#1095 Over, Under or Around

Marsha is a social worker whose son has type 1 diabetes. 

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to the last episode of 2023. This is episode 1095 of the Juicebox Podcast.

On today's show I'm going to be speaking with Marsha. She's a social worker at a community mental health agency who has a son with type one diabetes. Please don't forget that 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 or becoming bold with insulin. 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 welcomed 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. Thanks to everyone who listens supports shares downloads follows me online Facebook Tik Tok Instagram, you make this possible. I hope you have a very happy new year. At the end of this episode, I'll give you a few highlights from what's coming in January. US med is sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast and we've been getting our diabetes supplies from us med for years. You can as well. Us med.com/juice box or call it 888-721-1514. Use the link or the number get your free benefits. Check it get started today with us med Marcia.

Marsha 2:01
Oh, thank you.

Scott Benner 2:02
Hey, how are you? Can you hear me? Yes, you were I don't know if you get the same messages I get but it was like Marsh is connecting to audio and that was going on for a while. So I was like I wonder if it's ever gonna happen. But there it is.

Marsha 2:15
I had to click a button. I think I just missed clicking it. That's

Scott Benner 2:20
interesting. I have to keep that in mind. Do you have any questions?

Marsha 2:23
I don't think so. I'm trying not to be nervous. I'm trying not to freak out.

Scott Benner 2:30
How does? We're recording already to see you know, okay. How does trying not to be nervous work?

Marsha 2:36
I've just been sitting here scrolling through Facebook trying to find my Zen space.

Scott Benner 2:42
So did you find it? Ah,

Marsha 2:45
I think I'm pretty okay. Right now.

Scott Benner 2:47
What? Okay, what on Facebook made? You said?

Marsha 2:50
I'm just scrolling. Something's not to think about this.

Scott Benner 2:56
Gotcha. Yeah, just the mindless.

Marsha 3:01
The no meanness of just scrolling

Scott Benner 3:02
by and going by and going by. It is really interesting. How scrolling through an app or playing a game of chance. Or like, you know, a game on your phone even that there is no like you can play and then lose and then play again and lose again and win again. It doesn't matter. It's all about like the beeps and bloops and the right colors and stuff like that. Yeah,

Marsha 3:29
yeah. Yeah. Like you did it or, you know, try again. Yeah, doesn't

Scott Benner 3:33
it feels like the three app developers could put us all into, like awake, awakened coma if they wanted to. Like they're just, they're just being kind enough not to turn us into like living zombies. Unless we already are.

Marsha 3:47
Every now and then I have to go through and just delete stuff, because I'll just get so focused or so like, I've got to play this game. I've got to play this game, and it's ridiculous. And so every now and then I'll just go through and delete all my apps on my phone. And I'm like, can't do it. But then one sneaks back on there, and then another sneaks back on there. So it's crazy. My son's

Scott Benner 4:06
only 23. And he was gone for maybe a month at his first job and sent him a link. I was like, check this out. It's hilarious. And he texted back and he goes, I don't have tick tock anymore. I took that off my phone. I was like, yeah, he goes, I was just wasting my time with it. I was like, All right, good for you. No, no, if he's put it back on or not. He's been there five months now. But, but, but he knew he was like, I gotta get rid of this. Anyway,

Marsha 4:30
my niece and nephew are probably about that age. They don't have any of that stuff. They're like, they just aren't into it. They're like, I'd rather just connect with people and I'm like, oh, good person. Maybe I need to be like that. Well, that

Scott Benner 4:45
would be amazing. I also don't know me my son's like maintaining a distance relationship with his college girlfriend too, because they both got job opportunities that were just nowhere near each other. But I was like cheese Well,

Marsha 5:01
those kids that age can do it. I don't know how I'm like, yeah,

Scott Benner 5:04
I gotta tell you right now, if Kelly wasn't here for a couple of months, I totally forget who she was.

Marsha 5:13
I've always laughed that I've been so low maintenance and relationships that people forgot they were in a relationship with me. Oh, we broke up, I guess maybe. Oh, no,

Scott Benner 5:24
you just don't demand anything of people. Yeah,

Marsha 5:27
yeah. Whatever. I'm totally fine by myself. Okay.

Scott Benner 5:33
All right. My last question before we get going is being How old are you?

Marsha 5:37
I am 58. Almost 59. I

Scott Benner 5:40
was gonna say I thought you were a little older than me. And I was gonna say being your age with them. I thought, let me just ask first. How much of your life was met with people referring to Marcia Brady? From the Brady Bunch.

Marsha 5:53
Oh, my God. If I have to hear Marsha Marsha Marsha, one more time, like I just want to throw something at people. And you know when this so I grew up in the Brady Bunch era. And then when the Brady movie came out, started over, and I'm like, Oh, my God, please.

Scott Benner 6:13
I can imagine that the trailer coming on television. You being like, no.

Marsha 6:21
Do not do it again. Don't punish me again.

Scott Benner 6:24
Yeah, a lot of young people have no idea what you're talking about. But no, I don't even think it's worth checking into to be perfectly honest. Anyway, yeah. Okay. So good morning. Let's get going. Where are you at in the country?

Marsha 6:39
I am in Kansas. Oh, well, it's

Scott Benner 6:42
early there.

Marsha 6:43
It's 830. Why

Scott Benner 6:45
do people not think that's early?

Marsha 6:48
Because I get up and go to the gym at five in the morning. Do you really already? Yeah, I've already had a workout in and everything. Oh, my, I'm good to go.

Scott Benner 6:55
I don't understand what's the rest of your day look like? I usually get to work

Marsha 6:59
by eight o'clock and work until five and then come home and take care of this little wild child that I have.

Scott Benner 7:05
What do you do for a living? Can you tell me?

Marsha 7:08
I'm a social worker. And I work at a community mental health agency. That's

Scott Benner 7:12
lovely to work. Okay, why are we on the podcast? What's your connection to diabetes?

Marsha 7:17
So my son is type one, he has been diagnosed for about two years and three months, five months, two years, four months, four months, I will say no, these 10 He'll be 11. In about 15 days,

Scott Benner 7:37
I've been diagnosed around nine. And you just reminded me of my favorite story about my uncle. We were used to work for my uncle. When I got out of high school, I had what you would call no prospects grew up in a very kind of like blue collar household, the idea was go to school, well, you don't really have to pay attention to it because you're just gonna get a job afterwards. And then I graduated, I was like, I don't know what to do. And my grandmother basically forced my uncle into giving me a job in his sheetmetal shop. I think she could cajoled him. And so there I was, and worked there for quite some time, I did not make very much money. But every morning, there was a coffee break 10am 15 minutes, like the whole place shut down for 15 minutes, you could just sit there and just collect yourself and get through this 15 minute break. And then you all you had to do is make it till noon. You'd have lunch and then all you had to do was live till five, you know, but one day, we're all sitting around. And once in a while the boss would come out and he's passed now. So I don't feel bad saying this. He came out. And we're all just trying to you know what I mean? Like just this, I guess, scroll Facebook in our heads for a couple of minutes because it's a hard, difficult job in a hot environment or a freezing cold environment depending on the time of year. And he starts telling a story. Now God bless him, the man was not a gifted storyteller. And he's five minutes into a story that you still don't understand where it's going, you don't care about and he mentions a pickup truck. And he goes, You know, it was a 63 No. 64 Yeah, so it was the 1960s Might it be? Was it a 65? No, no. It was read. It was a 6060 I think the truck was uh, said I'm sitting there going like you guys listen to this podcast for a while. I'm like, everyone shut it off already, man. Let's go. Everybody goes, and he just he fumbled around for what felt like forever trying to decide on the year of this pickup truck and the story eventually landed on the idea that he was not going to recall the year of the pickup Truck Moving on. And when the story ended, I had to stop myself from saying out loud. That truck and what year it was born had no bearing on this story whatsoever.

Marsha 10:16
But I bet if my husband were in the room, he could probably tell you exactly what year if he told them what color it was, I

Scott Benner 10:23
don't know, just when you were deciding how long your child had diabetes, you were like, I don't know, is like 14 and a half, or 15 or 16 months. And I was like, Oh, my God, Uncle Bob.

Marsha 10:35
Anyway, I was trying to do the math in my head and social work and math don't go together. That's why people become social workers. So they don't have to do math.

Scott Benner 10:42
I honestly wish that man was still alive. I'd call him right now and ask him what the hell was going through his head when that happened? Okay, so we'll get back to your I'm sorry, son right now. Yeah, yes. Get back to your son in a moment, I want to know a little bit about what you do. So what's, what's a day like in your job.

Marsha 10:59
So I don't know if you're familiar, but most of the community mental health agencies of all across the nation are becoming certified community behavioral health centers. And it's known as nationally as CCBHC. And my job is to bring that model into our agency and create changes. So community mental health agencies aren't just focused on mental health. They're focused on behavioral health, substance use, and the integration of physical health. So it's kind of integrating all that stuff into a mental health agency. And then I supervise managers of like our mobile response team, and we have a jail team and behavioral health court team and our children's services. I supervise a lot of people.

Scott Benner 11:53
So what's the desire of making the shift? Is it so that you can offer more services in the location.

Marsha 12:00
So it's really helping people to focus on all person well being and not just mental health? For a long time, you think, here's mental health in one spot, here's substance abuse, and another spot, here's my physical health, and they're not interrelated. But we all know that they are interrelated. And so it's just really kind of forcing community mental health centers to move out of that thinking that we're just providing mental health services, but we're really providing whole person care, to, you know, the people that we serve. And I think about this a lot when I think about my son with diabetes, right? Because when he is that when his blood sugars are high, that kid is cranky and nasty, and just, you know, he's just not fun to deal with, right? And so when you think about how we have some of our clients who have long standing physical ailments that aren't treated, and then are depressed, it's like, Why? Why aren't we paying attention to what's going on with their physical health, because that will impact their mental health, right? And so if we can make their physical health better, maybe their mental health will be better.

Scott Benner 13:11
Martin and I were having a conversation yesterday while we were in the car. And I was on a mad dash around New Jersey trying to get my next dose of wheat ov I'd be honest, while we were together, and we were trying to avoid the the fires right now. There's fires in Canada, I guess, the timestamp this, and somehow the smoke is blowing into America. I'm pretty sure they're attacking us. And the skies are really orange here. And, and the, the air quality is like in the four hundreds. It's terrible, right? So we're zipping around, and we're talking about all kinds of different things. And I want to preface what I'm gonna say, by being very clear that I'm not doubting anybody's problems, issues, ideas, nothing like that. But I began to wonder and we were talking back and forth about social contagions. And how sort of, there's a, it feels like, somebody says something out loud. And then later, I'm gonna sound like a right wing lunatic for a second, but I don't feel like that just so everybody understands. But, like, how much goes into? My friend says she's anxious. I'm anxious, or like, that kind of thing. Like, like, how much is it just almost learned behavior? Like, you know, like we, we say, oh, there's people online and they're sharing their blank with us, and that's great. But are they also indoctrinating or talking other people into believing that a very normal feeling that they're having is actually not normal? And like, do you see that like, in waves, I guess? Yeah, yes.

Marsha 14:57
Yes. I think there is. Truly some of that. And I think there's a lot of that that happens, probably more so like in the teens and 20s. Well, now I'm gonna say it happens all across the board. But like, we work with kids who are like, Oh, I have dissociative identity disorder, or like, really? How about that's really about you feeling sad and lonely here and then feeling really happy and chipper here. And that's just the normal range of emotions. And so, you know, it's, it's kind of like, you know, I'm going to diagnose myself on the computer, and then I have all these ailments, and I'm really anxious. And I'm like, You know what, that's probably just this. You're probably just having some normal emotions. And it's really, okay. Stop reading that. Yeah, what even diagnosing yourself by Google,

Scott Benner 15:50
I had somebody telling me about, like, I'm feeling a lot of anxiety, but they were in a really pressure filled situation. I was like, I believe this situation dictates anxiety. But, but why? I don't know why anxiety is bad in this scenario, like, Are you anxious? Constantly? You know what I mean? Like? Or are you? Are you in a situation that needed you to be at a heightened state? And you are, and then you a friend looks at you and goes, Oh, you're you're anxious? I know, because I'm anxious to, but I take medication for it. And then you're like, well, maybe I should take medication for it or like, give me like, not to say that there aren't some, I hope I'm being clear. Not to say there aren't some people who are ridden with anxiety and need medication. I'm just saying, I wonder how much the internet and the ability for everyone to just say something out loud. And for you to hear it over and over. And then the algorithm will tell you, Hey, you like listening to people talk about their XYZ? And then the next five videos are the same person? Oh, my God, every one has this, I must have it too. Like, you

Marsha 16:53
know, I could probably go on a tangent about social media, because you think about even what happens in social media. Everybody posts what looks good, right? Or bad? Yeah, or bad, one or the other? But like, do they ever? Do you ever see the range that happens? And you're so just so very, right? There are situations that are intense, and, you know, are anxiety provoking? And when you're out of that situation, you're able to come back to normal and center and all that kind of stuff. Just because you were anxious for you know, an hour or two hours doesn't mean that you have anxiety? And it doesn't mean that it's going to impact your life over the long term. May it impact your life, maybe in that day? Sure. In that week, maybe. But does that mean it goes on and on and on to the point where you need to be medicated, and you have all these symptoms, and you can't cope, you know, now. And again, not to discount those people that it really does happen to because it is very, very true. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in business. We all have bad things that happen to us and we get sad, and we get depressed about them. And we have coping skills that we learn how to manage them, and we're able to move forward. But that doesn't mean that we're depressed it means to be on 15 antidepressants, and

Scott Benner 18:13
yeah, yeah, that's when things get fashionable too. Yes. And Oh, gotcha. Right. And then they have been flow. What's the one is just the thought just popped in my head? Oh, there was a time. And I I say online, I guess, where everyone was calling everyone a narcissist. Yes. And I don't remember when it was and it went on for a couple of years. But it became very fashionable that if somebody showed any signs of narcissism that people were like, That girl's narcissistic, or I'm always dating narcissists, or bla bla, bla, and then all of a sudden, you don't hear about it anymore. What did everybody did everybody fix it and stop dating narcissists. Or, like, did you move on to a another? social contagion? Another there? You know,

Marsha 19:02
I 100% agree tons of trends about who is what and what we move on to and you get buzzwords that are out there and half the time people don't even know what the buzzwords really are. You know, I'm just gonna throw it out there.

Scott Benner 19:17
Listen, I've met a lot of people. I'm not sure they should be in charge of which foot goes and chart in front of the next one, but then suddenly, I'm letting them tell me what a narcissist is. I was like, last week, I wouldn't have taken lunch advice from you say that I'm brilliant. But and you know not to say that if you think you've worked with a narcissist once you're not but it just we don't we let people say very impactful things. Not that they can't say they can say whatever they want, but they say very impactful things. We don't know who they are. Right, right. Like I have no idea who you are, what your qualifications are to call your boyfriend a narcissist. Like how do you know like, what did you hear? I mean, I used diabetes, isn't it sample. I can't find every doctor who understands diabetes. But the lady up the street definitely understands mental health disorders. And she's for sure knows what's up with the other lady across the street from her like, I don't know, like, it just it's a weird. It's a weird thing, and then we all get sucked into it. And then you're on your way. Yes. So yeah, it's

Marsha 20:25
interesting too, because people will come to me, you know, like, I could diagnose you. I mean, I could, like, I have the license, I have the credentials. I could give someone a diagnosis. They're like, what do you think about this, and I'm like, I'm not going to do it, and I can play your little game. If you really need help, you'll know that you really need help. Don't like, again, don't google it.

Scott Benner 20:46
And when p&l really need help, they make it to you. Right, right. Like you're, I'm assuming this, the place you work is not full of a bunch of people having small existential crisis is like, you know, they're really in trouble. Yes. How much in Kansas is, is drug related. I used to hate ordering my daughter's diabetes supplies. I never had a good experience. And it was frustrating. But it hasn't been that way for a while, actually for about three years now. Because that's how long we've been using us med us med.com/juice box or call 888721151 for us med is the number one distributor for FreeStyle Libre systems nationwide. They are the number one specialty distributor for Omni pod dash, the number one fastest growing tandem distributor nationwide, the number one rated distributor index com customer satisfaction surveys. They have served over 1 million people with diabetes since 1996. And they always provide 90 days worth of supplies and fast and free shipping. US med carries everything from insulin pumps, and diabetes testing supplies to the latest CGM like the libre three and Dexcom G seven. They accept Medicare nationwide, and over 800 private insurers find out why us med has an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau at us med.com/juicebox, or just call them at 888721151 for get started right now. And you'll be getting your supplies the same way we do.

Marsha 22:32
You know, it's interesting because I actually live in Lawrence, Kansas. And what happens is a lot of the drugs come from like Kansas City, then cross the state of Missouri, me from St. Louis, across the state of Missouri to Kansas City, and then keep going this way. So right now we're seeing a lot of meth related stuff. And then we actually had three fentanyl overdoses just in the past week, which is a little unique to Lawrence. But I had spent the last 25 years in Kansas City working in substance use services I ran for residential and outpatient programs and to methadone clinics. And so we saw a lot more of it there. And now it's like coming this way. And so we do I mean, I think that's part of why there's this big push to really integrate mental health to look at substance use because you know, that they're so intertwined. And meth is really big here in Kansas. So put that

Scott Benner 23:41
sign on the highway. Yeah, hey, what are some off the top of your head reasons that people find themselves amenable to drug use on that level?

Marsha 23:56
You know, I think it really starts after working for so many years. And I think what it really starts is, is a lot of people start to experiment with something. And they do it because they have some kind of lack of skills in their life. I want to say that in very broad terms, so like, I am really socially awkward. So I start smoking pot, and when I smoke pot, you know, I'm a little more able to engage with other people and I'm able to have better conversations, right? And then that pot becomes not enough. And I have my friend who says, Hey, have you ever tried this crack? Let me try this crack, or I moved to PCP or move to something else. And so I think really, when it kind of boils down to it, people have some kind of pain or not skills to cope with something that's kind of challenging in their life. So they turn to something that just really helps them feel better, and helps them be able to cope with that situation. And then that just keeps happening more and More and more, that's typically the pathway that people get to like the heavier drugs. The other way is, if I'm in an accident, and I have something and my doctors prescribe me some pills, and after a while I use more and more of those to, you know, take care of whatever's going on, which by that point is probably not the pain, it's probably I become addicted to it. And then my doctor says, No, I'm not going to do that, then I start searching for that out in my community, because my doctor is not going to give it to me, so I can get it on the street. And then so you see people becoming addicted, like one of those two ways, like the pain pathway, or, you know, some kind of lack of emotional skills that people have,

Scott Benner 25:45
how much is boredom involved? I

Marsha 25:47
think that's, that's huge. That's also a reason why people don't stop using because they're afraid they're going to be really bored in their life

Scott Benner 25:55
gives you something to do, right. Yeah. Yeah. And because it would be someone's inclination, I believe, to say, how about poverty, but it happens to people on all, all levels of, you know, their social,

Marsha 26:08
yeah, just people who are richer, able to hide it better, right? Because like, if I am having a really challenging year at work, say, and I'm burnout, and I'm crispy, I have the means that I can go on a little vacation and rejuvenate. But if I, and that helps me hide maybe what I'm doing, right? I have the means to kind of hide it better if I have money. But if I'm working in that cheap iron factory, right, and I'm making minimum wage, where do I get away from that? Where do I get away from? You know, what's going on with me, I just turned to drugs. So

Scott Benner 26:49
almost crazy that you just said that because in our drive around yesterday looking for this a pharmacy that had this dose that I needed, we ended up in a diner in a town that was pretty far from our house. And what do I want to say the town was rundown. And we go into the diner Arden and I to have lunch. And there's a family behind us daughter, high school age mother in her 50s 40s, late 40s 50s. And their grandmother. And they argued and yelled at each other, and just generally speaking, acted in a way, I would be mortified to act out in public at the very least. But when they weren't yelling at each other, they would switch back to fantasy full conversations about where they'd like to go on vacation. And they were big places like I think we should go to Bora Bora, and blah, blah, and I'm like Bora Bora. Like who's paying for that? You know, and then it went to well, if we're gonna go over a sea, then we're gonna go to Paris. And all I could think was, oh, they they're never gonna do that. And it actually struck me is, I mean, it was sad, right? Like, I mean, I don't want to like, I don't want to paint a different picture. I can't afford to go to Bora Bora either, right? They definitely can't. And they are not in a position that is one day going to magically say, This is it right. And what I came to understand, was that sitting in that diner and talking about going to Bora Bora, I think that was their vacation. Yeah, you don't I mean, yeah, like they just kind of, and I don't know, like it was just I can't believe that's the example you use, because I was sitting there yesterday thinking the same thing. Like if you make X amount of money a day or a week, and a plane ticket to Paris is whatever it is like you can't even you'll never be able to afford to fly there, let alone stay in a hotel or keep yourself going or and then you don't get that respite,

Marsha 28:55
right. Yeah. You don't get a break. And

Scott Benner 28:59
so also, I think close quarters, like smaller homes, or have or your home not being a hospitable place, like a place that you actually want to spend time, right, like because now you're outside with other people who are in a similar situation. And I guess then that snowball starts rolling downhill pretty quickly. Yeah, yeah. So how do you help people in that situation?

Marsha 29:23
If you look at like national average, not very many people, the first time that they tried to get clean and sober, get clean and sober. It's like 10%, right? Because you have to think about this. You're just like, you're asking somebody to change absolutely everything in their life, who they hang out with how they do things, so on and so forth. So part of it is it's really kind of twofold. You give them a lot of education about what the drugs do to their body and their brain and all of that kind of stuff. And then you start teaching them skills, like how do you manage stress? What is the skill does it take for you to manage stress? What's the skill that you need to learn to To set some good boundaries with your family that maybe every time that they have a holiday, they're drinking and smoking, and you can't be around them, you know. So it's, it's really doing a lot of education. And then the other part of that is a person has to be really, really motivated to change. You know, like, they have to say, it's enough. And you can think about that with everything like with a person who wants to lose weight, like why do people lose weight, you finally get motivated enough to make a change in what you're doing. And some people have that motivation, put upon them, they lose their kids, they lose some freedom, you know, they have a heart attack, or some kind of health scare, that really is a motivating factor for them. And some people just, you know, they kind of try and then they don't, and they try, and they don't, and eventually, it just kind of sticks. And for most people, they just get sick and tired of being sick and tired and want to do something different.

Scott Benner 30:58
I'm looking online here, it seems that around 20 million adult Americans aged 12 or older, battle sub sort of a substance abuse disorder.

Marsha 31:12
Yeah. Seven, the younger you start the The quicker you get to that addiction part where you're truly addicted. 74%

Scott Benner 31:21
of adults suffering from substance abuse disorders in 2017. Struggled with alcohol. 30% of adults in 2017 battled an illicit drug. Wow. It's really something it makes you feel it makes me feel on how it makes other people feel. But it makes me feel just lucky. That like, that didn't happen to me. Yeah, yeah. And because I grew up in I mean, poverty. And my home was in a hospital environment, hospitable environment. And there were plenty of reasons why I should have I never, Whenever anyone asks me, why, why don't you drink? Or why don't you do that? I honestly don't have an answer. I don't know. Like, it would make sense that I would have. And so I don't, I don't know, I wonder if I'm just so cheap.

Marsha 32:16
I don't want to spend my money that way. I can't give you money for that. It's kind of funny, because I grew up in a very rule. My dad was a hog farmer. My parents went to dance club once a month, and they took their bottle of cherry vodka and old charter whiskey with them. And they would have that bottle for like, five years, it would go every time with them to dance club once a month. So I didn't grow up in a household that drank or any of that kind of stuff. Now, when I went to college, I drank a lot. I was our pledge class chug champion, you know, I just, I drank a lot. And I think about that, and like, why didn't I continue to drink because there's, there's also addiction in my family. Right. And so that means that, you know, there's some genetics that play into that, too. But I think it's at the same time, it's like, I had different skills to cope with what was going on. So that alcohol wasn't my only coping skill, right? So I had friends and, and, you know, I had motivation to work and learn and play and hobbies, and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, for folks who don't have that you grew up in home, where you don't have anything else and your family drinks and uses. And you learn that that's the way to make it through life. You know? Yeah, it's, it's, it's tough.

Scott Benner 33:35
Questions. What is that? What if that is the way to make it through? What if you don't have another escape, and you're going to lose your mind? Or, I mean, if you went to a doctor, I mean, right? Like, I must live in a town with a lot of what I want to say, middle aged white ladies who are being medicated by their doctors. You know, like, they go in and they get a Xanax or they get something like that, or they it's a glass of wine at one o'clock in the afternoon, or they're doing something to manage themselves. My bigger question is, it just feels like, this is how people in our are wired. Like, like, after a while, don't you just get that feeling that you're fighting, a losing battle?

Marsha 34:21
I, so I did that work for 25 years, right. And I was able to see a lot of people make a lot of significant changes in their life, I mean, to really become very different people. And I think that was the part that kind of kept me going is that people really want to live their best life, right? No one wants to be a drug addict. No one wants to be an alcoholic. They really want to live their best life. And so for those who make it out of it, and are able to do that the changes they make in their life are just remarkable. Oh, yeah, I'll tell you this little story. So I went one time to an AAA meeting, one of our clients was celebrating a year. And a friend of mine who had worked with her from a different agency said, Hey, come with me. So I go to this AAA meeting, and they're celebrating her year, and I'm just sitting there, you know, just just to be there. It was an open meeting. So you know, they're in a, another person from that group gets up to start to talk, right? And she looks out of the audience, and she sees me and she's like, Yeah, and I'm like, Oh, my God, oh, my god, please. No, no, no. And I'm, like, go on. She's like, Oh, yeah, I have stories about Marsha. And she went on to say her things, and then came up to me afterwards and said, I remember being in treatment with you. And I remember how much of a, like, a I was to, because she was just, Oh, my God, oh, my God. And so, but here she was. Now, at this point in time, she had 14 years of sobriety, there was a woman that sat behind me that as soon as we get up to leave, she's like, I just want to thank you. She goes, I wasn't successful when I came through treatment with you. But I've been clean and sober for two years now. And it was just by some of the things that you said, that really made me think about that. And here I am. And it had been like nine years, and she had been out of treatment. But I've only been clean and sober for like two years. So I you think about this, as in the kind of work that I did is that you think about this as like, I'm not going to save everybody. But I'm going to plant enough seeds that when people really want to make that change, they know what they do, they can do to make that change. And so seeing that kind of success over the years, is what really motivated me to stay in that work. But it also is what motivates people to make changes, like once I start to know more about what I'm doing, and know that there are opportunities out there for me to do different and be different. You know, it takes hold at some point in time, we just don't know when you

Scott Benner 37:08
just perfectly described how I feel making this podcast? Exactly.

Marsha 37:12
Yes, yes, I get it. But yeah. And I'd never related the two but you know, I get it. Yeah.

Scott Benner 37:19
And I don't I don't ask the question. Because I think things are hopeless. I asked the question to get the answer. And so people can hear why it's not hopeless. But but to go backwards? Why does it keep happening? Like why don't we produce a generation of people who think math? No, thank you. Like, why doesn't that happen? And it doesn't, right? Like it's, through some decades talking about how things ebb and flow right? Through some decades, it's cocaine, and then through another decade, it's heroin. And then some people hold on to it. And then then like fashion, it comes back into style, again, like cocaine is huge right now, again, around here. And you know, and so it just feels like what we're saying is that a portion of the population needs to escape. And some of them need to escape with alcohol. And some of them need to escape with hard drugs. And some of them need to escape with a risky behavior and like, and they're on and online web gambling online, and, you know, pornography, etc. And over and over, like, there's so many different things. How crazy is it? That this, that this soup we all come into is somehow not hospitable for such a large portion of us?

Marsha 38:37
Well, I think that goes to even greater than that. drugs or alcohol. It's, it's also about, you know, how do we build and grow a generation of people who can tolerate not having instant gratification? Right? How do you raise your kids so that they don't get everything that they want? Or everything that they demand? And how do they work for that? And how do they delay some of that gratification? I think about it now, you know, like, even just raising my son, you know, he wants something like, how do you build the tolerance that I can say no, without you throwing a fit and having a meltdown? Yeah. Right. Because that's part of what drugs too, are their instant gratification. I want to feel good, I do this, I feel better, right? And so it's that whole generation of how, what are we doing with our kids? And what are we doing to raise them in a way that they have a good strong work ethic and that they, you know, learn that they have to, like, earn money to then buy things and get what they want, and that doesn't happen today. That doesn't happen in the next instant. But, you know, for many of our generation, I just get on Amazon and order what I want, right? or I say that I want this, and I'm in front of social media, and I'm in front of this, and I'm getting instant gratification continually. And I grew up on a hog farm. Like, think about that, out in the middle of the country, we were poor, dirt poor, right. And so to buy a pair of jeans meant probably that I had to work, you know, for three months to be able to save my $20 to go buy my pair of jeans, now I'm old. So that's how much they were in that in that time. But, you know, it's like, we had to work to get what we want. And so, you know, needing that instant gratification wasn't a part of what I grew up with, I had the tolerance to be able to say, you know, I'm gonna, if I want this, I have to work for it. Right?

Scott Benner 40:49
Well, and it's interesting and easy to say, oh, parenting, if the parents did a better job, which, I mean, obviously, everybody could do a better job, not just in parenting. But if that was the case, then, you know, the hard working hog farmers of the 50s wouldn't have raised the generation of kids who were drinking all the time, and etc. So it isn't just that either. I just think, like, I don't want to sound like I'm like, headed down some, like Hocus Pocus, like Boulevard here or something like that. But it just feels to me that a large swath of people are not wired correctly, not even correctly, but wired in a way that gives over to this existence, the way it's set up right now. Like they're fighting against it all the time. You know, you mean like, there's sometimes I see somebody who's living in a van, and doesn't have a real job. And I think you know, what, good for them. That's probably where they're comfortable. You know, and, and feeling like, and I don't know if this is the same in all parts of the country, using America as an example. But around here, like, there's a pressure, like, I don't know if you know what it costs to live here. But you got to make money if you want to stay here. And it's, and it's the second you're standing up, and you're in your 20s. And it doesn't stop until you drop dead. Like, right, like, so I can see people being like, I don't want this. And there are also people who thrive in it. You know, like, I didn't be honest with you, like, I told the story recently. So I don't want to go deep into it. But I, we went away for like nine days to see our kids. I worked like a dog for like two and a half, three weeks to prep myself. So I could leave so that you guys listening to the podcast would not notice that I was gone. Right? Right. And I'm talking about like, 12 hour days for like a solid week of editing and like, you know, stuff you just don't see behind the scenes. And somebody said to me, why don't you just like, not have the podcast for one week. And I was like, what I was like, I don't understand. And it was like, someone else might like, you know, I might lose, like, I might lose ground, I can't lose ground. I don't work at this for nine years, I'm gonna stop, right. Like, and I know, there's plenty of other people would be like, I don't care. You know, like, as a matter of fact, I, I've seen people say I'm going to start a podcast, and after talking to them for 15 minutes, I'm like, Oh, that's not going to work for you. Right? Like, you're you just don't have the personality to like, do the backend work that that needs to be done. I'm sure you could sit down and talk, but you're not going to do the other things that like you don't fit in that. And, and I'm sure there are people who grew up in parts of the country that had very slow, and they're not okay with that either. And they have that, like, I'm so bored. I gotta get out of here feeling they want to be up here fighting with the rats with me. You know, it just I don't know, like, it's a bigger thought. And of course, it's not your job to know the answer to it. But it just feels like people are sometimes incompatible with their life or their surrounding. And then on top of that, they get bad direction from parents who are probably in the same situation. And we try to boil it down to something simple, like, oh, they weren't parented Well, or she's anxious, or you don't I mean, like, I'm like, I don't think any of it's that easy. Or simple. I

Marsha 44:16
always used to say that if I had the answer to why people got addicted, or you know, were became or became an alcoholic, I would just bottle it up, sell it for $1,000 stamp, your forehead is cured and be the richest person in the world because there is no direct answer to why it's fast. It's just all Yeah, yeah. It's about what are you going to do with it? Right, like, now that you're there? What are you going to do with it? It's kind of like I was just actually I was listening to your podcast this morning. I'm talking about the myth of why people became diabetic. And it's like, does that really matter? Like does it matter? Like you're there now? What are you going to do? How are you going? have lived your life. Now, what's the choice that you're going to make about that? I

Scott Benner 45:04
honestly, like, again, does sound strange, but I don't obviously know the answer. But it seems to me that caring about other people having a goal. And feeling like the thing you're doing is helping the greater good is what keeps me straight and narrow, like, like, like, I just, I'll tell you that Jenny and I spent 20 minutes texting yesterday. And she sent me this letter that a listener of the podcast sent to her. And it's just a thank you. It's an eloquent thank you from a younger person. And she said, Scott, you know, I got permission to send this to you. I thought you should say it. And it's hard. It's hard enough to just come out and say, like, the letter says, Jenny, and Scott, like you saved my life. And it goes over how, and I texted Jenny knows, like I said, it's, today was the day I was looking at my online messages. So I'll spend, like, I get tagged and so much stuff online. And I'm trying to find as much of it as I can. It's very, if you guys have ever tagged me, and I haven't seen it, it's hard for me to see it all. But so I'm jumping through. And it's message after message with pictures of adults and children and like, look how healthy I am. And I'm doing great and look at my graph, and blah, blah, blah, and I get through it. And it's very emotional, I almost have to wall myself off from it a little bit to do it. Because if not, I just sit at my desk and cry the whole time, like just out of like happiness. And then Jenny sends this email. And now I'm sitting here, and I'm just wiping these tears running out of my eyes away. And I texted her, and I said, I said, Oh, you pushed me over the edge. I'm crying now. And I spent, you know, I spent this morning and already looking at these messages. And she said, I cried for a while after I read that. And then we just sort of commiserated about what it feels like to help a stranger, like a person whose face I literally don't don't know what it looks like. And I just wonder, I mean, how valuable that is. And if everybody couldn't find a way to I mean, you could start small, right? In your family, or, like on your street or something. And I know this sounds like, I don't know, it just sounds like it's the 70s and I live in Malibu, but I mean, it just, it's, it's so true. Like, I don't have any, I mean, there are problems in my life too. And, you know, concerns and worries, I have all those other things that people have, I am not in a house that is unpleasant to be in. But other than that, like I don't, my life's not that much different from anybody else's, I get up every morning, and I'm like, I'm gonna make that podcast, and somebody's going to be better off because of it. And I might leave a seat behind like you were talking about where maybe 10 years from now, people will still use this exact Yeah.

Marsha 47:58
So it's about finding that life worth living, you know, like that, that you found that value and meaning to what you have going on and, and that's a life worth living for you. And for folks that don't have that, you know, that's the challenge. But it's, I think we all want to find that right? I think everybody wants to find this life that they find meaning to and all of that. And I will say that I do attribute a lot of how I manage my son's diabetes to listening to your podcast. Like, I don't know that we would be where we were with our diabetes management. If I hadn't started listening, you you know, and I hadn't started like kind of taking, taking control of what was happening with my son. So I appreciate you and Jenny tremendously.

Scott Benner 48:50
I'm going to shift to that in one second, right after I let everybody in on the big secret of this episode, as we're 50 minutes into this, and people are like, great. And other times God has brought on the person and they haven't talked about diabetes. But let me just pull back the curtain on what I'm doing here. In case you're not following along. This is exactly about you taking care of your diabetes. That's what this conversation is about. Because the there's no difference. I have not been able to see a difference. Except for access, right? Like, you know, there are people who can't afford certain devices, but you can live well without those devices too. And so, after doing this for so long, I don't see a difference in people's health success with diabetes generally speaking, like I'm sure some of you have like extenuating circumstances, but it just comes down to a little bit of education. Some desire, getting up every morning, doing the thing, not feeling burdened by it. Right. Like you didn't hear me say I worked like a dog for 10 days to go to go away, and I hated it, it was great. That's what my life was for 10 days, I worked really hard on this podcast for 12 days, 12 hours a day, I never once walked out of this room complaining, oh my god, I was in there all day or bye bye. So you have to accept what your life is. And, and like you said, like, attack it like, this is the thing now like, alright, this is it. And I don't know, like, that's just how I see life. Like, I expect speed bumps, I drive overtop of them. You know what he means? Like, if if one of them stops me and it's a wall, then we stop and we find a way over, under around it. And then we just keep going. It's that it pops into my head constantly that old like country music song is like, I just No one promised you a rose garden. Right? Like, like, but everyone thinks life is gonna be this perfect thing. And then, you know, you don't see it. When people are throwing tacks in front of you little things like I don't seem to be able to find a girlfriend, you know, like, I don't jive with anybody. That's a small problem, like, and it could be a big problem if you're alone. But those little things, we don't step back ever and go, I can't win, like, like, you know, but then this diabetes thing comes. And listen, I'm right there with you. It happened to my daughter. And I was like, you have to be kidding me. Like, like, you know, you spend months and sometimes years in your head, like negotiating with nothingness about like, how do I get out of this? Like, how do I get her out of this. And then you just realize, like anything else. I mean, like, like, somebody was put in prison for 40 years for something they didn't do. Like you can either be a prisoner, or you can, you can find a way to live in your in your surroundings. And I kind of see diabetes like that. And I see a lot of people who just fight against it constantly, they won't stop fighting it. And you know, I understand how that can happen. But I'm telling you, the only path that I've seen is just to not give up. But you just have to accept like, this is the world I live in. How do I live in this world? The best way possible?

Marsha 52:03
You know, so true. I think that's one of the things that that I think about a lot. And I read a lot of the posts on Facebook and that kind of stuff. And, you know, there was one post that struck me just like to the core of this mama, the newly diagnosed that said, Okay, we're getting out of the house for the first time, like in three months, since his like my son's or daughter's diagnosis. And I'm like, Oh, my God. Like, you just have to live your life. Like you just live your life, like you just go. Because if your son gets low at home, or your son gets low at the grocery store, you're gonna treat it the same way. Right? You're not even

Scott Benner 52:45
talking about somebody who wanted to leave the child behind. They were just leaving that, hey, listen, walking out of the house together. I can't I can't tell you that. That didn't happen to me. I mean, Arden was too and she was small. But I would think, well, what if she gets low while I'm driving? And she's in the backseat in that car seat? And I don't notice it? Or like, you know, and then you just think, okay, like you set up ways to take care of that. You know, what if what if we don't have something, it's impossible. Now, there's always juice in my car. It's in every door pocket of every vehicle that any of us traveling, right? Like that just doesn't happen that way. And yes, and two days ago, Arden left to get her hair cut. And she's home from college right now. And she's almost 19 next month. She took care of herself. I mean, all year at college on her own. One of the Spanish she was gone for five solid months. Right? She's doing terrific. And as she walked past here yesterday, while I was sitting here editing, and I heard her like she was go down the hallway. I was like, Hey, you're leaving for your hair? And she's like, Yeah, and I couldn't stop myself. I was like, Do you have a juice? And she goes, Yes. And I was like, Okay. And then that was it. Like I just, I still pictured her sitting at that place, getting your hair cut, getting low and not having access to something. So I get why people feel that way. But you're not wrong. You just have to go do it. Like you'll come to that wall. And then you'll find a way over around it or under it and you'll keep going you just can't sit in your house. And just think, Oh, I'm stopping something bad from happening by not doing anything.

Marsha 54:23
Right, because the diabetes is not gonna go away. Yeah, it's not right. That's

Scott Benner 54:26
the point and your kids not going to live his life or life, whatever, in your house like that. That I'll tell you. I'm gonna. I'll give you a little secret here. Okay. One of the most asked questions of me for years, Marsha. Oh, yeah, you're good at it, and you're helping her but what happens when she leaves like that fear. And people talk about it. Like, it's not going to happen. It's two ways either people talk about like, it's never gonna happen. So I'll just keep you here and keep us save almost that, like, hey, when you grow up buy a house across the street from mommy thing that you hear, like literally every person, every woman who's ever pushed a baby through her loins or come out in any way, or adopted one or anything says like, Oh, they're not going to move to live across the street, you think that's a new thought I've heard everyone says that, right? That's not gonna happen either. And by the way, when that does happen, it's stifling for your kids, they should, right, spread their wings, right. And then you'll hear people say that, like, nobody's ever gonna go into it, where someone will say, Look, you got to figure this out, because they're going to leave. And I know, that's hard to wrap your head around. But that's my experience, like, it's coming, it's going to happen, you can be prepared for it, or you can pretend it's not going to happen, and then send them out into the world completely. Just ill aligned with their needs. And that's where problems come from. And I got, yeah,

Marsha 55:49
I've kind of taken the attitude that, like, I'm going to help my son as much as I can right now. And I, but I'm also going to afford him the opportunity to step in where he feels ready. For the longest time, you know, well, not for the longest time really for a pretty short amount of time when we were MDI. He would, we would give him his shots. And he goes to school one day, and I said something to the school nurse. Now I've had a fantastic school nurse. But I said something to the school nurse, like he's kind of interested in his shots. He came home that day. And he said, Miss Diane taught me how to do my shots. And I'm going to do him from here on so he did, I've never given him a shot since. And when we change his palm, he's like, I'm gonna put it on. And I'm like, on. Okay, and so, like, he doesn't do anything else to get it ready. He just puts it on that whatever he's ready for is what we're gonna do. I know, by the time he's 18, he'll be ready. I won't be but he will be. And so that's just how it's gonna go. But yeah, you just have to figure it out. Just live your life.

Scott Benner 56:55
It's going to happen. You can either be prepared to approach the law, or act like it's not going to come. And when you get there stand next to it for 50 years going, I can't believe this happened to me. I thought I was gonna get through this without running into a roadblock. And now I'm it's the roadblocks fault. You know, but it's not by the way, I've decided to call this episode over under or around. That's a good one. Thank you. I wrote that. Yeah. So write down where you said 3625. But now that I did that, I have to write down 5818 Where I said, and then again at 5822. Okay. Sorry about that. Oh, it was fun.

Marsha 57:37
I'm surprised I haven't said anything worse.

Scott Benner 57:39
I mean, if you grew up on a hog farm, I'm pretty surprised you're on just like MFM this whole thing?

Marsha 57:45
Yeah, my dad had a plethora of words for pigs. So

Scott Benner 57:53
I'm sorry, I don't want to hear any of them. So I also want to say that there's somebody's listening to this. And they're like, you know, call Scott like, it's, you know, I'm addicted to something or I can't get through a week without doing I'm not discounting that. I'm not saying that I'm, I'm making a like I'm asking the bigger question, honestly. Like, it just it's baffling to me that so many people find themselves in this situation. But if you want to talk about hope, there's an after dark episode called after dark sex worker, because that's how the person like classified themselves to me, but in the in the pylons of my time. She's a stripper, okay? Yep. Yep. In the course of that conversation, Mila said I asked about her diet, because she hadn't had diabetes that long. And she said, without any sense of irony, she wasn't joking. She said, mostly tequila and coke. And she didn't mean like to kill on soda. Right? And she said it so matter of factly. And that episode has been out for over a year now. And I can't tell you, I think about her a lot. Like I literally think about her saying that like a lot. And I wonder if she's okay. And later in the episode, she talked about her father passing from a fentanyl overdose, if I'm not mistaken. And she just said it in a way that it was. It was like she was telling me that there's a sofa in her living room. It was just so normal, right? And I worry about her constantly. I don't even know her. And a couple of days ago, she sent me a note and she said, I want you to know, I've been sober for two months. Oh, wow. That's awesome. And I don't know why she was telling me. But it was almost like it felt like oh, God, she knows him. You know, and I said, um, and I you know, we talked back and forth on I'm gonna tell you what we said to each other. She did tell me she's what I think the gentleman on California silver referred to as California silver, I think she's smoking pot still, which I have to be honest with you. I don't really see the issue with. But I was like, Well, congratulations. I said, Do this for a year. And I'd love to come back on the podcasts and tell me about the process. And then I shared with her, I worry about I know, it's weird that we don't know each other, but I worry about you a lot. And she said I was a real mess then. And but but why I'm telling you that is because when I was talking to her when we were recording that she did not think she had an issue of any kind whatsoever. And that's baffling to me not not about her specifically, but about people in general, like, not baffling. It's fascinating. It is fascinating that you're asked to be on fire, and you're just like, everything's fine. And you believe you really believe in? You know, I don't know.

Marsha 1:00:59
That's that whole education piece about addiction is like, people need to be able to see that there's a life beyond like that it that something can be different. But if I can't imagine my life being any different than why would I think what I'm doing is that bad? Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:01:17
I don't want to get too deep, but you're born and you die. That's your shot. If you want to believe in an afterlife, you can but I'm not putting money on anything I can't see hold or touch right now. So this is it right here. You're a you're a baby and a toddler and a young person and a preteen where you're all messed up with hormones. And then you're a teen where you're messed up with hormones. And then maybe if you're lucky things start to gel for you in your mid 20s. If you're lucky, right? And then I don't know how to tell you, but it's only 20 years till your knees start hurting.

Marsha 1:01:50
So are you getting a new one like me? Yeah. So

Scott Benner 1:01:53
you've got like, listen, I told my son on the way out the door, I said, you're gonna start figuring things out, that's going to take you five or six years to get a solid idea about what you're doing. And at that point, you're either going to have a baby, think about having a baby or not have a baby, but one way or the other. By the time you're 50. Your back's gonna hurt. A I said you played baseball, your whole life, your knees are gonna hurt, your arms are gonna hurt, like, your shoulders are gonna hurt. And you're gonna be, you're gonna come to that conclusion that everybody runs into at some point. The only thing that matters is my health. Yeah, it's the first thing. I don't have my health. Everything else is going to be a, you know, an uphill battle. And I said it rewires you, you think God, I wish I almost wished my knee hurt when I was 20. You know? And then and then it takes you back to like, why do people with diabetes so often have such clear? Like a clear understanding and perspective? Like, right, like, Don't you find the people that come on the show? The more problems they have, they either find themselves spinning out of control, or the most thoughtful people you've ever met in your life? Yeah, like how many, how many people on here have talked about like, serious health, like life altering, or possibly ending health issues. And they're the most Zen people in the world.

Marsha 1:03:19
Like, they just Yeah, they've like, it's almost like they've embraced what's going on with them, and have just figured out like, this is this is it and here we go, you know,

Scott Benner 1:03:31
again, it's it's like being in prison, and you didn't do anything wrong. But you can either let it ruin your life, or you can find the best way to live in your circumstance, right. And I just heard an interview with a with a person who had that twice stuck in my head and they were in prison for over 30 years, something they clearly did not do. And they're literally together person now they still have trauma from being imprisoned. And that's not to be discounted. And actually, in your note to me, you said that a diagnosis is traumatic. And you want to talk about that a little bit from a personal perspective and professional perspective.

Marsha 1:04:08
Sure. So, you know, my son was diagnosed, we just did what we had to do, right? Just to kind of make it through. And it wasn't till. Like I told you, I go to the gym every morning at five in the morning, and I was sitting on I found your podcast, and I was sitting there I was listening in is actually listening to Mark, what is it? He's the tight end for the Ravens his mom was on? Yes, his mom was on Mark answers. Right? Yeah. Mark Andrews, and she was talking about it. And the next thing I know, I'm just bawling. I'm just sitting there as she's telling her story, which she I think cried during the episode, but I'm just bawling because I'm reliving our son's diagnosis. My son was really really sick. He was in DKA A he had qu small breathing, you know, we go into urgent care because we thought he had the flu 10 minutes after walking into that door, they're like going your son's type one diabetic, he's going to the hospital, he's going to be an ICU, he's going to be on insulin the rest of his life, here, take him and go, you know, and we're like, we're gonna go get a diagnosis. But no, you know, and then we walk into the emergency room and four nurses and three doctors swarm him. And one doctor came over and said, Your son is really, really, really sick. You know. And so, you know, just hearing her talk about that just kind of brought that all up. And I'm like, You know what, that was very traumatic for us. And I think, you know, one of the ways through traumas, just being able to talk about it and share it and say, yes, that, that had some feelings associated it pretty strong feelings that I don't think I really recognized until I was listening to her tell about her son's diagnosis on the podcast, and I'm like, Yeah, I just, I see why some parents get really immobilized. And that's what I just want to say is like, here's what it is acknowledge it, talk about it, and move through it, like you've got to live your life, you can't change it. And so, you know, just acknowledge what's going on about it. So one of my things that I that happened after, which, you know, I'm a social worker, my life's not a secret, I tell everybody, anything, I'll tell everybody, anything. I guess that's what I say. So, you know, I just start talking about it, I started talking about it to the people that I work with, I started talking about it with my family, I started talking with about how scary it was, you know, what it felt like all of that. So I just think it's important that people understand that it is traumatic, it is difficult, it is a challenge, but it's, again, what you do with it, that's important. That really, you know, helps you kind of move forward and live with this, or just kind of get you stuck in that spot. And you're kind of immobilized, I

Scott Benner 1:07:11
always have the same thing pop into my head, I think about The Walking Dead, the TV show, for too ridiculous, but something shocking happens in the world that you can't possibly be prepared for. And the people who make it out, are the ones who don't stand around and wonder why are there zombies out there grabbing guns, and they're grabbing food, and they're grabbing water, and they're grabbing trucks, and they're the ones who are like, I, I'm gonna make it through all this, like, I used to say on the podcast a lot, just because it was it ended up being my life. Like if, like, if it gets sideways find me, like, I'm living through this, you know, and, and you could to, like, I know, you like, you might hear that and think, Oh, well, he's a special kind of person, or he has a special I don't have a special trait. I just, I don't give up. Like, I'm not, I'm not going down like that, like, whatever it is, like, if it's diabetes, or, you know, whatever. Like, I am not a person who's gonna give up. And I don't know why that is, I can't tell you exactly. Like maybe it's a set of circumstances and wiring and how I was raised or how I wasn't raised. Like, I know, it's all like, random and you can't You're not, you're not at fault if you don't have certain attributes, right? But, but you can what no matter what your attributes are, make a decision. I'm not going out like this, like, right, like, and then whatever that ends up being, you know, like, whatever that ends up being ends up being and if it's your story, if you do go out, okay, but at least like go down swinging. Like I mean, you know what I mean? Like, it's nothing more frustrating than watching somebody take strike three. Right?

Marsha 1:08:50
Yeah. You know, we were diagnosed right in the middle of a pandemic, right. And so I literally, I got my son on a CGM, and on a pump before we had our first in person, endocrinologist appointment. Like, we had one on telehealth and I'm like, Nope, I'm doing this. Like, this is what I hear. This is what he needs. This is what we're going with. And he was on a pump and on his Dexcom before we even went in and saw the endocrinologist in person, I'm like we're doing this is how we

Scott Benner 1:09:27
go. The first time somebody said to me, Oh, she can't have that. I was like, well, listen, let's get past that idea. Because that's not going to even yesterday, I will give you like a real world example of don't give up in a low stress situation. You guys by now if you're listening to the podcast, you recognize like I'm using weego V to lose weight, right? My wife is using it as well. I'm we're both down 20 pounds in about 10 weeks. It's really just terrific. I can't tell you how, how great it's been for us. But there's a bit of a show shortage of it right now. Right? Like they're just and it's with the lower doses more than the higher doses once you get up to like, I think, I think 1.7 or something that seems to be pretty readily available. People are having trouble starting on those those low doses, but to prescriptions go to our, our pharmacy, and I get a phone call that minds ready. And I call them up and I said, Hey, kind of weird. Like you said, my wife minds ready, but my wife isn't. And the girl on the phone says, oh, yeah, we don't have hers. I was like, Okay, why not? And she goes, Well, it's out of stock. And I said, Oh, okay, what will we do about that? And she said, we'll wait for it to come back in stock. And I said, Well, how will I know when it's back in stock? And she goes, you can call back and I was like, Well, what if somebody else calls back before me? Like, what if my prescription came today and their prescription comes in three days, but they call back before me? They get my weak ov? And she's like, Yeah. And I'm like, Well, I'm like, that's not going to be okay. And I said, so. Let's try to think this through for a second. And she's like, Okay, I said, What could we do to find me, we go v. And she was without an answer. Right? She stood there. And she's like, I don't know. And I'm like, Okay, well, can you take some suggestions for me? And she said, Sure. And I go, could there be some at another Walgreens? And she goes, Oh, yeah, there could be. And I was like, okay, then she stared at me. And I went, can you call them for me? And she goes, I can look in the computer. And I went great. And then she, she pulled it up, and she said, there's one box, like two miles from here, and I went, can you move my prescription to there? She goes, No. And I said, What would I do? And she goes, Well, you would have to call them. And I went, Okay. And then she starts looking over my shoulder, and I went, can I have the phone number, please? And she's and I'm being nicer than this right now. I'm just painting a picture of this girl was like, inept. And but at any point during this conversation, I know a lot of you would have just heard no, and gone. Oh, I guess I don't get it and then left. But I kept asking reasonable questions. So I was like, okay, so she gave me the phone number. I typed it right into my phone, now asked me, Did I wait to get home to call the phone number? No, I was calling walking out of the Walgreens. And then I got the pharmacist on the phone. And I said, I hear this, that you have this, I have a script at this pharmacy, can you please pull it over and fill it? And she goes, Yes, no problem. And I said, that's terrific. When will it be ready. And she goes in about a half an hour. And I said, I will be there in 30 minutes. And she's like, great. I did everyone's thinking for them. Because I needed this thing. I've done this with insulin. I've done it with pumps. I've done it with CGM I've been on Listen, I've been on the phone with Dexcom customer service, walking them through it because I recognize it's hard to get customer service people I don't care if your Dexcom or your tandem or who the hell you are. That's a hard job. Like, because they doesn't pay a lot. They don't get a lot of training. You know, mostly, generally speaking, sometimes you have to keep in mind. And I don't want to say be your own advocate because that's trite. Like, but I don't give up. That girl tried to shut me down six different times. And it turns out there was an answer. And even though I didn't know it in the moment, I found it. And I don't think that life is any different than that. You don't I mean? Yeah,

Marsha 1:13:46
I 100% agree. I 100% agree. I mean, that's like what I found when I was, you know, new to all of this and trying to figure out, you know, how do we get on a Dexcom? How do we get on we are on a tandem. So how do we get on that like, and then I'm on the phone to my insurance, which was a city funded, like city plan. So I'm like telling me what I need to do. And they're like, Well, if you can't do this, call us back. I don't. I was personal friends with that person. By the time I got on a pump. I'm like gone. Yeah, we're just gonna, we're just gonna keep doing it. And like, do I call the tandem? Rep? Do I call this person do I call this person? I called everybody because my son was going to have what he wanted, you know, and what I wanted him to. I wasn't going to let it stop. And I think that's, I think, I think that's probably like the key to life, right? Like, how do you get what you want? How do you advocate enough for yourself to do it, you can let it happen to or you can just go do it.

Scott Benner 1:14:45
I also want to point out that the girl at the first Walgreens is probably 20 years old. And she was just doing what she was told like nobody told her to, to, like problem solve. They she said what she knew. She was now out of decisions. All right, but I wasn't other questions yet. And it turned out she knew more, by the way, never yelled at her wasn't upset. I didn't like none of that. Like I was just like, oh, you had a lovely conversation. As a matter of fact, a month later, if I'm being honest, I just told you a story from a month ago, and acted like it happened yesterday. Sorry, that happens a podcast sometimes. But a month later, when I went back to pick up my next one, at the drive up, she like saw me and lit up and she waved, she's like, Hey, how are you? Because after we found it before I walked away and made the phone call. She said, What is this drug for? And I looked at it and I went, it's for weight loss. And she goes, does it work? And back then I was like, I've lost 15 pounds already. And she's like, Wow, good for you. And I was like, thank you. And we have like a little connection. And then a month later, of all the people that she sees face to face to face, she looked at me and she's like, Hey, how are you? How's it going? I said 20 pounds now. And she's like, that's incredible. And she digged it up and and gave me the next one, the one that they had. So anyway, I'm not saying people are idiots, I'm not saying that I'm saying that there are going to be speed bumps, and there are gonna be walls you run into. And you can't just bump your nose into them and turn around and go home. Like it just, it's not how things work. And especially with diabetes in a situation where you are going to have this traumatic thing. And then, at some point come to the realization of like, oh, hell, I'm not getting out of this. And then come to the realization of like, oh, it's going to try to kill me. I'm gonna have to stop it from doing that. And then you go, who will help me? Here you white coat. And then white coat goes, you know, or says I interviewed a guy yesterday, 35 years old. He's like your podcast, was given to me by my doctor, and included so much more information than the doctor was ever going to give me. And so now you're in that that doctor's office thinking? Well, they don't have the answer, either. That's where a lot of people give up right there. Or they accept? Well, this must be what it is. And I don't know how they would know differently. You know? Sorry. That's saturated.

Marsha 1:17:13
Think about that. Like about, oh, a month ago, I was just really frustrated with my son's numbers. He's had some growing going on. And he's a little sneaker, he sneaks food and candy. And I'm trying to figure out what's going on because he walks out the door for school and his blood sugar rises instantly, no matter what he has for breakfast, he just gets excited about that. And then he was going to bed and his blood sugar was rising after he went to bed. Right. And I kind of let it go on probably I kind of blamed myself for this, I'd let it go on a little longer than I wanted to. And I just finally said, Okay, stop it enough. I stepped back, I started looking at the graphs, I made all of these changes across all of his profiles. And he's had beautiful, like, two weeks after that we go into the doctor and she's like, um, I see you've made some changes. And I said, Yes, yes, I have just took ownership and said, Yep, I did it. Here's what I did. And she goes, You know what, I couldn't have made any better changes. And I'm like, yes, yes. Is that? Yeah, it's it's that just deciding that, like you, you can take control and charge or not. You know,

Scott Benner 1:18:29
I have to ask you a question. Like, that's an interesting, like, in my mind, I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission. Right? And but at the end, I don't even think I would actually ask for forgiveness, if I'm being 100% honest. But like, what is it in people's minds? Do you think, where they go to a doctor, and the doctor is about to disagree with them, and they they turtle up? And they're like, oh, here it comes? I'm gonna get in trouble. I've never felt like that about anything in my entire life. And I wonder what that is?

Marsha 1:18:59
You know, I think it's because doctors have had this place in our like, in the hierarchy of our world, that they know everything and they know best. Right? I can even relate this back to addiction, you know, people getting addicted by the pills that the doctor actually gave him. Well, the doctor gave it to me, well, but if you really think about it, the doctors are just really doing the best that they can and they may not have all the information. And so like I started thinking about, you know, just partnering with our endocrinologist versus her being the lead that I'm just going to partner with her right? And she can teach me some things and she can tell me if I'm like off track or if I should make some tweaks but I wasn't going to wait for her to make some descent some decisions when I can see by looking at his graphs what was going on. Yeah, I've met other parents are like, Oh, I never make changes on that. I make them all with us.

Scott Benner 1:19:59
I think it would benefit everyone if they could meet people in professions that they think of is like, I don't know, like super important or anything because I know doctors personally. And you know, what's interesting about them is they're people who, who had enough fortitude to make it through eight years of college doesn't even necessarily make them any smarter than you. I've had Jenny say to me, I think of you as a colleague. And I barely got through high school. Right? i There's no pretense about me at all. As a matter of fact, lately I've been lately, Marsha, people have been recognizing me in public more and more. I gotta step up my game yesterday. My daughter's like, your shirt doesn't even match your shorts. And that lady knows who you are. And I was like, oh, yeah, I was like, damn. So like, no kidding. We were in and hi to the person that I met, I guess. But I took our into Ulta to get some makeup. And as we were going up the pay, I noticed the woman come through the front door, and the flashlight was on her phone. And she just stuck it in her pocket. And we intersected each other. So I said, Excuse me, I noticed when you were walking in the flashlight was on on your phone. And she goes, Oh, thank you. And I said, no trouble. And I walked away. And we got in line and paid for makeup. And by the way, whoever makes makeup, you're criminals and should not cost that much money. And we're walking out the door Arden's a little ahead of me. And this, this person is now back in like, in front of me again. And she goes, Do I know you? And I went, and I stopped and kind of backed up through the door. I'm like, I don't know, like, Do we know each other? And I, my first thought, I'm being honest, I was pretty close to home was is this like a person who's like, got a kid a year younger than me or older than me and I we kind of know each other. And I'm like, I'm not sure where from and she goes, Facebook. And my first thought was, I'm not on Facebook. Like, I have like a private I have a personal Facebook, I don't use it, you know? And I'm like, No, and she goes diabetes, and I went, Oh, well, that could be and, and then we started chatting, and she works at a local hospital and blah, blah and in diabetes. And we get outside and Arden's like, Yo, you're like internet famous now. And I was like, yeah, and she goes, dude, your shirt doesn't even match your shorts right now.

Marsha 1:22:22
Come on dad. Like she goes said,

Scott Benner 1:22:25
I look homeless. And I was like, she's like, this isn't okay. And I'm like, right. But that's on the heels of in the last seven days, I've met two other people in public who have recognized me. Wow. And so I was like, Alright, I guess I gotta do something about this. First of all, I'm not gonna stop using the week over, you know, I'm, I'm suddenly know why like, like, I'm making quotes around famous. But now I know why famous people are so worried about how they look, because you do have like, suddenly you're I wonder are people looking at me? Like, that be happening? And I'm like, oh, so I'm gonna not think about that. Anyway, I'm sorry. I don't know where I was headed with that. But you

Marsha 1:23:06
know, back to your point about if, if people could just see like doctors as as people, right? Yes. My next door neighbor's a doctor. Right? I see him picking up his dog poop. Like he's a real person. Yeah, yeah. He didn't know everything.

Scott Benner 1:23:20
Right. Nobody knows everything. But you get enamored, like, I mean, like, I met somebody the week before, and they were enamored with me. And I really wanted to say to them, like, this excitement you have is misplaced. Like, I'm a guy who has a kid with type one, I understand it maybe better than some people and I'm a good communicator. That's it. Like, like, I'm there's nothing beyond that. Like, it just this is it. I like doing this. It helps people. And it pays my bills. And so I do it every day. I can't tell you if I couldn't pay for my kids to, you know, eat, I wouldn't be able to do this. You know, they mean like, so like, there's an the doctors a doctor because he wanted to make money. And he maybe was like, Oh, I'm good at science. He might not even be like, I want to help people. You don't mean like, listen, I know a couple of different I know more than a few doctors and some nurses and they're all lovely people, and they go out and do a hard job and everything but they're not smarter than you. Right? Generally speaking, you know what I mean? So

Marsha 1:24:27
I think that's so true. Like, especially with like, I'm, like, clearly I'm around my son all the time, because I'm his mom, but like, I see what happens to his body. Right? My endocrinologist doesn't, she doesn't see what's happening to his body to what happens with what food he puts in his body and how that impacts him and all that kind of stuff. So I see that. So how is she going to be better at understanding the ins and outs of how diabetes affects him than I am who sees what he eats, how much he doses when he sneaks, and what it does to his blood sugar like, yeah, yeah, you

Scott Benner 1:25:09
know, anybody who's ever had their car make a noise, then they take it to a garage and it won't make the noise anymore. It's basically the same situation, you know, you're standing there going, No, you don't understand when I make a right turn, the wheels wobbling. And I know it's not happening right now. But it happens every day. Just because they can't make the wheel wobble doesn't mean that it's not happening to you, and you go into a doctor's office, you're like, here, these are my concerns. And they'll look at your graph, or do or they're your MLB. Like, they start turning dials and moving things. And I'm like, That is not a good way to do this. And, and, by the way, I'm not trying to give people the idea not to listen to their doctors, or that they're not valuable. I'm just saying they're not infallible. And right, and you shouldn't be cowering when you're explaining what you did. Right? You know,

Marsha 1:25:56
yeah, that's, that's the, that's the whole idea of me partnering with my doctor, instead of her bleeding. You know, I just need to be the partner in this. Yeah. And my opinion counts, and what I think counts, and what I see matters. And I should be able to say that. So, you know, I felt very proud when she said, You made the exact changes that you need to do and like, Yay, go me. And if she told me that I hadn't, I wouldn't have changed him back. Because what I saw was they were working. Yeah, right,

Scott Benner 1:26:30
Kelly, and a deal working. And by the way, a decent doctor will get to you with that. And a lot of you are not great communicators. And so like, it's that feeling right away of wanting to be adversarial, as soon as you're like, you know, like, oh, well, like you had one experience. But what if the doctor would have been like, Hey, you can't be making these changes. And then you have an opportunity to either say, Well, you know, we made them because of this. And this is the result. So we really do feel like this was was valuable. Or you could just be like, go to hell, and then get angry. And now you're in a fight. Like, I know, like, again, people think like, oh, they're professionals, or they shouldn't, like, you know, have an opinion about if they like me or not, or, but they're just people. And, you know, maybe, yeah, maybe you're crappy to them. And they're like, I hate Patti. Like, you know, I'm gonna help her because, you know, that oath I took and everything, but I don't like her. And then suddenly, you could be those, those people grew up poorly, too, just because they ended up being doctors doesn't mean they're great communicators, either. Right? It's just a lot going on. So I like to keep it simple. And I like to stand up and say what I did, right? This is what I did. This is why I did it. If you have input about it, give it to me. Because I'd love to know if there's more improvement to have here. Yeah, cuz

Marsha 1:27:52
there there have been times that I've made a change to like, Well, I think this is a little too strong. And this is why you're seeing that. And she, we talk about it, and she explains it to me. So that's why I you know, because we what ended in this two and a half years, right. And so that's why I felt like I was really happy that she agreed with what I was doing. However, the first couple of times, we were in there, it was a lot of me learning from her. And a lot of me saying I made this change, and I see why that wasn't good, too. So it's that whole just been really open to that communication. And really, like this idea of a partnership versus adversary or, you know, they're gonna tell me what to do there. You know, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:28:40
listen, Arden's been home from school for not even a week yet. And over the last couple of days, on my garden, you're getting low at like, 3am, like, over and over again. And not real low, but like, just at that, like 7069 ish, like, isn't gonna hold like that low. And I'm like, Okay, no more school food. So there was obviously something about her settings that was necessary at school. It's not necessary here. So I made her insulin sensitivity weaker overnight, I made her basil weaker overnight. And last night, I almost had it. And I was like, ah, and I went in, and I turned a couple more dials. And I think I'm good. I think tonight, it's not gonna happen, right? Yeah, yeah. But I don't know how long you'd have to talk to a doctor or how well they'd have to understand your situation for a PERT forget a doctor for a third party person to come in. And help me with that decision. I just don't know how I don't I don't know how it would be possible for them to know. Even if I had the mindset where I regurgitated all the information that would have led them to the answer. It's too much at once. You don't even know it, because where would that story start? Well, you know, she's a college and the food at college is bogus. You know, like the doctors gonna be like, I don't know. And then a lot of the problems like right now You're seeing a low at 3am. I had to make changes at midnight. Right, right. And often, doctors will see lows and take away far too much basil. Or they'll take it away at the wrong spots where they won't talk to you about what happened before, which in the end is the real answer to Ardens issue is that Arden is now not eating difficult to digest, processed crappy food at 11 o'clock, she still had a snack at 11 o'clock. But it was decent food. And therefore, the foods the is the culprit for the 3am low. Right? In a sense, like because it's not as difficult anymore. So you make adjustments to blah, blah, blah. I don't know, like it's, they never, I not never, never is unfair. But a lot of people I talked to they'll go in and they'll say, you know, we're having a low here. And they took away all the basil. And I'd be like, but yeah, but there was a big spike four hours before that, is that a meal? That's a meal. So you're not managing the meal? Well, we can't even tell what's going on four hours later, like you shouldn't be looking for hours later, we should fix the meal first. And once you fix the meal Bolus, if you're still getting low afterwards, okay, but but it's very possible you won't be. And so basically what I did was I fixed the meal Bolus and made a small adjustment to the overnight basil and insulin sensitivity. You know,

Marsha 1:31:29
it's good to hear you say that, because I just experienced that when my son it's like, when I was looking at some stuff on like, on Wait a minute, like, as I'm looking at, it dawned on me that what was happening around mealtimes was then impacting him later. And I'm like, he doesn't have his carb ratio was off, it was like way off. And so I changed that meal times went better. And then everything fell into line after that. I mean, it's good to hear you say that, that just gives me a little validation that my thinking is, see how you teach is working. We

Scott Benner 1:32:03
tend to look at something done is over. Instead of like, this is probably why I mean, you know, not for nothing. When you find yourself snorting heroin. It's not because you're bored. It's because of something that happened prior to this that gets you to this spot. And so you know, we are always looking at the wrong moment trying to decipher what's happening. And I the best way I've found to say it so far is that insulin for now, is for later. But more importantly, insulin from before is what's happening now. Like if the mind shift and how you think about it. You can't Yeah, you can't be looking. So micro in the moment, and trying to figure out why am I low at midnight? Because it's not about what's happening at midnight.

Marsha 1:32:54
It's about it's about what happened before that. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:32:58
Listen, the two of us are geniuses like I figured that out. Actually. I shouldn't joke, Marcia, you're a fantastic surprise this morning. You're well thank you very, very good at this. Thank you. Please don't start your own podcast.

Marsha 1:33:11
No, no, no, no, I It's funny. I'll tell you how I found you. I went to the pumpkin patch. And my son went low. And I gave him some Skittles. He went low. And I gave him something else. He went he was still going low. I was totally freaked out. Right. He finally started going up well, because I just given him a ton of uh, sorry, a ton of sugar. He shot right up, and we're waiting in the line for this little trainer, this pumpkin patch. And he goes off. And this lady whips her head around and she goes Dexcom. And I said, yeah, here, and she goes, there's mine. And she goes, You need to listen to the juicebox because I'm not afraid of lows anymore. It's the highs that scare me. And that was a shift in thinking for me. But it was the best pumpkin patch experience I ever had. Thank you to her for her leading me to you because how we have continued to manage what's going on with him has really changed by your podcast. So I really truly appreciate the work that you do.

Scott Benner 1:34:16
It was my pleasure. And you were Linus and she was the Great Pumpkin.

Marsha 1:34:19
She was yes yes, it was great. Doesn't

Scott Benner 1:34:24
line this this sister yell at him throughout that episode? I think so. Yeah, think of her name.

Marsha 1:34:30
Was it Lucy is Lucy Linus a sister?

Scott Benner 1:34:33
No Lucy's got the dark Carolina sister is the blonde she's she's not Peppermint Patty. Oh, come on. Hold on.

Marsha 1:34:39
Oh, the blonde. I can see you're

Scott Benner 1:34:46
not Oh no, wait, I'm gonna figure it out. It's

Marsha 1:34:48
not Marsha Marsha Marsha.

Scott Benner 1:34:51
All right, listen, Peanuts characters. Oh, Lucy Van Pelt that you said Lucy. And I said no. Who

Marsha 1:34:59
was I thinking? of who is the dark haired one?

Scott Benner 1:35:03
She's the one who's mean to Charlie Brown.

Marsha 1:35:04
Yeah, what?

Scott Benner 1:35:06
Not pepper patty. Oh my god.

Marsha 1:35:10
I don't know. That's yeah,

Scott Benner 1:35:13
Marcy. This is ridiculous. How come I can't? It's very upsetting. Is there? It's not Paddy, Paddy. Where's the

Marsha 1:35:23
Peppermint Patties? The kind of but there's a

Scott Benner 1:35:25
patty and there's a peppermint patty. By the way, were there no extra names? It's not violet. Violet was like the goth girl showed her played the piano. Oh, wait, no. Lucy Van Pelt? Is is Linus a sister, but not who I'm thinking of? I'm thinking of Sally. Oh, yes, Sally's like the girl that like thinks she's Linus, his girlfriend, but by the way, they're like all five. So it's weird, but, but she's not really and he doesn't really care about her that much. Sally yells at him unmercifully while he's in the pumpkin patch.

Marsha 1:36:01
Oh, that's funny. I'm gonna have to watch that again. You

Scott Benner 1:36:04
think Charles Schultz had a bad relationship with women?

Marsha 1:36:08
Ah, but you know, the women are just kind of rude. Ruthless to those little boys, aren't they? Yeah. Is

Scott Benner 1:36:13
she is she is he was he? Hey, you want to hear something crazy? He was in an old folks home that my mom worked in in her 20s Oh, really? Yeah. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. But I wonder if he was trying to write them as strong.

Marsha 1:36:29
And they came across as really aggressive for if

Scott Benner 1:36:32
he didn't like women, and was writing them as nasty. Because they're worth research. They're all nasty, right? Except for patty. She just seems like she's on mushrooms. But she does, right. Yeah, I'm not making that up.

Marsha 1:36:52
It's all full circle.

Scott Benner 1:36:53
Yeah, you gotta go. You got to actually, I mean, he clearly he's writing Marcy as a lesbian. Yeah, right. And Sally's nasty to Linus. But she likes him and wants him to like her. Pigpen I never understood. I mean, it's very dirty. would have been easy to hose them off. Schroeder was kind of a dork. Right? Like a, like a piano player. All right. That's all I got two people not like I used to love the peanuts. But again, your omega point? It was because you had no access to it. You said that you said this earlier about instant gratification. Right? Let me make this point. As a child, and even as a young adult, once a year, the Great Pumpkin would come on television. And if you were not seated when it came on, you would not see it again till the following October. That is true. One day, they put it on VHS tapes. And my mom went right out. And it's like here, we can now watch the Great Pumpkin whenever we want. And I never watched it again. Right? It was too easy. Right? And yeah, and it turns out, it's not that great.

Marsha 1:38:11
Well, you know, the other show that you probably watch once a year was the Wizard of Oz.

Scott Benner 1:38:16
Oh, yeah. Right. CBS once a year, right? We have a putt along, or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer that the claymation thing, which it was the scarcity of it that made it so attractive. Right, right. It wasn't that it was the greatest thing that ever happened. It was that I couldn't get to it. And then there was also a school, I have to watch it because it's here. Then they made it readily available and easy to get to. And I was like, Yeah, I don't want this anymore. It's not my thing too easy. And it's not as good as I thought. Yeah, although whatever. I might be looking too far into this. Marcia, you were terrific.

Marsha 1:38:53
Thank you, Scott. I enjoyed being on. Oh, you're

Scott Benner 1:38:57
very good at this. You can tell you talk to people all the time. Yeah, yeah. Anything we didn't cover that we should have?

Marsha 1:39:04
No, I think we did. covered it all.

Scott Benner 1:39:09
Yeah, what's the rest of the day, like, you're gonna get your tractor and go.

Marsha 1:39:15
I actually have to go to work. And I have a couple of meetings left today. So

Scott Benner 1:39:20
alright, my last question is, do you have chickens? Do you own chickens? No,

Marsha 1:39:24
but I am because I live in town here. And I don't know. I don't know that people have Lawrence with like chickens in the backyard. But I have a space for them. And I keep telling my husband we need to put some back there.

Scott Benner 1:39:36
Chickens are the thing I'm never going to do that I think about doing all the time. Like I'm gonna get a couple of chickens and I'm going to eat their eggs every day. Yeah. And then I'm like, my wife's like, who's gonna take care of them? I was like, guys a fair question.

Marsha 1:39:50
I have a co worker who has chickens and so I'm going to con her into bringing me her eggs. Well,

Scott Benner 1:39:58
that's even better. has probably tried to figure that out. That sounds a lot better. Thank you so much. Hold on one second for me

that was it. That was Marsha. She was the last episode of 2023. Thanks very much, Marsha. A huge thanks to us med for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Don't forget us med.com/juice box, this is where we get our diabetes supplies from you can as well use the link or call 888-721-1514 Use the link or call the number, get your free benefits check so that you can start getting your diabetes supplies the way we do from us med. But just say something that's gonna sound trite, but I feel really privileged to make this podcast for you. And every day that I see you all downloading it and sharing it fills my heart in a way that I don't know that I can quite describe. So thanks to Marsha, and thanks to all of you. And thanks so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode, who I'll be back very soon with another year of the Juicebox Podcast. If you want to hang on a second, I'll tell you about what's to come. In the beginning of January 2024, we're going to launch two new series one grand rounds. The other cold wind, cold wind is whistleblowers, people coming on the show taking on an anonymous name, having their voices changed, so they can tell us about what happens in their jobs as emergency room nurses, physicians, human resource professionals, and more. On Grand Rounds, Jenny Smith and I are going to lay out what doctors should know about helping people with diabetes. And we're not going to be how do I want to say this, we're going to be nice, but we're not going to be polite. Grand Rounds is there for doctors to learn from and for you. So that you can understand what you should expect. What doctors should do what you should expect Grand Rounds coming in 2024 to the Juicebox Podcast, you really have to check out the private Facebook group. It's not 44,000 members and it's called Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes. And if you'll give me just one second I'm gonna turn my microphone away. I don't usually sit so that I can see my whiteboard. If you're enjoying the podcast, please understand that my time is supported by ads Omni pod, who've been advertisers since the very beginning in 2015. Dexcom came on second, I think in 2016. And since then, we have built a wonderful group of advertisers us med the contour next gen blood glucose meter, G voc hypo pen ag one cozy Earth BetterHelp touched by type one and coming in 2024 We're going to add somebody else Medtronic diabetes. These advertisers support the production of this podcast. If you ever have a need or a desire to learn about them, or to get started with them, using my links, lets them know that you came from me using Juicebox Podcast links keeps the show plentiful and free for listeners. So if you have the need or the desire, click the links. There are links in the show notes and links at juicebox podcast.com to all the sponsors that I've mentioned here. Once again, thank you so much for listening. Have a Happy New Year. I'll see you very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

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#1094 Golden Seven Pole

Kim is a type 1 who was born with a congenital heart defect.

You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android  -  Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 1094 of the Juicebox Podcast.

I'll be speaking with Kim today she's 42 years old, a type one and a school teacher. Kim has got a number of things going on here. She's had gastric bypass surgery, which we speak about. Her family has a deep and rich history with autoimmune issues. And she's had three heart surgeries in total. There's more than that even so, I'm not even scratching the surface on who Kim is. Please don't forget that 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, or becoming bold with insulin. As the end of the year approaches quickly, I just want to take this moment to thank all of you for subscribing and following and supporting the Juicebox Podcast. It means the world to me. And I will absolutely be back for a 10th year of the podcast in 2024 because of the kind support that you all and 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. 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 one.com/juice box. A huge thanks to a longtime sponsor touched by type one, please check them out on Facebook, Instagram, and at touched by type one.org. If you're looking to support an organization that's supporting people with type one diabetes, check out touched by type one.

Kim 2:12
Hi, my name is Kim. I'm a diabetic.

Scott Benner 2:16
Nice, perfect. How old are you?

Kim 2:21
I am almost 4242 in a couple of weeks.

Scott Benner 2:23
Oh, I'm awful. I'm I'm 52 and a couple of weeks.

Kim 2:28
Ah, are you a July birthday? I am. As am I? Were you born on the golden day of July 7. Is

Scott Benner 2:37
that the day you were born? That's yeah, of course that would meet at the Golden day.

Kim 2:42
Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, I, seventh child born on the seventh day of the seventh month. I mean, you can't get better than that. Except my sister had two babies on my birthday. Three years apart. And one of them was born. Oh 70707 sheets. So she went UPS me. It

Scott Benner 3:00
feels like what you're explained to me is that this thing that you thought was very important turns out to be very common.

Kim 3:05
Whoa, whoa, easy there. No, I have lured many people into magically having babies on my birthday with my magnetic pole of awesomeness and like you should also partake in the awesomeness of a July 7 birthday. Kim

Scott Benner 3:21
I don't think you should talk about childbirth and then say you have a magnetic hole or what is your

Kim 3:29
WHY DID YOU have to make it weird? Why did you have to make it weird?

Scott Benner 3:32
I didn't say

Kim 3:35
I just You have skewed everything.

Scott Benner 3:37
All I did was listen to what you say and repeat it back to you

Kim 3:43
in the weirdest way possible. I

Scott Benner 3:44
mean, you said it. Alright, so you're 42 ish. How old were you and you were diagnosed. Now you had a you had a misdiagnosis. Is that right?

Kim 3:53
I did. Yeah. So I was diagnosed as a type two diabetic in December of 2019. Okay, and when I'm with my agency was 14.8 when I went in, and I went in because I thought my sister had so I was 37 then 38 was 38 when I was diagnosed and my sister my just older than me at 38 started losing weight she was all shaky, turns out she had Graves disease so i My hair is falling out and I've lost 30 pounds without trying which is surprising because I had a gastric bypass at 15 like weight has never been an easy thing for me and and I go in to get my thyroid tested because I'm like I probably have Graves disease as well. And my thyroid was completely normal and my my blood sugar my fasting blood sugar the nurse said to me, did you eat a doughnut before you came in? She was like calling to give me test results. So when I was like, or she said, Were you fasting? And I said, Yeah. And she said, You didn't like eat a doughnut on the way. And I was like, No, I'm not dumb. You know, like, I was like, deeply offended that she would suggest and she's like, because your glucose was a little elevated. And I'm like, well, like, how high? She's like 375. And I'm like, Okay, well, I don't even I know nothing. And so I Google it and everything says like, seek medical, immediate medical attention. I'm like, Great, I'm gonna die immediately. And of course, when she called me to tell me this, I was eating homemade caramels. Like just popping up one after another. So

Scott Benner 5:37
are you in the Midwest?

Kim 5:39
I am in Oregon. Actually. I won't tell you where so no one can come and kill me. Yes.

Scott Benner 5:44
Oh, you're the second person who said that in two weeks when I've been recording and they said I made an announcement. I said nobody go kill Dana. Yes, I just listened to them. Oh, that's why you said it. Okay. It was like yeah, don't come to me. Don't please leave.

Kim 6:01
I also will not go look for Dana. She seems like a very nice person.

Scott Benner 6:06
Okay, so wait a minute, I heard a lot I need to pick through it. You to gastric bypass when you were 15 years old.

Kim 6:12
I did. I was born with a congenital heart defect that they diagnosed at two months old. And then just was fat. I was just really fat. For me. I weighed I'm five fives. Okay. I like to say five, eight. I'm really like five, seven and a quarter. Let's be honest. Um, at the time that I had gastric bypass, I weighed 270 pounds. I had done Weight Watchers. Well, not Weight Watchers. I've done nutrious I've done every thing imaginable. I took I took Fen fan when I was 12. I mean, like, all the things right? And nothing really worked. And I needed. I needed heart surgery because my blood pressure was really high. And so this was it's the only thing in my life I've ever been underweight for my, my BMI was slightly lower than they wanted it to be. But they made an exception. And so when I was 15, which was the absolute youngest you could be to have gastric bypass. I had a gastric bypass done. And it's it wasn't laparoscopic at the time was in 1996. And so I have a scar from my sternum to my belly button.

Scott Benner 7:22
Did it work?

Kim 7:24
Yeah, it really did. It was when I say it worked. I mean, that it gave me the ability to fight weight in a more normal way, instead of 100 pounds at a time. You know, it's 30 pounds at a time. Like what I assume everybody else how everyone else is, is fighting weight. But I lost 100 pounds in about nine months. My hair fell out a lot. I was certainly malnourished in a lot of ways just because you know, you can eat so so little at first, it's like, I would eat like two bites. And I'd be like, I'm done. I can't you have to sip you can't. My stomach was two ounces. And so but yeah, I mean I really the highest the the lowest they weighed right after surgery was about 167 Contour

Scott Benner 8:17
next one.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. smartlight 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 one.com/juicebox And if you scroll down at that link, you're gonna 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, do tell contour next.com/juicebox head over there now get the same accurate and reliable meter that we use.

Kim 9:25
And then the highest Coast surgery I fluctuated between like 170 and 200 or, I don't know 20 years 15 years. And then I started counting calories probably six or seven years ago and pretty regularly I'm and I found running I started running and that those two things together just kind of led to a life where I was sitting in the below 160s For a long time and then when I was diagnosed it was like kind of all of a sudden that my, I gained a little bit of weight. So in August, I went to the cardiologist and I weighed like 185 in the afternoon and, and when I went to the doctor in December, I weighed 152. So I'd lost 35 pounds without trying. I mean, just, you know, eating everything in the world and always hungry, always tired blood sugar through the roof. And then, because I was misdiagnosed for a couple of years, I controlled I tried to control everything simply with my diet, and I stopped eating everything I liked. I might have carb ofour if it's not a carb, I really don't want to eat it. So I wasn't eating very much at all because I'd cut everything that brought me happiness out of my life. I mean, food wise, my family, my kids, my husband, I love them my job.

Scott Benner 10:57
I didn't misunderstand that part time work. Everything I got everything I love out of my life food, basically, Scott, no, but everyone in your family struggle with weight. Are you like an anomaly?

Kim 11:10
I would say no. It's it's something that every single person in my family like we just have crap genetics. I always joke. I'm the youngest of seven kids. I always joke that I'm the genetic trash leftover after the other six kids because I've got, you know, a heart condition diabetes, like I just, my body's just crap. And like, Thanks, Mom and Dad. Thanks for that. It's good to have you. It's

Scott Benner 11:33
what was left that they had to work. Yes.

Kim 11:36
Have you seen the the movie twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito? Of course, from the 90s. Yeah. And he's like, I'm the genetic crap left after him. I'm like, that's totally. I'm the genetic crap leftover. After all, all the others did.

Scott Benner 11:53
Your heart. I just have to ask I don't think the timeline lines up the way you explained it. But is the fen Fen have anything to do with the heart issue? Nope, no. Okay.

Kim 12:02
No, and I didn't I really didn't have any adverse effect. I lost like 30 pounds until I stopped taking it. And then I gained 30 pounds back.

Scott Benner 12:10
What did it do for you to remember?

Kim 12:12
I simply did not feel hungry. Okay, like at all ever? At all, like it was a struggle. I was counting calories just to make sure I got enough food in my body.

Scott Benner 12:26
Yeah. Are you pissed that now that GLP ones exist and you had to get cut open to have that feeling?

Kim 12:31
You know what? I am not it. It I can't imagine I think about it now like the choices the medical choices my parents had to make. The year I had gastric bypass. I had an appendectomy in February. I had an angioplasty in April, and I had gastric bypass in July. I mean, it was just like this crazy medical year for me, but it changed my life. Like, I can't imagine all of the heartache. And I'm sure prayer and, and all of the things that went into it for them to make that choice for me. I was on board because nothing worked. I mean, I just, it tried hard at a lot of things. And it was the only thing that worked. And then for a lot of years, I struggled with a lot of guilt feeling like, oh, I took the easy way out. Until, like, 15 years ago, I was watching an episode of The Biggest Loser at which I love and a girl on The Biggest Loser was about my same age. And she'd had gastric bypass about my same time. And she weighed 300 pounds again, and I was sitting at like 180. And I was like, Okay, what they told me when I had gastric bypass is that it 80% of the people keep 80% of the weight off. And I sit very firmly in that category. So it changed my life. I would I would do it again, even though I had a lot of complications since then, because of it. So even with the complications, you

Scott Benner 14:04
always still do it right. Yeah. Yeah. So I have a maybe an odd question. You have kids, right? You said? I do. Yep. So I always think that one day Kim Kardashian children are going to grow up and go hey, where's my big round us? And how come my lips aren't full? Why don't I like this? Do you worry that like cuz you're thinner. Now. What is your what if your kids follow in your footsteps? Like what are you going to do for them? So

Kim 14:34
it is it's it's something that has already happened? You know, we have both my kids have struggled one way or another. My daughter in particular. It's a powerful thing to say to a kid. Look, I know exactly how you feel. Like I My daughter has lost 60 pounds in the last year. She's done amazing things. I'm super proud of her to you know taking some healthier steps. But, but at the the hardest points I'm like, Yeah, I know what this is like, I know how it feels to be 15 And have you know your life and be like this. So I think in a lot of respects it is. Just because I it's not like I'm like, oh yes, I'm so hot now. You know, it's not anything like that. Like, it's like, Dude, I and they see that I still work every day I exercise regularly. I'm careful about what I eat. I like it. They we just talked about the crappy genetics that I have now. The trash I have passed to them. You're welcome children.

Scott Benner 15:35
Yeah. How old is she? You know? She's,

Kim 15:39
she'll be 16 this summer will

Scott Benner 15:41
be 16. Okay. So now I'm putting myself in the position of the people listening. And I'm gonna I'm gonna ask like, I mean, if they're going to like some people are gonna think you must be eating like Fritos with one hand and drinking Coke with another and snorting sugar. But is, is that's not the case. Right? No,

Kim 16:01
it's I think, and for each person, it's different. What I can say about myself, I won't speak to my daughter because you know, I am really open, she is less open. So I'll speak to myself. For me. I was a frequent eater. I was always super active. We had a trampoline. I rode my bike all over town, like the activity part of it. I wasn't super sedentary. I simply was just hungry a lot. So I and it wasn't like I was eating trash all the time. I just ate frequently. A I was a Grazer and a male eater.

Scott Benner 16:37
This is this is what I wanted to dig into deep Did you if if any of this sounds familiar, tell me. You open your eyes in the morning and wonder immediately what you're going to eat?

Kim 16:47
Yes, but that is still how I live my life simply because I love

Scott Benner 16:52
food. Oh, that's okay. Well, but so then you decide what you're gonna have for breakfast. You're already thinking about lunch.

Kim 16:58
You know, it's been a lot of years now. Since I've, but I mean, yeah, I live a very even now, I mean, obviously differently because of diabetes, that it's a food centric life. But yeah, yeah. And I'm a good cook, and a good baker. And so yeah, I'm always thinking like, what is the next delicious thing we're going to eat? Yeah.

Scott Benner 17:19
Didn't didn't ever feel full? You know, I

Kim 17:22
think about that. It's not that I didn't feel full. And it's, it's true, even today is that I don't stay full for a long time. Like I could, my husband will eat a big meal. And he'll be like, I'm not eating for four more days, you know? Like he's like, so he stays full or ever. And me. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm, like so full that I think I'm gonna die. And like an hour and a half later. I'm like, Kitty, you know, like, let's do this.

Scott Benner 17:51
If somebody said, are you hungry? would you respond? I'm always hungry. I usually say I could eat, I could eat. Okay. So the reason I bring it up is because I'm now I have to dig through my box of empty weego V pens here. But I'm now I'm now just about three months into using Lego. So I just How are you liking it? Well, I like being thinner. I can tell you that. Sure. Yeah, I just injected my one milligram my last one milligram dose. So I move up next week on Tuesday. So I'm pretty much a week shy of three months. And I am 20 pounds lighter, maybe a little more. I look different. Like I'm starting to look at myself and think like, oh, this is what I thought I looked like.

Kim 18:40
It's just like the same thing as what you think you sound like, are you photoshopping yourself in your brain?

Scott Benner 18:45
I might have been because I used to tell myself like, Oh, I just need to lose 20 pounds and I lost 20 pounds. I was like, Oh, I must have been wrong about that. Because I didn't lose 20 pounds ago all done. I lost 20 pounds. And I went oh, yeah, totally. Yeah, I didn't realize that part about the weight. I do want to say in fairness to me, and to give a pretty accurate picture. I am one of those people you would categorize as carrying weight really well. Like you wish you would not have looked at me and said, I mean, I'll just say because I've said it on the podcast already. But like, when I started we go via I weighed 233. Okay, and your weight How tall are you? five, nine. But you wouldn't, you would have been hard pressed to peg me for more than about 180 pounds. Okay, it's just weird how I don't know how it's masked is and why after losing 20 pounds I looked and I was like, Well, okay, I mean, that's a good start. But the point is, is this this GLP one like, you know, which would be we go V Manjaro. I think that's right. Yeah. It was epic. Like these drugs, right? These new injectable ones. I physically can't eat very much food. Yeah. And then it's interesting because the closer to the injection day, that guy I'll inject today I'll have I won't be able to eat a whole lot today. Tomorrow, the next day three, four days, it'll be pretty much like that as it tails off the fifth sixth day. I can eat a little more, like like I could, but I'm not hungry. I so what I mean by that is I don't feel as full as quickly but I'm just at this point now where I'm just not hungry. Right, you know, and I didn't have all the drawl to food that you've described or other people have described my wife, my wife, my wife will come on here one day and talk about like the voice in our head that's like eat you know, and by the way, she she also has a thyroid issue, do you?

Kim 20:44
I do not, but it is like my family is

Scott Benner 20:50
autoimmune central auto immune. Yes. Yeah. Like,

Kim 20:53
I've got a couple brothers with ankylosing spondylitis. I've got my dad has psoriasis. type two. Well, type two is not auto immune. But like type two is running rampant, which is why I originally was misdiagnosed thyroid issues. My mom and my grandma, my aunt are hypo, hypo thyroid. My sisters hyperthyroid. I mean, like, we're just a mess.

Scott Benner 21:17
Isn't it interesting, too, I thought right away when you said it, that you and your sister are similarly aged, and around the same time developed an autoimmune disease, which that crazy I felt like there was a countdown timer on both of you. It seems

Kim 21:34
it feels that way. I wonder the thing that, like I have lots of of questions about you know, how my like, what triggered my diabetes, if you will? Or, or how long I had high blood sugars and didn't know it. Because I just think, you know, like, was it slowly creeping up like the it keeps me awake at night sometimes to think like how much damage they do to my body simply because I was unaware. And I mean, I ran a full marathon undiagnosed. Like, a month before I was diagnosed, I ran a full marathon. Well,

Scott Benner 22:13
let's This is not scientific. But after you were done after you were diagnosed and went on insulin, did you gain a bunch of weight? So

Kim 22:20
I haven't gained weight. I didn't gain weight. So i Okay. i They put me on Metformin immediately. And then I stopped eating like any carbs. And still my blood sugar was about 250 regularly. And then they put me on Ash, I can't think of the name of it. It costs me I learned a lot about advocating for myself medically, when I went to the pharmacy and paid $1,000 for a drug. And I was just like, well, this is what the doctor said I needed. And so I just spent the money and I went back and he was like, Why did you do that? And I'm like, I know you said I needed this drug. And he's like, No, if it's ever that much. He's like never he actually left the room, went and called the rep immediately in the middle of my appointment. You told me it would be this much for my patients. It is not like he was livid that, that that drug cost me as much as it did.

Scott Benner 23:15
I'm hearing I'm hearing the Endocrine Society. I think that's what it's called is starting to talk about Metformin, like for a type two diagnosis is not going to be an instant prescription anymore. I think they're going to start moving people towards these GLP one injections.

Kim 23:33
I think I could, I could totally see how that would be awesome. Yeah, but they put me they put me he put me on a drug that was essentially Lantis and Victoza like a combination drug. I can't remember what it's called now had a weird name

Scott Benner 23:49
Lantis and Victoza combo. Yeah, it was

Kim 23:54
tried to look it over earlier. I just can't remember what I tried to look it up in my prescription history. And then it had a an issue because it's like, a million years ago.

Scott Benner 24:09
I don't see that. It's, it's,

Kim 24:12
I mean, when I when I went off Zoltar phi, that's what it's called.

Scott Benner 24:18
Well, look, it's all stuff I got right out here as homeless

Kim 24:21
I got. Yeah, I indeed. I did.

Scott Benner 24:23
Xul to pH y.

Kim 24:26
Yes. All right. Let's see. And it was but what what ended up happening was it was just too much insulin for me. So I was having lots of hypose Yeah. And so eventually, but I still needed an upper dose like i i Take Victoza so I'm on sembly Victoza loon Jeff. And I still take Metformin. So those are my my four meds that I'm on. You're on Victor.

Scott Benner 24:58
Yeah, you should talk to them. About a GLP, like one of the newer ones. I

Kim 25:03
agree, I totally agree and I have an appointment next month. Honestly, if I can say a couple of things about the podcast because I don't want to run out of time and not have the opportunity to say the ways that it has just changed my life.

Scott Benner 25:20
Hey, can you do that? Can I just say something stupid so I can put the ad. Okay. There's also five has a tagline it says, when it's time to intensify think exemplify what in the world, whoever wrote that you should be ashamed of yourself. Intensify what I don't know. But I really didn't want to go too much farther without saying that. salsify is a type two medication. I didn't want people to get confused. Well, but but they're giving it to you.

Kim 25:51
Yes. So the, the thing I want to say about the podcast is a Eve me. So I went to the diabetes education course that was recommended by my GP. And it was, I mean, it was good in some respects. But like, I already knew what a carb was. I know that everything in our body ultimately breaks down to glucose. So I understood that fat and protein I didn't know know it, but when they said fat and protein breakdown at different rates, it will cause a rise late, you know, different times. I was like, okay, that totally makes sense to me when there are people in the classroom like, No, that isn't fat. It's not glucose, you know, like, yeah, so. So it was helpful in some respects, but, but a lot of it, like I already understood a lot of it. The podcast, gave me information knowledge that I needed, so that when I went to my endocrinologist, I could communicate intelligently and ask the right questions. And my endocrinologist is amazing. I absolutely love him. And one of the main reasons is because he treats me like a partner in my care. I mean, you I read on, you know, all the diabetes, Facebook pages and stuff about Windows, you're like, This is how you do it. What I said to him, as I said, Look, I know that my, my carb ratio is, you know, one to 15. I said, I am almost never dosing that way. And the podcast gave me like the courage to dose appropriately for what I was eating and to try different things. Like I never I'm a rule follower. So I never would have broken out of that box of, you know, I took the right amount of insulin, I waited this amount of time, and I ate my bullet Cheerios and went to 400. Oh, like, I took the right amount.

Scott Benner 27:49
But I want to ask you a question about that. So is what you're saying is that they had your ratio one to 15. But your ratio needs to be stronger than that.

Kim 27:58
Okay. And so when I said my ratio needs to be stronger than that, and they said, I really, I feel like I'm just barely having enough insulin. By the time my prescription renews. Can you prescribe me more? And what he said was about how much insulin do you use a day? Let's prescribe it that way. And I said, okay, the most I'm gonna use in the day is, you know, 50 units, probably, and he's like, Okay, we'll prescribe 50 units a day. So instead of like fighting me on, well, Kim, you should, you know, really eat fewer carbs. You're using less. He just was like, Yes, you are managing. And I think probably if I had outlandish agencies, and I was trying to tell them how things were going, but my last well, and also you helped me advocate vodcasts helped me advocate for myself to get some more testing and to get a CGM, because I was diagnosed Type Two for two years. And my agency originally fell from 14.8 to 6.8, I think is the lowest it was before I started fast acting like Loon, Jeff. Oh,

Scott Benner 29:11
wow. That's, that's, hey, listen, you don't have to stop yourself from saying I helped you. I, you were like, you

Kim 29:18
helped me you helped me Scott. It was all you none, Jenny, just you. I'm

Scott Benner 29:23
just joking. I usually I try to like separate myself in my head from that probably sounds pompous to people, but I don't think of it as me I think of it as the podcast. But when you at one point you said, you helped me and then you stopped me said the podcast helped me and I thought, Oh, that felt good. I can take that a couple of

Kim 29:40
you can have it, you can have it because I just like it just gave me courage to take more insulin. And if I sit it, if I go to 300 to not stay there, you know, and and I'm still MDI and I've talked to my doctor about doing a pump and He, I know that obviously, you know, many people have had lots of success of keeping a wincy low but he's like you won't have as good a control with a pump as you have MDI is kind of what he told me because I have pretty tight control. Now, like my, my last I will call it unassisted, a one C was 5.9. When I say assisted I have because of the gastric bypass, I have to have iron infusions occasionally. And because my, I just don't absorb iron well through my stomach anymore, and, and can become pretty anemic. Like my, my Favoriten ferritin is like has this huge range. It's like 32 to 250 years, the normal range, right? Yeah. And mine was two in December.

Scott Benner 30:55
I think my lowest was 11.

Kim 30:57
Oh, yeah. And you just you feel like you're so tired. You know, you feel like, you know,

Scott Benner 31:03
I just described to somebody recently, and I said the closest I can, I can get to explain to you what it feels like when you're five or 10 is that low? Because I just felt like I was dying. Like, like, I was actually like, worried I was dying. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, I'm like, I don't know this feeling. It's very upsetting. I'm weak. I can't I'm dizzy. Like this must be dying right here. You know,

Kim 31:26
I apologize for laughing when you said that you felt like you were dying, and that your death is not funny to me. Nor your feelings of death are not funny. I just sorry. I laughed.

Scott Benner 31:37
I think you were just laughing because I deliver words in a fun way.

Kim 31:40
You really do. You're very funny. Of course job.

Scott Benner 31:44
Thank you. I'm hilarious. Well, by the way, that's something I do online, because it's so dry in writing. People. People will say something nice about me. And I'll go Oh, yes. I won't even say yes, I just go. I'm hilarious. And I put a period. And I, in my mind. I'm like, That's so funny. And then I think everyone doesn't know that. That's supposed to be funny that I find that funny.

Kim 32:10
Yes, I teach high school. Yeah. And so I consistently am saying, because that was a joke, guys. You guys, that was a joke. Yeah, man, you guys really funny. And the kids that you know, they write in my yearbook at the end of the year, and they were like, it's really funny when you think you're funny. Because I do find myself hilarious. My husband always says that I'm my own biggest fan. He's like, I've tried. I've tried to be your biggest fan, Kim. But you, you are an even even bigger fan of you than I do.

Scott Benner 32:45
Once in a while, every couple of weeks, I've re listened. I just pick out an episode randomly and listen to it to make sure it sounds the way I want it to sound. This morning, I listened to the diabetes myth about snake oil. And I have to admit, I left one time, and I thought it's probably wrong for me to laugh at something that I said. But

Kim 33:04
no, it is like if you're not going to find you funny. Really? Who is I guess we'd be in trouble. We have a responsibility to find yourself funny.

Scott Benner 33:12
So let's make sure I understand this. Yes, the podcast really made the podcast is giving you the opportunity to learn things you wouldn't learn elsewhere or otherwise. And the feeling like it's okay to go into a doctor's office and talk about it. But yet you tripped me up a minute ago. I don't agree with your doctor about a pump making your controllers that I agree. So

Kim 33:37
I think I think that, I don't know I'm, I'm kind of scared of a pump. Just because I really I've been MDI for I've only been properly diagnosed for about I guess it's coming up on two years. Two years. Halloween. Yeah, two years on Halloween, we'll be and I'm comfortable MDI, and so, but I like when I listen. So I haven't listened to a ton of the pumping episodes because, you know, they don't apply to me. Well,

Scott Benner 34:08
couple things. I don't care if you get a pump or not. That's my first thought. The second thought is the pumping episodes do apply to you. They apply to everybody. It's just using your is just using insulin. And third, it doesn't make any sense that for a doctor to tell you that your control would get worse. If you moved off of MDI. The only way I can wrap my head around that is if the doctor believes you're being over basil old, because that's what they do to MDI patients. Sometimes they give them too much basil because they're afraid they're going to forget to Bolus and right maybe they just think that you're coming to this number through a little bit of luck. And if that's not the case, then I don't understand the statement about

Kim 34:52
I think I think what he's thinking is because my average glucose is below In the control setting on the pump, like what is the pump like 120 is like, well, I don't know, because I don't have a pump you can

Scott Benner 35:08
do so. You mean like your target glucose?

Kim 35:12
No, like, like where it will automatically like,

Scott Benner 35:16
Oh, you're not just talking about a pump. You're talking about an algorithm. Yeah,

Kim 35:20
I guess that's what I'm okay. Okay. All right. 112

Scott Benner 35:23
and a half for tandem 110 For on the pod five loop is the do it yourself algorithm I Arden's targeted right at five on loop, I think are 90 right now. Maybe.

Kim 35:34
Okay, so yeah, I, I would absolutely if I decided like I wanted a g7. And I was like, Hey, will you please write me a prescription for a g7? Because that's what I want to do. And he was like, Sure. And when I wanted to CGM, I said, I think I would really like to know, because I was finger sticking like, I don't know, 150 times a day. Not really. But you know, just I am very dedicated to making sure my care is good. Yeah. Because Because long term I'm like, oh, every time my blood sugar spikes, you know, over 160 I'm sandblasting my insides I don't want to do that. Doesn't

Scott Benner 36:17
feel good. You don't feel well, well, either.

Kim 36:21
No, I feel fine. I could sit at 200 all day long and, and be perfectly happy. Like, I physically feel almost no adverse effects. When I was like, 400 all the time. Yeah, I felt like crap. But at 200 I don't have a headache. I don't. I don't feel grumpy. I mean, I'm grumpy because I'm like, frickin I totally screwed that Bolus up or you know, whatever, whatever thing that it's annoying to me. Yeah. But physically, it's it's scary. I wish I felt worse when I was high. But I don't really does

Scott Benner 36:58
illustrate the, the one of the main issues with the higher blood sugar because it is causing you a physical harm. Right. And if you don't notice it, then, you know, why would you react to it?

Kim 37:10
Right. And because of the podcast, because of you, Scott. There you go. There you go. Yeah, I switched my setting to be between a to start my high alert at 150 instead of when it's a 150s. My my said hi, good for you.

Scott Benner 37:33
That's excellent. It's it's the easiest and simplest way to lower your variability in your agency is to lower your higher alarm. Yeah.

Kim 37:41
And so is isn't always effective. I was actually listen to Dana's episode this morning. And when you said that, Arden you rarely have arrow up or arrow down. I was like, well, someday, Scott, some day I'll not have arrows up or down. But I'm still in the land of just, you know, trying to figure it out. Really? Yeah. And experiment. I mean, human petri dish. Yeah. Two years

Scott Benner 38:11
into it as an adult, you're doing terrific. Like, you know, that's just I mean, no straight up. I'm not over exaggerating, like straight up arrow on a CGM double up, I haven't seen a double arrow forever. But it's straight up arrow down or straight down arrow, we don't get those. So like, and that's just a function of balancing your insulin against the carbs. Well, sure. But that's

Kim 38:39
well, and I think, like a little, one of the reasons I would love a pump, I think is because I'm a teacher. And so when it comes to like, getting ready for lunch, I'm not like, well, scuze me for a second classroom full of 50 kids, I'm gonna walk into the other room and shoot up but you know, a little insulin.

Scott Benner 38:59
So would you feel differently about Pre-Bolus in for a meal in front of the class? If it was with a pump? Do you think I

Kim 39:07
would have no problem with the pump? Because it'd just be like, boop, boop. And I am not. I know some people feel shame with diabetes, or they, they want to hide things. And I am simply not that person. Like my we did a meme contest. I'm a choir teacher. We did a meme contest at the end of the year. And it was like this meme of, and it said Mrs. Mrs. Kim, because you don't want to know my last name, teaching trying to teach choir and then in the back, it's like this lurking figure, her low alarm, you know, so it's like, I tend to sit lower rather than higher because I would rather treat really quick than sit at 200 You know, it's it's easy to just eat and then so but consequently, my low alarm is, is going off and then my students will say, are you trying to die and I was like, Yeah, or no, or it's the first day of the, you know, of my Dexcom. So it's all jacked even it thinks I'm dying, but I'm not or you know, whatever things so. So if I had a pump, I would 100% Just do that Bolus, well, yeah,

Scott Benner 40:16
not that I just I, by the way, it's not that I don't understand, I just want to make sure I'm, I'm clearly getting your vibe, you don't want to inject something in front of the kids. It's just that like, one of their parents would call, well,

Kim 40:30
here's what it is, I injected my stomach, because when I injected my arms and my legs, I get these really big red welts. Oh, I don't get them on my stomach, I get them on my arms and legs, and I bruise really bad. Pull up your shirt. So yeah, I don't want to be like, whipping out my belly. And as previously stated, I had a gastric bypass. So I have an ample amount of extra skin to inject into. So you know, I don't want to whip out my belly and be like, you know, shooting up, although I'm not, I'm never shy about needing to dose if the kid walks into my office, while I'm giving myself an injection. It does not faze me in the least. Like it just is what it is. Okay,

Scott Benner 41:14
well, that's cool. I mean, also fairly respectful. You know, 50 kids, any kid?

Kim 41:21
Well, any kid who might be woozy about needles, you know, you have a kid who has a Basal bagel thing about needles, and they go down, you're like, Oh, crap,

Scott Benner 41:30
it's easy to weed out the weak ones. That way, that'd be great.

Kim 41:34
The other thing that I have loved about being really open about it, is I have several type one students. And so it is one of those things where it is a bonding thing where we understand each other. And, and a lot, some of them, you know, were diagnosed it, but to, and some of them it's been, you know, they're a year in or two years in. And I'll have you know that I always suggest your podcast, Scott,

Scott Benner 42:02
thank you.

Kim 42:03
Thank you, I suggest you to people. I mean, it's weird

Scott Benner 42:07
if you say it that way. So go back to the podcast thing, I started getting uncomfortable with it.

Kim 42:10
You know what, you can't have it both ways here. You either take the credit or you don't, I'm

Scott Benner 42:15
trying to have it both ways. And I feel like I'm accomplishing

Kim 42:20
it's a cool thing to be able to. But of course, I worry about them. Like, like, Oh, yeah. You know, I had a kid whose low alarm went off in class. And it went off, I think, three times. And I finally looked at her and I said, Are you going to do something about that? She's like, I guess? Like,

Scott Benner 42:40
I was waiting till I was dizzy, but okay. Just hoping it wasn't gonna happen. Yeah, I get that. Alright, so, wow, this is a lot. You've been through a fair amount in your time?

Kim 42:53
Well, you know, it, it's just kind of one of those. Those weird things. My parents had never treated my heart stuff. Like it was a big deal. Not that they didn't care for me. Like I always had regular care. They were, you know, I had heart surgery at eight and again at 14. And then when I was 27, or eight. And so they have always been, you know, very good about my care. But as one of seven kids. i It wasn't, we just didn't make a big deal about it. Well, they

Scott Benner 43:29
would have the energy to make a big deal out of it. Yeah. Seriously.

Kim 43:32
I think it was more that they didn't want me to freak out about it. Yeah. And I didn't have any adverse physical like, I never had any restrictions of what I could do what I couldn't do, like, I just lived a normal life. Aside from all the heart surgeries.

Scott Benner 43:54
But are there any follow up surgeries needed for your heart? Are you do you feel done with that? No.

Kim 43:59
So I just went to the cardiologist last month, and it was kind of like the first time that it is a progressive, like I'm on the train. I'm on the tracks. That's what the doctor said, you're on the tracks. Like there's there's no getting off the tracks. This is from birth. So I have a bicuspid aortic valve, which means there's two flaps instead of three flaps on the valve. So that causes a heart murmur. And that valve is hardening over time, because it's you know, kind of overworked and stuff, and then the ascending aorta is getting bigger because my descending aorta is like, pinched and twisted. So I had to angioplasties to train, like, spread that part out. And then they went in and put in a stent after that. But as sent essentially, someday, the valve will crap out and it'll send me into congestive heart failure, and the ascending aorta expanding. So I'll need a valve replacement at the least and a whole new aorta at

Scott Benner 44:58
the most did Give you a timeframe for that.

Kim 45:01
The timeframe for the valve has always been 20 years when I was 20 years old I went in. So probably last about 20 years when I was 40. I went in, still looking pretty good, maybe another 20 years. So I have a hereditarily, low heart rate, like really low. Okay, my resting heart rate is in the 40s of most of the time 40s 50s. It has been as low as the 30s. If I'm in the hospital, they have to turn the monitor off to let the alarm off. Yeah, cuz it'll beep all the time. My personal theory that is none related to anything, the doctor says that my heart beats like half as many times as normal people's hearts. So maybe that's why it's lasting a little longer.

Scott Benner 45:43
You're not using it up as quickly.

Kim 45:44
That's right. But it is like the last appointment I had. My aorta had grown, the ascending aorta had grown 50% faster than they expected it to

Scott Benner 45:56
be Excel. And that's probably another reason why you're so careful about your blood sugar to Yes, because

Kim 46:02
I already have all of these comorbidity factors. Yeah, it's like, have you seen the King of Queens? Yeah, I've seen that show. And you know, Kevin, James is a heavy guy and Leah remedies, the skinny thing, but she smokes, and they're meeting with their life insurance guy. And they each have these bad habits. And they're like trying to outdo one another. And so my husband and I always talk about like, like, dude, I'm totally going to out die you like, I will die first. There's no two ways about I got like 85 things it's, I could have could be the cleanest living human on the planet. I'm still gonna die before you eat another cheeseburger.

Scott Benner 46:46
You're very good attitude about all this.

Kim 46:51
I feel like what are my options? Can I control whether or not I have a heart condition whether or not I have diabetes, I cannot. The only power that I have is to control how I react to it. And I can let it make me bitter, and hardened grumpy and hate everything. Or I can let it make me be a kinder, more compassionate person. And the person I want to be as a kinder person. And so instead of not to say, I mean, the first two years, I went to the endocrinologist, I think I cried. Probably every other every other appointment just because it was hard, was, it's hard to know that for the rest of your life, you will never take a bite that you don't think about. You know, there's it's just always there. And so that sucks sometimes. But we just, you know, try to like when my little alarm goes off. My husband said one day, because I am an off the scale extrovert I love center of attention is my jam. You know, like I think I'm very funny, similar to someone else I know. Or now No. And and so one day my little alarm went off. And my husband looked at me he's like, Oh, was it not about you for five minutes, Kim. And so that's like the running joke in the house. Now if, if my low alarm goes off, it's because it wasn't about me for a few minutes. We got to bring it back around to me. Do

Scott Benner 48:22
you think that's a joke? Or do you think that it's overshadowing people's lives?

Kim 48:28
I absolutely think it's a joke, my husband. While I was actually in Dana's episode today, I was listening and thinking about like, My husband doesn't follow my CGM. He doesn't follow me on on my decks. In fact, nobody does. Like I do all of my own management. I talk about diabetes all the time. In fact, I said, today's my episode that I get to that I'm like, recording, he's like, it's your favorite topic. So he is unendingly supportive and has listened to hours upon hours of diabetes, everything. He thinks I am the greatest thing in the world. Like he he legitimately I always joke that he thinks the sun shines out my butt. Like he just adores me in every way imaginable. And so, so it is, I'm sure sometimes he's like, Oh my gosh, if I have to hear about diabetes again, you know, rolling his eyes a little bit, but he is eternally kind and patient and lovely. Wonderful. Yes. Just the very best.

Scott Benner 49:36
Maybe sunshine does come out of your button. You just can't see it.

Kim 49:41
Perhaps Yeah, perhaps it wouldn't surprise me.

Scott Benner 49:43
Don't let your kids hear this because they're gonna wonder how he knows that it comes out of your button. Okay, to explain, you know what I mean? Oh, my God.

Kim 49:54
I mean, it's there's gonna be an after dark episode here. After

Scott Benner 49:58
Dark episode Oh no. Unless there's something you want to tell me and then we can switch this over very quickly or

Kim 50:05
things I want to tell you. It feels like this is getting surprisingly close to a butthole adjacent.

Scott Benner 50:12
A great title though I'm proud of myself. Oh, my gosh,

Kim 50:15
that was I laughed out loud multiple times in that episode. I was just like, Well,

Scott Benner 50:22
I was at a family gathering recently, and people were talking about things they were proud of. And I said, I one time thought to call it a podcast episode, but Hola, Jason. And I wasn't kidding.

Kim 50:32
Wait, are you going to call my episodes? Sunshines? out my butt? No, of course

Scott Benner 50:35
not. It's not a real thing. It's a thing you made up. Whatever

Kim 50:39
you don't know.

Scott Benner 50:42
Real? Not even real. Yeah, I don't know what to call yours.

Kim 50:46
You could simply say that I'm delightful. That's what I like. Don't

Scott Benner 50:50
say don't go fishing. That's totally, you know what I mean? I did it already. We both can't do it. We both got to it first. Please. I got people are not laughing it like he does it every time. And I don't do it every time.

Kim 51:08
Sometimes, I would like to believe that, but it's just not coming to me. I

Scott Benner 51:12
have to be honest, I think self deprecating humor is the best humor. So

Kim 51:16
it is it is so funny. 100% of the time,

Scott Benner 51:20
you're never gonna know how serious or not serious I am about the things I say about myself. I will tell you this. I'm here's the thing I'm proud of. I know I have a reasonably comedic mind. Because you know how when people think of things, they seem off kilter, you're like, they must really think about that. You mean like they joke about something horrible. And you're like, they probably really think that they probably are going to kill a hitchhiker. Like, like that kind of stuff. I am. I think the things that pop into, I don't think I'm I know, there are things that pop into my head that I string together and say that I have literally zero connection to they just they just seem like the most bombastic, ridiculous thing to say in that moment. Yep. And so yeah. My wife used to be like, Are you like thinking about that? And I'm like, No, not at all like that. I'm like, random stuff doesn't just pop into your head. She's like,

Kim 52:17
all right. Like, no, I'm not a freak, Scott. And

Scott Benner 52:19
she goes, but you'll say it like, like, we'll leave her mother's house and her mom will be like, what do you guys got planned for the rest of the day? And I'll say, I'll just very dryly, I'll say, oh, you know, we have a little bonding time coming up. We're going to pick up a homeless person and murder. Just to see what it feels like to kill a person. And and then they're staring and I go goodbye.

Kim 52:45
Now, some people would call that comedic timing, and other people would call that being a sociopath. Yeah, they're

Scott Benner 52:52
wrong about that.

Kim 52:55
Messing with, you know,

Scott Benner 52:56
a bunch of homeless people start disappearing near my house. There you go. There you go. There we go. I don't think you shouldn't look into me. I'm just I'm just saying really strange things pop into my head that I have no real association to.

Kim 53:11
So I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad that all of the murder you spoken of today is not a real thing for you. Yeah,

Scott Benner 53:17
Murder. Murder is a new thing. I'm just getting it. I'm just getting into it. Now. It hasn't really I don't know where it's gonna go yet. But But seriously, like, just isn't like dumb joking. I also don't get why you can't joke with people about things like, I know it makes you uncomfortable. Like if I were to start talking about like, you know what, I can't even use any of the words

Kim 53:40
I am on the edge of my feet. It's going to make me uncomfortable. I can't

Scott Benner 53:44
use any of the words that just came into my head. So I'm gonna bleep it all out. Okay, Kim. Okay. All right. Okay. What came into my head to say was, I know it would make me uncomfortable. It would make you uncomfortable. If I like you said your mom had seven kids. So if I said something like, well, your mom was a real or something like that. Like I know that would like make you incredibly uncomfortable because people don't like to talk about their parents like that. For some reason. Let me just write down the timer. I

Kim 54:17
said that my mom more uncomfortable than me.

Scott Benner 54:20
Well, you would think that all she did would have made her uncomfortable but see, that's how I could do it if I wanted to. Sure. Sure. I don't I hold all that back because this podcasts about diabetes and helping people pick it up and their thyroid and there is a family friend who said to me like I am not surprised you have a popular podcast. He goes I am stunned about the topic though.

Kim 54:48
What if your friend could pick what do you think he would? He would pick as your podcast topic. Gosh,

Scott Benner 54:54
I assume something where I could say your mom that they murdered? Yes. And that those made her really saw in a delightful way where people were laughing about it.

Kim 55:03
Right? I don't like I thought for sure it was gonna be something murdery based on today's conversation, I

Scott Benner 55:10
don't have any interest in that at all. Yeah, I mean, like, you know, some people like true crime and things like that I have no thought I just not at all. Not at all. I

Kim 55:22
was thinking about one of the I was like, Oh, I do have a funny, like, when I was undiagnosed, like a P story. Oh, my gosh, well, you just, I'm

Scott Benner 55:35
gonna finish my I'm gonna finish my thought I would be I would be more irreverent. And I would not be careful about language. Because I would prefer to curse a little more. I probably wouldn't do it much. But I'd be I'd love to be able to do it without bleeping it out. You don't I mean? Sure. But you know, it's funny. I was in the shower this morning. And I thought, I wonder if I could do this the rest of my life. Like, I'm gonna get older. Like, could I make a podcast as an older person. And I had this like, fleeting thought of like having a podcast calling described. And then I would just pick very, like simple things and describe them. And I'm like, I don't think that's the podcast, but that's what popped into my head swing, like a blade of grass or grout in between the tile like, just go to where those things were set up, have a microphone and then very meticulously describe what I was looking at. Maybe the episodes would be like five or 10 minutes long. And then I was like, that's probably not a good idea. Well

it's not I know, it's not. It's okay.

Kim 56:48
But sounds terrible. You should move on to the next.

Scott Benner 56:51
Yeah. But it popped into my head. I was like, that's not a good idea at all. But I'm like, Okay. Anyway, I have no idea. Like, I don't think you'll be

Kim 57:02
a lifelong podcaster. Like, is that what you're like? Not this podcast specifically. But like, I don't think

Scott Benner 57:08
I've been doing it for nine straight years.

Kim 57:12
So how many episodes do you record? A week?

Scott Benner 57:15
Four or five? Well, that's a lot. Yeah, I do. I do it every day.

Kim 57:21
Do you ever feel like you're gonna, like run out of people to talk to?

Scott Benner 57:24
No.

Kim 57:27
Do you? Like Have there been some that you've interviewed somebody? Certainly not me? Because I'm delightful. Certainly. But were you just interviewed somebody and you're like, that was like talking to like, a paper bag? Like just no personality? Nothing. You

Scott Benner 57:43
know, I don't really I don't think of it that way. Like, there have been a couple of people who are not my cup of tea. And I just have the best conversation that I can find to have with them. Okay, then when I then of course, their episode sits for a while before it gets edited and put online. And then No, no, no, they all do. I see where you thought I was joking. But but but when I go back and edit it, I do recall like, oh, I don't, I didn't enjoy this. And then there's this moment inside of me where I go, just like lose it, like delete it and like email them go, Hey, I'm sorry. Like, your file got corrupted.

Kim 58:19
But, but but I didn't email tomorrow. So

Scott Benner 58:24
I'm gonna send you that one just for fun. But, but I've never done that. And I'm glad I haven't ever done that. Because those are some of the episodes I get the most mail about sometimes. So what I've learned that there, they're not my cup of tea. There's someone's cup of tea. Sure, sure. You know, so I just interview them the same way I would interview anyone. There are people who are not natural talkers. Like I interviewed a guy a couple weeks ago, it was a great interview. But the truth is, if I didn't fill, it would have been 18 minutes long. Right. And but what I think what I've learned over time is this might be a little bit too behind the scenes, but there are some people listening who really do just want to hear me talk. And there are some people listening who went, I say it's true, right? And then there are some people listening who want to hear me talk to another person. And there's some people who are putting up with me, because the things I get out of the people. And there's some people who just think there's great diabetes content in here. And they're like, if I have to listen to this whole to get the good diabetes content, I guess I will, and like and that's all like, whatever. Like it's, it's all fine with me. But I don't I used to get scared. I used to think like, Oh, I'm gonna talk too much in this one because they're not as talkative but now I'm just like, well, that's what that's what this one is. Like, it's okay. You know, and you talked more than me in this one.

Kim 59:49
Did I now? Yeah, for sure.

Scott Benner 59:51
This is gonna be about like 6040 You okay, I can I mean, I don't

Kim 59:57
know what is it usually? Is it

Scott Benner 59:59
It's usually it's usually 6040. Me.

Kim 1:00:03
Oh, I like I up my game today. I am a talker clearly Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:00:08
I realize there were times I didn't want to run you over because I didn't like the way it would feel for the flow of the conversation. But I did want to say something and I couldn't get in.

Kim 1:00:18
Oh, sorry. Sorry, my mom, my mom always in the back of my head because I'm so extroverted. In the back of my head is my mom saying to me, listen more than you talk, Kim. Ask more questions, Kim. Again, it's not all about you.

Scott Benner 1:00:33
Forget the not all about you. I don't like it. When people say that. By the way. When people say to me, You know what I think privately in my head, go yourself. That's what I think in my head. But in my private life, I'm like, Yeah, okay. You can talk more if you want. You know, I'm not sometimes I'm talking because no one else is talking. But here's a really short, here's a serious question. It's gonna sound like it's not a serious question. Are you a little fat girl in your mind? Yes, yeah. Cuz I'm a fat boy, in my mind.

Kim 1:00:59
Yeah, forever. And I had a friend the other day, who's also a diabetic. And because of the podcast, I'm like, You should go back and get more testing done. Because my friend is anyway, I don't need to go into my friend's medical history, although it's fascinating. But they're a bigger person. And, and like I said, I love to bake, like so so much. And I'm not gonna lie. I am an excellent Baker. Like, if I ever decided not to teach, I would open a bakery. But they were saying to their wife, like, I know, you should never trust a skinny cook. But like Kim defies this. And I was like, that's because I am fat in my heart.

Scott Benner 1:01:41
He's like, I knew you were gonna say that. Not only that, because

Kim 1:01:45
yes, yeah, yeah, in my mind. Yeah. In my mind, it took me. So I had gastric bypass in 96. When I was 15. It took me probably 15 years. Before I didn't panic, if I had to eat in like a buffet kind of setting that I didn't think in my head. Everybody is watching every bite I take, okay, 15 years where and I had been at a, a normal, quote unquote, normal weight for all of those 15 years. Maybe a little chubby, but not morbidly obese, like I had been, I feel

Scott Benner 1:02:22
like it's that like feeling of like, you seem different than other people. And then although I grew up in a different time, like being like chubby was different. When I was young. I don't know if it's sure if it's the same now or not. But you felt different enough and outside the norm enough that you were working harder to be accepted? And I think, yes,

Kim 1:02:44
I think that's true. And I think that that's probably why we are funny people. Because I felt from the youngest age, I have to make people see past my body. Like I have to make them see me. And so I have always been the fat Funny Girl. You know, that's just and now I'm just funny, and with probably some body dysmorphia going on. So I have the opposite thing in pictures. Like in my mind, I'm really heavy. And I'll see a picture of me and I'm like, Whoa, like, I am a lot thinner than I thought I was. And I'm not like, I'm not tiny. I'm about 167 pounds. Now. I'm not huge. I'm not tiny. But when I see pictures of myself, I'm like, Oh, is that look like Oh, beard. I felt like my belly stuck out way further than that. Or, you know, whatever. No,

Scott Benner 1:03:42
I understand that. I am not sure for myself. Like, I don't think I was trying to make people like me. But I did. I did like what you said about like, feeling like you're magnifying your personality, like make sure they see this part. And we're so they don't notice the other part. And it's not crazy, by the way, because there were I knew people who were very athletic, who also had a lot of thoughts, but people just thought of them as athletic people. You know, so I, you know, you do want to get in front of that. Like, it's almost like you're like, Look, I know you look at me and I look chubby or whatever. But here are the thoughts. Awesome. Yeah, please consider judging me on this instead. You know, my sixth,

Kim 1:04:19
my sixth grade teacher. I my next door neighbor was like one of the cool kids in class, you know, he was popular. And we rode the bus together and we were great friends. We hang out all the time. We jump on my trampoline. We play basketball at his house, ride our bikes around whatever. My sixth grade teacher said to my mom at parent teacher conferences. It's it's like the kids don't realize she's overweight, because she hadn't seen a kid who was sick and I was. I weigh less now than I did in sixth grade. Like I weighed 202 pounds at the end of sixth grade is the end probably five six. It's incredible. Or five five? Yeah, so I have always not been a little bit overweight but significantly overweight. And I don't think she'd ever seen a student who wasn't an outcast because of that. And instead of being a shrinking violet and hoping no one would notice me, I was, you know, the polar opposite. Yeah, I was getting all of the attention.

Scott Benner 1:05:17
It's funny you said that, because I was gonna make the point. Like, I was not a sad clown. Like, I know, I just think, yeah, like, I was a person people enjoyed and liked and, and felt confident. Just, it felt like I was in the wrong body for my personality. Like, do you know what I mean? Like, like, it's almost like the words and the thoughts coming out of me didn't fit, what people would expect, how I looked, and I don't know if they even I'd have no idea if they thought that or not, I don't even know how consciously I was aware of it as a younger person. Right. You know, right. It's easy to think back on it. And pretend you knew, but I don't really know. If no, right? No, totally. Yeah. Anyway, it turns out, I may just be GLP deficient, which is a thing that they're starting to talk about now. So there's wait doctors, I don't have enough on it to talk thoughtfully about it yet. But they're starting to look into the idea if similarly to like, thyroid situation, like, you know, if you're hypothyroid you are making you know, the hormone but not picking it up well, or like you know, the way you the way your body can't kind of produce or process iron. Well, like, right, perhaps I just have like, my body's making GLP, but it's not using it correctly. So by flooding, tourists like flooding it by giving it extra, the same way, when you take like your tiersen or your Synthroid right, somebody takes that you're kind of flooding your body with that, that thyroid hormone, and then your body's able to pick up enough of it to work normally from that. And it's those are people thinking that that might be the situation because I have to tell you, as much as I'd like to say, I am eating slightly differently, like foods, like I've incorporated a couple of other foods that are healthier than what I normally do. But overall, I am not eating that much differently than I was before. And I'm really interested in losing weight. So it almost feels like this thing was missing. And once you put it in it was there and you get the added benefit of it. Making you feel full, so you can't overeat. And right you know, and it does shut off your brain from thinking about food completely. That's when you make when you eat

Kim 1:07:26
Do you feel? Do you get the same? Are you a person who takes joy from eating?

Scott Benner 1:07:32
I wasn't. But I'm really not now.

Kim 1:07:37
Okay. Yeah, I wonder what it would be like because I like everything about food is delightful to me. Like I like creating it. I like making it look pretty. I like eating it. And so I'm wondering what, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:07:51
you might change that for someone that for you a little bit. So the girl is wrong. Arden's home from school, the girls were all here last night, and when I got a FaceTime, they were like, 15 feet from me and I got to FaceTime. Can you it's 930. I'm finishing editing a podcast episode, can you make a sweet treat for us? And I was like, You're not even my daughter. I'm like, what, what, what do you want? And she goes, I'm like, can I get like sugar cookies? And I said, I think I have all the ingredients for that. So I finished up up here put up an episode. I'm a little behind right now. I'm catching up from a trip. So I'm working like I feel like I'm I feel like I'm giving you the episodes as you're asking for them. So I need your back ahead a little bit. Anyway, I go downstairs and make cookies. I can tell you look at the dough the dose perfect. I pinch it to try it. I eat it. It's good. It's what I think it's gonna be. I bake the cookies, the girls come down and get cookies. And then at the end, I took a cookie and took a bite of it. And I'm chewing it. I was like, I don't want this. So I just spit it in the trash. Yeah, then this morning, I got up and I'm like, dammit, like, I don't think I'm gonna eat one of these cookies I made. So I took another bite. And I was like, Yeah, I don't want this. Still not good. Yeah, so it just it didn't none of the like. I mean, I don't know what what are cookies do in my brain soft, Chewy, but crunchy, but sweet. That whole thing? Yeah, they didn't like make me anything. I

Kim 1:09:21
didn't hit any of those. I didn't care

Scott Benner 1:09:25
at all like that. Then I just thought I was just gonna sit in my stomach and I was like, I forget it. That was it.

Kim 1:09:30
So to me, that would be a totally gray existence.

Scott Benner 1:09:34
Can you like

Kim 1:09:35
Oh, world is gray. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:09:39
Like what did you say? Couldn't you just have more sex or, like I've

Kim 1:09:43
spoken like a man. I don't know like

Scott Benner 1:09:45
what you started like, you know, tightrope walking or? I don't know. Hey,

Kim 1:09:50
a tight rope. Oh my gosh, Scott. What? Come on. That is not a delicious cookie. What's wrong with

Scott Benner 1:09:57
you? Not because the cookies not really delicious is what I'm learning. Hang it just gives you a job. So you just need them or else

Kim 1:10:04
I, I will send you a different sugar cookie recipe. Because what you have made is not you're not doing it

Scott Benner 1:10:12
right by riding a motorcycle with one eye close. See if that does run up to a bunch of cops yelling Yeah.

Kim 1:10:21
I'm sure that will hit the dopamine release. I need

Scott Benner 1:10:24
to get some adrenaline somewhere. You know what I mean? Just start yelling. I'm crazy and run towards the cop. Right? Wave your hands in the air. I bet you that'll get y'all lit up for a while. I honestly what it's what it's telling me is that those like those ways that you contextualize and most people contextualize food, they're not real. Like, oh, it's so good. Or it tastes so great. Or like whatever like it. That's just the that's the dressing. Like, that's the window dressing on the dopamine hit. Like it's all it is. Like so, you know, if you could put dopamine in a vape pen, I think you could feel the same way you feel is when you like eat a cookie.

Kim 1:11:09
Wait, isn't that like what meth is? Just kidding.

Scott Benner 1:11:13
I don't know is that you live in the northwest. No, I

Kim 1:11:15
have no idea. You're right. I live where everything is legal. Everything is legal.

Scott Benner 1:11:20
Yeah, Rubble, Oregon made everything legal. Right. Like they did. It is. I wonder what the long term impacts of that are? But I bet you it'll end up being a new positive. Eventually. No, you don't

Kim 1:11:31
know. I know. Because I live I live it every day. i You seem seen the impact of that not been? It's, it's, it is awful. I think it's awful. Because there is no, because because people who are under the influence of XYZ, whatever, don't care for themselves or their environment, you know, in a way that you are I might, who are I? I can only speak for me. I am not under the influence of anything besides insulin. Well, but they, they're, you know, lots of places in our town that aren't safe any longer. And the police can't do anything because it's not a crime to do drugs out in the open. It's not a crime to uh, yeah. So well, here's what,

Scott Benner 1:12:24
here's what I'm gonna say not that I want to see somebody doing meth at the 711. But right. The proponents of this idea are saying that things were so out of control in Oregon to begin with, that, obviously, what was being done was not helping anything. And that that ratcheting it up more wasn't going to do anything else except make it more blackmarket and underground and that kind of stuff. So you're not helping people with drug addiction, you're just saving yourself from seeing those people I think is the idea behind it. Portland solo record 88 homicides in 2021, a 54.4% increase over 2020. The cops tie that to turf wars between drug gangs, causality is ultimately unclear homicides increased at a greater rate 58.3% from 2019 to 2020. So I think what they're saying is if you take away the illegal nature of it, you might fix other things. I mean, I don't know like, I'm not a salt sociologist. So a person who writes attention to people and knows what they're doing like that. But it's not worth not trying. And I'm happy if they're trying it in a state that I don't live in. So we'll see how, right Yes.

Kim 1:13:47
It's easy to it's easy to have an opinion when you're not living the day to day.

Scott Benner 1:13:52
Are you like personally seeing it? So

Kim 1:13:55
I would say what we have seen in our town is and I'm not in Portland, but I have seen Portland Portland's downtown is like businesses are moving out. They are Portland is in my opinion, a disaster. It is just there there is trash and there are tent cities there are people just I it's it's crimes, crimes being committed all over the place that they simply are just not dealing with any longer. So I now I'm not in Portland. What I see on the streets of my own town are big piles of trash, urine, feces in front of businesses, throw up needles, in parking lots, you know, blocks from a middle school. Well, you Tell me when you see things like this, and then, you know, like our, our downtown streets are almost unusable. Our main bike paths that run along our beautiful river have so many homeless people. And I'm not saying every homeless person is addicted to drugs or I'm not discounting people without homes as a general rule, certainly not. But what I have seen is a lot of people screaming at each other. And, you know, it's just,

Scott Benner 1:15:36
yeah, there's a US News World Report article, it says that Oregon's idea is to take the money they were using for policing and move it into support, and sure, and rehab and stuff like that, of course, unless some politician diverts that money to their lake house, and then maybe, there you go, there you go. But, um, so yeah, I don't know where we're going to help those drug addicts whoever can find, right. Yeah. I mean, I mean, it's obviously a problem. And it's not and it seems like prior what we were doing was hiding the problem, then it became so overwhelming that you couldn't hide it anymore, which is what you're describing is it's bleeding out into the streets. And we're, yeah, aren't used to seeing it. So it's, I mean, something obviously has to be done.

Kim 1:16:24
I agree. I agree. And I, if, if this works, I will be the first to say, I did not think this work. This would work and I'm wrong. How long do

Scott Benner 1:16:36
you think it takes to know a decade? Probably right?

Kim 1:16:41
Yeah, I don't know. I hope not to live in Oregon that long

Scott Benner 1:16:44
to find that or do you think you're moving?

Kim 1:16:49
I don't know. Maybe someday? Not. Not anytime soon. I got kids in high school. You have son who just graduated and a daughter who will be a junior, so

Scott Benner 1:16:57
Okay. Yeah. Well, we have to give them a chance to use meth on the streets, too. That's right.

Kim 1:17:01
Yeah. Well, I mean, we want them to do it with zero consequences. So they can get nice and hooked and just, you know, throw their whole lives away with no consequences. That's what I would really like for my children. You think?

Scott Benner 1:17:13
Do you think if your kid was going to do math that a consequence would stop them?

Kim 1:17:19
If that's true? Well, no, but a consequence might not but jail might be a wake up call for him.

Scott Benner 1:17:27
I don't know. Doesn't seem to work. It seems to put them in a place where they can get better drugs. That's

Kim 1:17:32
true. Yeah. I don't know. I've never been to jail. Are you speaking from personal experience?

Scott Benner 1:17:36
I mean, I've seen a couple of TV shows. Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a difficult it's obviously not as cut and dry as anybody would want it to be? No, but you know, and

Kim 1:17:49
it's it's such a multi faceted complex problem. Yeah. That I don't think any one solution will be the thing. Yeah. No, I'm not. I'm not saying I have any better ideas than right. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:18:04
I mean, I use this as an example. Like, if consequences were a deterrent, then like there'd be no teen pregnancy? Because that's because teens would go well, I'm not gonna have sex because the consequences that are making a baby that I am not prepared to take care of, but that doesn't, right, totally stop anybody. You know what I mean? I don't think I don't think a kid like saying yes to a bump of coke at a party when they're 16 makes them think like, wow, I'm obviously going to do this and then ended up in jail because of my meth habit. Yeah, wait,

Kim 1:18:33
you mean teenagers don't think things through you think

Scott Benner 1:18:36
any way you think anybody thinks. I like it when we say that like about teenagers, like I know, a lot of adults. And they're not any more well thought out than anybody else.

Kim 1:18:50
So I would hope I would hope as an adult that I think things through better than the teenagers I teach.

Scott Benner 1:18:57
Yeah, no, no, I'll get you drunk at a party and offer your coke and see what happens. You might be like, I got a heart condition and diabetes. And let me see. Yeah, let me see that. You

Kim 1:19:09
can't out die. Me.

Scott Benner 1:19:13
All right, Kim. You're delightful. Thank you so much. Yeah, yeah. We're gonna We're I don't know what we're gonna call this episode. So I figured out when I added it, but I do really appreciate you coming on and doing this with me. Thank you. Yeah,

Kim 1:19:26
it was awesome. Thank you. Oh, of course, hold

Scott Benner 1:19:28
on one second for me.

A huge golden thanks to Kim for coming on the podcast thing and telling her great story to us. And I want to thank you guys again, for hanging with me through a ninth year of the Juicebox Podcast, not just the ninth season, a ninth year. This year. We put up an episode every day Monday through Friday. 2040 6080 100 120 That's 240 episodes this year. You guys support it. I love you. I don't know what else to say. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Where do you see what I have coming? Oh, you know what, on the last episode of the year, I'm going to tell you a little bit about what's coming on January 1.

Having an easy to use and accurate blood glucose meter is just one click away. Contour next one.com/juicebox That's right. Today's episode is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. But it doesn't mean we've started I just want to know if you have any questions or concerns or anything you want to ask me before we start?

Kim 1:20:45
I don't think so. It is very surreal that you sound just like yourself.

Scott Benner 1:20:52
Oh, you know, all right.

Kim 1:20:53
I mean, listen to the podcasts like you sound like the podcast. I'm like, I'm fangirling a little bit right now. That's all. Well,

Scott Benner 1:21:00
listen, now the podcast has begun because I want to keep this in. So I can tell you this, right? We were where were we on Sunday, I was in the car with Arden and a friend of hers. And her friend is like, she calls me Scott. She goes, Scott, you should do voiceover work.

Kim 1:21:20
I say Does she know that you have

Scott Benner 1:21:22
a podcast? I know she does. But she's like you should do voiceover work. And I was like, yes, you're right. Someone should just give me voiceover work. She's like, seriously, I'd like for you to be in a cartoon or something. I was like, I would 100% do that. So anyway, there's 119 year old girl in New Jersey, who really believes that I should be getting voiceover work. Anyway. So

Kim 1:21:43
I hope that stream of income opens up for you. That

Scott Benner 1:21:46
would be lovely. I hear it pays well. And then from there, we started talking about this whole idea about how I sound and I told her I was like, I sound in the podcast, the way I sound in my head. But when I record myself on my phone, I don't sound the way I sound in my head. Interesting.

Kim 1:22:11
Yeah. Yeah, cuz I mean, frequently. When I hear a recording to myself, I'm like, Oh, that's really how I sound. That's too bad.

Scott Benner 1:22:21
Yeah, so I spent a little bit of time a couple of years ago. And I don't want you to think it's like it's some great change, but I tuned my voice on the podcast to sound the way I think I sound.

Kim 1:22:34
I like it. Yes, I like it. Why not?

Scott Benner 1:22:36
You're hearing me the way I hear me in my ears when I'm walking around.

Kim 1:22:40
Okay, well, good job. Thank you. You've done a great job.

Scott Benner 1:22:44
I don't know if I sound like you. Or, but here, Kim. Here's the freaky thing. What if that's not how I sound to other people in real life, it's just down to my day.

Kim 1:22:54
If we ever meet in real life, I'll be like, Scott, you have a very skewed sense of how awesome you sound in real life.

Scott Benner 1:23:03
I was like, Hey, Kim, what's up? That would be awesome. What do you think you sound like? Anyway, introduce yourself. Don't use your last name. We'll keep going. Okay.

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#1093 Drive to Birmingham

Heather is a nurse and the mother of a child with type 1 diabetes.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, welcome to episode 1093 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Heather had been a nurse for 15 years when her seven year old daughter Liza was diagnosed with type one diabetes. This episode has a lot. Again, I It's hard for me to, like encapsulate it all here for you, but it's a crazy diagnosis story that includes DKA, and so much more. 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. Don't forget to save 40% off of your entire order at cosy earth.com. All you have to do is use the offer code juice box at checkout that's juice box at checkout to save 40% at cosy earth.com. When you place your first order for ag one with my link, you'll get five free travel packs and a free year supply of vitamin D. Drink ag one.com/juicebox If you're not already subscribed or following in your favorite audio app, please take the time now to do that it really helps the show and get those automatic downloads set up so you never miss an episode.

Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Dexcom, makers of the Dexcom G seven and G six continuous glucose monitoring systems. dexcom.com/juicebox This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the insulin pump that my daughter wears Omni pod. Learn more and get started today with the Omni pod dash or the Omni pod five at my link Omni pod.com/juicebox podcast perfect. Yeah, perfect. Thank you. I was making a post for the for the Facebook page while you were talking. So hold on. I'm not quite done. Let me just finish. No worries. People are like how do you do all this? And the answer is I have two computers and I'm constantly doing two things at the same time.

Heather 2:23
So are you headed to Savannah? Is that when you're going to Atlanta?

Scott Benner 2:26
Yes. We're taking we're picking Arden up? I think I'm supposed to say Arden goes to schooling? Where am I supposed to say Chicago? Yeah. But yeah. But we're going. She was on one time and she's like, tell people I'm going to Chicago

Heather 2:38
and I'm like okay, I did thoroughly enjoy her episode. Oh, thank

Scott Benner 2:42
you. She'll be back at some point. She'll be home soon. So yeah, we're going to so this started out as it started out as we're going to just record Heather. Okay, is that fine? We can just keep talking perfectly. Okay. So we'll introduce you in a minute. It started out as Arden has a car at school, and she's coming home. And that went to my wife going I don't like her driving all that way by herself for the first time. And I said, okay, and I was like, Well, what's your plan? She said, I'm going to drive down and drive back with her. And I said, Wait, you're going to drive down and then just tandem drive back with her? She's like, Yeah, I'm like, I mean, that's still driving alone. Now you're driving it to. And we had it all set up. She was going to drive like halfway. And then we were gonna put her in a hotel like not like a CD, like people get murdered hotel, like a decent place where she could sleep the night and then you know, finish up. And Kelly's like, No, I don't I don't I don't want her to do that alone. I was like, Well, why don't you fly down and drive back with her. So we told Arden that aren't goes I need all the space in my car. I can't bring a person. I have a lot of clothes to transport home and I'm like, okay, so I said to my wife, well, I'm not let you do that. So I'll drive you down there. And then you can we'll I don't know what the hell like but I'm not, you know, I'll go with you. So it's funny. Yeah. So anyway, we're telling my son and my son's like, oh, you know, the Phillies are in town that week. So if you guys just left two days earlier, you could go to a Phillies game with me hanging out, I have a day off, etc. So that's nice. So we're going to so now we're we're driving to Atlanta tomorrow, and then spending the evening getting up the next day hanging out going to the ballgame. Then we wake up on Friday morning, he's got to go back to work right away. So we're going from Atlanta to Savannah, then that's like a four hour drive still. And then we're going to spend a couple of days in Savannah while Arden finishes up like we're just going to relax a little bit there. And then help her pack up and put her stuff in storage and she's actually storing stuff and bringing stuff home. And basically

Heather 4:50
your your you are taking this trip. So you can say you were a good husband. That's pretty much why

Scott Benner 4:57
well Heather, I like the way you say that because I'm the I couldn't get that credit here. But it's

Heather 5:02
exactly what my husband did when I went skydiving, that is exactly what he went with you. Well, he went, and the whole time we were driving there, he said, I can't believe you're gonna jump out of a plane. We have two kids at home, and all of this, and I was putting my suit on and getting everything ready. And I look over there, and he's taking everything out of his pockets. And he's stepping on the scale, because you have to weigh before and I said, Babe, what are you doing? And he said, What kind of husband whatever, you let my wife jump out of a plane, and I may not do it with her.

Scott Benner 5:39
He realized you didn't have any life insurance. He's like, I might as well jump out a plane. So if I gotta take care of the kids by myself, I'm gonna wish I was dead. So no. Yeah, I mean, it's funny. Like, I don't think of it that way. But it would be nice if someone else did once in a while. Like, hey, you're doing a nice thing here. I appreciate it. Yeah, I think my wife has high expectations. I think I'm just doing what she expects of me. I don't know what I'd have to do to to like to get like a up from her. I'm not sure

Heather 6:13
that's got to be what at least a 12 hour drive.

Scott Benner 6:15
Oh, it's for its for it. It ends up being 14. Yeah, it's terrible. And nonstop and in South Carolina. People can't drive. And it slows everything down that way. And by the way, what I mean by that is it's like, they won't speed up or change lanes. It's very methodical. Like here's where Lana is the same way. Well, Atlanta is like, well, actually, Atlanta is like that video game where you like beat people up on the street. It's insane. I the last time I was in Atlanta, I saw this is not a lie. I was in Atlanta for, I want to say four days. We went down. It was hard and spring break. Arden went over to Atlanta, Arden Kelly and I stayed in the hotel and we hung out with Cole for four days. Then we went back to Savannah set Arden up for school and came home. Ice saw two I am not over exaggerating hit and run accidents in Atlanta in four days. And one of them, one of them was an SUV. So we were stuck in traffic. There was a car and an SUV behind it. And I was behind the SUV to the right. So I had like a full view of what was happening with them. The SUV got I don't know what like none of us were going very far. But they saw a gap in the left lane. And they tried to shoot the gap. So they cut the wheel hard and drove over the back left corner of the car in front of them. Like hit it went up and over it and then continue driving. Well, and I about a half a mile later saw a police officer on the side of the road who was there for the construction. And I pulled over and I like said hello. And he's looked at me and like I kept my hands up. I was like hi. And I was like there's a black SUV. It's this kind of car. It's only right there. I pointed I'm like it's right there. It just was involved in a hit and run. They were the hit the cars behind us about a half a mile. It's it can't move. And I'm telling you that car was just involved that hit and run. If you stop it, you will see a ton of damage on the front of the car. And he goes, That's not what I'm here for. Oh, well. I was like, wait, what? And I said I don't understand. I said like, I think I have the plate. And he goes, Yeah, I'm just here for the construction. Nice. And I was like, Well what about the car that's disabled behind us? And he goes they'll call nine one. Like, obviously I all I could think was but you're here. And he Yeah, he did not care. I was like, okay, heat. Well, I think he was like, buddy, this is Atlanta. Keep moving or I'll hit you with my car. So anyway, my son tells me constantly about how terrible the driving is there.

Heather 9:15
I do hate to drive through Atlanta, we go frequently. We're bad to go just for the weekend to Atlanta because it's about three hours from here. But I do hate the traffic driving through there. Great

Scott Benner 9:28
City really nice on my son seems like he enjoys it enough and all that stuff. But yeah, anyway, and it literally drove up over the car. And the other one was just two people in the middle of the road screaming at each other and they just run into each other. And then while they were yelling, one of them just got in the car and drove away. I was like Ah, okay, okay. This is how we're doing it now. Anyway. Heather, why are you on the show? Do you have diabetes? Does your kid have diabetes? What's the situation

Heather 9:59
I do not. My daughter has diabetes and back in I think it was August. I may have been on your books for quite a while. I cannot remember if it was you or maybe someone in the group had posted a question about were there any nurses or doctors who missed their child's diagnosis. Okay. And I commented on there that went last, her name is Liza. And when Lazar was diagnosed, I had been a nurse for 15 years. And I missed it, but so did it took three trips and three different MDS before it was called. So not only did I miss it, but two other doctors missed it before she was in. Which I know we'll get to that. But when Lazar was finally diagnosed, I had multiple doctors tell me that she would not walk out of the hospital. So she was very sick by the time it was actually found figured it

Scott Benner 10:58
out. So when is when's the first time on a timeline? That you realize something's wrong, but you don't know what it is. Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Omni pod. And before I tell you about Omni pod, the device, I'd like to tell you about Omni pod, the company. I approached Omni pod in 2015 and asked them to buy an ad on a podcast that I hadn't even begun to make yet. Because the podcast didn't have any listeners, all I could promise them was that I was going to try to help people living with type one diabetes. And that was enough for Omni pod. They bought their first ad. And I use that money to support myself while I was growing the Juicebox Podcast. You might even say that Omni pod is the firm foundation of the Juicebox Podcast. And it's actually the firm foundation of how my daughter manages her type one diabetes every day. Omni pod.com/juicebox whether you want the Omni pod five, or the Omni pod dash, using my link, lets Omni pod know what a good decision they made in 2015 and continue to make to this day. Omni pod is easy to use, easy to fill, easy to wear. And I know that because my daughter has been wearing one every day since she was four years old. And she will be 20 this year. There is not enough time in an ad for me to tell you everything that I know about Omni pod. But please take a look. Omni pod.com/juice box, I think Omni pod could be a good friend to you. Just like it has been to my daughter and my family. We

Heather 12:40
were actually it's funny. We were actually on vacation in Florida in August of 2020. And Lazarus started just saying she didn't feel good. And I was like well, we're at the beach. We're at the beach all day long. And, um, yes, she was thirsty. But hindsight, I don't think it was enough for us to, for it to really be more than it being Florida hate in August, and we're outside all day long, that kind of thing. And she complained of her, her belly hurting. And Lazar has has always had some reflux issues. So we just attributed it to, oh, she's got some reflux going on. And then her throat started hurting, which is not abnormal for her, usually her stomach would hurt and then she would sometimes throw up and then she would have strep throat that has been Laza for years. So that went on for maybe a day and a half, two days. And so the next day I got up and I told my husband, I said I'm gonna run her to urgent care. Because if it is strep throat, we need to get some antibiotics. And it was right in the middle of COVID. Nobody was seeing anybody. So we were in a town, we did not know what and we go to urgent care. And of course, they immediately are like, this sounds like COVID And I'm like she doesn't even Okay, if that's what you guys think. So, they didn't even do a strep test or blood test or anything. They told me that it was viral, most likely, and possibly COVID to watch her. And so I was like, okay, so we went back to our condo. And she progressively that was on a Wednesday, Friday. I when I got up that morning I told my husband I said we're going home. Something's not right. She's sick. This is miserable. We're going to we're going to pack our things up and we're going home. So we did and on the way home. She was just just sleepy. But she just kept saying My throat hurts mama mouth throat hurts. And so we stopped at an a different urgent care have almost halfway home. Because at this point I would really was concerned that this might be COVID because she was starting to have some of the COVID symptom. She was tired her her nose was running. She it was just not your typical strep throat sickness for her. Yeah. And so we got to that urgent care. And he's like, oh, yeah, I think this definitely is COVID. So he swapped her for COVID. And it was of course, at that point in time they there, they did not have rapid test in the building, everything had to be sent off. So he also swapped her for strip and the strip was negative. And he did bloodwork cons that again is 2020. He but they only did a CBC. If only they would have done a cmp. Right, then they would have seen in glucose. But they didn't. They just done the CBC and of course her white count was elevated. At that point in time, the COVID treatment was a zitter, Meissen and prednisone. So here we go, we leave there and we go to the local pharmacy there and get her antibiotics and her steroids. And she gets one dose of steroids and her antibiotic and we make it home. And we spend the night at home, we get everything and she's still just so tired. So tired.

Scott Benner 16:35
Yeah, the inset the steroid didn't kick her up at all. Hmm. I'd like to thank Dexcom for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast. And at the same time, I want to remind you that seeing your blood glucose levels in real time, not only the number, but the speed and the direction is going to help you in ways that you maybe can't imagine right now. You should definitely check it out at dexcom.com/juicebox.

Heather 17:00
Oh, no. And then Saturday, she gets her second dose of steroids and per antibiotic. And she she's more thirsty, I guess. But she's like, I'm not really hungry. Mom, I just want something to drink. And of course, she's drinking Kool Aid. Because I mean, you know, it's summer. And that's what we had in the fridge and all this stuff. And fast forward to Sunday morning around three. And she wakes me up and she's standing by my bed. She says Mom, I can't breathe. And when I look at her, I immediately know something's wrong. And of course now she was actually doing like that. The classic DKA respiration.

Scott Benner 17:44
Koosman respirations. But you thought she was yeah, you thought COVID was killing her? Right?

Heather 17:50
Yes, yeah. Yes, I did. 100% Because at this point in time, and again, I'll pause there for a second Lhasa did not really she was not wetting the bed. She'd had not lost weight. It was not typical. Yeah, though, on set. But I did this past week, I went to the hospital and I asked for Lazarus records because I wanted to be able to look at them more in depth before you and I spoke today. And in May of 2020, Lazar had to have any emergency appendectomy, which was three months before she was diagnosed. And her glucose in May of 2020. Her fasting glucose, because this was at 4am. This would have been when she woke up in the middle of the night was 124. And that's not really I mean, I know that that's not extremely high, but handsets. 2020. I think, you

Scott Benner 18:49
know, also with any with an illness, you could write that off to Yes.

Heather 18:54
And that's what I told my husband I said, you know, I don't think the doctors missed anything because she was sick. She was we had to have her appendix out quickly. And so her whole body was an overdrive at that point. So she didn't have that in May. And then she had a horrible strep throat infection in June, back to back from her appendectomy. So all of that went on. But back to August, when she woke us up. I immediately told my husband we've got we've got to go to the hospital. And when we got to the end of our road, like I said, we kind of live in a rural area, the closest hospitals 35, maybe 40 minutes from us. My husband said, okay, we can either drive an hour and go to this bigger hospital or we can drive the 3540 minutes here, and I said she'll never make it an hour. So we went to the smaller hospital. And when we got there, we pulled under the awning. And of course they're all at The door you know, they want you bound and masked and they want you their temperature checked and all this. And when they saw Eliza and me dragging her through trying to get her out of the car, nobody asked us to put a mask on. Nobody took her temperature. She went, she was triaged quickly, in the front of the ER and they immediately took her to the back. And the ER physician actually came in her room. Immediately I, I would say that we were not in a room, two minutes before he came in. And when he came in, he was asking me questions, and he was assessing her without a mask or anything, he was all in her face, which seems so crazy, you know, to think about, but at that point in time, everybody was so obsessed with masks and all of this. So I love that he saw how sick she was. And he didn't indicate it and think about that. He just was a doctor in the moment. Yeah. Immediately. He says, How many of the glucometer. And this was a hospital that I previously worked at. And we knew each other. And I looked at him and I said, Are you crazy? And he said, Heather, give me just a second. And I'll it was say was hi. When hate when I went oh, and then it was like a ton of bricks when you see that number. And he's like, where he asked where my husband was. And I said, hey, they won't let him in. Only one person. He's in the parking lot with our son. We drove we got him out of bed. And he said he needs to take him to grandparents and come back because she's in DKA. And at that point, I'm just what DKA she has COVID You know, that's literally in my in my brain when I'm thinking and then it all starts coming together. By the time we got to the hospital. Lhasa was unresponsive. And I was doing sternal rubs on her just to get her to open her as and they came in and did a course a whole bunch of bloodwork and everything and her her lab drawl. Her blood sugar was 760. And they did the arterial blood, blood gases, and her Ph which was 6.7. And when that's non compatible with life, and I know that is she was so acidotic by the time I got her to the hospital, we got there. So he comes back in and he consults the Children's Hospital closest to us in Birmingham, he tells us that they've accepted her, they have sent orders that for them to start titrating, insulin and everything to try to get her blood sugar down. But they wanted to start her on mannitol and mannitol, if you're not aware of what that is, mannitol is a job that's given to decrease brain swelling. So they gave they started that, and then my husband is sitting at this point, he's back. And I understand what they're saying, because of my medical knowledge. And he, he's kind of really taken aback by it. So for the first time, in our marriage of at that point, I don't know even know how long we have been married 16 years, maybe I was having to be the strong one for him, because I knew what all this meant. And he didn't. And I was having to take all this in. So he comes back in and he tells us once they get all the lab results back, and they send those to Children's Hospital, that Children's Hospital, called back and said that Lazar was not stable enough for their helicopter that they were sending their jet to the airport. So that was kind of mind boggling to hear those words. Because you've mediately anybody associated submit a VAC helicopter with urgent? I don't know that I've ever known of a jet to come but um, so basically Lazar was she got two doses of mannitol while she was at the emergency room, and we waited and we traded insulin and everything with her for the most part unresponsive. She would wake up after like I said sternal rubs and I would do my best to ask, Do you know who you are? Do you know who I am? Those kinds of questions and it would take eight to 10 times for her and then she would finally get it right to tell me who she was or who I was. So when they the transport team got there she actually Lily children's transport team picked her up and they rode in an ambulance from the emergency room to the airport. And then she flew, and a jet from the airport to Birmingham, Alabama. And then the Children's Hospital helicopter picked her up at the airport and flew her across town to the hospital. Where

Scott Benner 25:22
you were there we were. No,

Heather 25:23
we were not allowed to go.

Scott Benner 25:25
How did you get there?

Heather 25:26
We drove. And then it's about from where we were about two and a half hours by car.

Scott Benner 25:33
That's terrible. Did you have any communication while you were separated?

Heather 25:38
So I am a firm believer, and my faith is very important to me. It always has been. And I believe that people are put in your path for a reason. And that day, that particular day in the emergency room, one of a very good friend of mine was the emergency room nurse that day, charge nurse, and she stayed with us. And when they were getting Lazar ready to leave in the ambulance to go to the airport. Her name is Jessica Jessica came to me and she said, Heather, you know that it's two and a half hours. And I said I know but I can't leave her. And she said, Well, the ambulance is going to have to backtrack to get to the airport because the airport was in the opposite direction from where I would be going to try to get to Birmingham. She said I promise I will not leave her. I promise I will stay by her side until she is loaded, if you if but you need to get on the road so you can get ahead of them. And you can track Yeah. And that's probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But imagine to leave her like that. I was in constant communication with Jessica, I knew she was I knew she was in good hands, I knew that there was nothing I could do on the on the jet. All I wouldn't be doing was standing there waiting on them to load her in the ambulance to go get on the jet. So Jessica stayed, and my husband and I live to be able to try to get ahead of them. I can't remember a whole lot. I'll be honest about the drive to Birmingham, I do know that I called a friend of mine who's also a nurse whose son has type one. And I just needed to talk to someone who was there. And she her name's Nikki and Nikki really encouraged me through the way she told me that I knew what I was doing that I was just going to have to trust that she would be taken care of and everything. And when we got to Birmingham, we had to go through all kinds of security and safety measures because of COVID. Of course, before we could actually get to the PICU that when we were walking into the PICU doors, the flight crew was walking out. Lhasa had not been there long. By the time we got there. When we got there, it was to me, I don't know what my husband would say. But in my opinion, it was more overwhelming than the ER, because there she's in the bay, they have a gallon owner, she's unresponsive. She has IV lines everywhere, going and everything. And it was just that part was overwhelming. And our Children's Hospital is also a teaching hospital. So there are tons of residents and fellows that are there, rounding and of course learning and everything. So Steven and I had only been there probably not even five minutes and the PICU doctor came in. And I will never forget her. Because she come in and she introduced herself. And she's told us in my career. I've had two children sicker than your daughter, and neither one walked out of here. And that was a lot to take in to hear in that moment. But she was very blunt with us at the time. I did not appreciate but I guess now she had to do that because she didn't want because you're

Scott Benner 29:27
Why do you think I mean, I don't see the value in it. Like do you think she was trying to get you ready for lies that a die?

Heather 29:34
I think so. Um, I think there was more than one reason I think because clinically, her numbers quote unquote, were not compatible with life. And if she were to recover, clinically, there would be brain damage and there were lots of conversations had and I get that I think I probably look at that different than my husband and my Maybe even even you because the nurse and me like the clinically the clinical side of it. I'm also I'm not a nurse who likes to give bad news, obviously. But I also do like facts. I can appreciate her. I think she probably could have handled it a little better than when she did, though. And then the way she did, because we were already overwhelmed. Of course, it was, but I take that. And then like I said, I read for the first time, Scott, this, I have not had the nerve, I guess, to actually read the nurses and doctors notes from the emergency room that morning. But I went this week and asked for those records. So I could look at those. And I wanted to read those and kind of refresh my mind from maybe something I had forgotten or something from then and my husband and I were sitting last night at the table looking over them. And it's hard when you read a doctor's notes and you read him write the word death or die in his notes. And that was in Lazarus notes multiple times from that morning. I don't think there were very few people who expected Liza to recover. And I don't think they expected her. I don't maybe they expected her to recover. But I don't think they I think they expected her to have some kind of neurological deficit after

Scott Benner 31:35
Yeah. What what context were the words used in in the report.

Heather 31:41
So I actually can go get those, if any, if I need to. So basically, in his notes, he had an he had to make a note because it was critical assessment of an adolescent under 13. That was how he they had it had to be worse or how he worded it. But basically, he said that after he got the arterial blood gases back and compare those with her symptoms and everything going on, that the outcome could could result in death. And because her her carbon dioxide was 10. I think that I think they will I don't think I know, they based a lot of those decisions on clinical values, of course, and her symptoms, because she presented I mean, when we got to the emergency room, you could you could barely keep her awake, you couldn't. You couldn't get a whole lot out of her. And then in the PICU when we got to Birmingham, I mean, she was completely unresponsive when we got there. And then I did read in the note, which was surprising to me that her blood sugar dropped from 760 to 430. And they stopped her insulin drip. I started her and that was when they made the decision to start her back on mannitol. Because her she had perked up a little bit. When they first started the insulin. And she was she actually asked the doctor for something to drink. And then all of a sudden her neurological status changed in the next 30 minutes or so. And they consulted the children's hospital and they said that her blood sugar was dropping too fast that we need until they actually started her insulin drip back at a lower dose and they added fluid that had glucose in it to try to help not bring her down so fast. I really think that the second dose of mannitol just based off of what our conversations have been with her endocrinologist and her team at Children's Hospital was more precautionary than the first dose the first dose was specifically given because they truly suspected brain swelling, right because of the way she presented the second dose. I really feel like was almost preventative just because of the symptoms she was presenting at that time. So yeah, so that was that was how we got to the PICU Yeah,

Scott Benner 34:25
Heather, that's the longest I haven't talked on this podcast in a long time. That was really well I'm sorry for that. Oh, you made me cry three different times. I was glad to not be talking. Yes, something else.

Heather 34:38
I don't cry anymore. And I didn't cry. I actually didn't cry for a while. I think I was in survival mode. And the first time that I looked at Lazarus record and I saw some of her numbers that was very hard for me. Because of the I think it's the nurse and me because clinical trial, we just talked about the clinical aspect of it. I know what those numbers mean, if you read them in a textbook, and again, I have, like I said earlier, my faith is very important to me. My church is very important to me. God is important to me. I truly believe that Liza is and and let me just say that I know we haven't finished the pick up story. But Liza is 100%. All girl. She has zero neurological deficits. She plays basketball. She plays softball, she does gymnastics. There is absolutely nothing that she can't do. She puts her mind to it, and she does it.

Scott Benner 35:42
she ever talk Heather about it? Like, what is it like to know you? You just about died?

Heather 35:49
Actually, yes, um, she was I don't think we even discussed this in the beginning. But Liza was seven when she was diagnosed. And she's 10 now. So a lot of losses, day to day routine. She doesn't I don't think she necessarily remembers a whole lot of life, pre diabetes, because she was seven. There are certain there are certain things that she remembers, but this podcast was told to me or recommended to me while we were in the PICU. And I started in the hospital, listening to you. And I 100% my my endo team knows. My family know, my friends know, my church knows this podcast you, Ginni. The people that come on and speak changed the way I managed Lazarus diabetes 100% I don't think Lazarus life would be as carefree as it is right now. Had I not found your podcast? Ad? I do not think it would be like it is because yes, the pro tips are, are wonderful. The every the Scott and genies are wonderful. The afterdark are wonderful, every bit of that is great. But sometimes it is just hearing other parents, or even type ones themselves, talk about what works for them, what doesn't work for them. And one of the first episodes I listened to, and I don't know if it was the best thing or the worst thing, but I listened to Bo with insulin first. Out of everything, and I made my mind up then that I was going to be in control of lies is diabetes, not her doctors, that I'm the one who lives I will listen to them. And out and I will listen to what they have to say and take, you know advice. But ultimately, I'm the one who was with her every day. And so as far as Lhasa goes, we have discussed that she knows I have not held anything back from her will ask she'll ask questions to Steven or myself and we'll ask her. And if you were if you were to ask Laza if she were home today, what she thinks about her diagnosis story, or all of that. I can 99.9% with certainty tell you that she would say God saved her for a reason. And it's to tell other people about him. His mercy and His grace. Because in like I said, our faith is very important to us. And clinically. I should have planned a funeral Scott. But I didn't.

Scott Benner 38:47
You're making me very emotional today. I think there's something going on in my life with somebody I care about and I don't feel like I'm helping them enough. No, no. And then you you spoke about the podcast and I don't usually I usually keep a very healthy distinction between the podcast and me. And just now when you were talking it hit me more like like I helped and mail you did me upset so not upset in a bad way in a nice way but your story and then you hit me with that and I was like, Jesus, Heather I'm gonna cry in here.

Heather 39:29
Well don't I mean, no, thank you. And I don't want to know

Scott Benner 39:33
it's very listen. It's very it's lovely what you said and I swear to you on 99 Other days, I would have made some silly joke and been like oh yeah, of course I helped I'm terrific. But today I just was like oh maybe I really do help people and it was it just felt nice. So thank you you do

Heather 39:52
for and I can tell you that I have Lazarus endocrinologist is actually a type one herself. And you've helped her. We have actually discussed several things. And I have recommended the podcast to her and she actually has a list of certain episodes that she will use for newly diagnosed patients.

Scott Benner 40:15
That's wonderful. Please thank her. I appreciate that very much. Gonna call your episode drive to Birmingham, by the way.

Heather 40:23
Nice. Hey, that's better than what my work family said.

Unknown Speaker 40:27
So what did they say?

Heather 40:29
They said you would name it country as cornbread.

Scott Benner 40:34
I don't know. I find your accent soothing. So don't worry. I'm all good, right? Yeah. Country is cornbread. I don't know how you can tell that story. And then I'd make a joke about it. But no, I just to me, it's, I mean, you know, like, the first time you got me, you said you didn't think she could make the extra 20 minutes to the other hospital. And then thinking about leaving her, so that you could be there when she arrived? And I thought you must have thought, but what if I'm saying goodbye to her? Oh, 100% Yeah. And then what if she dies while she's not with me is the other thing I thought and then that was very upsetting. I had a I had a hard enough time leaving my kid at like, you know, in a safe apartment in Atlanta. And you're talking about doing that? That's one of those. Your your perspective levels up that day? You know, I bet you don't fuss with silly things. I don't know. I don't know. But you've you got different perspective than a lot of people do. That's really something else and then it then she's okay. And like, you know, it's 100% Why you're telling the story. It's like watching that movie with. With Leonardo, that Titanic movie, where I'm like, Oh, my God, I know how this ends, you know, but still, I felt like I was on pins and needles. And I haven't finished

Heather 42:01
story is definitely not for the faint of heart. It really is. No, I haven't

Scott Benner 42:05
felt like this since DK on a plane. Have you ever heard that episode? Yes,

Heather 42:09
I did. Yeah, that I listened to that. We took a 13 day road trip out west. And I listened to that while I was driving out there.

Scott Benner 42:18
Yes, man, she told that story. And then we get to the point where the doctor is from a different country. So they misread the numbers and like if they do the wrong thing for the kid, and I'm like, having a conversation with somebody who I am fully aware, their child is fine. And, and I'm listening to the story and like it was making me crazy. And then I put it online and people or people had the same reaction like that was incredibly intense. And it's it's, it's not as much about what said, it's a it's more about what you imagine is being felt while you're listening to the story. And that's your story is really good. I swear to you like the breakdown on this is going to be Heather spoke 80% of the time, Scott was 20 and 10%. Of that's going to be me putting in the ads and like saying stuff like Welcome to the Juicebox Podcast. Oh, and I'm happy about it. That was really well told. I think there's something about the blend of your, your medical background with the fact that you were involved in the situation with your daughter, and you just told it very, very well. Do you tell people this a lot? Or is this the first time you're saying this?

Heather 43:24
I actually won't before I answer that. I am sorry that I have. I think I jumped around a lot.

Scott Benner 43:30
Oh, no, no, I'm good. Don't worry about that. I am the way I think of the podcast. Heather is. Have you ever seen Pulp Fiction? The movie? Yes. Yeah. You know how Travolta is alive, that he's dead, that he's on the toilet. That's how I think of this podcast. Don't worry. I like that very much. I like the way it keeps people. I think I think it keeps people engaged while you're talking. So I'm happy with them.

Heather 43:53
Yes. If the answer to your question is yes, I have. I have told this story to several people. I use it. Most people like I said, we live in a very small town. So and when I say small Scott, I mean, that pre K you

Scott Benner 44:12
don't have all the ingredients for the cornbread together, go out and buy it somewhere else.

Heather 44:15
I don't even have a grocery store in my town. Yeah, well, pre K through 12th graders in one building. And there's about 550 kids were tiny. We live we're very small. So most people here know Liza, they know her story. I have had the opportunity twice. friends on Facebook, that are military. They had actually an Air Force wife. She was her daughter was diagnosed. And so my friend reached out to me and asked me what I be willing to talk to her and I did. I was able to do that and of course immediately recommended juicebox and she and I still communicate back and forth. With that, there's been several other instances with people where I've gotten random Facebook messages or even text messages. I have used it. Again, this is Lazarus story, obviously. But there are several things that have happened along the journey that have helped me. I know I've said it 100 times, but I'm not sorry for it. My faith is important. And Lazar had been diagnosed about six months, maybe before I actually looked at her, her lab work and everything. And I was just looking at looking at it. And it did upset me. I think I told you that just a second ago. But I heard slash felt, the Lord tell me that all of that we had fertility issues with Lhasa, we struggled to have her. And as the amount of pace I had, in that moment, I heard plain as day your fertility struggles were preparing you for today. Because when Lazar was diagnosed, I needed to know that you would trust me and not doctors, that you would put your trust and your faith in me. And I needed to know that you could do that. And I have looked at that at different since that day. This is just a journey. Lazarus whole story from conception till now, from the fertility to everything. And it's helped people, a lot of people struggle with not just diabetes. I mean, people's mental health is real. People struggle with all kinds of things. And if I can be a light for anybody, just that tailoring the struggles we've been through and how we've overcome them overcame them than I have succeeded. That's all I want. That's, that's all I want from any of this, even today. I've been so nervous about doing this really with you. Yes. Well,

Scott Benner 47:09
I'm not even talking.

Heather 47:13
That's what my husband said. He said, You know, you're gonna just start talking. I know.

Scott Benner 47:18
Okay, that's, that's good. It's a podcast, we need people talking. It's

Heather 47:22
been fun. You know, as far as like, our when we we left the PICU. And here we go back doing another turn around. She was in pick you for a day and a half. And then she moved to step down. And then we were we were sent home. Wow.

Scott Benner 47:38
I quit three days from death's door to home in three days. Yeah, that's crazy. Good for her. That's wonderful. Yeah, good for all of you. You know, it strikes me that I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up. So this is three years ago.

Heather 47:54
Almost August will be three years. You've been

Scott Benner 47:56
listening to me for like three years. Yeah, you know, I'm not a religious person. You don't care, right?

Heather 48:01
I don't Yeah,

Scott Benner 48:03
I love that. I love I don't care. By the way. I mean, cares the word wrong word. Like I don't have a thought in the world about how people like worship or anything like that.

Heather 48:12
I know. And I respect that. Because you I love that you have been open about that, that you don't you don't stop people from sharing their faith or, or whatever you let us talk how we want to talk. No, I'm

Scott Benner 48:24
just I'm very impressed. Because I've had people like say, I'm not gonna listen anymore. Because you said that, or when Arden did her episode. I think Arden like flat out says she doesn't believe in God, right. And in one of our episodes, and I had a lot of pushback from a few people about that. And they're like, I'm not listening to this anymore. And I was like, Oh, I'm sorry. I'm like, I really think it's gonna help you with your diabetes. But if that five seconds is gonna stop you from being helped I, you know, it's there's nothing I can do about it. But now it was just very, like, I'm happy for people to share how they feel. I think that's what the point of this is, like, I don't I wouldn't understand just bringing people on who like flat out agreed with everything I thought or vice versa. It doesn't make any sense. So I'm just sure really lovely.

Heather 49:09
And at the end of the day, Scott, like religion aside. My goal, you know, like, like I said, I knew that you're that you're not religious at all, just based on the last three years of listening to you. I can't let that stop me. And what I believe you know, yeah,

Scott Benner 49:30
oh, no, I wouldn't want you to I just I'm impressed that you didn't like i It says a lot about you. I think that you listen to that. And then you didn't say Well, I'm not gonna listen to him. He doesn't he's not aligned with me on other things that are important to me, because it doesn't matter. Like if I understand one thing and you know, and but also

Heather 49:47
thought you got to look at it from my way too. That would not be Christlike. Thank you. Yes, that would not be cross like for me to to say no, I can't affiliate with him because he doesn't believe the same way I do, right?

Scott Benner 50:01
I'm a heathen and I deserve to be saved just like everybody else. Right? Heather?

Heather 50:06
Christ. Yes. He

Scott Benner 50:08
was gonna say god damn right. But I don't think contextually that's the way to go. Very nice. Thank you. It was very nice. Thank you. Wow. So how does I mean three years later? How does Liza manage what does she do? And what are your days like with diabetes?

Heather 50:24
Well, she's G six and Omnipod. Five. We actually just had our endo appointment and her I would say SparkPoint nine. Oh, wow. Good for you. So her original I didn't I don't think I said her diagnosis at diagnosis. She was 10.2. Yeah, I

Scott Benner 50:41
was gonna say. So she

Heather 50:43
stopped point nine. Now we're still pre pubescent. So we haven't started a whole lot of hormones and everything yet. I'm actually researching looping. I have a lot of questions that I can't get answered yet. My endocrinologist is completely on board if we, if we want. I love Omnipod five, let me say that yeah, I just kind of like I think your experience with art and I wish the target was lower. I'm overriding more probably more than the algorithm likes for me too, when it comes to that, but I mean, our knights are perfect her are not. I mean, that in itself is been worth it all. For her. Now, I'm also an advocate at I don't even know if this matters, but I'm going to tell you anyway. So Lazar was on dash, of course. And when Omni pod fab made their release last spring, that the lip will in January, I think it was the limited release. And then in May is when they actually did a full public release for the Omni pod factory. That's

Scott Benner 51:48
about right. Yeah.

Heather 51:49
I sent an email to Lhasa has a patient advocate through our private insurance company. And I sent an email to her and I said, Hey, what do I need to do to get this added to the formulary? Because it's added? It's open to the public. Now it's full release. And she said, Oh, well, we'll just have to do a authorization. I said, Okay. So we went through the whole ordeal, getting the endocrinologist to spill everything out and all that. And then our insurance company comes back and says, No, we're not even we're not this is to new is in limited release. We can't do that. And I was like, oh, no, you did. So as I emailed the actual link from Omni pod, where they had full FDA clearance to the CEO, of our insurance company, and I said, I don't know who you pay to figure these things out for you when you make decisions that affect people's livelihoods. But you might want to get them to do better research, because here's the link where this Omnipod five is fully released by the FDA. And so it was so funny. The next morning, there was a company wide email sent out that said, not only are we going to approve the Omnipod, five, but you don't even have to have an authorization for it. We're just going to put it on our formulary. Wow, Heather.

Scott Benner 53:17
I know good for you.

Heather 53:19
Well, and it's sad, because most people would have took them at their word.

Scott Benner 53:25
Yeah, that's what happens. And it just takes it takes time for them to catch up. Like it seems so obvious from your perspective, like you know, at home, and you're getting this things out, you've been watching it and waiting for it to come and you think well, how could they not know about it, but they sometimes they don't. And the companies, it's kind of the company's job. You wouldn't think this, but it's a company's job to kind of go door to door with the insurance companies and say, hey, look, we got this new thing out here. Here's what it is. Here's like, and that's time consuming. And man, a lot of manpower. And some of the, you know, it

Heather 53:56
was and it was, you know, it was funny. I mean, it was my effort is aggravated as I was in the moment because the information was wrong. I'm so thankful now because people don't like other people, other children, their parents are not going to have to find it. They can just get the prescription for it and go the pharmacy and pick it up. Yeah,

Scott Benner 54:19
that's really that's a really kind of thing. Yeah, I mean, he did it for yourself, obviously, which was terrific, but it does end up helping a lot of people. And that's pretty cool. I listen. I told a story a long time ago, very, very long time ago about Arden getting an insulin pump when she was four. And I completely bucked the system at the hospital they did not like they tried hard not to get me to even get in on the pod. They didn't know anything about it. It was new they I think they were scared of it etc. And I was just ignored them. I went with my gut, took it and you know, never looked back and it took them almost two years. But like two years later, they pulled me aside and apologized for trying to derail me from it said They just didn't know anything about and it was hard to support for them. And that because of art and success on Omni pod, they started to prescribe it at a major Children's Hospital in the East Coast. And I've always felt really good about that. You know, we

Heather 55:14
have a similar story with that, because if it had been left up to our endo team, you know, they wanted Liza to wait six months for her Dexcom. And they wanted a year for her pomp. And so Lazar was diagnosed in August, she had her Dexcom in September, because I went and I said, she doesn't have to have any. There's no requirements by my insurance, I just need a script for it. That's it. And then her pump took a little longer, because of COVID. They were only doing three people at a three or four people at a time for the pump training class. So she but she started her pump in March, so around six months. I mean, it was not long after we were pumping, we were not in VR very long. And actually, it's because of an episode that you had. I cannot remember the name of it now. But so you interviewed somebody. Or it may have even been you when when Arlen Trad fiasco? I think, so that we've been on? Yes, ever since we have we dropped Nova login, went to the ASP, and it changed everything to that in itself helped a lot. With managing her.

Scott Benner 56:26
I would love the honestly, I would love it. If Arden could use it. It just, you know, it doesn't agree with her very well. But yeah, I mean, faster is, obviously it changes everything, you don't have to Pre-Bolus as long, you know, it digs into the spikes, it's all great. Listen, this is this is the value of this medium is sharing in a way that, you know, doesn't have to be immediate and meaning like when people put video up, like video has a very short window like it hits and people watch it and then it kind of stops and audios great because it's it's not intrusive, you can listen while you're driving or you know, any number of other things that you can't do while you're watching video. And it's just it's great that keep having all of these conversations about your daughter's diagnosis, and what insulin works for you. And I mean, you know, you're doing great with on the pod five. But But here's what I have to do to make it work. And these conversations need to keep happening so that people can find them over and over again. And this is wonderful. It's a wonderful thing. I'm a little stuck on this morning before when I recorded with you I had a business call. And and I and we were talking about do you really want to know what I was talking about? Whether I think I'll tell you. So I've seen sometimes companies do these things where they put a lot of effort and time and money into producing these videos that they put up on YouTube, right. And once in a while I'll look on one of them are and you know, they ended up having like, you know, 30 views or 110 views or something like that. And I think all that money and time and I see people wearing makeup, and there's good lighting and how long it must have taken to edit all this so that 100 people could see the video and I think just come on the podcast, I'll get you to 10s of 1000s of people in like in a like a snap of a finger. And and yet they're like, Oh no, we want to go waste a bunch of money over here. Okay, that's great. But you know, whatever, like it's fine. I think sometimes audio, it ebbs and flows. And not I'm not I'm certainly not complaining the podcast is doing terrific. But I think it can feel old to people at times like oh, that's been around forever podcasts like yeah, it works. That's why it's a valuable way to get information to people and

Heather 58:50
I don't know, I would have never drained because I was prior to August of 2020 I didn't listen to podcasts. I'm

Scott Benner 58:58
amazed you have internet access. Hey, I just thought I would tease you about that one. But if you were nadian We would have never stopped talking about you living in the middle of nowhere Yeah, just it's a great medium for all this like even your story like I don't know like you know, it just it needs to be heard and and this is a great way to do it. I really appreciate you coming on and doing this I and she's just doing so well. Like there's it's such a turnaround from you know, and you know what else I have to say? While you while you were talking? The idea that there's a medication to reduce brain swelling, and there's a medication to bring down your in your blood sugar, and they know that coming the blood sugar coming down too quickly is bad. So then there's a way to infuse glucose to slow it down. And all of the knowledge that people have from all these emergency situations in the past and I don't No, just the the fact that the tubing exists and the and the needles and the infrastructure and the I think it's easy to ignore that it's astonishing that we have a system in place that saved your daughter's life. Like it almost seems unrealistic that that, that a hospital exists like that. And, and yet there it is, and, and no live it absolutely saves lives his life.

Heather 1:00:25
Oh 100%. I mean, I'm thankful for everybody that was involved in her care, I'm thankful for the knowledge that they have that they that, God bless them with, that they were able to

Scott Benner 1:00:39
do it. It also like sometimes it's not angering, but it's, it's, I get that things are too expensive. Don't get me wrong, right. Like, I know, they are all over the place. But people go to college to learn how to do a thing because they want to make a living. And a private company opens up a hospital because you're trying to make a profit. And like and on and on. And if it wasn't for that, that hospital wouldn't be sitting there. Like it just it wouldn't be there. And it wouldn't exist. And there's a way to be like, I don't know why I'm mixing these ideas together. But like, I've just seen so many people say like, oh, everything's too expensive, like, Yeah, but you know what it paid for that institution that sat there when your daughter needed it?

Heather 1:01:21
Well, I can tell you, I never thought I would get a bill for my daughter to have a private jet ride somewhere. But I was not sad to pay that bill. Can

Scott Benner 1:01:33
I Can I ask how much?

Heather 1:01:36
$29,000 Wow, wow.

Scott Benner 1:01:40
But you make 4 million a year. So that's not really a problem. Right, Heather? I mean, that's nothing. Do they take payments? Yes.

Heather 1:01:49
Yes. They didn't have a choice. We're

Scott Benner 1:01:54
gonna send $5 a week. Well, that's it was, um,

Heather 1:01:58
it was good that I mean, you know, it really, um, that's funny that you said that. I mean, the amount of care she received and the amount of meds that she had to have the ambulance, the JIT, the helicopter, I'm actually amazed that my bill wasn't more than that.

Scott Benner 1:02:17
I mean, it's just, it's, it's just that it exists, I think, is the thing that I'm, I'm stunned by, and not because of where you live, but just in general like that. We've built this society. You know, it's fat. It's fantastic that it exists. And I bet that as horrible as it is to pay a $29,000 Uber bill. I bet that while you I bet it's the easiest money you ever send anybody to. Right?

Heather 1:02:45
Yeah, I think that with this is way off course. But I'll say the same thing. We We are partners of hope with St. Jude in Memphis, the St. Jude Children's Hospital. And it's the biggest hospital in the country for for pediatric cancer patients. And I donate blood there. Yeah. And I do that specifically because I know where my blood is going when I do that. And also, the blood donation lab is the same lab as the patient. So as I'm sitting there, having my blood donated, I might see a baby coming in a wagon to get her blood drawn, to see if her cancer is gone. Or something like that. I find peace in that knowing that I'm helping others there. Yeah, but we also send money every month, my husband and I have for 16 years every month to St. Judas bank drafted and everything. And if I never have to enter those doors, as the parent of a patient, it's money well spent. And I'll never regret it at all,

Scott Benner 1:03:53
I think to help bring attention to St. Jude. Yeah, there's, I think now it's like a Netflix doc documentary. But on one of those SpaceX missions to space, they sent they trained a St. Jude nurse, who was as a child of St. Jude patient. And they sent her to space on a mission like they made her into an astronaut so she could go to go to space and to draw like attention to St. Jude at the same time. And I it's a Netflix documentary. I'm going to find out what it's called to tell people. It's really interesting. Yeah, hold on a second. How we who went to space for St. Jude, physician assistant, Haley. I don't know her last name. It's a it's a southern name that I always had trouble like pronouncing even though I know somebody with this last name, AR c e n e a u x. Haley,

Heather 1:04:54
I have no idea.

Scott Benner 1:04:56
She's a pilot. She was a pilot geoscientist. Hold on Again, Jude physician, physician assistant Haley and geoscientists Sian Proctor and aerospace data engineer, Chris and brzowski. They went to drive support the life saving mission of St. Jude Research Hospital continues, they raised the i. So I think the idea was to raise a certain amount of money. With, you know, the efforts they were putting into the training, etc. Of these astronauts, they were really like, publicizing it, trying to drive money to St. Jude. At the end, they didn't, if I'm not mistaken, they didn't raise as much as they wanted. They had a two a $200 million fundraising goal for St. Jude. And they didn't reach it and Elon Musk through and $50 million to push them over the number, because SpaceX is his. His company, I guess. But yeah, they they made this great documentary about it. I'll have to look at that. Yeah, that I watched on Netflix. Let's see. I wish for the life

Heather 1:06:00
I just finished a good a good series on Netflix. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:06:04
it's called an inspiration for Mission to Space. Oh, countdown inspiration for Mission to Space. It's a, like a five part app. So like a documentary about them. Taking these four people and just making them into astronauts and, and sending them up and St. Jude was a big part of it. So that's nice. Yeah. Yeah. So and Jesus, you're watching it and like $50 million. So first of all, like, again, like you were the airplane ride, it's just chump change to Elon Musk, I'm sure. But, but, but really like, like, just wonderful. Like, he just was like it from what I understand. He's like, Oh, we didn't make the goal. I really, I really wanted us to make that goal here. And he wrote a check for $50 million. So wow, yeah. And it helps all those kids. And I don't have the exact experience that you have. But I can say I rethought. So when I was younger, my daughter was much younger. And art and first had type one, we used to have to go into the city to go to the Children's Hospital. And now there's, there's an annex that we could go to it's closer to our house. But I always found it sad. The Children's Hospital always made me sad. The parents look sad, the kids looked sad, everybody looked tired. And it was hard for me to go there. But I think that was a little bit of my youth too. Like, I wish if I was older, I might have sat there and had more feelings like you had because I have experienced that moving forward as an older person. When I have to go get those when I talk about my iron, like getting an iron transfusion, which I've done a number of times, you are basically in an infusion center where most people are getting chemotherapy. And so it really is, like I've I've described it in the past is it feels like a holy place. Like I'm very, like, quiet and referential. When I'm in there it feels it feels like a I don't know, it just feels like one of those places. So Right. Yeah, I get your point. Anyway, are there? Is there anything we haven't talked about that we should have?

Heather 1:08:07
I don't think so. I mean, I was nervous. I don't know that I should have been because you made it pretty easy.

Scott Benner 1:08:13
I don't know that I did anything but thank you.

Heather 1:08:18
i My goal was to you know, Lazar story is definitely not your typical what I would consider a typical DKA story. And I told it and you know, she's doing great. That was my biggest thing is, you know, I wanted people to know that. Just because it looks horrible in the moment. That does not mean that the sun's not coming back out. Yeah, that it's not going to be okay. Because if you had have asked me when Liza was diagnosed if she would be playing basketball, softball, gymnastics, I couldn't see that in the moment. I could not envision that in the moment. And now as much as diabetes we know which aren't, you know, because of Arden. She has type one, okay, great. But type one doesn't consume us. It doesn't control us. We, if we fail at something, we figure it out. If Laszlo wants to try something new, we make our best guess. And if we if we fail, we make notes and we try again the next time she has practice or if it if it has to do with sports or if that has something to do with her wanting to eat something. We make our best gifts. And if that's wrong, we make note so we fix it if we overdo it, we give her some juice and don't give us much next time.

Scott Benner 1:09:43
Good for you. That's wonderful. I if I have any part in that at all. I'm I'm absolutely thrilled. So

Heather 1:09:49
you 100% So Scott, yes. Thank you. Thank you for the time that you put into the podcast. Thank you for you making that decision said 17 years ago, when Arden was diagnosed, that you were going to make her life better. Because if you had not chose to figure this out, and to make it almost your life's mission, to figure this out for art, and so her life could be as normal as possible. I don't know that I could have done as much as I have for Liza, as, as quickly as I have for Eliza. Because you the information you have gathered for all of us, is right there. And you just have to want to take it, you just have to want to listen to it and figure it out. Oh, thank you. You're

Scott Benner 1:10:39
very fine. I was trying to thank you. And then you turned it back on me. But But that's very, very kind and I I'm fully feeling what you're saying you have me in a very emotional spot. So I don't have any. I don't have any sarcasm at all to fight back with right now. No,

Heather 1:10:53
yeah, I do have a question for you. Yeah. One question. Is it will it be very hard? And if you can't answer it today, that's fine. Will it be? Is it hot? Will it be extremely hard for me to move? LAHSA from Omnipod? Five to loop? Well,

Scott Benner 1:11:09
there's a couple of thoughts here I have about that. First of all, with the A one C you have? I don't know that that I don't even know that it's necessary. It sounds like you're doing you're doing terrific.

Heather 1:11:19
I think I'm more worried about her period. I think I'm more worried about the control I'll have when that starts.

Scott Benner 1:11:27
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Like, I think people's hormonal impacts are different, obviously. And who she you know, how her body grows? And what ends up needing to be done? I don't honestly know, I also think that your I mean, what are you planning ahead by two or three years? Maybe? Or?

Heather 1:11:46
I don't know, I'm not sure. Yeah. I mean, everybody, you know, they talk about that at every visit. But yeah, um,

Scott Benner 1:11:55
I mean, the settings are, slightly, there'll be different, you know, so like, because right now you're using on the pod five, which is making, it's making all of your basil decisions for you, you don't really know, like, what it's like all of what it's doing, right? You can, you can see your total daily insulin. So you should be able to take your total daily insulin and just reverse engineer it to loop if you wanted to, and, you know, make it I'm sure you could get about to that. But if this is a thing, you know, already, I wouldn't switch just to switch. But if you if you think it's there, then you mean you can absolutely try. Like there's other things to consider with loop. Like you're going to buy, you're gonna buy in Mac computer, you're going to need to, you're gonna need to own a Mac computer, you're going to become an app developer, you're going to you know, you're using a do it yourself system. It's not supported by a company and something goes wrong. There's nobody to call and right, you know, the other day Arden's loop app, like, it just hosed up a little bit. Like it just kind of got unresponsive for a minute. And it was fine. But there's a moment where you go, oh, there is no one to call. If this stops this, there's no 800 Number Scott, she's gonna call you Oh, she was on television. And she was already on the phone with me, don't worry, I was I was in full in phone callers trying to figure it out. While she's telling me that's not working. And I'm like, I am trying. And so, you know, there's that to consider there is to consider as well that, you know, at any time, the FDA could step up and say, I don't think they will, but they could step up and say to the company, like don't allow that to happen, like block it was software or something like, I don't know, like, I don't think it would happen, but it could, you know, and like that's a consideration. You know, I don't know, like, I gotta be honest, like I wanted Arden to use on the pod five. And yeah, and she was, she's like, didn't want to carry the PDM. Like, so I don't know that by the time. The next thing comes around, she won't jump back again. Like I love I want to be clear, I love loop. It's fantastic. Like really legitimately fantastic. But a lot comes with it that I don't foresee Arden living with her whole life. Like, she doesn't want to do the things that it takes to make a loop. And now and now with I don't know if you saw the other day islet got they got FDA approval for their pump. The company. The company is called beta bionics. It's a tube pump. But the way they're describing it is you tell like you get the pump. If I'm mistaken. I might not have all the details. You tell it how much you weigh. And then you announce your meals as like small meal, medium meal, large meal. And that's it. Like that's how you that's how you Bolus. So now how is that going to work out? I don't know. I've got a call in to somebody trying to get somebody on the show to talk about it. I did have the opportunity recently. Lee, I had some private time with one of the doctors from beta bionics where we talked for probably an hour. And you know, I don't know that their outcomes are any better than the other systems, it's just the way you use them. I don't know about spikes, and like, it's not going to be perfect. Like, I wouldn't want anybody to think like, wow, it's just gonna work so much better than everything else, because I don't think it is, I think it's gonna work about the way what we have now it works. It's just that you're not going to count carbs, you're just gonna say this is like, a larger meal than I usually eat, or a smaller meal than or something like that. But so that that's even that's like, that's great. You know? So my point is, it really is, yeah, by the time she's 12, or 13, like, I don't even know what will exist, like, hopefully there'll be an omni pod six, or whatever. They're gonna do it. You don't I mean, like, I want everybody to keep going, I do love. Yeah, I love that they don't have the ability to nobody can rest on the laurels. Now, somebody's gonna come in and like, keep innovating. And I think that keeps everybody honest. And I'm a big fan of that. So I don't know, technology

Heather 1:16:07
itself. From, you know, glass has barely been diagnosed only almost three years. And the amount of things that we have watched change in three years is mind boggling. In itself. Okay.

Scott Benner 1:16:21
So yeah, no, I agree. It's just it's the way it's moving. is just, it's faster. And the leaps are bigger and bigger. And I don't know where we're going to be in a couple of years. I'm excited about where we're at. Yeah, but I don't know. That's all I don't know how to like, but if you're going to transfer from one to the other, I think you could obviously do it. I mean, you know what you're doing? So

Heather 1:16:48
keep it in the back of my brain for sure. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:16:51
There's no reason not to stay abreast. And really, I mean, I'm a huge fan of you got to know what's going on out there. And you you jump when it's time to jump? You know, right. So absolutely. Okay, great. Well, I appreciate you doing this very much. Can you hold on one second for me? Yeah, thanks. Thank you.

I want to thank Heather for coming on the show and sharing that amazing story with us. A huge thanks to Dexcom for supporting the podcast and for sponsoring this episode dexcom.com/juicebox Go get yourself a Dexcom g7 right now using my link. If you'd like to wear the same insulin pump that Arden does, all you have to do is go to Omni pod.com/juice box. That's it. Head over now and get started today. And you'll be wearing the same tubeless insulin pump that Arden has been wearing since she was four years old. If you're not already subscribed or following in your favorite audio app, please take the time now to do that. It really helps the show and get those automatic downloads set up so you never miss an episode. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

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