get into bed, I'm recording right now in a pair of cozy Earth sweat pants. I love their joggers, their hoodies, their shirts, my wife has their pajamas. And I know you're thinking, oh yeah, Scott. Well, because they sent you a bunch of it for free, they did send me some for free, but I've also bought a lot on my own. So like I said earlier, Black Friday has come early at cozy Earth, and right now you can stack my code Juicebox on top of their site wide sale giving you up to 40% off in savings. These deals are definitely not going to last. Get your shopping done now or get yourself something terrific at cozy earth.com Do not forget to use that offer code Juicebox at checkout, you will not be sorry. Funny

Hannah 22:03
enough, I spoke to the director of the daycare again. We love them. It's just been this little hiccup. They said that they are not allowed to, and she said she checked with her licensing person, and the licensing person said, No, which, I know that they need to, and that they are required to. It's just one of those things that I'm not going to make that fuss. And the endocrinologist office said that they have someone who could potentially call and kind of explain those things to her.

Scott Benner 22:33
Okay, well, yeah, but they're scared. Is it a big company, or is it just like, you know, a nice lady who watches five kids. Or what's the setup?

Hannah 22:42
It's a fairly large place. They have, I would say probably 100 kids. Oh, roughly so it's kind of in between. It's only one location, so not a company, per se, but one in which she has kind of a well established daycare. I'd say,

Scott Benner 22:59
Okay, do you think you'll go to a pump When insulin starts? Or do you think you're going to go? MDI,

Hannah 23:05
my hopes is that we do a pump. So for me, I would, I would vote do that at the very get go. I know that's likely not going to happen. However, I think we're also in a little bit of a unique situation, because we were provided insulin when he was first diagnosed as Stage Two for corrections, so we've used it maybe 10 times over this past year, maybe a little more, but we're familiar with it, so it's not a foreign idea. Yeah, to do an injections, but I think we would benefit from a pump.

Scott Benner 23:37
Do you think you'd use some sort of an automated system. So the

Hannah 23:41
endocrinologist, when she brought it up, she said, likely an Omnipod with point 05 kind of as a basal.

Scott Benner 23:49
And then would that be Omnipod five? Though? Would it be automated? You know,

Hannah 23:53
I'm not quite sure. She didn't go into depth on that, but that's going to be something I'll ask.

Scott Benner 23:57
Yeah, no, it's interesting to talk to you, because you're, you're into this a year, but you're not really into it at all. You're an interesting mix of like your experiences and your knowledge about it and everything like that. I'm wondering, because if you put you, if you put him in daycare, and his blood sugar starts to drift up a little bit, an automated system is going to try to stop it, and then that would take away from them needing to give him insulin, maybe in some situations, and also, like, you know, for their concern, like you're really just asking them to push a button. And, I mean, I'm assuming you'd send carb counts with him and and help them get through all of it. It's, I do think you'll be able to work it out, but sometimes they get, I don't know, resistant, and they just fight, you know what I mean. So I'm wondering, I guess I'll never, I might never know, but I'm wondering what you're gonna what you're gonna run into, yeah,

Hannah 24:44
we're curious on that as well. We have a great relationship with them, so I think it's definitely something that we could approach that conversation and have that conversation with them, yeah, along with kind of the support of the endocrinology office. But I mean, like you said, I'd be more. Than happy to go in train them and kind of walk through that. I actually go in there a couple of days every now and then to help out and work there. So like I said, we have a great relationship. I would totally do that if they're open to it, but I think we would benefit more so from a pump for that specific circumstance as well,

Scott Benner 25:17
though, I think you'll make your way through this. I think it's probably just a feel through process. And I'm wondering too, as you're talking, I don't mean this in any certain way, but like, you're pretty young too. You know what I mean? Like, you're young. I mean your husband's younger. It's a it's a unique situation. I wonder how 36 year old you will take would have dealt with this, I guess is what I'm getting at. Like, I don't know if you're being too referential or not with people, like with a doctor, too, by the way, like I am wondering that as I'm talking to you,

Hannah 25:45
I tend to be a people pleaser. Yeah, I'm hearing that. So that would 100% match my personality, and it's something that I've had to kind of learn to balance that with advocating for my kids. Yeah, because I've, I've had to advocate really hard. Now I

Scott Benner 26:03
imagine you have any educators in your in your family, your mom or anybody, a teacher?

Hannah 26:07
No, I don't think there are any. I was trying to scroll through my family tree here, and I don't think so. Actually,

Scott Benner 26:14
I was gonna layer a couple things together, but I figured with you being in nursing school, it's your, I would imagine right now, especially it's your your leaning to to give deference to the doctors. And I mean, it would be weird for you to be in nursing school and feel like, No, I probably know better than them, so you know, like, there's that. And I was wondering if you're not pushing back at the daycare center, because maybe you knew somebody who was in education too, but that's just me fishing. I was fishing pretty hard there, but I do feel like I hear that from you a little bit, that you're being you maybe haven't found your full voice in this yet. Am I on to something there?

Hannah 26:50
Yes, and I would totally agree we actually, we've only had one appointment with the new endocrinologist, but I feel like they are definitely more supportive in that sense. His a 1c spiked up to six a couple of months ago when we were with the previous endocrinologist, and he was pretty symptomatic. He was having some pretty sustained ties, and I brought it up, and we saw a nurse practitioner at that appointment, and she was great, totally listened to me, but I think she had to get things approved by the physician, so she brought it to him, and he said no. So that's kind of where I felt that we were lacking that support, and ended up switching him. Yeah, so I'm hoping that this upcoming appointment will will get us somewhere.

Scott Benner 27:34
Do you look young, too? Hannah, yes, this is all important, right? Probably all leans into how this works. Yes, yeah, because you come in, you say something, and she's like, Oh, I'll go ask the doctor. I said, No, that's okay. We don't, we don't need to listen to Hannah. She's 12, and I know when I'm doing the thing. I like how you moved on so quickly, when somebody showed that they weren't going to be, you know, a partner in this with you. Yeah, when it comes

Hannah 27:57
to my kids, I will, I'll be tough, you know, I'll kind of make those decisions, but I may prolong them a little more than they need to be, but I'm still learning on that aspect of things. I'd say that this decision to move the endocrinologist was a really great one.

Scott Benner 28:13
Yeah, that's a big move for you too. I sincerely, it's just so interesting because at your age again, like, I imagine, you know, a year or so ago, like, if you had questions about things, you probably would go back to your parents still once in a while, but like, now that this is a thing they have no experience with. Do you find yourself wishing that you could go talk to your mom and dad or something and then realize they're not going to be valuable on this one?

Hannah 28:39
Yeah, and sometimes I voice things to my mom, and she is a very devil's advocate type person, but she has offered a lot of support in this journey and kind of learned things along the way as well. My step dad's a type two, I believe, but he's not very well controlled. That's okay. That's for another day. We work with him with that, like she has some basic knowledge, and she's really put in a lot of time to learn a lot of different things with it. Okay, it's a little odd in the sense that, like, I can't go to her because she's experienced this exact scenario.

Scott Benner 29:12
Yeah, yeah. That's what I was thinking. Like, if you had a money question, or like, hey, how do you run a thing or pay for this, or how do I get my driver's license renewed? Or she'd be valuable in all that those places. And then it comes to this, and you probably need your mom in this moment. And then she doesn't have any experience, but she is willing to learn. So that's awesome.

She's great. Did you have to ask her to get more involved? Or did she just

Hannah 29:37
launch into it? Oh, she just launched into it. She is the like, absolute best Nanna that my kids could have. She was there when I got the phone call that his antibodies were positive. So really, from the very beginning, she has been fully supportive and looking into it on her own and sending me like carb counts for Halloween treats and. If we end up going that route. So good for her. She's been great.

Scott Benner 30:03
That's very nice. You're lucky. Talk about, if you can a little bit about, I guess, the the pivot here, because you're young family, you're rolling along, things are okay. And then this comes up, I imagine this, this slow onset presents its own problems, right? There's probably a lot of, I'm guessing, psychological burden here. And I was wondering if you could explain a little bit what it's like to watch this happen in slow motion.

Hannah 30:29
It's really difficult. Honestly, I have found that finding other people kind of in the same situation is definitely helpful. But I did see someone the other day who said stage three is harder. And while I understand and I completely agree that there's definitely difficulties with stage three, I think stage two is really difficult in its own way. Because you know, you do truly sit back and watch your child just be miserable and like, yeah, you can hand over a pack of Smarties when they're low, but when they're high, you just kind of sit back and you're like, let's just watch the numbers and just kind of wait until that shoe drops, because one day we know it will, so we don't know, like, this stomach bug going around daycare, is that going to take them out? Is that going to be what's causing it, or what causes that shoe to drop for him, and really kind of just sitting back knowing that our lives will eventually kind of change pretty drastically with his diagnoses, but at the end of the day, it kind of has also allowed for us to get a little more time to educate ourselves and educate others and kind of learn like how we're going to do things, because there's a lot of decisions to be made, whether it be like, are we going to cut back on carbs? Are we going to, like, let him have daycare treats, or are we going to provide something special? So just kind of scenarios like that, we've we have had some extra time, which has been very valuable. And I definitely understand that it's like, not what everybody else gets. And this may come out kind of negatively, but I mean it in the best way possible. It also feels like we don't belong as diabetics or as a diet part of diabetes. So it's really tough sometimes, because I even had to ask his doctor, like, okay, like, what? What do you call him? Like, do I call him a type one diabetic? Like, it's just so unknown that it kind of takes away, like, a little bit of that, like, do we belong in that community?

Scott Benner 32:32
Is that something you're worried about, or something you're actually feeling from

Hannah 32:35
people? You know, I don't really know kind of where it stems from. I would say, with it like I if I say my son's a type one diabetic, and they go into talking about, oh, what's his pump settings? Oh, well, you know, he's kind of in between, and not really on pump all the time, or not on a pump, because he's not on insulin all the time. So it's kind of rare in that circumstance.

Scott Benner 33:01
Okay, okay. And how about online? Do people mind online? Because that's where you're learning about things. So you talked about finding people who have a similar situation, I just assumed. But is that what you're doing? Yeah, I

Hannah 33:12
was part of a bunch of the like type one Facebook groups, and that's been a great community. Honestly, I haven't received any negative feedback or any pushback from anybody. I actually personally created a like Stage Two Diabetes type one diabetic group, because I know that this is a little bit of a unique scenario for some so kind of offered for more of a support system for that specific circumstance.

Scott Benner 33:39
How many people were you able to get into that group with first stage?

Hannah 33:43
So let me check right now. I think it was. There's 90 members. Now, that's

Scott Benner 33:49
crazy. That's awesome. Yeah, and yeah, small group of people who all have a very specific experience. It is incredibly specific experience, obviously. Are you finding are they hanging on after their kids move to the next stage, or do you lose them out of the group?

Hannah 34:04
So at this point, I think only one has moved on. Oh, I take that back. I think there's two that have moved on now, but they're both still in the group, and they've been in great support. You know, it's, it's kind of weird too, because it's like, I don't know exactly what this is going to look like. Like one day, is he going to wake up and go up to 300 and never come down? Or is it going to be a slow progression where he'll just, he'll go up, he'll stay there for a couple of hours, he'll come down, and then the next day he'll go up, stay a little longer, come down. So it's been kind of interesting to see their perspective on that, because they have kind of seen that

Scott Benner 34:40
progression? Yeah, is it happening more one way than the other from what you're seeing in the group, like quick onset versus slower?

Hannah 34:47
I believe the one was kind of had a sickness and then spiked up never came down. Okay? The other, I think spiked with meals will come down, but they are doing. Insulin at mealtimes. Gotcha? Yeah?

Scott Benner 35:01
It's just a couple. Okay. Did you is my group valuable for you? Have you been in it? Absolutely. Oh, it is. I have been

Hannah 35:09
in it, and I think it's definitely valuable. There's a couple of stage, two people in there as

Scott Benner 35:12
well. Oh, no, kidding, that's awesome. I guess she's just you reading ahead, really, right? Is that how it feels?

Hannah 35:18
Yes, yeah. And I think that's a part of the like, education portion of it. Like, we've, we've had that time to kind of look into it and see what people are doing and really kind of understand a little more.

Scott Benner 35:29
I'm super interested to learn if this process of, like, the slow, you know, the slow onset, kind of a feeling, and you being able to read ahead and get more information if it's going to be valuable for you, if you know, two years from now, you'll look back on it and say, you know, those first couple years were really made much easier by being pre educated and knowing what to look for and how to react and what to expect.

Hannah 35:54
Yeah, I feel like it will, but I'll report back. Yeah,

Scott Benner 35:57
thank you. Everything's so unknown for you at the moment, right? Yes, yeah, it is. Is that difficult, just like, personally or, I mean, how are you dealing with it with your husband? I mean, I was 26 and just married recently. Like, it's, it wasn't exactly the highlight of my ability to be emotionally intelligent, and think so. Like, is this been hard for you guys? It's been

Hannah 36:19
a little different in the sense that, at first he kind of was like, Well, you don't know that he has type one diabetes, kind of in between that waiting period of getting the antibody results back, okay, but once we got those back, I think he kind of accepted that this is reality, and we're gonna have to just learn and figure it out from here on out. And he's done great with kind of picking up on things, and like I mentioned earlier, He's not one to go to a doctor himself. He passes out when his blood's taken, but he has given insulin when we need it for a correction. So he's done really great in kind of supporting and it's actually, it's gone quite well for us, awesome.

Scott Benner 36:55
I see there's not a lot of arguing or worry. Hasn't ramped up like tension or anything like that.

Hannah 37:01
No, I think the only aspect of it that has kind of like presented any sort of little issue would be kind of the financial aspect of type one. And, you know, we do get a Dexcom, and we do need to buy, like, the ketone strips and all of those type of things. So that's kind of presented a little tiny bit, but

Scott Benner 37:20
not much at all. Yeah, well, you're in school, right? Do you work as well? I

Hannah 37:25
do, but it's very minimal. He does most of the working I school is quite tough. It's full time, so it's three days a week of a lot of hours. I'm not

Scott Benner 37:35
trying to say I think you should have a job at the same time that you're going to school. I'm just wondering if you do or not. And I take your point so your your expenses went off, but your income didn't change. Yes, exactly. And did you have? Do you have the kind of insurance through his work where you're like, I can't believe how lucky we are. Are you more like, oh geez, I wish this insurance was better.

Hannah 37:55
I think that we have it pretty good. The only pushback is they don't always approve things, and they love their prior authorizations. So that's kind of the only thing that's like a little annoying on that side of things. But I think that's just insurance in general. Yeah, he does. He has an HSA account as well. So that's kind of helped out with those type of things.

Scott Benner 38:15
No, they're really helpful. Well, you have diabetes, though, in the in your life, sometimes those things burn out pretty quickly as the years go on. Going, how much should we put into this HSA account? And just like, well, how much could we afford to because we should probably put in all that we can afford to. It gets used up pretty quickly. It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. Yeah. How much longer do you have in school?

Hannah 38:35
Nine months. Oh, okay, I will very proudly say that you're excited

Scott Benner 38:39
to get done, huh? Yes. What happens when you're done? Do they help you place at a hospital? Or what's the process of looking for for work after

Hannah 38:47
that? So I kind of took on a unique position with my job right now, the hours that I work, I work 24 hours a month is my required hours. So that's 212 hour shifts, and that's on the unit that I like, I had to interview to be placed on that unit they selected for me to be there, but I with that will almost get a guaranteed spot, not as guaranteed, but I still have to work for it. Still have to earn it, but it definitely helps get my foot in the door.

Scott Benner 39:18
And how will that change your financial situation significantly? Oh, 100% okay, you think you have more kids? We

Hannah 39:27
do want more. Okay, that is something

Scott Benner 39:29
that you got some energy left over you'd like to use up

Hannah 39:33
as of now. We'll reevaluate in a year.

Scott Benner 39:36
Yeah, I was gonna say, How long do you think you would wait until you did it again. Like, would you want to would you want to see what diabetes life was like first? Would you like? What is it you're waiting to see? So

Hannah 39:48
one perspective that I've kind of really wanted to take with this, and I understand that it's it's difficult. I don't want diabetes to affect our life. Obviously it's going to affect our life. But I. Don't want it to, like, change any decisions that we would have made prior. So with that, like, we aren't gonna hold back carbs for him, some people might disagree, but I want him to kind of live a normal life as close as possible. We would still kind of have a kid regardless of what diabetes looks like for us at that point.

Scott Benner 40:17
Okay, why are you so what's the

word I'm looking for? Responsible. Why are you so mature? Did you get kicked out in the world early? Did something happen? Is your husband in the same situation? You know what I'm talking about,

Hannah 40:33
or no, yes, I do. I had to be my own lawyer at the age of 21 so I would say that that's a that's a good portion of it.

Scott Benner 40:44
Whoa, okay, can I? Can I ask why?

Hannah 40:48
Yeah, we were so with the earlier Stan lows, easy bruising is a very common symptom of that. And with our firstborn child, he had a bruise at one month old. They called CPS on us, and CPS took him from us, come to find out, he has earlier Stan lows, and he actually has a suspected bleeding disorder as well. So he will bruise easily, and he does still continue to bruise easily, but that was 14 months of court dates and kind of all of these different things that we had to go through and jump through all of these hoops to get our child back. So that definitely matured me. Hannah,

Scott Benner 41:24
I've been talking to you for 42 minutes. What crack head took your baby from you. How did you are? So obviously a decent person, like, yeah, they thought you hit that kid.

Hannah 41:35
They they did. And it was an absolutely horrific time. Yeah, it was, it was a lot of jaded systems that we saw at that point, I bet.

Scott Benner 41:48
And how long did it take you to get through all that,

Hannah 41:50
14 months from start to when he got to come home? And that was delayed because it was during covid. So court was on Zoom, but it was definitely

Scott Benner 42:00
cry. They had your baby for 14 months. Yes, holy, oh my god, I really like got flush with emotions when you said 14 months. How was the baby when they took it one month? Oh, my God, had you done anything illegal, immoral or otherwise questionable prior to that? No.

Hannah 42:19
And you know, we did hire an attorney, and he said that, had we done something, we would have gotten him back sooner, because we would have been able to, like, go through a rehab program, or go through some sort of program to show that we've put in the work. But because we maintained our innocence the entire time, we had to kind of go through a very long

Scott Benner 42:43
process. Can I ask what backwater state you live in? Please, Kentucky. Okay, all right. That's all I was wondering. What in everyone? Move immediately. Okay, just get out. Go somewhere else. I hear there's some desert available. Go West.

What in Jesus did you cry? I don't understand, like, how old were you when that happened? 21 Did you cry every day, all day long?

Hannah 43:08
So that was also a interesting aspect of it. Yes, we did cry a lot, but at the same time, we could not cry in front of certain people. Otherwise we would be looked at as though we were mentally unfit for our child, so we had to kind of remain as normal as possible.

Scott Benner 43:28
But wait, who was eyeballing you that you couldn't be emotional

Hannah 43:33
in front of the caseworker on our case was not the greatest. No, really. Go ahead and she was

Scott Benner 43:41
and she was on you all the time, watching you all the time. It took her 14 months to figure out you didn't and how did you, My God, how did you even figure out the the avenue to use the NOT use, but to bring up the disorder that caused the bruising? How did that like? How did you even put those puzzle pieces together?

Hannah 44:00
That's a lot of where I do a lot of my research. I was trying to figure out anything because obviously I knew we didn't do it, so something had to be wrong with my child to have caused a bruise. So did a lot of educating myself on things, and lot of looking stuff up. And that's when I kind of came across earlier stanless. And I was like, Oh my gosh, that fits everything that I've experienced. So I got diagnosed. My mom was diagnosed, my sister was diagnosed, and then he was assumed to have the diagnoses. And then as far as the bleeding disorder, it was something that we saw hematologist because I went back to the pediatrician and I said we didn't do anything. Something is wrong with my kid, and I need help. Yeah, and so he referred him to a hematologist, and the hematologist did a bunch of studies, and there were some abnormalities with it. He doesn't have an exact diagnosis just yet, but it's enough to say, like there's something with this kid that his bleeding is more. Than it should

Scott Benner 45:01
be. Hannah, I'm going to be unpleasant. You don't have to agree with me, but what nosy piece of went to the authorities about your baby? For you, they that person still in your life. Is there a way to forgive that person?

Hannah 45:11
So it was a doctor within the same pediatrician group that we still use, but we will never see that doctor again, and she just immediately, I had it, I had a question, a list of questions, in my notes app, and I went in, and he was undressed, and I asked her, What? What is this? And she said, that's a bruise. Would you do? And I mean, from there, it was just kind of snowball effect. And we were at the ER with him, because she sent us there, and she called CPS on as we were on the way, and they met us there

Scott Benner 45:43
as if you would hit the baby and then show it to the doctor.

Hannah 45:47
Yep, yeah. That was a question that everybody was like, how does this make

Scott Benner 45:51
sense? Gap of common sense there. How about that? What do you How are you 14? Is the baby in in in foster care for 14

Hannah 46:01
months. Thankfully, he was with my mom. Oh,

Speaker 2 46:04
okay, okay, go. Thank God. Yeah, we at least had

Hannah 46:07
that side of things that was very good. We had visitation that we could go see him at my mom's house.

Scott Benner 46:13
Oh, I thought not that this makes it any better, but I'm just thinking about your baby's off with some rando now for 14 months. But no, okay, thank God, Jesus. But, I mean, they

Hannah 46:25
did tell us. They said, You have 10 minutes to find someone who's going to take him, or else he goes to foster care.

Scott Benner 46:30
Jesus, can you imagine what just I mean, there's great people in the foster care system, but there's also not great people. No, I've heard both stories, by the way. I've heard I've had people go through foster care and they meet the most lovely people. And I've had people go through foster care and that's where they pretty much learned all of their problems in life. So, but that's not even what I was like initially thought of. I was thinking about like the baby just blindly being not in your sight or in your ability to know that they're safe,

Hannah 46:59
like that's really slept a lot of bonding issues with him.

Scott Benner 47:03
Yeah, I would imagine that any of the people who made this mistake, is there any penalty for them for being bad at their job and taking your baby from you? Or no, nope, not even a sorry. That's just over now, huh? Yes, awesome, which is a wild

Hannah 47:20
thing to me, although I have connected with our our attorney, I've seen him out and about a couple of times, and I do know that they talk about our case, so at least I know that they reflect on it and recognize that it went wrong.

Scott Benner 47:33
Think you might help other people like through what they saw go wrong 14 months. What were they? What took 14 months?

Hannah 47:40
Took six months for the actual report to come out, and then it took another, I believe, three months of gathering what they said was their evidence. And then we were supposed to go to court in the fall time, but they had, like a change of county attorneys, so then it got postponed, and there was some delay there. Then it was like getting everybody's witnesses, the schedules in time and all of that.

Scott Benner 48:10
So once you're in the system, you're at the mercy of the machine and how slow it moves, gotcha. And you call somebody say, Hey, you got my baby. And they go, we're getting to it.

Hannah 48:21
Funny enough, we had our own witness, and that witness was a little busy, so we had to delay about a month or two because of their schedule, which we knew it would benefit us to have him. So we allowed for that, but our attorney didn't put in the paperwork on time, so he wasn't actually even allowed on the actual like, the court date that was important. So, so you

Scott Benner 48:43
waited, and then you couldn't use them anyway, yep, and I had to speak

Hannah 48:47
on our defense for an hour and be berated and cross examined and all of the things lovely.

Scott Benner 48:56
Why are you not an like? That's that. Why? Why? I don't understand because you you listen, you're either really great at presenting yourself, or you're like a very kind person. I'm leaning towards believing you're just a kind hearted person. Why has this not damaged that about you?

Hannah 49:13
Truthfully, I don't know. I definitely suffer some consequences. I'm in therapy myself, but I think at the same time, like I see the joys that I have in my life now, when I didn't have them, I'm enjoying that now that I know that it can change in one day.

Scott Benner 49:31
Yeah, well, right now you have that perspective of like, it's easy to say, like, I might step out in the road and get hit by a bus. Once you experience something that actually comes out of nowhere, it means more to you now, my goodness, oh, you're really you guys are something good for you, like being so strong. Seriously, the boy you let marry you, he got through it as well. Or did he have his own struggles with it?

Hannah 49:56
He had his own struggles in the sense of like he. He felt that he had to, like, support me and be there for me, because I was pretty emotional, like while at home without, like, outside of our visitation times and all of that. So he felt he had to support me. And I truthfully feel like he could have taken a little more time to be emotional himself rather than supporting me, but that's what he did, and I appreciate him for it, but I also see that he needed to kind of reflect on his own emotions at that time as well.

Scott Benner 50:28
Yeah, we tend to do that. I think the world tells men, generally speaking, Don't be emotional, right? Take action, you know, be stoic, that kind of stuff. I don't know that it. I don't I don't know that the world's telling men, go, why don't you cry for a while? And then, you know, that kind of gets built up in you as anger, and there's no real where to put it. And then, you know, you could also make an argument that there are times when society tells men not to be men. So like, you know, when you're, yeah, you get all that anger built up. There's certain ways we get it out now, and now somebody's telling us those are wrong. So it's a, it can be difficult to unburden yourself and not hold all that in really tough for everybody, honestly, obviously, but, you know, it's why I was, I was wondering about him, because he's young and, you know, it's a that's, that's a hell of a thing also, is there any moment where he looks at you and thinks maybe she hurt the baby, or you look at him and think, God, maybe he hurt the baby. And I don't know, did you find distrust in each other during that?

Hannah 51:29
No, we never had a moment like that. And I know that there's been some circumstances where people have but we've really kind of been great at supporting each other through everything. And it's kind of continued even, like with our son and the stage two, like supporting me and my decisions. And if he if I speak up to a doctor and ask for something, he's going to back me up completely, because he trusts me. He trusts that I do the right things and know the right things. So we've been great in that aspect.

Scott Benner 51:58
Awesome. Do you have a body cam on whenever you go in public now,

Hannah 52:03
yeah, it's, it's really interesting kind of approaching that. Now, we literally were like, do we, do we need to have like, cameras everywhere, just for our sake? And, yeah, I mean, look

Scott Benner 52:13
what's happening. I'm not saying that the doctor that did this wasn't trying to be, like, protective of the baby. I'm sure she was like, but her misunderstanding, or jumping to a conclusion, or whatever, you know, like, whatever she did that got you in that position. How do you not worry that everybody that you intersect who has some sort of power over you, like that, if they want to exert it, could possibly decide to you up if they wanted to, and then just do it, or even if they, you know, wanted to, not wanted to, but just through bad decisions. Like, I don't know, I think, I think everyone I spoke to, I just be like, one of those people gets pulled over, and I'm like, officer, I just want to let you know I'm filming you. I don't know how you don't walk into every place going. I'm filming. I'm filming. Boy, that sucks. Man, I'm so sorry. Yeah,

Hannah 52:57
it's, it's been a lot, and I think kind of like approaching that subject. And I don't know if you're familiar with the like, taking care of Maya case, but that was a really big one that was more so about, like, oh, there's a word for it, and it can't, I can't think of it, but the mom was accused of, like, making medical decisions and medically kind of bringing things up for her child, rather than it actually happening. There's a word for

Scott Benner 53:22
that 1000s by proxy. Yes, yes, exactly. A great name for something, by the way.

Hannah 53:29
I'm fearful of that in the sense that now I understand like we're in a unique scenario where my child, he needs some help with his blood sugars, but I'm it does kind of take away of my ability to advocate for those sort of things, because I am fearful of that.

Scott Benner 53:43
Yeah, you don't want to put yourself out too much, right? Because you think maybe then somebody will misread it, or do, boy, that's crazy. I would never go anywhere alone. Like anymore, like this would make me crazy. Yeah, I don't want it to make you fine. Yeah, don't let it make you crazy. Okay, I'm just saying it would make me crazy, but I'm a little more reactionary than you are. Obviously. I think that's good for you and me. I mean, my goodness, like it reinforces every concern you have about society in the world in maybe the most impactful way I can imagine. Like they took your baby. They were like, No, you can't have your baby. How old? Tell me again, how old when they

Hannah 54:20
took he was one month old. I was 26

Scott Benner 54:22
one month old. They did. They were like, Hey, you can't have your baby anymore. You were 21 Yeah. Also, by the way, yeah, able to drink for the last three days and like, that young Yeah. And then they just, and you and we talked around a little bit, but you didn't get pregnant on purpose, right? You guys were dating, serious, got pregnant, got married, like, that whole thing, right? He was on purpose. Oh, he wasn't look at you.

Hannah 54:46
Yes, that one was,

Scott Benner 54:50
we did. The first one on purpose. The second one not on purpose. Oh, wow. But I'm just saying, like, you're that young, and like, all that's going on. And, my gosh, you know? Know, you I don't people have to do a better job. Like, you know, isn't it funny? Like, on the podcast, a lot we end up talking about people not doing a great job. And it's around, like, understanding, you know, that fat needs insulin sometimes, or that you have to pre bullish or something like that. But there are other people out in the world making other decisions that are consequential too. It would be nice if everybody was, I guess just trying a little harder might be nice. Anyway, no one's ever like they're not going to apologize because then it's an admission of guilt, right? Yeah, that's why no one's going to apologize to you.

Hannah 55:37
That's a big part of it, too for us, kind of looking back on it. Like I understand why she did it. I understand she has a duty to report. Do I think she jumped to conclusions before asking questions? Absolutely, but it's kind of also allowed for me to have the perspective of, okay, I can do better. So with me in nursing school, like I really want, one of the goals that I set out for myself is to be a nurse practitioner. I'd love to be in a pediatric office, and one of the things I would do is annual or for like, regular checkups, to be able to test blood sugar, because I think that's a really big thing that people should be doing and that should be done. Yeah, but that's something that I said that I would do differently. And there's a lot of things that I would do differently, and with me being in healthcare, I wouldn't, I wouldn't give that judgment.

Scott Benner 56:23
Yeah, well, attitude, but maybe don't listen to tomorrow's episode. It's gonna be called Lila's story, and it's a dad coming on, talking about how his young daughter was not diagnosed in time, and she she passed away from undiagnosed type one diabetes. But he's out there advocating for in the UK, for this kind of testing, simple testing, to be done. But yeah, to your other point, I guess it's a dual thing for me. First of all, everyone listening, and me included, take a page here from Hannah, like, like, she's, you know, she's had something bad happen, and she's putting her best foot forward and trying to make changes with it. But I like you being in the healthcare system with this experience, though, because I do think you will probably make different decisions than you would have had this not happen, and maybe that'll spread throughout your co workers and the institution you end up working at, it might have, like, some real benefits long term. So I hope you get out there and try to make those changes. I absolutely

Hannah 57:19
agree. We asked ourselves why this was happening to us the entire time, and I think now it's kind of coming full picture, and I'm seeing the why.

Scott Benner 57:28
Very nice. Okay, well, how did you have anything that we missed, anything we didn't talk about? How did I pick this out of you weren't going to tell me about this?

Hannah 57:34
Were you? No, it's something I tend to not mention and things, but that's okay. I think it's valuable for people to hear about as

Scott Benner 57:44
well, what led you to wanting to be on the podcast, just trying to share the story.

Hannah 57:48
You know, I think we have a very unique perspective being in stage two of type one. It'll offer kind of an option for people who are in stage two to kind of hear another story that's similar to theirs and just kind of share some likeness for them, yeah,

Scott Benner 58:04
okay, well, you did a really good job of not saying anything that would get you in trouble. But if you tell me right now you want me to take your name out of this or something, I can make it anonymous, but I don't think you said anything that puts you in jeopardy. I am the only one that said stuff like this, and we'll say again, like, oh my god, Kentucky. Like, do better that was just poorly. Do you think they just see so much bad stuff, it just all looks like it's bad after a while?

Hannah 58:27
Yeah, I would say so. And I think that that's part of kind of the medical system as a whole. They make kind of decisions based on what they've seen in the past. So yeah, I think that's another portion as to why my son's symptoms were like, oh, it's probably just the toddler thing. Well, isn't

Scott Benner 58:46
it funny, though, with the diabetes, it was odd, it's probably nothing, and with the bruise, it was either probably trying to kill that kid. Yeah, like every, everyone's all or nothing all the time. You ever noticed that about people? Like, there's no middle ever, just 100 miles an hour or absolute inertia, they're just like, whatever exactly. I swear to God, you are awesome. I can't thank you enough. Like, I just thought, I don't mean to, like, I'm not minimizing it, but I was like, Oh, I'm gonna have a conversation this afternoon. Somebody's kid is in stage two, type two, and, you know, blah, blah, blah. And it's really turned into a great conversation,

Hannah 59:22
so I appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely thank you for having me on. That's

Scott Benner 59:26
a pleasure. Hold on one second for me. Okay, okay.

Dexcom sponsored this episode of The Juicebox podcast. Learn more about the Dexcom g7 at my link, dexcom.com/juicebox a huge thanks to cozy Earth for sponsoring this episode. Don't forget Black Friday has come early at cozy earth.com right now you can stack my code Juicebox on top of their site wide sale this is going. To give you up to 40% off in savings. And these deals are definitely not going to last. I'm talking about sheets, towels, clothing, everything they have. Get that holiday shopping going right now today. Do it. Do it. Do it. Cozy earth.com. Use the offer code. Juicebox. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod five now with my link, omnipod.com/juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit, a free Omnipod five starter kit at my link, go check it out. Omnipod.com/juicebox Terms and Conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox you thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox podcast. If you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app like Spotify or Apple podcasts, please do that now. Seriously, just to hit follow or subscribe will really help the show. If you go a little further, an apple podcast and set it up so that it downloads all new episodes, I'll be your best friend, and if you leave a five star review, ooh, I'll probably send you a Christmas card. Would you like a Christmas card if you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juicebox podcast, private Facebook group. Juicebox podcast type one diabetes. But everybody is welcome type one type two gestational loved ones. It doesn't matter to me if you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juicebox podcast type one diabetes on Facebook, check out my algorithm pumping series to help you make sense of automated insulin delivery systems like Omnipod, five loop, Medtronic, 780, G twist tandem control IQ and much more. Each episode will dive into the setup features and real world usage tips that can transform your daily type one diabetes management. We cut through the jargon, share personal experiences and show you how these algorithms can simplify and streamline your care. If you're curious about automated insulin pumping, go find the algorithm pumping series in the Juicebox podcast, easiest way. Juicebox podcast.com, and go up into the menu, click on series, and it'll be right there. Hey, what's up everybody? If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking like, how does that happen? What you're hearing is Rob at wrong way, recording doing his magic to these files. So if you want him to do his magic to you, wrong way. Recording.com, you got a podcast. You want somebody to edit it. You want Rob.

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