#1486 Look to the Western Skies
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Grace recounts her raw diabetes journey, mending family bonds, pursuing education, and an unforgettable Wicked theater encounter.
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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 back to another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
Grace is 24 years old. She's had type one diabetes for about a year and a half. Grace is a nurse. It's pretty cool. She wants to be a diabetes educator. We also talk about my experience in a movie theater seeing wicked and people who were rude. 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. AG, one is offering my listeners a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you'll get a welcome kit, a bottle of d3, k2, and five free travel packs in your first box. So make sure you check out drink a G, one.com/juice. Box. To get this offer, don't forget to save 40% off of your entire order at cozy earth.com. All you have to do is use the offer code juice box at checkout. That's Juicebox at checkout to save 40% at cozy earth.com. Are you an adult living with type one or the caregiver of someone who is and a US resident? If you are, I'd love it if you would go to T 1d, exchange.org/juice, box. And take the survey. When you complete that survey, your answers are used to move type one diabetes research of all kinds. So if you'd like to help with type one research, but don't have time to go to a doctor or an investigation and you want to do something right there from your sofa, this is the way t 1d exchange.org/juice box. It should not take you more than about 10 minutes. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the twist A I D system powered by tide pool that features the twist loop algorithm, which you can target to a glucose level as low as 87 Learn more at twist.com/juice, box. That's twist with two eyes.com/juice. Box, get precision insulin delivery with a target range that you choose at twist.com/juice, box, that's t, w, I, I S, t.com/juice. Box. Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. This is the meter that my daughter has on her person right now. It is incredibly accurate and waiting for you at contour next.com/juice box. This episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by us Med, us. Med.com/juice, box, or call, 888-721-1514, get your supplies the same way we do from us. Med, my
Grace 2:51
name is Grace. I'm 24 years old. I was diagnosed with type one diabetes at 23 so about a year and a half ago, I'm a nurse. I've already had multiple nursing jobs, and I experienced all my symptoms when I was in orientation of my first nursing job. And now I've moved to a different state. I live on my own, and all of that is because of diabetes. And now at this point in my career, I want to become a diabetes educator, also working towards that
Scott Benner 3:24
grace, we're going to ask you a bunch of questions. Now, sounds good. So you were diagnosed about a year and a half ago, and you were, like, in nursing school. You had just gotten out of school. Like, where were you in that phase? It was
Grace 3:37
interesting. So I had just graduated from nursing school, like six months ago. But when I think back about my symptoms and everything, it all started the month that I graduated from school, so it was like, graduated from college, immediately, something's not right. I'm sorry this is
Scott Benner 3:54
gonna feel like I'm jumping around a little bit. But how have you had multiple nursing jobs already? So
Grace 3:58
yeah, this is an interesting story. So that first job where I was diagnosed and experiencing all my symptoms and everything, I ended up getting laid off, and I had not even finished my orientation yet because I was just not mentally in a place to be able to go to a hospital and take care of other people. You're a nurse, you need to be basically perfect in order to care for other people, because there's lives at stake. And I was making little mistakes and stuff like that, which, yeah, I understand, but I was in the very beginning of everything. You were making
Scott Benner 4:32
mistakes because you were new or do you think you were making mistakes because you had undiagnosed type one diabetes?
Grace 4:38
I think it was because I had undiagnosed type one diabetes. My brain fog was insane. I needed water every five seconds. I was not able to think clearly and process what I needed to do for my job, and I they just couldn't give me the time that I needed to be able to, you know, get more experience and recover a little bit more. But, yeah, I. Ended up getting laid off.
Scott Benner 5:01
Do you understand their position looking back, I do,
Grace 5:04
but then I look at the job that I have now, and they're so supportive, and they were able to accommodate me in everywhere that every single way that I've needed grace. I'm
Scott Benner 5:15
gonna ask like, in fairness, the people now know you have diabetes back then, yes, they just thought you were probably day drinking. No,
Grace 5:21
I was diagnosed, given three weeks to recover, and then I came back to work.
Scott Benner 5:27
I see, I see, yeah, okay, I'm sorry. Like, I thought they didn't realize. I thought it was before you knew you had diabetes. So you're newly diagnosed, not doing well, got the brain fog, and they just pull you into a room one day and go, Hey, look, you're not cutting it. We're gonna let you off. Yeah. Oh, basically, your first job out of college, yeah. Did you think you were doing a good job? Or what was that time like for you?
Grace 5:50
I thought under the circumstances, I was doing fine. I thought that based on everything, if I just had a little bit more time to kind of get mentally better, then I would have been okay. I could have done that job.
Scott Benner 6:05
Were your blood sugars balancing at that point? Were they did you just not know what you were doing? Like, do you know what you're doing now, I
Grace 6:11
do know what I'm doing now, at that time, it was literally the first month or two of diagnosis, I had no idea what I was doing. Yeah.
Scott Benner 6:19
So what were you seeing? A lot of like, vacillating up and down and, yeah, getting low and eating and getting high. That was all happening.
Grace 6:26
That was all happening as a roller coaster all the time. Gotcha, yeah. All
Scott Benner 6:30
right. So how long did it take you, like, did you go home and say to yourself, like, I gotta figure out diabetes? Or just say, I gotta find another job? Well, once
Grace 6:38
that happened, I decided to take a good amount of time just to figure out diabetes. Yeah, I lived with my parents. I had the time to be able to sit and reflect and figure out what I wanted to do next. And I always knew from probably before college that I wanted to move to a different state and live on my own. I decided that, you know, after good, like, five months of figuring out diabetes, that I was in the space to be able to go out on my own, and I ended up finding another job. Now I'm a oncology nurse, wow, yeah, and I love it, and I live on my own, and yeah, so I used that time to figure out diabetes. And then towards the end, I got laid off in January, and it was around April where I was like, okay, you know, I need to figure out what's next. And then I did that. And then by June, I was working at at my new hospital
Scott Benner 7:36
where you are now. Can you tell me what was the like? Were you always like hot to move out of your parents house, or did that come after the diabetes?
Grace 7:44
So I love being home, and I love my family. I have a great family. I like being home, but I just knew that my personality, I wanted to move out, and that was just further. It was made a little bit more urgent by the diabetes diagnosis, because being at home kind of reminded me of everything that happened and the thought of going back to work and living at my parents house, I hated it so much, and I just wanted to be able to to go out on my own.
Scott Benner 8:13
Oh, that's interesting. I mean, listen, I'm not saying, like, you should have lived at home forever. I was just wondering, like, if it was I just want to move out, because it's my age and my age and my time, and I'm working and I want to do that. Or if you just felt like you were running from something, like, because you got diagnosed, or like, you know, I was just trying to figure out, like, yeah, yeah, where all that came from. But you're saying just time to fly, that's all,
Grace 8:33
yeah, exactly, yeah. It just kind of pushed me to, you know, do what I want, when other people
Scott Benner 8:40
Yeah, Grace. You know, if you're flying solo, you're flying free. I saw wicked this week. Oh yeah, me too. The amount of people that I've said to, if you're looking for me, look to the western sky in the last couple of days is, is it's upsetting and it's embarrassing a little bit. But I texted the people I say it going through my living room. Where are you going? I was like, if you if you can't find me, look to the western sky. What? What's happening anyway? Did you see it on you didn't see it on stage? You're too young, right? My
Grace 9:08
mom and my grandma and I saw it in like, our hometown theater a couple times when I was younger, and then I seen it in the movie twice. I saw it with my best friend, and then I saw it with my mom. Oh, awesome. It was so good.
Scott Benner 9:20
Oh yeah, I listen. I'm just gonna come out and tell you I love I liked it. I thought it was really good. I was like, Oh, I can't wait for the second half. Now also, I was pissed. Broke into two halves. But whatever, that's okay.
Grace 9:29
I know. No, I didn't realize how much backstory there is and how the Wizard of Oz is just like I saw this on, I think it was on Tik Tok, but it was like, The Wizard of Oz is the propaganda version of what you think happened, and then the wicked version is like the documentary. I was like, that's so cool, because there's a whole, I don't know there's a whole backstory behind it. Makes it more interesting. Grace.
Scott Benner 9:52
Let me fry your mind. What if it's backwards? What if the wicked the propaganda? And you know what I mean, who would know? Yeah, you don't know.
Grace 9:59
No, no, that's insane. I didn't think of it like that. That's
Scott Benner 10:03
why it's so much fun to talk about politics, because somebody's lying to you. But is it both of them? Oh, no. What do we do? You're
Grace 10:10
onto something, Scott, you're onto something. I understand the world. Grace,
Scott Benner 10:13
it's ridiculous. Do you want to tell me a little bit about your management? So you've been doing it for a year and a almost at an hour and a half, a year and a half, what did you start with? What do you have? Now, I'd like to know what technology you have or don't have. You've probably heard me talk about us Med and how simple it is to reorder with us med using their email system. But did you know that if you don't see the email and you're set up for this, you have to set it up. They don't just randomly call you, but I'm set up to be called if I don't respond to the email, because I don't trust myself 100% so one time I didn't respond to the email, and the phone rings the house. It's like, ring. You know how it works. And I picked it up. I was like, hello, and it was just the recording was like, US med doesn't actually sound like that, but you know what I'm saying. It said, Hey, you're I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's basically like, Hey, your order's ready. You want us to send it? Push this button if you want us to send it, or if you'd like to wait. I think it lets you put it off, like, a couple of weeks, or push this button for that. That's pretty much it. I push the button to send it, and a few days later, box right at my door. That's it. Us, med.com/juice, box. Or call 888-721-1514, get your free benefits checked now and get started with us. Med, Dexcom, Omnipod, tandem freestyle, they've got all your favorites, even that new eyelet pump. Check them out now at us. Med.com/juice, box, or by calling 8887211, 887211514, there are links in the show notes of your podcast player and links at Juicebox podcast.com to us Med and to all of the sponsors. The brand new twist insulin pump offers peace of mind with unmatched personalization and allows you to target a glucose level as low as 87 there are more reasons why you might be interested in checking out twist. But just in case, that one got you twist.com/juicebox, that's twist with two eyes.com/juice. Box, you can target glucose levels between 87 and 180 it's completely up to you. In addition to precision insulin delivery that's made possible by twist design. Twist also offers you the ability to edit your carb entries even after you've Bolus. This gives the twist loop algorithm the best information to make its decisions with, and the twist loop algorithm lives on the pump so you don't have to stay next to your phone for it to do its job. Twist is coming very soon. So if you'd like to learn more or get on the wait list, go to twist.com/juice. Box. That's twist with two eyes.com/juice. Box. Links in the show notes, links at Juicebox podcast.com. The contour, next gen blood glucose meter is sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast, and it's entirely possible that it is less expensive in cash than you're paying right now for your meter through your insurance company. That's right. If you go to my link, contour next.com/juice box, you're going to find links to Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, CVS, Rite, aid, Kroger and Meyer, you could be paying more right now through your insurance for your test strips in meter than you would pay through my link for the contour next gen and contour next test strips in cash. What am I saying? My link may be cheaper out of your pocket than you're paying right now, even with your insurance, and I don't know what meter you have right now, I can't say that, but what I can say for sure is that the contour next gen meter is accurate. It is reliable, and it is the meter that we've been using for years. Contour next.com/juice box. And if you already have a contour meter and you're buying test strips doing so through the Juicebox Podcast link will help to support the show.
Grace 14:06
So in the very beginning, the doctors that managed me at first, they said, Oh, you're a nurse, you know. So you know how to give the vial and syringe shots to your patients, so you can do it to yourself. So I have no idea why they started me on that, because I know now that people in my situation, at least should start with a pen, but I had those vials and syringes for two months, I think, no kidding. And then, okay, yeah, I know. And then I went to my primary, I was like, Can I just get an insulin pen and make this a lot easier? And they were like, yeah, no problem. So I did that for another six months, I'd say, and I was very well controlled. I just went low kind of a lot. And I didn't figure that out until I listened to the podcast, and I was like, Oh, my, my basal is definitely way too high based on the amount of activity that I do and stuff like that. And then after that, that was a little bit better. And then I finally got and then. Slim pump in July, I'm on the Omnipod now. Some
Scott Benner 15:02
good for you. You had to figure out that there were pens and then go ask somebody for one. Yeah. Okay, yeah, I did. I was gonna say, how do you rate, like, give a Yelp review to your endocrinology team. Like, do you think that if you didn't come to them and ask for a pen, you'd still be doing just injections from a vial.
Grace 15:21
Well, it's interesting, because it was the hospital that I was working at at the time that I went to for when I first got diagnosed, and it was the doctors there that gave me the vials and the syringes, sure. And then it was, it was my primary. That was like, that, I knew there was pens, so then I just, I just had to ask them, and then they were like, yeah, no problem. But it was my endocrinology team. I didn't get into her until a couple months after, when I was on on the pens.
Scott Benner 15:49
So, so from the hospital to endocrinology took so it took so long that you kind of, like, took a detour and just asked your GP about it. Exactly I see, how did it take so long? Like, so you're saying you called an endocrinology office said, Hey, I've been diagnosed with type one diabetes, and they said, we will see you 77 Tuesdays from now. Is it like? How long? Like, what was the gap of time? I think
Grace 16:13
it ended up being like, two months ish, because one of the doctors that I worked with at that hospital, he was able to get me in to one in Boston just to be able to be seen. So I went there, but then that doctor was like, well, you need to go closer to home. You know, this is an hour and a half two hours away from you. That's not realistic. Then I ended up having to go to one half an hour from my house, okay, which is a lot better, but the waiting list was,
Scott Benner 16:38
I gotcha pretty long, and you find them to be valuable. Now that you're there, well,
Grace 16:42
now that I'm there, I don't know. I feel like I have a really good handle on everything between listening to your podcast, what I knew, you know, kind of baseline from school, which wasn't a lot, but and what I see, I'm exposed to other people who have it daily, and I can kind of like, just make adjustments based on what I do, right? I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I go and she just, you know, kind of goes over my numbers from the last week, when, you know that doesn't reflect everything, and then maybe suggest a thing or two here. But I'm like, Yeah, I kind of know, but I don't know. I don't know. It's nice. It's nice to go still. So
Scott Benner 17:20
you have, you have, you said, a little bit of a background from nursing school. But what do you really like? What do they really teach you in nursing school?
Grace 17:25
In nursing school, they cover basically, like the general, you know, okay, so if somebody has diabetes, that means they can't make insulin because their pancreas isn't functioning anymore. So then when they're in the hospital, you need to give them insulin, but this is like a sliding scale, stuff like that. It's just the basics. And I remember in nursing school thinking like, this is so complicated, and these poor suckers who cannot, who have to deal with this and think about this all the time like that, must suck. Now you're a poor sucker, guys. I know. I know I'm a sucker.
Scott Benner 18:03
Do you have any other auto immune personally,
Grace 18:06
no. Nobody in my family has had any auto immune disorders, except for my cousin, who's the same age as me, she has celiac, and she was diagnosed in sophomore year of college, so a couple of years before my diagnosis, but that's the only autoimmune
Scott Benner 18:22
disease that you know of, okay? That came out of nowhere for you, as far as you're concerned, came out of left field, yeah, what was that time like? Like, how did you notice? I mean, how did it come on? How quickly did you get to a hospital? How'd you figure it out? So
Grace 18:35
it took me longer than it should have to get to a hospital. I started feeling my symptoms in like, May or June. I was studying for my NCLEX. I noticed I was losing a little bit of weight, and I also was just very, very, very anxious all the time, yeah, more than usual. So then I I took, I took my test. I was like, okay, things will be better now. I put on my scrubs to go to work for the first time in August, they fit me perfectly. In May, they were absolutely hanging off with me. I remember telling my mom, I was like, I need new scrubs, like these. I've lost a lot of weight. She's like, No, you know, you've just been stressed out and anxious. You haven't been eating as much. It's fine, you know, it'll go back to normal. I started working so tired. I was so so so tired throughout the day, probably because I was getting up two or three times a night to go to the bathroom. And then during the day, when I was working, I couldn't go more than a couple minutes without having a drink of water. Yeah, I would bring my 40 ounce Stanley water bottle and a couple of extra, like, just regular pull and spring bottles, and I still I would run out of water by the end of the day. Oh,
Scott Benner 19:43
give me a second here. I have two thoughts. Yeah. First of all, this is gonna sound like a sidebar, but this is from my wicked experience. Oh, yeah, because you just said you had your Stanley water bottle, which is metal. Yes, this is like a PSA, a public service announcement to people who might not know. Let me just get a little farther from the microphone so I don't hurt anybody's ears. Do not bring your metal water bottles to the movie theater. You fucking idiots like, what in that? I mean, my God, I'm like this girl in front of me. Oh, if she can hear this, I hate you. Just please make sure. I don't know. She wouldn't know this was me, okay? But you know, the cup holder is plastic, right? She's got a metal cup with her. First of all, I understand. I don't want to pay $15 for a drink either, okay? But that's the world we live in. Don't drink while you're at the theater, or at least, like, sneak in something quiet. Here's what it sounded like, Grace. Listen closely.
Grace 20:36
Oh my god.
Scott Benner 20:38
This is her searching for the cup holder hole. Maybe look over and look where you're putting the cup and go slow like this. Watch, watch me put it down quietly. See it's down. You didn't even hear it happen. It wouldn't be that hard. She must have done that. I don't want to over exaggerate a million times during the movie. Okay, just, oh my god. I'm like, You think she'll find the hole soon? Nope, she's got it, excellent. Oh my Oh,
Grace 21:06
my God, that is so annoying. I'd be bad, too. Three
Scott Benner 21:10
of us. It costs $48 for three of us to go to goddamn movie. And what I heard was that, then Grace, I'm out myself here. Okay, then I swear to God, or whoever you're listening to, if you're listening whoever you think like swearing to would be the biggest thing. Okay, in the middle of the movie, she just turns the flashlight on, her phone on, and starts just like looking at the person next to her. And I don't know what they're looking for, this flashlight. I mean, you know now, Grace, yeah, these things. It's like a halogen bulb in your hand, right? Yeah, exactly. And it's not quick. She didn't turn on and go, Oh, there it is. That's what we're looking for. She just kept searching. She was spelunking. I think she was looking for gold. I don't know what was going on, but after Oh, Grace, now it didn't stop. And so I leaned forward, and I said, Can you please turn the light off? And she turns back to me and says something unpleasant, and it started with F and it ended with you. I don't know if you can guess what she said. Now we're in the dark. We're in the dark gray. I don't know who I'm talking to, okay, what I can tell you is I don't know who she is or the people she's with, because they came into the movie Seven minutes after it began, and then, oh, so they came in in the dark, and they're doing the head shuffle, because they can't just sit down, you know what I mean, like, and then, oh, here's the bag. These the Twizzlers. This is happening. I'm like, You have got to be fucking kidding me. But anyway, I don't know what she looks like. I can't gage her age. Is what I'm telling you, because they came in in the dark. So when she said to me, you, I said, now I'm an adult. Grace, you know, I'm in public. I'm an adult. You know how I handled it, right? I said, I said, you and then I but, I said, but I said, you turn off the light. Now. She shut the light off immediately. God bless okay. And then everyone in the theater. It was one of those theaters where everybody was a little chippy. You know what I mean? There's a little too much talking going on, a little too much. One guy, I wish I could properly explain to you how long it took him to open up his candy, but, but hold on a second. I gotta leave this. I'll be right back. Hold on. I'm back. So he's got to open up his candy, right? But he's trying to be quiet, so he's going slow. So it goes like this.
Grace 23:42
I Oh my God, just rip that. I would be like, Oh my
Scott Benner 23:47
God, just rip, just rip bag open. You're killing me. That's what I was thinking, right? This is just happening, like a band aid, like a band aid, just happening. It just, it won't stop. And very loud, very I'm not doing it justice right now. Okay, and it won't stop. And I start leaning forward, and I can Arden's hand comes over, and she puts her hand on my leg. And I was like, Okay, I must be acting like I'm gonna say something to the bag person. I wasn't gonna say anything to the bag person. I was just watching him. I was watching him as a grown adult. Not understand that a little bit of fast noise would have been better than a lot of really slow noise. So anyway, I know these people. I know COVID ruined movies and that we're trying to get it back, and that there's probably, like a half a generation of people who don't understand, but I don't know how much common sense it takes to realize that you're pissed about how much you spent to get here, so am I shut the fuck up.
Grace 24:44
I know you gotta make it a good experience for everybody involved. If there's that much money at stake, it just needs to go seamlessly based on the amount of money that you
Scott Benner 24:53
spend. Maybe I'm crazy, but making a bunch of noise, banging a metal cup around and shining a flashlight. Don't seem to be like difficult things not to do in a movie theater. No, no, no, no. Okay. Anyway, theater etiquette, well, so anyway, after you turn off the light, Everybody calm down. And I was like, Yeah, I fixed the theater. There
Grace 25:14
you go. Gotta scare them. That's the best way.
Scott Benner 25:18
Grace, I gotta tell you. I don't know where you grew up, but I'm older than you, obviously by a lot. What kept me from doing the wrong thing for a very long time in my young life was I was afraid someone was going to hit
Grace 25:30
me. There you go. Hey, I don't know that is, that is not how I grew up, but it works. I know it works.
Scott Benner 25:36
Grace is like I've seen it work on television. I've seen MMA. I know a lot of things Exactly.
Grace 25:41
Yep, I've seen it all.
Scott Benner 25:43
I don't think we should have to threaten people, but I do want to point out that she said, You first. And there's more I could say, but I don't think you should start yelling, f you in a in a dark theater, at a person gig. You don't know who I am, like, Do you know what I mean? Right?
Grace 25:58
That's very much jumping the gun. Usually you start off with a little, like, all right, no problem. Like, you just go from there, not an immediate you.
Scott Benner 26:09
What if I was like, I know, just heard the story. Now I hear it's possible. I don't sound rational to everybody, like, what if I was not a rational person? Or what if I was a violent person, like, I don't know. Like, you just don't start yelling, like, I don't know what's wrong with you guys out there. Now, okay, but like, you don't know who you're talking to. No.
Grace 26:26
That's why, whenever I drive I never have road rage, because I am so afraid that if I, like, look at somebody and flip them off and they're just gonna whip out a gun and shoot me. Grace, you're a smart person. That's exactly how it is. Yeah,
Scott Benner 26:38
did you see the, um, the court case that just ended between the YouTuber and the guy that shot him. I did not okay, so a young YouTuber who I don't know, I haven't seen one of his videos, okay, maybe he's out there trying to save the world. I couldn't possibly tell you, but he's running at this guy in public who doesn't know him, holding his phone up in his face and saying, crazy. And the guy kind of backs away from him. He tries to move away from the YouTuber. Keeps coming at him with his like, yuck, yuck. Look how fun this is style of being an asshole. And the guy pulls out what looks to me to be a 38 snub nose and shoots him, yeah, and I have to admit, and you can all judge me, if you want, I was like, Huh? I'm all right with that. And now he doesn't kill him, which was nice. I'm glad the guy's not dead for just being dumb and making a YouTube video. That's good. He gets shot. The thing goes to court, you know, because the guy shot him, and, you know, the jury found the guy with a gun not guilty of anything. Wow. And I'm going to tell you again, and you can all judge me one way, though, if you want. I thought good, and that was it. Yeah, I don't think you should be provoked.
Grace 27:41
He is provoked, and he tried at first to just back away. No, I get it. Like, I don't
Scott Benner 27:46
know, I think this is a generational thing. Is what I'm getting at here. I sound like an old person yelling to get off my lawn, but I'm just saying that, like, you can't just run up the people like you don't know who that guy is. You know what I mean, or what his problems are, or if he's got a gun in his pocket, very easy, by the way. It was just a gun in like, his like, sweatshirt pocket. I was like, who carries that gun in the sweatshirt pocket anyway? Not the point. All right, Grace. Let's get back to your diabetes. I'm sorry. Please be quiet in movies. For God's sakes. Just go in the fear.
Grace 28:14
There's movie etiquette,
Scott Benner 28:17
yeah, and look forward. And if you gotta sneeze, that's fine. I'm not an ogre. But if you're gonna sneeze 50 times, get up and leave the theater and go sneeze outside and then come back, yeah, it's not hard, yeah. And if
Grace 28:29
you want to talk to somebody, whisper, but actually whisper, people don't know how to whisper. I gotta
Scott Benner 28:33
tell you that. Can I do one more story from the theater? Yes. So it's me and Kelly and Arden in a movie, and in front of us, a woman and her Kids Next Door, the kids eight, nine years old. I don't know about that age. The boy is doing the like, bouncy thing with his chair, like, bounce, bounce, bounce. When they sit down, I go, okay, you know, he's little kid. He's excited. He's coming to the movie. It's fine. Bounce, bounce, bounce doesn't stop. The movie starts. Bouncing doesn't stop. Now I'm looking at the woman, and I'm like, you're like, you're gonna stop this, right? Like, because, I mean, he's next to her, going back and forth too. She's got to be out of her mind. You would think, yeah, movie starts. This does not stop. It is not stopping. Now, the kid is seated. His seat is kind of split between Kelly's and Arden's, so Kelly and Arden are basically sitting more in front of him. I'm to the left of him. I'm a good parent and a nice person, and I don't want my wife and my kids to deal with this through the whole movie. And I'm also like, Yes, I yelled, You with the other girl, but, like, it's a little kid. Like, you know what I mean? Like, what am I gonna do? Right? Yeah, right, exactly. So I scooch down. I scooch my butt forward in my seat, and I reach out and very slowly, with my right foot, I take control of his seat, and I stop him from bouncing. Now he's a little kid. He doesn't know what's happening to him, so I get him stopped, and I wait, and then I start taking my foot off of it, and I realize that if I take my pressure off of his seat, he starts to bounce. It's a kick. And I'm like, Oh my god. So I'm watching the entire movie strip my right leg stretched out with my foot on his seat. He doesn't know what's happening. I want to be clear his just like, once the seat won't bounce anymore, he just stops bouncing. And, like, a half an hour into it, Arden just leans over to me and she very quietly, she goes, Do you want me to take over for a while?
Grace 30:24
I know I was gonna say, that's a great leg workout for you. And
Scott Benner 30:26
I was like, Sure, to which it was, like, it was like, we were in a movie, like, in a capsule, like, like, switching apart out. But like, you know, you know when, uh, Indiana Jones had to take the the monkey skull, like, it was, like, that, right? And, like, so, yeah, so Arden slides her foot on and I'm like, you have to put a little bit of pressure, not too much. I'm whispering to her, if you push too much, he'll push forward. You don't want that. You just want to stop him from bouncing. And we traded back and forth a number of times during the theater to stop the kid from bouncing. And he never bounced once. So funny. The movie ended, so funny. We took our foot off his seat, and it just started again. He just started bouncing again.
Grace 31:01
It was awesome. Oh my god, anyway, and the mom was just clueless.
Scott Benner 31:05
Oh yeah, no, no. She never once parented that kid through anything that happened in that movie. Oh my god, Grace. If you were bouncing in your seat in the theater, do you think your mom would say something to you? My dad
Grace 31:18
definitely would. Yeah. What do you think he would say he would like, whisper to stop because I was being annoying. And annoying scare me. I'd be like, okay, yeah, exactly. Now, there's
Scott Benner 31:33
people right now. They're like, Oh, the kid probably had ADD he can't help it. Okay, God bless. Don't go to the movie. Exactly. Don't. Don't sit in front of me. But like, how do you not see, oh, god damn it. Do a more
Grace 31:44
energetic activity where you can do all that stuff. No, I understand. It's
Scott Benner 31:48
the day after Christmas. I'm already mad again.
Grace 31:53
So much for that.
Scott Benner 31:55
Okay, so I gotta find out how, like, a 23 year old finds a podcast about
Grace 32:00
diabetes, when I contacted you that was the most uncertain and like alone, that I felt I would say, and I was just reaching out for any kind of support, any other people who knew about what I was going through, right? I knew that there were other diabetes podcasts and, you know, out there, and I just found you on Spotify, and I sent some episodes to my mom. She listens to you too. Oh, hey mom, and yeah, that's pretty much it. I was just out really looking for support.
Scott Benner 32:33
Okay, so you're not necessarily looking for management ideas right away,
Grace 32:37
not right away. Okay, I look mostly to the stories, like interviews that you do, like this, I listen to those, and then I listen to a lot of the kind of mental health podcasts that you do. Like your resilience series with Erica. I loved that, and I sent fourth episode of the four parts to my mom, my dad and my best friend, just so they could understand a little bit like, why I felt so lonely. Because at that point too, that was right when I had moved out on my own, and it was like, okay, my job's new, all right, I go home, and I'm alone in my apartment, and my family's two hours away, and I just was so, you know, uncomfortable. So I've found a lot of solace in your listening to your podcast. Definitely,
Scott Benner 33:26
you just melted my heart. I forgot all about those shitty people the movie theater. I feel better now. Thank you. You've made my day. Glad I could do that. No, no, it's real. It's nice to know that. Like, you know, meet you sit here and you're like, I have an idea about this. And then you're like, can I harangue Erica into helping me? And I'm like, you know, do you want to do this with me? And she's like, Yeah. So we start doing it, and, you know, you put it all together, and it goes off to an editor, and it comes back, and it sits in a pile, and then it goes up. And I know it sounds strange, maybe, but I don't ever think about the part where it's gonna get to somebody. I don't know if that makes Yeah, yeah. That part doesn't occur to me, like, I just, I just put it out into the world, and then it to me, it's gone after that.
Grace 34:05
Oh, yeah, I can see that, since you do so much of it, yeah. And you seem very, very busy, like you, you know, very dedicated. So yeah, I can see where you would just keep going, and not really, but yeah, I'm glad I could remind you
Scott Benner 34:17
that. Yeah, thank you. No, it's really nice talk to me about what it felt like in the beginning being alone in your apartment. And if that made you think I should not have left my parents house.
Grace 34:28
No, I didn't think of it as that. I went into it knowing that it was going to be difficult, especially at first, that was probably the hardest time, because it was just like, Oh my God, when are things gonna get easier? When am I gonna feel more comfortable with everything at that point, still, I was like, six months in with diabetes, so that was still kind of new and new job, and, yeah, living on my own so and then listening to that resilience episode, it just. Clicked in my mind, like, why? I was like, Okay, I should definitely be a lot easier myself. Because, no wonder, no wonder I feel so alone. Because, you know, it's all these different things. And I was like, okay, you know, I just keep doing what I'm doing. I know I'm doing good things for myself. Just keep that up. And then I knew it would get better. So
Scott Benner 35:19
it tumbles on itself, like, once you feel alone, then what you feel bad for feeling alone?
Grace 35:26
Yes, yeah, I would like, I'd be like, Well, no, I'm not alone. I have a wonderful family, and, you know, I have a best friend who I call all the time, and you know, I have people here, and I have this new job, and I'm, I should be proud of myself, but I felt alone. Yeah, it was just like a whole I, yeah,
Scott Benner 35:45
I felt bad. I don't deserve to feel bad because I have good support. Now you feel bad for feeling bad and you're feeling bad for not appreciating the people in your life. That's what it feels like,
Grace 35:57
right? Yeah, I remember, especially in the beginning, my mom was like, she understood, but didn't understand that I was just so I was just angry and sad about everything, and that made me be kind of like a bitch to her. I didn't mean to and it was entirely because of how I felt. And she was like, oh, remember when you used to like me. I was like, Mom, I'm just sad, like, I'm just so sad, and I'm not me right now. Like, it's not, I know you're here, but it's not anything that you're doing. It's anything that you're doing. Like,
Scott Benner 36:30
all the different transitions in life are so difficult, because just as you get accustomed to one thing or one way or how a person is, then forces that have nothing to do with you impact their lives, they start to morph and change, which, you know, it's funny, because when you step back, you say, Oh, this is awesome. That's growing, yeah, you know, like, from a long view, you're like, oh, grace is having experiences and learning how to tough them out and get through them and like, all this stuff. But short term, you're like, Oh, why is grace? Mean, yeah, exactly, exactly, yeah. It sucks. Everything sucks about being alive, except for the alive part. You know, right? You know who seems to be having a great time? The bouncing kid. He doesn't give a about anything.
Grace 37:08
No, exactly. He's He's fine. How old is he? Eight
Scott Benner 37:11
or nine? He was like, eight or nine? Oh, yeah. He has no response. Yeah. He's good grace. I want to point something out that long time listeners of the podcast are going to recognize that when I was a young man and saw Jurassic Park for the first time, that we tormented a woman in the theater for shushing us, and that one of the ways we tormented her was by sitting in front of her and bouncing in our chair, which some people might see as karma. And I realize that now, but I want to point out the difference here is that I was being annoying on purpose. There you go. The kid didn't realize this and how you act. I know this seems like a fine line to walk, but I knew I was doing the wrong thing. Common Sense. People get what I'm saying here exactly this difficulty with your mom and you in a relationship. Does it exist as you're leaving? Or do you get it straight before you it does it because you're it's, you're at the apartment, and this is happening, right?
Grace 38:04
So this happened a couple months before I moved, okay, and my mom is like my best friend, so we, we figured it out, okay, but for that time period, I couldn't go to her about everything. I ended up going to my best friend. And my best friend's mom actually helped me a little bit with that kind of stuff. Oh,
Scott Benner 38:22
I can't wait for your mom to hear that. But why couldn't you go to your mom at that point? What? What did it feel like? The disconnect was I
Grace 38:29
just felt like it hurt her so much, that I was hurting so much, and that she couldn't do anything to help me. Gotcha. And I remember telling her I was like, I, you know, I went to Katie, my best friend, and her mom, and I was like, Are you upset that I went to them instead of you? She was like, no, just whatever, whatever helps you the most. Yeah, she wasn't upset about that. She understood. But yeah, it was just like, it hurt her so much that I was hurting so much, and I wanted to protect her from that at least a little bit. Well, however I could, it was
Scott Benner 39:00
lovely. Seriously, that's really kind of some deep thinking there. Yeah, especially your age. No offense, but that's awesome. Thank you. This turmoil right this time where you're you're going through this, I mean, I'm assuming, like, a grieving process that you're going through, oh, yes, did you have like, other struggles like that in your life prior to this, or is this a new way of you feeling that came on just from the diabetes, I
Grace 39:26
think mostly from just the diabetes, because I had always wondered. I was like, I'm perfectly healthy. I you know, most of the people in my family are healthy. I wonder what my thing is going to be that, like, changes my life forever. Yeah, end up being this because I was like,
Scott Benner 39:42
I think it might be the lottery for a while. Yeah? Like,
Grace 39:47
I'm a little too lucky. I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen, but something's gonna happen that's gonna change me. And ended up being this that's very thoughtful. I've always been very mature. And do you. Thinking you have other brothers and sisters, I have an older brother. Yes, interesting.
Scott Benner 40:03
What do your parents do for a living? Can I ask just vaguely,
Grace 40:07
my dad's a business owner, and my mom works for him.
Scott Benner 40:12
And you're sitting around thinking something's gonna come for me. What's it gonna be? You were like, maybe I'll be a famous YouTuber. No, maybe I'll win a bunch of money at the church lot. No, it wasn't bingo, and so I get value. Is that how it feels? It feels like one thing's gonna happen to you that's not great, and this is the one.
Grace 40:31
No, that's, that's honestly how I felt. I I had a feeling that something big was gonna happen to me like this, but I just didn't know what it was.
Scott Benner 40:43
Do you have any other feelings now or about stock picks? Anything at all that you could share with me?
Grace 40:49
No, no. Stock Picks. I'm not good with that stuff. If
Scott Benner 40:52
you have any big thoughts about that stuff, please do reach out. It seems like you might. We'll let you know. Yeah, that's really so did you have a conscious thought at some point you're like, Oh, my thing came it's diabetes, kind
Grace 41:02
of yeah, like I said I in school, I was like, Oh, these poor suckers, you know, that's gonna be tough. And then my my pediatric clinical, the one kid that I consistently took care of was a diabetic who's just pretty newly diagnosed. And then I go to work, and one of my patients that I helped take care of. One of the first ones was a type one diabetic with gastroparesis, and I was like, yeah, something, something's brewing. Something's brewing here.
Scott Benner 41:28
Have you listened long enough to hear me say that idea, like, everybody kind of gets something? Yeah, yeah. I do believe that. I believe that too. I don't think it's because, like, you know, Odin gives it to your whatever you believe. Like, I just think that. Like, I mean, I don't want to get too deep here, but, but why not grace? I'll go deep. I don't care. Would you I think we're just like, you know, organisms that, like, weirdly developed and the things that can think, and we're really delicate, and it's just hard to make a perfect one that stays perfect the whole time. That's all, yeah,
Grace 41:58
exactly, because, yeah, we obviously grow the most through our struggles. And if we were all, you know, good and you know, everything was great all the time, then would be a lot less interesting. Well,
Scott Benner 42:11
even physiologically, like, you know that cellular change is where growth, you know, you grow, and things morph and change. And like they, you know, they write and rewrites. What cancer is, right? Like, it's just a cell that rewrote the wrong way. And so, I mean, stuff goes wrong, and then there's outside influences, and, you know, from, I mean, everything, like, there's stuff you put in your body, there's stuff you breathe in, there's, you know, stuff you eat, there's all that stuff changes, things, little bits at a time, and stuff goes wrong. I'm not saying you did something that gave yourself diabetes, but, like,
Grace 42:44
No, you know, yeah, there's things you can control. Definitely, there's a lot of things that you can control, and then there's just some things that you can't Yeah, you have to just take what you get and keep
Scott Benner 42:53
going. And even the stuff you can control, there's an argument for how much you can control it exactly, you know. Like, yeah, you know, when you hear people say things like, you should eat better. I'm like, Well, sure, but what if I don't have access to that food? Yeah, exactly, you know, what if I grew up in a way where people just didn't ever feed that to me and now my palate like, oh, change it. Like, okay, great. You change your thing that's wrong with you. You don't even like, yeah.
Grace 43:15
It's not always that simple. And everybody has their own, their own situation, and you just have to, yeah, as an individual, you have to decide what's best for you
Scott Benner 43:24
exactly. So you have to have trouble dating in 2024 being this smart, right? You can't find a boy you like, am I? Right? So
Grace 43:32
interesting? I actually am in my first, like, serious relationship. We're only a few months in, but I have a good feeling, and you know, I'm good with my feelings. He
Scott Benner 43:43
hasn't said anything or done anything really weird yet. No, nothing worrisome. He hasn't ignored you to play a video game.
Grace 43:51
Nope. Before that, so much struggle, so much struggle.
Scott Benner 43:56
Yeah, no, I know even, how do you meet people like people? I'm gonna use a lot of words I shouldn't be using right now, but like, people, like, swipe up in your stories and, like, try to be like, it's like, right?
Grace 44:06
I know, I know. No, it's so awful. I'm so glad I didn't meet him that way, because, yeah, I was on dating apps for a little while, but then I was like, there's just no way. There's just no way that I'm gonna connect with somebody on the level that I want to through this stupid thing. So he ends up being one of my best friend's friends. So met him through there at a bar. So somebody
Scott Benner 44:27
set you up, yeah, and tell people the dating apps are sex apps, right? They're not really, for the most part. Yeah, right, if you're not just trying to, like, hook up, like that, hook up means sex now, right? Yes, Grace, it used to mean kissing. Did you know that
Grace 44:43
I heard that? I heard that? Or just, like, making out, right? Yeah, maybe,
Scott Benner 44:47
maybe touching things over clothing. Now it means, like, a whole, like, other thing, huh? How many boys did you have to go through, like, the dumb ones before you got through this
Grace 44:56
one? Uh, let's see. Hold on. Let. Like, do a real tally boyfriend. I had a I didn't have anyone in high school, and then in college, I had my first, like, just kind of casual boyfriend for a couple months my sophomore year. And then right before diabetes and everything, I met this guy on a hinge. He was stupid. I I don't know why I would. Just wanted somebody honestly, so just those two before him, yeah.
Scott Benner 45:28
What does that mean? You just wanted somebody to feel alone? Yeah, yep. How does this boy handle the diabetes stuff? He is
Grace 45:36
so supportive, and he doesn't pretend like he knows any more than he does. He just knows that when I go low, I need lemonade or juice, and then when I go high, he needs to get me water. But he's always like, what can I do? What can I do? What can I do? And I'll usually like, correct my low. And then I'll be like, you just want to get me lemonade. Fine. You can go. And then I just don't drink it. He just wants to get me it
Scott Benner 45:59
and let him get you something. Oh, wow, you really, yeah, it's possible you're in love grace, maybe. I mean, who knows if you're being if you're being that nice for no reason? You very much. I could say, who knows? Because I just want you to know that my wife would be like, I don't want lemonade stop.
Grace 46:20
Well, we're in the we're in the beginning stages too. So let's, let's take that into account. Yeah, I would never, I would not be mean to him at this point. You're being, like, a year,
Scott Benner 46:33
good something for him to look forward to, awesome. Right about the first time that happens, he's gonna be like, Oh, thank God, I can play Call of Duty again, I didn't realize that,
Grace 46:41
right? No, Minecraft. He's on Minecraft now. Oh,
Scott Benner 46:48
awesome. I hear things. Do you think that the way that it's set up now, like dating, the way you meet people, you think you'll like, hold on to a good guy quicker than you would like, do you mean? Like, like, yeah, right. Because it feels like it was so hard to find one. Like, right where you're gonna find the next one.
Grace 47:07
It's so interesting, because with him too, like, like, I said, it's just a feeling, and it's not, I'm usually pretty realistic and grounded, and I can be like, okay, you know, obviously this is still the very beginning. I don't want to get in too far, too quickly, sure, but with him like I just know I can see his character, and I know that he's good, and I know that nothing's gonna happen. Nothing could make him leave that easily. I don't know. I just know good.
Scott Benner 47:38
Look out for small things online betting. Be careful of that. That often turns into a problem. Good look for that one looking through you while you're talking. You know what I mean, like not really listening. Don't do that. Don't let him do that one. Don't let him pressure you into things you don't want to do. Right? Exactly, right. Yeah. Does he drive too fast? No, awesome, no. And
Grace 47:59
whenever he does, like, a hard stop. It's like, Oh, I'm sorry that was too
Scott Benner 48:02
fast, really. Oh, God, it is really, yeah, how does he look at little kids on our
Grace 48:07
first date? He pointed out a little kid to me and then made faces at him. So he's good
Scott Benner 48:13
grace. Okay, yeah, you have no chance. This will probably end with a marriage. I know. Yeah, I got it all right. Okay. Well, just make sure, like, you know, keep checking in with somebody else, not your mom, who thinks you should be with Prince Andrew or whatever. I don't know is that a good person? Exactly? It's possible that's not a good person. Hey, did you hear that? I heard the I don't follow this at all, but I think the red headed Prince guy and the girl from that USA TV show might be having problems, really? Do you know what I'm talking about when I said that?
Grace 48:44
Yeah, I think so. Can't think of her names. Yeah, I can either, but I know who you're talking
Scott Benner 48:48
about. I moved here and tried to start a podcast that didn't work. Yeah, that's
Grace 48:52
always a telltale sign the podcast goes south.
Scott Benner 48:58
People right now, who know? Who know about, like, the Royal stuff? Are like, I can't believe you can't think of this name. Hold on a second grace. Give me one second, because I'm going to type in red head Prince and see what I get. Oh yeah, there it is. That popped right up. Prince Harry, yes. Prince Harry, yep. And Megan, right? Yes. I don't know if I what I heard is right. Also, do you know why I can't tell if it's right or not. Have you seen like because the click bait social media stuff has gotten it has no soul. Now, like before, it used to start with some sliver of truth, but now they don't even, they don't even care about that anymore. Like they'll do it. No, they don't even try before. They try to craft some sort of lie around the truth to get you in but now, like, they do it with sports teams all the time. Like, it's like, here's the, you know, I don't know, the Red Sox, like fan page, and it's like, the Red Sox cut their most popular player. And then you get to the story, and it's not true. Yeah, they're just lazy. They're lazy. I actually think it's more than that grace. I think. What? Yes, I think that they're trying to get the people who will take the time to correct them and or yell at them or chastise them to jump in and make comments so that the algorithm keeps feeding people the story. Oh, I think they want you to call them out. Yeah,
Grace 50:16
no, I see that. I see where you're coming from. I agree
Scott Benner 50:18
this is a leaning into being a dick situation, and it's working for them because of how the algorithm works.
Grace 50:23
Yes, yeah, yeah, no. It's crazy. It's crazy. It's gotten out of hand.
Scott Benner 50:28
Should I go that way with the podcast? Should I just start saying things I know people will be upset by
Grace 50:31
There you go, so they'll yell at me. Let's add a little spice. Make it fun. I'll try now,
Scott Benner 50:37
Grace. I'm 100% positive that if you would have just taken cinnamon, you could have cured your type one diabetes there. Oh,
Grace 50:45
my God. Oh my god. No
Scott Benner 50:47
people, yeah, one and then I'll get super popular, right? Is that how that'll work? Yeah?
Grace 50:52
Okay, yeah, my God. So people will eat it right up. How do you deal with
Scott Benner 50:56
social media, especially now that you're still young, but you're a professional at the same time. Like, do you stay off of it? I'm still on
Grace 51:03
it, but I haven't really changed much about it with type one diabetes. I don't know. I just kind of keep to myself for the most part. You're not looking to, yeah, yeah, not really looking to. I know I've never had any desire to, because of this, become an influencer for type one diabetes. I never really had that.
Scott Benner 51:21
How about for nursing? That's huge, by the way. Oh yes,
Grace 51:26
yeah, that's why I want to go into diabetes education. Definitely. Yeah,
Scott Benner 51:31
I'd like to hear more about that. Like, that's a shift you're making, like because of your own diagnosis or because of something you're seeing. I
Grace 51:38
honestly was pretty disappointed with the amount of knowledge that healthcare workers have about diabetes for how prevalent it is in that setting. So I take every opportunity I can to teach my co workers whenever they have a patient with that, because I was talking to my charge nurse one day and we were trying to figure out the insulin drip protocol, yeah, and I ended up teaching her a couple things about it that she had absolutely no idea. And then I was like, Well, wait, I could do this to so many more people. I could reach so many more people if I was a diabetes educator. So I kind of put that together, and now I'm working on getting my 150 hours in before I can take my test to get certified, and then hopefully, in like, a year, I'll be able to do that. But, yeah, it's huge. It's huge to be able to have that takes
Scott Benner 52:28
150 hours to be eligible for the test.
Grace 52:31
Yes, of management education. Oh, so
Scott Benner 52:35
they should let me take the test. I don't want to be a diabetes educator, but I would like to take the test.
Grace 52:40
I know I'd like to take the test now, just to see how much I know just from having it. Well, that's,
Scott Benner 52:45
that's what I meant. Yeah, I don't want to be a diabetes educator. Or do I think I should be? I'm just saying, like, I wonder, I wonder how easy the test is. Is I guess what I was wondering? Because that would I know me too, you know what I mean? Because maybe that's why people run into so many people who are like, my diabetes educator doesn't seem to know what they're talking about. Like, is it? Yeah, oh, that's true. Is the barrier of entry not what it should be. And maybe that's on purpose, like, maybe we don't have enough, and you're trying to get people in there and hope they learn on the job. Or, I don't know, but I'd be interested if
Grace 53:14
I equate it to nursing school. So nursing school is basically set up so that we can pass the NCLEX. And then once you actually become a nurse, you learn pretty much everything on the job. Yeah. So I'm assuming that with this test to become a diabetes educator, you study for the test, and then once you get on the job, then that's how you kind of learn when you're exposed to more people and cases. And, yeah, I think that's kind of how it goes. I'm just confused. I don't know how people are diabetes educators without having a personal tie to it, being able to understand it on that level. But it's great. It's great.
Scott Benner 53:53
So you're telling me that when I need a job, Grace, I learn how to take the test so I can get the job. I don't necessarily learn the job so I can do the job. I learn how to pass the test
Grace 54:03
for health care. Yeah,
Scott Benner 54:06
okay, because then you pick a lane, and then you you dig down once you get there, right, and learn the family, all right. But then there's turnover in nursing, so, oh
Grace 54:19
yeah, so maybe that's a whole nother. Yeah, more, yeah, it's short staffing and, yeah, all that stuff sucks.
Scott Benner 54:27
It's just an imperfect system, really.
Grace 54:30
It really is. All right,
Scott Benner 54:32
is there anything we haven't talked to? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything off your list, because
Grace 54:36
I've been all over the place today. Uh, no, I think that's pretty much it. Yeah, that was great. Yeah, well,
Scott Benner 54:41
we're not done. I'm just making sure I didn't, like, I want to make sure I didn't I'm not kicking you off. I just wanted to make sure that, like, I didn't miss anything. We went over dating, we went over going through school. Like, oh, I guess I do have this question, yeah, what did you get from the podcast? So, like, if you start in a place where you're, you know. So having, you know, psychological struggles like, right? You're trying to get through this diagnosis, you get to a point where you can't really look your mom in the face, because you feel like you're letting her down because you're not doing well, and you know, you're off, by the way, it's crazy. You figured all this out. You're all figuring out all this stuff. But when you intersect the podcast, like, you first feel like you're not alone, I'm assuming. But then how does it grow from there, like, how does it turn into stability? And you know, you understanding diabetes and all the other things that you have now
Grace 55:30
from the podcast, from the time that I listened to it, like you said, I felt less alone. And then the information that you gave in the way that you presented, it was in a way that it had never been explained to me before, and it's in a way that is so much more useful in daily life that I can, like, pick from it and take what I need. So I was basically able to through your different episodes, like the Pro Tip series and the ones about mental health stuff like that, I was able to just kind of take those pieces and fill in what I still hadn't figured out, and that turned into just easier management and more compassion on myself for things, for when things did not go the way that I thought they would go. So yeah, I was able to just kind of pick different pieces that I needed from you, and then just kind of helped fill in the blanks.
Scott Benner 56:25
That's awesome. Oh, I'm so glad. Yeah. Can I be petty for a second? Would you mind? Yes, do you ever get Do you ever get petty? Oh, yeah, time to time, I'm not going to be able to find the review where the person I'm not going to find it, but there's a review of the podcast somewhere where a person says, like, you know, I'm done, by the way, if you make content online, eventually somebody's like, I'm done with this. Like, it happens all the time. Oh, yeah. But this person was done with me, because now Scott's pretending to be a mental health something. Now, first of all, I'm not pretending to be anything. I'm me. Okay, yeah. And here are the ways I think about these things. You do whatever you want with that, but the same content that made someone go, this guy's not a therapist. He's pretending he's a therapist. But I'm not pretending I'm a therapist. I'm talking to a therapist, and I'm telling you how I'm intersecting with what she's saying to me. But that's fine. That person, that same content, that they were like, oh, helped you, right? Yeah, that's so wonderful. Like, because, yeah, I was having this thought this morning. It's the end of the year grace, right? I've been doing this for a decade. I've been making this podcast for a decade. So every year, there's this giant whiteboard in the corner of my room with just stuff scribbled all over it, of like, you know, ideas that I have for the podcast and things that I think, you know, will make it interesting, things I think will make it helpful for people, things I think will keep it alive. Like, you know, like, all this stuff you have no idea, probably to somebody who doesn't do this, it probably sounds ridiculous, but trust me, if I put most of you in charge of an already popular podcast, you'd run it into the ground in three months. It's such a big I'm not saying I'm special. I'm saying there's like, there's a big picture, and then there's a big picture, and you kind of have to have your head wrapped around all of it at the same time and then make good decisions along the way and actually pick things that people go like, Oh, when he first said they were going to make, I don't understand episodes. I thought that was stupid, but they're not. He said there's going to be a four part series on resilience. What does he know about resilience, like that kind of thing? Yeah. So I'm looking at my board here, and I know what I want to do in 2025 I've been stuck, not stuck. This is kind of my time off this week, right? So I, you know, I'm just not intersecting with the podcast much for the last couple of days because of Christmas, and I just kind of like, put it aside for a little while just to relax. But now I'm back. Like, I got in the shower this morning and I was like, oh, it's the day after Christmas, and I'm already like, you know, thinking about, like, how do I make content in November next year that, you know? No, it's true. Yeah, just to hear you talk about it, and then I can kind of remember that, that that's one of the reviews that sticks with me this year, is that this person was like, ew, like, stop this. And you're like, oh, you know what really helped me, that resilience series. So, no,
Grace 59:18
it's it's so true. I completely see what you're saying. I could definitely not manage a podcast and be, you know, have the creativity to, you know, come up with content constantly and keep people interested. And, no, it's, it's admirable. I couldn't do it. I definitely couldn't. No,
Scott Benner 59:35
you're nice, but, like, it's not, trust me, it's What a dumb thing to be good at. It's also that, like, the way people want information shifts slowly. You don't see it happening because people tend to look more at the really super popular stuff and say, like, oh, this, this is what I should be doing, whereas I never think that way. Like, if something's already super popular at best, you're trying to co opt it right the. Way to stay popular is to come up with that thing before somebody else, not, not after everyone figures it out already. And and the internet's becoming YouTube, for example, is becoming videos about telling you how to be good at the thing that I'm good at. Have you noticed that? You know what? I mean? No, I've noticed that. Yeah, yeah. And so basically, some person got out ahead of something, became a, you know, I don't know, a figurehead on the thing, and then they got through the content. It's over. Now, there's no more to say, right? And so now they pivot to telling you about how you could be as successful as they are doing the thing they're doing, except that is not true. Yeah, they already did it. You can't do it now, like it's done, yeah? Because
Grace 1:00:51
it's short lived. You can't drag that out, you know, beyond just what it was, right? Just, you know, 100%
Scott Benner 1:00:58
like they've done it already, and the world moving on. You don't realize it. So whereas I think a lot of people make the mistake, if they are going to put something on the internet, they make the mistake of trying to see what's popular, to see if they can mimic it. In my head, I'm 24 months ahead of here, trying to figure out what's going to be popular, and then putting out content, and then waiting to see, like, Oh, what did people intersect with? Well, but they not. And then, you know, having to ignore the noise of the people who just want to be upset. Or, you know,
Grace 1:01:29
right? Yeah, because, yeah, you have to look in the long term picture, like you said, like the big picture, but then the bigger picture, you need to have some longevity in what you're talking about.
Scott Benner 1:01:40
And you gotta guess right once in a while, and get lucky sometimes, and, you know, right? All that other Yeah, just go with it. But anyway, that really the reason I brought all that up. You know, the people who don't like me are right now, like, Oh, good, an example of Scott being great. I'm saying that. I think you have to think about life that way. Yes, the diabetes is so easy to get super focused on about what's happening right now, and what is somebody telling me is the right thing to do, like, I don't think that matters as much as you figuring out what's right for you and figuring out your path to it that works, and even if somebody else says that's not right, if it's right for You, it's perfect. You know,
Grace 1:02:21
that's where a lot changed for me, because me before this I, I mean, I'm still a people pleaser to an extent, but I really just wanted to do things to make other people happy, and what other people saw me as and fit into that. But it truly was this diagnosis that helped me kind of be more aware of what I want and not let those other things kind of dictate what I did. So I agree, and then I was able to actually see like what I thought would be best for me in the long term. And was able to kind of block, you know, other people out, and I had never been able to do that before, until my diagnosis. That's
Scott Benner 1:03:05
awesome. That's really great. I'm happy for you. Yeah, yeah. Thank you, yeah. So you're an oncology nurse right now, but you're going to get your hours to try to take the test to be a diabetes educator. You're going to try to be a CD CES. Is that right? Yeah? CD CES, yeah. It's so long, I think it's a mistake having changed it, but that's between them and and, God, it's not up to me. Like, how do you see yourself working after that in a hospital setting, or in a in a clinic, in a private practice? What do you think is the best way to reach people?
Grace 1:03:35
I will probably be working in a clinic, I'd say, or private practice, yeah, something where, obviously, the hours are more consistent. I've noticed with just how I am the hospital 312 a week doesn't work for me the best. So I'm going to end up going to a doctor's office regular nine to five, and then hopefully I can reach the people who have been newly diagnosed for the most part, but doesn't
Scott Benner 1:04:02
work for you because of diabetes or just how you like to live, little
Grace 1:04:06
bit of both. It just sucks to work back to back days and like, I come home and I have to have dinner at like, nine o'clock, and then my blood sugar is high all night, and then I wake up and I feel all brain foggy and have a headache and stuff like that, and then have to go care for people. It's not ideal, but I'll do it. I'll definitely do it for the time being. Okay, doable. But
Scott Benner 1:04:28
yeah, are you using an algorithm or using Omnipod five, or are you just using dash Omnipod five? You are okay. Do you think? Do you like the algorithms?
Grace 1:04:37
I think so. I've adjusted them a little bit, okay, because I'm usually pretty insulin sensitive, but yeah, with the pens, I noticed that I could control it more and keep it lower. But I wish that algorithm had it so that my average was 90 instead of 110 I think that would help it a lot
Scott Benner 1:04:55
like a lower target, yeah, yeah. Does it make you think of switching pumps or. You like the tubeless nature of it so much. It's not that big of a deal for you. I
Grace 1:05:06
really like the tubeless because I knew that I wanted to, because I'm pretty active, so I liked the idea of that, and that probably won't cause me to change it. I'll just keep I'll just keep going, yeah, right now and then see what else comes up.
Scott Benner 1:05:20
I hope they, I mean, just, not just omnipot, but I hope everybody, like, tries to, you know, tweak their things so that they can have lower targets for people, if that's what they want. Right
Grace 1:05:31
now, me too, because I get that you don't want to make it so that everybody goes super low, because then, obviously, that's sure, more of an issue, but, but I don't know. I feel like the people who have it really under control and manage well, you know, should be have that choice at least, yeah,
Scott Benner 1:05:46
yeah, I agree. So hopefully they can make the adjustments that make that possible. Hopefully they certainly see it on, you know, the DIY systems, there's, you can make much lower targets, and Arden's on trio. And, I mean, I think her Target's 85 so, oh, that's great, yeah. I mean, she's not running around stopping lows constantly, so it must be doable. Get out there and do it. Talking to, oh yeah, get that. Let the people get out there and do it. I really appreciate this. Please say hi to your mom for me. I'm glad she listens. That's awesome. I will. I will. Do you guys ever talk about it? Do you ever like, Have you ever gotten a text from your mom that was like, did you hear the crazy story on the Juicebox Podcast today? Or does that happen in your life? No,
Grace 1:06:29
she usually she doesn't text me. She always just waits to tell me in person. Oh, you do it in person. I was like, yeah. It's always like, oh, you know, because I come home pretty often, I still get to see her, or she sleeps over my apartment, so I still see her. Wait,
Scott Benner 1:06:43
your mom comes to see you, and you guys have sleepovers. Yeah, that's awesome. My wife, my wife, would love to know that. Like, she's so like, Arden just got home, and she's like, Arden's home. And I'm like, I know she's like, super excited, yeah, and then, no, it's great. One night, she's like, she's like, she's like, I'm gonna stay in here with Arden for a while. And I was like, You're gonna sleep with Arden? She's like, maybe we'll have, like, a little sleep. I'm like, okay, yeah, she's super excited. I'm glad you and your mom get along so nicely. It's wonderful. That's sweet. Yeah, we do. I have to ask you, then I'm gonna, I'll finish with this. I think I know the answer to this question already. But are you planning on having kids? Yes, yeah, definitely. You want a lot of them, or a few of them, or what do you want? I've
Grace 1:07:21
always wanted at least two, so a boy and a girl, and then maybe a third, maybe another girl, so they could have they could be sisters, because I always wanted a sister and I never had a sister. You always
Scott Benner 1:07:32
wanted a sister. Okay, do you worry about the diabetes aspect of it? Now,
Grace 1:07:36
I do, but I also feel like, you know, I'll feel a little guilty at first if they do get it, but I'm not going into it thinking like that any because even if they do, I know I'll have kind of a head start on understanding how to deal with it. Yeah. So I yeah, I try not to look at it as like, Oh, they're doomed, and I'm doomed, you know, just kind of take it how it comes.
Scott Benner 1:08:01
You also do have, like, a an expectation that something's gonna happen, right? Yeah, you have that feeling. So if it's that, then it's that. Is that how you feel about it?
Grace 1:08:10
Kind of, yeah, yeah. I just know too that I'll be able to handle it. I don't know. I have faith in myself, yeah. Have you
Scott Benner 1:08:18
always had that faith? Or is that new? That's new.
Grace 1:08:22
That has not been around here for a while, up until this past year. And
Scott Benner 1:08:27
diabetes brought you that faith in yourself, Oh yeah, and
Grace 1:08:31
compassion for myself. I used to think so black and white, like, oh, it has to be like this, or it's wrong, or it's completely, you know, just all messed up. Nope, nope. I have faith in myself. Now,
Scott Benner 1:08:44
that's part of growing up, too. You know that, though, right? Yeah, it's true, yeah, like, like, I mean, I don't know that diabetes didn't, like, speed it up for you, right? Yeah, right. Or bring it into focus for you, which I'm sure it did all that stuff, but yeah, you would have gotten to it eventually. Just probably would have taken longer, exactly, yeah, that's interesting. Wow, you're on like, such a journey. It's nice. I'm jealous. Thank you that you're young. I just want to say that
Grace 1:09:12
I'm getting up there though, 24 Oh yeah, in the mid 20s,
Scott Benner 1:09:16
it's almost over. Grace. All right. Hold on one second. For me, this was really great. I appreciate you doing this. Yeah, thank you
having an easy to use, an accurate blood glucose meter is just one click away. Contour next.com/juicebox That's right. Today's episode is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. The conversation you just enjoyed was brought to you by us. Med, us. Med.com/juice, box, or call 888-721-1514, get started today and get your supplies from us. Med, you. The episode you just enjoyed was sponsored by the twist A I D system powered by tide pool. If you want a commercially available insulin pump with twist loop that offers unmatched personalization and precision or peace of mind, you want Twist, twist.com/juicebox, hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. If you or a loved one was just diagnosed with type one diabetes and you're looking for some fresh perspective, the bold beginning series from the Juicebox Podcast is a terrific place to start. That series is with myself and Jenny Smith. Jenny is a CD CES, a registered dietitian and a type one for over 35 years, and in the bowl beginning series, Jenny and I are going to answer the questions that most people have after a type one diabetes diagnosis. The series begins at episode 698, in your podcast player, or you can go to Juicebox podcast.com and click on bold beginnings in the menu. Hey, what's up? Everybody? If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking like, how does that happen? What you're hearing is Rob at wrong way recording doing his magic to these files. So if you want him to do his magic to you, wrong way recording.com. You got a podcast. You want somebody to edit it. You want rob you.
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