#950 Life Story
Lisa has type 1 diabetes for 45 years and her life story is incredible.
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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 950 of the Juicebox Podcast.
Today on the show, I'll be speaking with Lisa, she's an adult who has had type one for well over 40 years, and her story sort of unfolds over a lifetime and then takes a really shocking turn. While you're listening. Please remember 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 healthcare plan, or becoming bold with insulin. If you'd like to save 35% on all your soft stuff, I'm talking about towels, sheets, sweatshirts, joggers pajamas, I can make that happen for you at cozy earth.com All you have to do is use the offer code juice box at checkout, you will save 35% off your entire order. Those of you interested in learning more about beyond the pod five or Omni pod dash, check out my link Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. And if you're looking for that new Dexcom G seven, or the G six dexcom.com forward slash juice box, don't miss the diabetes Pro Tip series. It begins at episode 210 Your player
this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by ag one, I gave ag one a try because I was worried I wasn't getting in all my nutrients. And now I drink it every morning before I get my day started. You can to drink ag one.com forward slash juice box, get five free travel packs and a year supply of vitamin D with your first order at drink a G one.com. Forward slash juice box. Today's episode is also sponsored by touched by type one, learn more about this great organization at touched by type one.org. And you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram. I'll be speaking of their big event in September, go find out more about it on their website.
Lisa 2:17
Do you hear that on your recording?
Scott Benner 2:19
If you need a drink of water, you should just drink your one. Don't you were okay, but I but I have to say, I very much appreciate you asking.
Lisa 2:30
Well, I hear like I know it disturbs you when there's background noise and this kind of thing. So
Scott Benner 2:36
I hear it. Well, we put up an episode today that was had to be recorded. wherein I was sick. And the person I was recording with was sick. And it took if you could see the raw file about where the like you know, sometimes just dead air like you're not speaking right now. And when I go back and look at the recording, it'll probably be quiet where you're not speaking but I'm recording two different tracks of audio, my voice and your voice are being recorded separately. Okay, and so for the most part, you just leave the dead air and it sounds fine. This thing where she was sick and I was sick. I must have cut at it for like 90 minutes yesterday. And it just looks like Swiss cheese because every time one of us stopped talking, we were like breathing heavy or coughing or, you know, oh my god, the fact that you won't know that when you listen to it is is magical, almost. But
Lisa 3:35
anyway. Well, I think you must have some supersonic hearing too. Because a lot of times in the podcast, you'll complain about a noise that I never heard. So
Scott Benner 3:46
I deaden it or cut it out, even if even if I leave it in for you to hear it if if it flows with the conversation, so I don't want people to be listening then suddenly they have themselves shocked with I don't know. And there are just things that like people who click before they speak. They're like, I'm like they do that. That makes me cry. I try not to know you I'm sure you want most people don't do it honestly. But every once in a while you get to somebody who does and they're just every they think and they think while they're like drawing up their tongue and then they go well, and I'm like, oh god, stop that. So. So we're all good. Go ahead and introduce yourself.
Lisa 4:26
Okay, Hi, I'm Lisa. I'm 64 years old, and I've been type one for about 45 years now. diagnosed when I was 1819 7764 years
Scott Benner 4:41
old diagnosed at 18. You've had it for 45 years and 70 Lisa when I was six years old. Wow. Baby sadly.
Lisa 4:51
I graduated from high school in 1976. The bicentennial year. That was the big thing when I graduated. Oh, we're the Bicentennial class. And so, yeah,
Scott Benner 5:05
that ended up meeting a lot in your life.
Lisa 5:08
Not really. But you know, it's on my yearbook the Bicentennial class, you know, it was a big deal back then, for some reason,
Scott Benner 5:16
well, well, you know, my remembrance, I was much younger, obviously, I was like, gosh, five years old, maybe. But that it was like, it felt like a nationwide celebration in a world where there was no anything else. Yeah, I mean, like, if everybody decided to get in on a big day where fireworks should be shot, and people would use, you know, streamers and everything, and it would happen, you know, pretty naturally, it just felt huge to me, even as a little kid. Well, yeah, probably to you. You were just like, let me get out of high school here.
Lisa 5:50
Right? No, I was excited. I was excited.
Scott Benner 5:53
What were you thinking you were gonna do after high school?
Lisa 5:56
You know, I didn't know I honestly did not know, I knew I had to make money, because I was pretty early on on my own. And so that kind of has been the direction of my life, you know, I need to make more money. So I need to do something else. And, you know, it kind of has driven me throughout my life, you know, so and starting when I was young, because I had to support myself, you know. So, first, I took on a couple of, I worked in a bakery. And I worked in the liquor store right next door, so both part time jobs. And I had to work all the time to make enough money to pay my bills. And I was like, there has to be an easier way. And so that got me back to school. And I became a dental assistant, and did that for for quite a while. And then I went to nursing school. And then I became a nurse practitioner. So that's kind of driven me throughout my career. Why No, oh, no.
Scott Benner 6:58
Can I ask? At this moment, when you're graduating from high school? Do you have diabetes yet? Are you about to get it?
Lisa 7:04
I get it on my physical exam for dental assisting school. Okay. All right. So I go into my general practitioner, probably like late August, something like that, you know, right before school starts, and you have to get a physical to go to school. And he checks my blood sugar. And he said, it's your brother that has diabeetus, right? And I'm like, yeah. And he said, I think you might have it too. I'm like, what, you know, and, you know, looking back, just like so many other people on the podcast, you know, I had lost weight, but I was thinking this is a great diet. I'm on
Scott Benner 7:47
the whiskey and cupcakes.
Lisa 7:50
Wow, it's paying off all those donuts I hate and I'm still losing weight. This is amazing. You know, and I have lost probably 20 pounds. I'd always been a little bit overweight, like say in high school. I was maybe 165 foot six, so a little on the pudgy side, but I was feeling good about all of it. And then he said that. And so I lived in Massachusetts at the time in Boston. And so I grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, a little town outside of Boston, and Joslin clinic is in Boston. So I get sent there. I was there for an entire week of training, which I've since found out from people on the podcast and people in the Facebook group. That doesn't exist anymore. I mean, Joslin clinic does, but it's like the quick one and a half day teaching were back then it was an entire week of residential. You live there? Yeah, they taught you what to eat. They taught you how to get shots. And, you know, I'm 18 So I'm there all by myself, you know, and it was a great education and a great resource to have in my area. You know, when when newly diagnosed, you know,
Scott Benner 9:04
hey, I want to go back and ask you a couple of questions. So your brother has type one diabetes?
Lisa 9:10
Yeah, he had type one diabetes. He is He was diagnosed at 13. So a little bit sooner than I was. And because we were a sibling match. Jocelyn clinic was doing all this research. That's what they do there. And so he and I were involved in a lot of research studies because we were siblings in the same, you know, family without any genetic predisposition. So nobody in my family had diabeetus and so that was really unusual at that time. And I think that looking back on it, I think that was the beginning of them, you know, coming up with autoimmune. You know, type one Diabetes
Scott Benner 10:00
like trying to see, they were trying to figure out where it came from because back because it was as simple as like, Well, does your grandmama have it? No. Well, then this is crazy that you have it like that. So that was the thinking back then I say
Lisa 10:12
exactly it was. So it was so unusual to have siblings in the same family without any genetic reference to it. So
Scott Benner 10:21
I'm so sorry. You said he had it. So is he Yeah, he died.
Lisa 10:24
Yeah, he died. He was 37. He had every complication in the book. And if you think back to technology then so I was kind of calculating it. It was like the late 60s when he was diagnosed. So I mean, I wasn't involved in his care, per se, my mom did all that she was a stay at home mom. But, of course, being on the outskirts of it, I it was part of our lives, part of our everyday lives. And so he was a hockey player. And so being an athlete, he was, you know, had this disease that kind of limited you physical activity wise, and you were, you know, taking shots, probably twice a day, I'm guessing in the morning, and at night, maybe he took shots, you know, and it was clear and cloudy insulin back then. So fast acting and slow acting, and you mix them up in a syringe, and I don't even know if he had a glucometer. Back then, you know, I'm sure he was doing those pills in a test tube and looking at colors and ketones and things like that. So I wonder I often wonder if he could have had all the technology that we have, right now, would he have lived a better life? Would he have availed himself up? But first of all being diagnosed? So so early on? And would he have taken advantage of it? And he could maybe still be alive today? You know,
Scott Benner 11:58
yeah, but I'm assuming also, the mindset must have been so much different. Because there's been enough people on here who are diagnosed at that time, who will tell you that they were basically just told, like, look, you're not gonna live very long. You know, I mean, there's a woman on here that was told not to get married, not to have children not to make a family, like don't even bother getting a job, like just just, you know, be a vagabond, and you know, flit around until your death, like, what is kind of the vibe given to them by medical people? So I wonder if your mom wasn't told that, too. And that it's possible. And I'm like, a self fulfilling prophecy at some point, too. Because you? I mean, obviously. I mean, I want to say, obviously, but they couldn't have been doing much right. If he only made it 24 years with it.
Lisa 12:43
Truly, yeah. But I, I'm guessing they were doing the best they could with what they had, you know,
Scott Benner 12:50
no, no, I would imagine. Yeah, just just, I mean, right, meaning what would have worked not, you know, what they were told, I don't imagine they were told anything valuable. Honestly.
Lisa 12:59
Well, and he played high school, he played hockey all through high school. And I remember that being an issue because he always had a jug of orange juice. You know, that's how they treated Lowe's back then was orange juice. And so he always had a jug, you know, that was sitting on the bench, and he'd be chugging it and, and playing hockey is a very physical game. And then, once he got out of high school, he, you know, played with his friends now. And again, they ran to the ice and they played, he loved playing hockey, and my dad loved playing hockey. And so they had that together. And then he got a job as a construction workers. So another very physical job, you know, and I think going through puberty with type one, it's tough, all the hormones, everything, you know, I was 18. So that part was was done for me, basically, you know, so, and I think a little more mature for me being able to handle all the responsibility of type one diabetes, as you know, and being on my own, you know, I mean, back then they just basically told you not to eat sugar. And take your two shots a day and you kind of went about your business, blissfully unaware of what could possibly happen to you. The fact that I've never had one complication is astounding to me. You know,
Scott Benner 14:24
yeah, we're gonna talk about that. So I'm just imagine your brother feeling low, doing a hockey game and then drinking enough juice to make his blood sugar 400 for five hours afterwards, and then that can only imagine Yeah, right. Then that cycle goes on and on and on. And that's probably how you then managed during the day and you know, we're busy telling people look, you don't have to eat all the Skittles if you open the bag and he's just randomly chugging orange juice, orange juice, by the way from the 60s and 70s, which must have been some good orange juice.
Lisa 14:58
I'm sure I'm sure the Florida concentrate.
Scott Benner 15:00
Exactly. Do you remember, it used to come frozen in that little tube? Yeah. Of course leaves and no one else knows what you're talking about. You know?
Lisa 15:11
Yeah, there always used to be a candy frosting on the sake. And, you know, it was a big deal. Yeah, we had it with every breakfast, you know, it was like a staple. You know, I'm gonna
Scott Benner 15:22
describe it for people who don't know. So the closest young people are gonna think of is like the tube that those cinnamon rolls come in those really crappy, like breakfast cinnamon rolls, or whatever they are. And so there's like a tube like that. And it was in your freezer. And it just had like this concentrate of orange juice in it. And then you would defrost it, put it into a pitcher and melt it with water and mix it up. And then that was your orange juice? Oh,
Lisa 15:49
yeah. We'd have to stir it with the wooden spoon in the glass picture. And then
Scott Benner 15:54
as, as time went on, I remember when they would it would show up in the grocery store, like pre pre mixed, I guess, you know, like, already ready to drink is the word I'm looking for. I thought of that as like that. That was the orange juice like rich people had. Right? Yeah, right. You know, these don't have to melt it and mix it with water and all that.
Lisa 16:15
Well, and the town we grew up in, we had a milkman and so you put out your you had this milk box, and he would come in the morning and deliver milk to your milk box. And being on the East Coast. You know, the winters were harsh and your milk is in is in your milk box. And it's all insulated, so it doesn't freeze. And some people actually got orange juice. We never did. We weren't rich enough fancy, but I always thought they were pretty rich to get all that.
Scott Benner 16:47
That's crazy. Okay, so my last question about your earlier life is I mean, you pretty freely said when we just when we started talking that you basically raised yourself. So what happened to your parents
Lisa 16:58
didn't raise myself, but to a point. So my parents got divorced when I was probably somewhere between 13 and 15. I said 13 for so long. But then in recent conversations with my sister, I'm like, I think I was older, you know. So your memory fades over time. But anyways, when my parents got divorced, my mom was a stay at home mom, she kind of grew up in a culture that your husband comes first and your children come second. We're an Italian family. So divorce was just unheard of, you know. And my dad was having an affair with another woman, his secretary at work is what we were told, but she in fact, was a colleague, a co worker of his. And anyways, my mom just fell apart when she found out and she kind of stopped being a mom. So from like, say, 13 to 15, I pretty much ran the household. I took care of my sister who was six years younger than me. So at the time, maybe seven or eight. And yeah, I was like a mom, you know. So from then on, you know, she was kind of touch and go, she fell into a depression. She became addicted to valley on and Percocet. And it was a nightmare. You know, she was in and out of, you know, mental hospitals and this kind of thing. My sister went to live with my dad, and my brother went to live with my dad. But I felt like somebody has to take care of her who's gonna take care of her, you know, so I stayed in the house and took care of her as long as I could. And I think she really was my first patient, you know, looking back on it, you know,
Scott Benner 19:00
was it hard to leave her when you left?
Lisa 19:03
Well, she found somebody else, she found another man, and they got married. So I was like, hallelujah, you know, somebody took her off my hands, you know? And so I just wiped with my hands. And all of it just went on with my life. You know,
Scott Benner 19:18
there was an evening after my father left my mom that I saw my mom given up. And one night, she just broke out a bunch of like liquor that was in the house and started drinking. And my mom was just not a drinker. And I thought I was watching it happen. And I just, I don't know how long I accepted what was happening, but I stood up. I was only 13 or 14 and I took all the liquor and I dumped it out. And and I told her I was like we're not doing this. Like this is not happening, you know? So and She didn't drink after that. But she came from a family of alcoholics. And so I thought, Well, her father was I should say, and. And I was just like, No, no, like, this is not happening. And I don't know, I might have just got lucky or maybe she was really just gonna do it this one night. I have no idea. But I would say that watching my dad leave my mom is probably the reason why as an adult, because everybody who's been married knows like, there's a moment in I don't care, I really don't care who you are, there's a moment where you're just like, Am I really just gonna do this for the rest of my life? Like, is this into a fight or something or you know, you have a disagreement or a bad day turns into a bad week. And you I just couldn't do it. Like I could not be the reason that anybody felt the way my mom felt. Wouldn't war I couldn't bring myself to do that, you know?
Lisa 20:55
Yeah, yeah. And I think back then to you know, valley, um, and, and Percocet, all those mood altering drugs were just brand new, you know, so nobody really knew the effects of prescribing these kinds of things. And my mom became addicted to a very quickly
Scott Benner 21:20
I actually heard about ag one on another podcast, I started to use it. And I wasn't completely consistent with it. But then ag one came to me and asked if I'd like to do an ad for them, and I thought, Okay, I will. And I'll use this as an excuse to really try do it every day. And now I do, I drink ag one every morning when I get up. And you can too. When I first got it, I thought I don't get enough nutrients, like get my diet, this this should help with that. And it really has drink ag one.com forward slash juice box, get five free travel packs, and a year supply of vitamin D with your first order. Ag one is raising the standard for quality in the supplement category, and is a foundational nutritional supplement that delivers comprehensive nutrients to support whole body health. Since 2010. They've improved their formula 52 times in the pursuit of making the best foundation nutritional supplement possible. That happens through high quality ingredients and rigorous standards. Check it out, why don't you drink ag one.com forward slash juicebox. And if you just want to support the podcast and you already drink ag one, just get your next order at my link. So if you want to take ownership of your health, it starts with ag one. Try ag one and get your free one year supply of vitamin D and five free ag one travel packs with your first purchase. Once again, drink ag one.com forward slash juice box links in the show notes links at juicebox podcast.com.
Lisa 22:59
And my mom became addicted to a very quickly and that was her life for a good five years or more. You know,
Scott Benner 23:08
so she was a doctor was giving her that stuff.
Lisa 23:11
Oh yeah. General doctor, our little he came from Kentucky his name was Dr. broadest, I still remember. And he had this heavy Kentucky accent and they had no idea so of course, you know, make you feel better. Here's something for sleeping. Here's something for you know, take the edge off and all these things but you know, very highly addictive, you know, Yeah,
Scott Benner 23:34
crazy. I'm sorry. You mentioned other sisters are any type on with her?
Lisa 23:39
No, she she doesn't have type one. But she was diagnosed in her 40s with Parkinson's, so she's disabled. And then she recently got diagnosed with breast cancer. So she's had her share as well. But you know, they've always tested her along the way and she's very aware of it. But never never had any issues with that.
Scott Benner 24:02
No. Now looking back in hindsight, I know your mother, your father, was there any autoimmune stuff with them or grandparents anything you can see now that you know better how to look?
Lisa 24:12
No, my grandparents lived into their 90s My grandmother did have terrible rheumatoid arthritis. So and I think now that is considered auto immune. And she was literally in her wheelchair when she when she passed away, because she couldn't walk anymore. So So there was that? I think on my dad's side, there was some type two but really no
Scott Benner 24:39
looking back at a call the era the string there.
Lisa 24:43
Yeah, my my dad died early on to he was only 46 and he died of leukemia. And so people in my family have died relatively young. I mean, my brother at 37 My dad at 46 My mom was 72. She had a bowel perforation and died that way. And it's just me and my sister. That's all I have left.
Scott Benner 25:07
Wow, that's really I know. Yeah. Geez, I know you don't realize the things that can get you when you're older. My mom had like diverticulitis once, maybe, I don't know, six, seven years ago, and where my brother and I took her to the hospital, and we were waiting outside. I said, you know, this could easily kill her. And, and he's like, what? And I was like, I'm telling you, man, it was like, this is this could be it, you know. And then she, it took her six months to bounce back from that was so interesting to watch. How that, just that that thing three days in the hospital couple of weeks to recover, and then it just like it turned her down. I don't know another way to say like an aged or very quickly,
Lisa 25:49
right. That's how my mother died. She had diverticulitis too, and she had a bowel perforation. And there was nobody there with her. And like three days later, Somebody's knocking on her door She's not answering. So they police went in and there she was totally septic. In her bed. She was barely alive. And you know, she's in the hospital and my sister and I are there and the doctor said basically, you know, we've tried to cure the infection, but it's too far gone. And we can't do anything for her. So, you know, between my sister and I, we decided, okay, you know, it's time to let her go. You know,
Scott Benner 26:29
being alive is really weird. It just really is. Okay, so you are. You're back there. You're making donuts. You're selling booze. You're like, I can't keep doing this. I can't even pay my bills this way. And then tell me again, you go to school for dental assisting, by the way does your do you need to connect your transmitter to your phone?
Lisa 26:53
No, I have this. Let's see. That not the sound? What sound is the sound? Yeah. Yeah, I hear it every time on your podcast and like, Oh, there's the sound.
Scott Benner 27:03
It makes me feel like you started a new Dexcom sensor and it's waiting for you to pair it to the phone. Is that what's happening now?
Lisa 27:09
So it's out of range. My range is set at 7110. And I'm right now 140 701
Scott Benner 27:14
That's, that's the alarm you have set?
Lisa 27:17
That's the alarm. I have set? Yeah. So I recently had to go to jury duty. And so they're they're questioning the jury to pick a jury for this trial. So I get selected for a trial. And everything's quiet in the courtroom. And there it goes. be big. Like, oh my god, this is gonna be awful. Oh, my goodness. You know, even if you turn the sound off on your phone, or turn it down, it still beeps like I turned my phone off my sound off and you can still hear it.
Scott Benner 27:49
You get the vibration then.
Lisa 27:52
So I had to tell the bailiff you know, this is something I mean, I have to have it. So, you know you guys are just gonna have to bear with me. And he's like, Oh, that's okay. That's
Scott Benner 28:02
anyway. Oh, so you change the sound for so that's your high alarm sound and are on Arden's phone. That's the sound that means pair the sensor on the G six, which, oh, how interesting. Yeah, pair the transmitter but a new transmitter, which none of this is gonna matter. With G seven, by the way, because the transmitters and sensors are all going to be one, one piece and they'll just throw them away every 10 days. Crazy.
Lisa 28:24
I can't wait. That's gonna be great. How long do you think it's gonna take for us to get it?
Scott Benner 28:28
Well, I mean, it's in parts of Europe now. I'm yeah, I'm guessing. I'm guessing inside the first quarter of 2023. Okay, yeah, that's my guess. Nice. Okay, so Alright, so you get to I'm sorry, dental assistant schools that right?
Lisa 28:48
Dental Assisting school. So you work in a dental office, and you're like, the person that does you sit next to the dentist or on the other side of the dentist between the patient is between you and the dentist? And so you're doing sectioning. Maybe you're mixing amalgam for fillings, maybe you're mixing, you know, paste for something else. You clean the equipment, you get patients seated and put the bibs on and do all that stuff. So I did that I worked in periodontal practice, which is a gum surgeon. So I did that for a good five, six years. And then I got to thinking, you know, for the rest of my life, I'm going to be working on people's smiles. I mean, like you were saying, is this what I really want to do the rest of my life, you know, and I was making, I think $1,200 a month at the beginning and still $1,200 A month later, and it's a small dental practice, which is like a small business, you know, they can only afford to pay you so much. So I felt like it was Uh, go nowhere job, you know, as much as it was fun and I enjoyed being with people and the interaction and stuff. I'm like, I could do more, you know. So I decided to go to nursing school. And I by that time, I was living in California. So my husband now was a man I met at the bakery, he was a baker. Imagine a type one was a baker, right? It doesn't seem to work. But anyways, I met him there. He was recently divorced. And he was only 23. You know, I was probably 20 at the time. And we started talking and working together, and I enjoyed his sense of humor. But I knew he was separated from his wife, and he had two children. So at 23 years old, he had two children, a house, a job, a career, you know, this whole thing. And I was like, wow, really impressed. He had done so much at such a young age. And then he asked me out. And I said, Well, you're separated. But does that mean, you're gonna get back with your wife? Because I don't want to be part of this, you know, after having gone through this with my dad, you know, I don't want to be the other woman, you know? So he said, No, I don't think there's any, any hope for this relationship. So, you know, I love children. So he had at the time, the kids were small. There were post toddlers, and I love kids. And so there we were, you know, going out and the kids doing stuff with the kids. And it was wonderful. But my mom was like, He's damaged goods. You know, he, you shouldn't be with him. He has children. And you're, you know, setting yourself up for a world of heartache. And this whole thing, of course, by then she was pretty much against the whole institution of marriage.
Scott Benner 32:15
By the way, please.
Lisa 32:18
Yeah, so anyways, she met her, but she didn't like him. And Tom was having trouble because his ex wife, my husband's name is Tom, his ex wife was seeing somebody else. So that's how their relationship broke up, too. So anyways, he couldn't handle that because the guy was with his children. And so he had a sister that lived in California. And he said, I'm really thinking about moving to California, to get away from all this and, you know, start new and fresh. And, you know, will you come with me? And I was like, No, I'm not leaving here. I just started, you know, doing my prereqs for nursing school. I was in night school, working all day, going to school at night. And then I would meet him after class, we'd go to a bar, have some drinks. And, you know, it was this, like burning the candle at both ends saying, yeah, and then February rolls around, which is like the worst month, if you're in a snow area, you know, Christmas is done, and people are kind of depressed, nothing to look forward to, you know, the days are cold, and, you know, whatever. So
Scott Benner 33:36
is this baby making time in Boston, Lisa?
Lisa 33:39
Well, so Tom mentions it again, moving to California, and I'm like, I know. So we pack our stuff. We hop in my Toyota Tercel. And we drive to California. And like, I didn't know where and we start calling people along the way. Like I call my job, hey, I'm not coming to work today or ever. We're moving to California. And they're like, whoa, you know, so when I talked to my mom, she was just out of her mind because not only was he going to California but going to California with Tom who was damaged bugs, you know. And so yeah, we moved in with his sister. I think we were there for maybe two weeks. He got a job right away and a bakery. And then I I got a job as a dental assistant in Beverly Hills. And again, a dental surgeon, gum surgeon same same kind of practice. Right. And then again, I was like who? Okay, here we are the two of us. And Tom's working hard. And you know, the money a baker can make is is limited. And you know, the the old days of a small bake shop and I Everybody goes to it. All that stuff, you know, big box stores come into play, and you can't sell things as cheaply as they can. And people don't really know the difference. And so, you know, his money making capacity is limited. So I knew that if we were going to buy a house, if we were going to have a family, if we were going to do any of these things that I dreamt of doing, I was going to have to make more money. And so back to school, I went and went to nursing school. And he told me, you go to nursing school, I will support you during nursing school, and you don't have to work. And I was like, Oh, my God, that's wonderful. Yeah, I'll do that, you know, we had a little apartment, you know, we didn't have a lot of expenses back then. And so I did, I went to diploma nursing school, which is a two year and you get a nursing license, you sit for boards, and you get a license, but it's the minimum amount of schooling, they don't even have the schools anymore. And then you can work. And so that's what I did. And I started working in a neonatal intensive care unit in Los Angeles. And it just built from there, I loved it. I loved being around the babies, I loved all the technology. I loved being with the people, my co workers were wonderful, it was a really small environment, and everybody was super close. And I loved the work. I've always loved the work. And so consequently, I stayed in the neonatal intensive care for my entire career, 32 years of nursing. And then I'm going to say about 15 years before I retired, I was thinking again, when can I retire? And thinking, Okay, I'm going to be doing this job for another 1520 years, is this what I want to do for that period of time, and my son was already, you know, grown, and, uh, you know, high school, and, you know, I just was like, No, I don't want to stay at the bedside anymore. And I'm in this communication bucket work. And there's a flyer for a scholarship to become a nurse practitioner, and they'll pay all your expenses in exchange, you have to work for them for two years after you graduate, pay it back. And I was like, huh, maybe I'll do this, you know. So sure enough, I applied and they gave me a full scholarship. And I went to nurse practitioner school while I was still working full time. And then I did that for another 15 years before I retired. And so I retired when I was 62. And I loved it. It was a great career.
Scott Benner 38:06
How, how many children did you and Tom have together?
Lisa 38:10
So we didn't have any together? Okay,
Scott Benner 38:12
so you said, Tom, you were talking about Tom's kids?
Lisa 38:16
Yeah. So Tom, Tom has to from his first marriage. And he had a vasectomy after his second child because he didn't want to have any more children. And when he got married, he thought it was going to be forever, you know, we all do, right. And so when he and I got together, uh, you know, I hadn't had any children. And that's all I wanted to do was have children. And so he could have his vasectomy reversed. So we did that. It's a micro surgery. And so they did that. And then his sperm was still kind of slow. And so we weren't getting pregnant, we weren't getting pregnant. So after maybe a year, year and a half of trying, we started to see a fertility specialist and I got on clomid, that's the first thing they try. And so And back then, you know, you have to figure this was early 90s. So like IVF, and, you know, infertility treatment was still kind of young, and not all that successful, but it was super expensive, too. And insurance wasn't covering it at all. So we struggled with that for quite a while. And when after eight months, I was doing like the, you know, relatively easy things to try. You know, the doctor said, Look, you're not pregnant yet. And you have two choices. Either you can try I in vitro fertilization, which was a 15% success rate. Or you can adopt, and you know, maybe these are your two options at this point. So I was kind of crushed. I was like, can we just keep on trying? Like, what how long do you do it, you're putting good money after bad. And so, between Tom and I, we talked about it. And I said, you know, I don't care where a baby comes from, you know, I just want a baby, you know. So we decide to adopt, we find a small adoption agency in Santa Barbara. And they're very, very nice. And we put it in our profile. And back then open adoption was kind of a newish kind of thing. And you kind of build a profile of yourself as a couple, you have this picture book, and the potential adoptive mother comes to the agency and goes through all these profiles and picks. Yeah. And so probably six months after we signed up, we get the call that somebody has chosen us. And I was just so excited. You know, we go to Las Vegas, which is not far from here, five hour drive to meet this, this girl, she's 28 years old. She has a 15 month old and she's pregnant again. And she knows she can't afford even the 15 month old, let alone the second baby that she's having. And so the reason why she picks us not because I'm a baby nurse, not because of any of those things. She picks us because Tom was a baker, and she likes to bake. So of all things to attract, you know, so that was wonderful. We got to know her. She's five months pregnant with a boy, I wanted a girl only because Tom had two boys already. But and I thought this would be something different. But I was
Scott Benner 42:09
ecstatic. Oh, it's something definitely so. Yeah.
Lisa 42:16
So we get to know her, we we spend time with her. And then when it's time for her to have our son, she says we can come to the delivery, Tom has to stay outside, but I can be with her. And so I did. I sat with her and, and as she's going through her labor, she's like, I think Tom can come in now. You know. And so we're both there when Zach is born, and it is the best day of my life, you know, the best day of my life. And he comes out and so beautiful. And I you know, you're afraid you're afraid that the adopted the the birth mother is going to say I changed my mind. He's such a beautiful baby. But she turned around and looked at us and said, Look at the beautiful baby I made for you. And I it still brings tears to my eyes. Because it was such a beautiful moment. And right that I knew she wasn't going to change her mind. She wanted us to have him. And it was the best thing ever. The best thing ever, and I know you're adopted. And to to be able to tell us that a story of how he was born. And what happened. And, you know, it's priceless. You know, and, and, you know, we took pictures of his sister holding him and, and all of us together. And you know, it was it was wonderful. It was it was wonderful. I could not get him out of that hospital quick enough. She wanted to have him circumcised. And I was like, Oh my God, that's gonna take another 12 hours. I just wanted to bring them home. I just wanted to bring them home. I'm so excited. And
Scott Benner 44:11
did you keep a relationship with her? Yes,
Lisa 44:14
yes. So we kept in touch with her. She we arranged this before he was born. When would she want pictures of him? So they suggested maybe once a year you send pictures and maybe give an update to the birth mother. And so that's what we decided ahead of time. And so and plus he had this biological sister to his half sister Alex, who was 15 months older than him. So they were very close in age and they look very much alike, though. Zach's birth mother said they had two different fathers. So anyways, we kept in touch with her and every February we would send her pictures. So We'd have his Halloween pictures as Christmas pictures, his school picture, you know, whatever else milestones happened that year, and she would get the pictures and if I had any questions about, you know, things with family history, you know, she would always fill it in for me and, and all of this, you know, so does he
Scott Benner 45:20
know? Does he does he's younger now How old is how old is that now?
Lisa 45:25
Okay, sack died. Zack died. I know. I know. I'm sorry. Oh my gosh, yeah, march 2020, Zach died of a drug overdose.
Scott Benner 45:40
We say you're gonna make me cry. I'm so sorry.
Lisa 45:45
It's so sad. Yeah, he I think he had some issues with his adoption, you know, over the years, you know, we would take him to see therapists, because he was a super smart kid. And his mind worked in a very different way. He could tell just by looking at something, how it was put together, he could fix anything. You know, he just had this really different mind. And he was super smart. We knew he was smart, right from the beginning. Because I didn't have any experience raising kids. He was my first. But you know, just comparing him to my friends children, or, you know, other kids in the school or whatever. I mean, he, he just was different. You know, he thought differently. And he, he was a super happy baby. And then I kept him home for the first year, I was able to stay home with him for six months, because I knew I wanted to have a child for so long. I saved up all my vacation time saved up all my holiday time, everything I had, so I could stay home with him. And so I was able to stay home for six years. And there are six years I wish six months. And then I had somebody come to the house and and stay with him for the first year because I didn't want him getting any sicknesses or anything. I was so protective. Because what I did for work, I only saw the worst of the worst. Yeah. So you know, you're very cautious with your own children. And so anyways, I sent him to a neighborhood daycare, he loved it. And he was so smart, that I thought there's no rush getting him into school. Tom was born in January, Zach was born in January, Tom was born January 2, and his mom he was the third of three children. So by time he came around, his mom was like this kids going to school as early as I can get him. But Tom always talked about being the smallest person in this class and, and the and, you know, socially immature. And so I thought I don't want that for Zach, you know, his birthday is January 22. Thompson's January 2. And so I thought I'll put him I'll wait another year to send him to school. But I'm not sure maybe I should have sent him to school a little bit sooner, because he was so used to that daycare that he loved, that his transition into school and all the things that you have to be acclimate yourself to, it was very difficult for him, you know. And then in his preschool, they had a Mother's Day tea, I remember. And they were doing a performance for the parents. And I taped the whole thing. And they were singing these songs and doing these gestures. Zach was singing the songs to doing all the gestures, but he was walking around the room while he did it. And all the other kids were sitting in their chairs, you know, so well behaved. And there was that, you know, marching to his own drummer, doing what what he was supposed to do, but doing it in his own sack way, you know, and this was really the story of his life. You know, everything was hard for him because he had to conform. You know, school was hard for him. He he was super smart. If you liked the teacher, if you'd like the subject, he would just a plus. If he didn't like the teacher, if the teacher was like my way or the highway kind of person, he didn't get along with those people at all. And so if he would get enough, you know, so Tom or myself was at the school every single day, because there will always be something, you know, whether there was a issue on the playground, whether there was an issue in the classroom, whatever it was, so we felt like we want the teacher to know we're on your side, were working with you, please, as a team, let's help Zack to get through this. And some teachers were really great about it, and some teachers, not so good, you know. So it was a struggle his his whole time. And I had the school of testing him, because back then to it was a brand new thing, ADHD. And so he was diagnosed with that early on. And the teachers were like, he can't come back to the classroom, unless you put him on some medication. So we started, you know, he started with Ritalin, then he went to Adderall. And he and you know, this is not a perfect system, these drugs are. They help. But over time, the reaction to it and the success with it wanes, they start a new medication, you know, he had been to doctor after doctor after doctor, I mean, I'm a medical person. So I'm going to find a solution to this, you know, and I had the school of testing him, they said, No, there was nothing else wrong with him. But I had no idea that if your child has something wrong with them, the school is kind of motivated not to find it, because then they have to accommodate it. And so somebody told me that when Zach was in high school, and I'm like, Oh, I had no idea. So I was thinking back to a therapist, and the therapist said, I think there's more here that we haven't found. So he sent back to what was it a neuro psychologist, forensic psychologist, and she did three days worth of testing on SAC, she produced this 60 page report. And she said he is a classic case of Asperger's. And so, it, it's a spectrum disease. Some people have very mild symptoms, some people have very debilitating symptoms. And so and it's a form of autism. And she said he's a classic case, he was in his last semester of high school when he got that diagnosis. And so I don't know if it would have helped us earlier on, you know, I don't think it would have changed much. But at that point, it made perfect sense to me once I did the research on it and reading the 60 page report. His IQ was 146. Which, I mean, I have no idea what my IQ is, but he runs circles around the two of us, you know, and I said, no wonder why he can understand what we're talking about. You know, he's in a whole different plane, you know. And so, you know, it explained so much about Zach, you know, and his birth mother would never divulge anything about his birth father, for some reason. She was very protective about him. And so only after he died. Did she tell us that? Who he was. And it's so interesting, because his name was his last name was Nelson, the, the the birth father. And my dad's name was Nelson. My dad hated his name. He said people used to tease him all the time and call him Nelly. So when Zach was born, I didn't want to call him Nelson, but his middle name is Nelson. And when we were trying to decide what name to pick for Zach, the three of us Zach's birth mother, and the two of us were trying to decide on names. And Tom and I had chosen Zakk, which his birth mother said, you know, that's, that's fine. I love that name. And I said, I'd like to name him after my dad, his middle name of Nelson. And she said, Oh, that would be wonderful. And then after Zach died, she said, I think I can tell you now that his biological father's last name is Nelson. And I was like, Oh my God. You know, so many things happen that you think are you know, where do these things come from? You know, is it all predestined? And I always told Zach, you were meant to come to us. You know, you were supposed to be with us because God knew I would never give up on you. And I never will. So I have
Scott Benner 54:42
to ask you is Tom with us still?
Lisa 54:45
Oh, yes. Thomas with us.
Scott Benner 54:47
Alright, so finally somebody's still alive. Okay. i It's interesting. How it Listen, I don't think it's any, any great secret when people are listening back to the SEC, I'm not saying much because you're, I am fascinated by looking at people's lives in reverse. And so you go back 45 years ago, and you're the one that nobody would have bet on. You don't I mean, and then you meet all of these people along the way, and create these bonds and have children. And I mean, go through all these experiences both very, like average, and, you know, I met a guy up to strange and, you know, it's something you don't hear about every day. And all those people, like fall off, in one way or another, but you're the constant somehow. Yeah, that's fascinating. You know,
Lisa 55:48
and I always said, through the struggle comes the growth. So, you know, in comparing my life with Zack slides, so when we had zack, zack, what I, you know, was such a treasure to me. I mean, I had waited for him for so long. And when he was born, like I said, it was the best day of my life. And so I treated him that way. He was a treasure to me, and it was my full time. You know, I'm gonna do the best I can to raise this kid, the best I can. I had so many struggles in my life. I didn't want him to have any of it. But then looking back, I think that's what made me the person I am. Yeah. So for Zach not to have any struggles. He hasn't had any experience with it. So he doesn't know how to problem solve it. So when he does have struggles in his life, he doesn't know how to do that. You know, I never allowed him to do it, because I was doing it for him. You know. So, you know, in Zach's drug addiction, Tom and I became very involved in Al Anon. And that teaches you to look at yourself, and see what was my part of it. And if I can put myself in a part of it, that would be the part, you know, I couldn't ever watch him struggle, because I could prevent it. He didn't have to struggle, not like me. He didn't have to struggle. So, you know, but, but the struggle is important, because the struggle makes you strong. Yeah. You know, so, a lesson to learn, you know?
Scott Benner 57:41
I didn't ask him anything about your diabetes. I mean, I just, you know, I sometimes I feel like people are like, Is there gonna be any diabetes and this diabetes? Yeah, but I don't I don't know. Like, to me, the background of the whole story is that you did all this with type one. And you're, I mean, how would you describe your health right now?
Lisa 58:04
I think I'm in great health. I mean, to have had type one diabetes for 45 years, to be diagnosed back when I was without technology, really. And to not have one single complication, I think is extraordinary. Yeah, you know, and, you know, I often get in the Facebook group, and will say to people, it can happen, you know, I think it was shit luck for me, but with my brother with every complication with me, without any complication, and I often say that, maybe Tony had every complication so that I didn't have to have any, you know, I don't know, I don't know the reason for that. Because, you know, far back to when I can remember a one sees coming into existence. I remember a WHMCS in the high nines. 9.6. I remember my doctor saying to me, Hey, you know, we gotta do something about this. And I'm like, okay, you know, I didn't really know much about it being a medical person too. First of all, in the field, in neonatal intensive care, neonates don't get diabetes, nobody is born with diabeetus. So it's, it just doesn't happen. There's a type of diabetes, that neonates can it's called diabetes insipidus, which is a completely different thing. But neonates do not get it. So I didn't have a lot of knowledge about it. And like I said, I was going along my merry way, taking my two shots a day, you know, testing my blood sugar first thing in the morning. That was it. Yeah. I mean, I didn't do anything. I think I was pretty good about not any sugar because I was afraid to eat it. And then with my brother with so many complications, I was like, I better listen to what they're saying, you know, and then when he dies, of course, I'm like, What could I do different, you know, and And I remember the doctor the endocrinologist saying to me, maybe we should think about a pump for you. I'm like, What's a pump? You know, and I had no idea about it. So I wasn't keeping up on any of it. Even though I'm in the field, I wasn't doing it, you know, it was a part of my life. And it's always been a part of my life, but it's not my life, you know. So, and again, it's not going to stop me from doing anything. And I oftentimes will respond that way, in the Facebook group, you know, you can do anything you want. diabeetus is not a reason to not do it, you know, you can find a way. And if you want to do it, you'll find a way. And, you know, I'm not a smart person. You know, I would say, my superpower, if anything is common sense. If it doesn't make sense to me, I gotta think of a way that it can make sense to me, you know, so even in school, I struggled, you know, I hated school. So going back to school was a big deal for me. And then going back when I was became a nurse practitioner, I hadn't been in school for 20 years. If it hadn't been for Zack, I don't think I would have made it through my master's program, because Zach was teaching me all the technology that I needed to get through that program, you know, and he was very into computers very into all of it. I mean, he taught me Microsoft Word. He taught me excel, he taught me all of these things that I had no knowledge of, and, you know, we had a home computer, but I wasn't doing anything like that on it, you know. And so, you know, doing a distance learning program to for my nurse practitioner license, I did that. And so everything was online. So you had to have great computer skills. And I would be every day, Zach, how many was a sack happy with that? So I told him when I graduated, this is for you, too, because I would have never gotten through it without you right now.
Scott Benner 1:02:02
How, what age did he start using when you look back?
Lisa 1:02:07
Yeah, he was out of high school. He, he was an Eagle Scout. He was not your typical drug addict. And, you know, I've since learned that, you know, drug addiction crosses all barriers, you know, and, you know, being a medical person, too. It's very hard for you to talk about these things at work. Because, you know, your kids should be better than that, you know. So there was a stigma to it for me as well. He used Cerner using dust off. Do you know what, just office? No, I don't know that you clean your computer with it. You clean your keyboard, it's a compressed air that comes in the can. Okay, so, so. So he would inhale that. And it would, I think the truest thing he ever said about his addiction, was that it turned off his mind. And I think for that 30 seconds that he was high and passed out, his mind was quiet. And I think that's the only time his mind was quiet. You know. So that's what he was addicted to. And he started using probably, in he died when he was 29. So I'm gonna say his early 20s. So he was out of high school. He was, you know, no peer pressure, none of that he used by himself, none of his friends knew he was using. We didn't even though he was using until one day, we found him passed out in his bed, and a can of dust off in his hand. And my husband said, What is going on? And then we started doing some investigation. And Zach is a very honest person. So we're like, you know, what is happening here? And he's like, I use it to get high. We're, what are you talking about? You know, neither one of us had any idea about right, you know, and I mean, smoked pot, like everybody else, you know, why you drink and like, like, I did, you know, I mean, why are you doing this, you know, and he just has a very curious nature about him. So I'm sure he tried it once. He loved it, and he just kept on doing it. So I'm gonna say he was in and out of rehab, probably five years total, and sober about two and a half of that five years. And then as soon as he would get out of the rehab, he'd be right back to using and then at the end, you know, of course it was during COVID and he died March 4 2020. And he it's very dangerous stuff this dust off because it it when you hold the can to spin If it gets very cold, and when you're inhaling it, your lungs freeze, and your brain freezes. So it's very dangerous, you could die. They say the first time you use it, you could die the 500th time you use it. And sure enough, he had used it a million times. And this time,
Scott Benner 1:05:18
I just never I've never heard of that before.
Lisa 1:05:20
I had never heard of it either. But it's very common. When you start getting into this world. It's all over the internet, about how people die with it, how they've started putting it under lock and key in certain stores. Because when Zach didn't have the money to buy it, he would steal it. And so and it's it's at every 711 It's It's so readily available. Every Walmart has it every target has it, you know, so he asked me once I was going to Costco, I don't know if you guys have Costco course. But I was going to Costco, I said, Do you need anything at Costco? And he said, you know, can you get me some dust off? For the computer? I said, Oh, is that they sell it in like a six pack there. We won't use that much. Just often a year. I had no idea. That's what he was doing with it. No, of course, I didn't get it because I was like, well, by Academy, we don't need a six pack of it, you know, and then later looking back on that I'm like, Oh, he was looking for a bargain. penny wise.
Scott Benner 1:06:31
That's, that's crazy. How did his birth mother react to the addiction? Did you ever tell her?
Lisa 1:06:38
Yeah, I did tell her. I was looking for connections. I was looking for connections that maybe she can help me with his birth father, maybe his birth father was a drug addict. Maybe he came by it naturally. Maybe this was something that he was predisposed to. I was looking for anything I could to try to help them, you know. And she was like, I, I don't know of of him ever using drugs or alcohol. So that was no help. But she knew about it. And I'd keep her posted on Okay, he's in another rehab. And, you know, he kept in touch with his birth sister on Facebook, because they they had a relationship. And so when Zach died, you know, we could only have 30 people at his funeral. We couldn't have any service for him when he died, which was very unfortunate, because, you know, the whole world closed down, right. And then so we waited a year and on his one year anniversary, we had a service, we could only have 30 people at it. But his birth sister came from Utah, she drove by herself and she came to his service. It was such an honor to have her there. I was able to take her back to our house. I was able to show her that he had all her pictures, and here's all the stuff from when we were looking through pictures of him growing up. And when Zach was 10 years old, he said, I want to meet my birth mother. And I said, Okay, you know, so it was spring break, and I got in touch with her. I said Zack wants to meet you. She said, Okay. And we hopped in the car, he and I, we drove to Utah, and he matter he spent three days there with her. And then he came home and he's like, I'm good. You know, the whole family smoked. He's like, I, I can't take it. There's so much cigarette smoke, you know? And he he could see, I think, Scott the life he would have had versus the life he had. And once he saw it, he was like, um, yeah, you know, and we still kept in touch with her. When he graduated high school he had, he had his high school graduation one day and his eagle scout ceremony the next day, because we had people from out of town coming and we're like, we're going to do it all at one time. And so I asked him, would you like your birth mother to come and and your sister to come? And he said, No, that's okay. That's fine. You know, so Okay. She didn't come and I invited her to come to Zach's funeral, but she didn't. She said, I don't think I can. She was just a mess. When I called her to say Zack was dead. She felt very guilty. She felt very, like maybe if she hadn't given him up for adoption, maybe things would have been different. Maybe if you know, we all do it, the what ifs? You know. And so the two of us share that bond with Zach she as being the person who gave birth to him. I mean, we we love him equally, you know, and so we can kind of share the grief to because she loves him just as much as I did. You know, he was a part of her and, you know, he she gave him up for adoption. And because she wanted him to have a better life. I mean, that was the bottom line. I'm so sorry. I'm sad.
Scott Benner 1:10:07
I was gonna say that he understood
Lisa 1:10:08
that about her. Yeah, he understood it. He never like, was angry at her about because because when we were together, I said to his birth mother, could you explain to Zack, why you gave him up for adoption? Because she kept Alex. So why did you keep Alex and not me, you know? And she said, Zack, if you were born first, I would have kept you. But I couldn't do two children. I could barely do one, you know. So I think he understood that. I think that was good for him to hear that from her. Right. You know, I,
Scott Benner 1:10:46
I only ever had a couple hour phone call with the sister of my birth mother, after my birth mother had died. And I honestly don't remember much about the phone call other than she told me that giving me away ruined her life. It just and I was like, okay, like, I don't know what to do with that, you know? Right. But is it just something she regretted forever, and it had had very bad impacts on her health. And so it's strange, because someone's telling you, for me, there were no pictures going back and forth or anything like that this was, you know, not anything, I had a connection with growing up at all. And so it's like someone's telling you a story about your mom, but it feels like it's a story about a stranger.
Lisa 1:11:33
Well, and I was gonna say that with Zack met his birth mother. It was like he was meeting a stranger. Like he would meet anybody else on the street. You know?
Scott Benner 1:11:43
Yeah. Now that I understand completely. Lisa? Yes. It's been really great. I, I, I didn't realize what we were going to talk about today. You wanted to, in your note, you said you just wanted to tell people to be hopeful and, and they could do anything with diabetes. So I think you said that. But without actually ever saying it. I want to tell you that the most unbelievable thing you said during this over our we were talking is that a Toyota Tercel made it all the way from Massachusetts to California.
Lisa 1:12:16
It was brand new, though, it was the first new car I ever had. And I had bought it on my own.
Scott Benner 1:12:22
I thought this story is certainly going to end up with them. Setting that car on fire in Montana somewhere. So just
Lisa 1:12:29
know. One thing I did want to talk about was, I love to travel. That was the reason why I really wanted to come on the podcast, because every day in the Facebook group, somebody is traveling for the first time with a type one diabetic, whether it's a child or themselves, or whatever it is, how do I keep the insulin cold? How do I do this? What do I have to pack? What about TSA? What about all this and we travel a lot. And I have made every mistake in the book. When it comes to traveling. The worst mistake was a trip to Indonesia. When we're on a 24 hour flight and two hours into the flight, I realized I have forgotten my insulin. It's in the fridge My God at my condo. And I was said to my husband at first I just like broke out in a cold sweat myself. And then I'm like, Oh, how do I even tell him he is gonna freak out. And so I like, Okay, I have to tell you something. I forgot my insulin in the fridge. She's like, What are we going to do? Lisa, what are we going to do? I'm like, okay, just calm down. I can write my own prescription. As a nurse practitioner, you have prescription privileges. So I have a prescription pad in my bag, I can write my own prescription, if I can just find a place to get it filled. You know, and the more I thought about it, the more I'm like, You know what, there's diabetics all over the world. It's not exclusive to the United States, you know, so the people who are in front of us in the plane overhear the conversation, and they're Indonesian. And so they turn around and they say, you know, there's pharmacies in the airport. You can buy insulin in the airport. I'm like, problem solved. You know, really, somebody got to the airport. Yeah. And they have some cockamamie type of insulin I never even heard of so nothing like came along, right. And at this point, I'm on a pump. And, and so I have I have all my pump supplies, but all I need is the missing link, you know? And so they said, No, you're going to have to go to a bigger Pharmacy, a bigger something. So we're on a connection. So we hop on the next plane because we have a couple connections to make and then And when we get to where we're going, we have a 12 hour layover. So we hop in a cab and go to the closest hospital. And we go into the ER and say, you know, I need some insulin, I don't have any, I'm type one diabetic. They're like, okay, they bring me five vials, insulin pans of human lug. And I said, How much is that? $32?
Scott Benner 1:15:26
Like, I'm saving money by leaving my insulin and
Lisa 1:15:29
$32 I'm like, Are you kidding me? You know how much this would cost in the United States? You know? And it was that easy, Scott, that's amazing. Went back to the airport and went along our merry way. You know, that's
Scott Benner 1:15:44
really something. Of all the stories. I didn't think we're going to end well, that was the one and all your other stories that's like, oh, this will be a nice story that it never was. Oh, my God. Are you okay? Lisa?
Lisa 1:15:55
I am. Yeah. I got I don't know, I think I I feel like, you know, all the things that have gone on in my life, have prepared me for who I am today. You know, if it wasn't for these things, I wouldn't be the person I am. I'm sure of it. No, no, I agree. And, you know, I
Scott Benner 1:16:20
but Lisa, why is the person you are not outside, passed out on the stoop? You know what I mean? Like, why did you not go in a different direction? I don't, because you're always helping other people.
Lisa 1:16:35
I'm always helping other people. I knew it was my calling. I knew helping other people was my calling. Because I always felt like I wanted to help somebody, like, like, my initial career choice was to become a social worker, I had had a lot of interaction with social workers over the years, because of my mom, you know, every time she went into a mental hospital, the social worker be like, I remember one telling me get out of that house. You know, you you need to go right. You know, and I was like, wow, that's interesting. You know, I'm telling me that. And so I wanted to become a social worker. But then when I saw how much money they made, I'm like, oh, no, no, I can't do this. You know, all of our social workers, they have master's degrees, and they get paid so poorly. You know, it's terrible. It's like teachers, you know, they deserve so much more. So, no, that wasn't even an option. For me. This is so that
Scott Benner 1:17:32
personality, though. Like, I mean, there's, there's enough, there's enough bad things that happened to you, that if you were on here to say, Look, I'm a bit of a mess, you know what I mean? And I'd be like, Oh, I understand. But instead, it's not. I mean, like, we've been talking for over an hour, you were diagnosed when you were, you know, 18 your family had fallen apart. Your mom was a ward of you, your siblings were moving out or had diabetes and and then is it adult, you have diabetes, then your brother dies from it? And, and you keep going you meet a guy who I mean, is 23 and already has two kids and leaving his family and like somehow you made that work? And and then you you can't have a kid and you try those things. Then you adopt a son and then he has the craziest addiction I've ever heard of in my life. Like the oddest thing. Like you didn't say heroin, you didn't say cocaine, that you were like, you were like this stuff you dust your keyboard off with which by the way, I don't know if everybody knows he just turned the keyboard upside down and shake it a little bit. That works fine. And so that happens and then there's this all this is just compounding, like you go back to school and you build on top of being a shaky start at best, right? Not for nothing, but every girl I know works at a dentist's office is a little wacky, but you seem okay. until like, just, I don't and you don't even know why. That's the part that freaks me out.
Lisa 1:19:04
I don't know why. Just like I don't know why I never had a complication from diabetes. I don't know why. No, I don't know why. But it is my personality. I mean, I'm a middle child. So I'm a fixer. You know, and my nature. I am just dumb luck. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:19:24
You're all trying so hard. just dumb luck. Just hope for luck. I mean,
Lisa 1:19:28
yeah, really? I have no explanation for it. I wish I did.
Scott Benner 1:19:32
You should be running in circles, screaming and banging your head on the wall. And instead you're like, I love to travel.
Lisa 1:19:39
I love to travel. Yes. In my retirement. That's what we've done, you know. And so my longest trip was I did with my husband 530 miles through Spain. Last September, October, we we backpacked and did the Camino de Santiago. And so I had to pack 60 days worth of Pump supplies, glucose tablets, you name it, the whole thing, you know, and that was the one trip, nothing happened, I was so well prepared for it, you know, many of these trips, you know, when you're full time working, you save up all your time. So you're working the night before you're working, you know, right up until the second you go, you know, and so that you can have all that time for vacation. So preparation is not part of the equation, you know, so you're doing it last minute, and that damn insulin being in the fridge. You don't want to take it out to the last minute because you know, you're going to be 24 hours on a play, you know? So, yeah,
Scott Benner 1:20:40
yeah, I just, I want to be you. I think everybody listening wants to be you. I want at least your I don't know, there's I don't know. I don't even know how to quantify it. Please do we got to find a way to put you in a bottle and, and so we can spare you on people. I have no idea what to say. It's good for you. I mean, congratulations. Yeah. I really, I really do appreciate you coming and sharing all this with me. Thank you.
Lisa 1:21:03
Thank you. It's a pleasure being here. And I love listening to your podcast and
Scott Benner 1:21:07
I'm glad that's so nice. Thank you. I, I listened. You made me cry when you said them. When you said Zach's mom picked your husband because he was a baker and she liked to bake. I got all filled up and I thought Oh, that's sweet. This will be the emotional pinnacle of this episode right here. And then Jesus, you just I don't know, Lisa. I swear to God, you're you're amazing. So thank you very I just seriously, I'm babbling but I appreciate you coming on and doing this very much.
Lisa 1:21:34
Oh, thank you. My pleasure. My pleasure.
Scott Benner 1:21:44
Hey, a big thank you to Lisa for coming on the show and telling us that incredible story. I also want to thank ag one and remind you to drink ag one.com forward slash juice box. Use the link get started today. Get the free five travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D with your first order and drink a tea one with me every day. Let's drink together, shall we? If you're looking for community around type one, or type two diabetes, check out Juicebox Podcast, type one diabetes on Facebook. It's a private group with over 40,000 members. There is a conversation happening right now that you will be interested in or that you can help with. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
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