#374 Back to School
Kristin is a teacher and the mother of a child with type 1 diabetes
She's here to talk about her life experiences and we even talk about going to school in the time of Covid-19.
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Scott Benner 0:06
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Episode 374 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today, my guest is Kristin. Kristin is the mother of a child with Type One Diabetes. She's also an educator. So we get to talk a little bit about how she does things with her son. And a little bit about how she's feeling what she's expecting that she goes back to school in the midst of COVID-19. This one's got a little something for everybody. Please remember, as you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making changes to your health care plan, or becoming bold with insulin. If Juicebox Podcast has been valuable in your life, please consider taking a moment to share it with someone else. You could do that any way you want. And I would be grateful. Are you looking for a way to share the pro tip episodes from the podcast with someone else? diabetes pro tip.com. Need a great endocrinologist or have one to share juicebox docs.com.
You can support the podcast while supporting Type One Diabetes Research by going to T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box and doing the T one D exchange survey. You might even consider checking out the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor@dexcom.com forward slash juice box. Or maybe you want to get yourself a free no obligation demo of the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump. You can do that at my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box.
Kristin 1:54
My name is Kristen and I live in Virginia.
Scott Benner 1:59
I guess we'll start by saying that in your email. I guess I must have said something on the podcast at some point that made you realize that Arden was diagnosed at the same hospital that your child was is that right? Yeah. Uh huh. Ah, that's interesting, because I don't I'm sorry. I said that's interesting, because, you know, I don't live in Virginia, and I never have.
Kristin 2:20
So what I was gleaming from when I listened to one of your first podcasts or was reading on the site was that you guys were on vacation? And then the nearest Children's Hospital was? I think you guys you said you all were in the Outer Banks or something. And then the closest Children's Hospital was kings. I don't know if I'm allowed to say the name or not is daughter right? Is that? Is it the name? Yes. Uh huh. Yep. Ch Katie, a long time ago. And then you were talking about some of the doctors and then want to, um, one of the names came up? Um, are you still there? I am.
Scott Benner 2:59
I'm listening.
Kristin 3:01
My brain did something weird.
I just want to make sure
Scott Benner 3:05
I just figured maybe a lot of kids and you're not accustomed to being listened to. You're like, there's so much quiet. What's happening
Kristin 3:11
that well that you mentioned something about one of the doctors last names and it was in the same group. A doctor that's been there forever. Yeah. And, and I was like, Oh my gosh, that's the same people that that we used and so yeah, but we love them love them. And I think the can't remember. Me only have we've Dr. Joe Briscoe is the doc the main doctor that we see. Okay. And then the the diabetes educator, her name is Debbie miles. Those were the main two that we worked with. But I know there was like a rice Schneider or something. And then there was a couple other doctors in there that we've you know, heard of, or had like a you know, a wave down the hallway or something like that when my son got diagnosed.
Scott Benner 4:03
You we were we were in Virginia Beach on like a little vacation with family. And we were driving towards like the first hospital that my navigation system told us about and keep in mind with that means there's a navigation system in my car in 2006 which is not like not like Apple Maps popping up and being like you want to stop it while while on your way like it you know, it wasn't quite that fancy. But we're driving to the to the hospital. And I called Adam who some people might recognize as the doctor who came on and talked about Coronavirus a couple of times who's you know, Arden's pediatrician and my son's pediatrician. And I was like, I'm going to this hospital. Arden has diabetes. And you know, it's like 132 o'clock in the morning. I'm sure he was like, You're out of your mind. Like, you know, I'm sure what he was thinking. But I started really describing it to him. And of course, we had done a finger stick. And so he's like, Oh, yeah, you gotta go and I was like, right and then he jumped online and And he's like, I think you should reroute to this other hospital. So we just changed course and went there. Okay. And that's how we ended up there. And, you know, obviously, it really good Diabetes Center within that hospital. Yes. But you know, as as to whether or not it's funny, I asked people all the time about their diagnosis, like, how was it in the hospital? Like, you know, what was your experience? And if I thought about my experience, my experience was I cried, and I was confused.
Unknown Speaker 5:29
You know? Yep.
Kristin 5:32
I get to do that, again, I apologize.
Scott Benner 5:35
at work. Are you a teacher?
Kristin 5:37
I am a teacher. Yeah, we were in our pre service days. So the days that we hang out and get ready. Right now,
Unknown Speaker 5:46
though, there's their students in the dorm.
Kristin 5:49
There are no students here yet, we will start the day after Labor Day. But we're not even going to have kids, then I'm a fourth grade teacher. And the way our cities rolling everything out is kindergarten through third grade will start on a hybrid schedule. So like every other day, flip flop things. Next week, and fourth and fifth grade and up, will gradually be released back into the schools on hybrid schedules later, they want to see how it goes number cases and all that good stuff, how it goes so so people won't hear
Scott Benner 6:23
this right away. So make your prediction, like, how's this gonna go?
Kristin 6:28
Oh, my gosh. So, we've been talking, there's eight teachers on our grade level. So we, we've all been talking about how things are gonna work out. And
I personally
think it's probably going to at least be the first nine weeks first quarter. So probably November, we're really teeny little town. I'm, I mean, I don't mind sharing where I am, I'm in person. And so it's a little small town. There's only like, 12,000 people, and we've only had like 50 cases the entire time. So it's either they're all going to get together and schools gonna start and the cases are gonna go crazy. And then they'll have to, you know, lock it down, and we're all virtual, or we'll have to, or we'll start, and the kids will continue to be asymptomatic and nobody will know. And they'll start releasing them in so I can't
Scott Benner 7:21
wait, I think one person to get tested positive, everyone's gonna freak out. And that'll be the end of it.
Kristin 7:27
Pretty much we've been told if somebody gets tested then or if they test positive, then it's like, between two and five days of sanitizing the school and you know, then you got to look at who's in the room and who's part of the classes. So yeah, it's definitely gonna be very interesting.
Scott Benner 7:46
Yeah. That is something there's, um, my wife's a big proponent of the idea of putting people together in smaller groups and keeping them together. I think those are minis a word and get it wrong. Like I feel like it's called a cohort. But But she's just she's like, She's such a big proponent of that being a way to do things like this. So I don't know, I guess you're gonna find out. I'm just, I all I can tell you is that this summer, Cole played in, like a collegiate baseball league. Was it a game one day, and he hit home run, which is very fun. And I and I walked in, I got the ball. So um, I picked the ball up and I I stuck it in my pocket. And I got back to where I was sitting and I threw it. I think I like threw it on top of my cooler or something like that. Like four days later, he said, Hey, our game got canceled today. I said, Why? He goes off some kid we played last, you know, week has Corona. And he's like, so they're, they're canceling our game and the other team that we played, and I was like, Oh, do you know what kitty is? I'll find out. So he comes back. He goes, he remember that homerun? I hit I said he goes it was the pitcher. And I'm like, so are you telling me that this Corona boy was touching this baseball. Threw it towards you. You struck it and 400 feet later I picked it up and that's that's it? He goes yeah, I said I don't seem to have coronavirus I said I guess we're okay but but I brought it freaks me out for a second because I brought the ball home. And as I was coming through the house, I stuck it back in one of my in a bag and it ended up in my bedroom and I literally like stuck it on top of the tissue box next to my bed. So for everyone who's wondering how things spread, I took Corona baseball and jam that on tissues that I later rubbed all over my face.
Kristin 9:39
Ah, everybody let everybody have it in gold today. Right
Scott Benner 9:42
Kristen? I'll tell you right now if you asked me if I was being careful, I would have said absolutely I was.
Kristin 9:49
You're outside of course you can't get
Scott Benner 9:51
outside. I was nowhere near anybody. asked when I went into the restroom. I was completely careful except when I touched the corona baseball and then jammed it on my tissues Other than that, I was completely safe. So just everyone remember that when you're like, I'm being careful if you're an idiot, so am I, and we all are and nobody's being careful, you're being as careful as you can be, you know, that's really interesting. Well is your child school age for your school?
Kristin 10:15
He is actually. Um, so his name is Caleb, and he will be starting kindergarten this year, what are your start kindergarten. And he will, we chose the hybrid option for him. So there was two options, you could do hybrid where you go to school every other day, or you could do virtual, where you just stay home and hang out on a computer. And he is five years old and crazy and loves people and loves being out and about, and he really, really needs school. So he will start, we don't know, he'll be in school two days a week. And so he'll go to the local primary school here and hang out with other kindergarteners other little, you know, German kids. And then and then he'll be hanging out with mom at work for three days a week, while I do virtual teaching, and he does virtual online. Okay,
Scott Benner 11:11
so two things. One, I just decided I'm pulling this up now, because of the relevance and timing and and to show by the way, you just jumped ahead of like 30 recordings, people are gonna be very angry at you. But But unless you really botched the rest of this, and I'm just like, Oh, she fell apart at the end. But Mike, my question is, is what's the last two questions, actually, I guess, what's the idea of limited days is it he's there two days, and a group of other kids is there two other days?
Kristin 11:43
Yes, that's all about the size of the classrooms. Um, so we have, again, our towns really small. And so we only have, we have four schools total, we have one primary one, elementary one, middle one high school. And so what they can do by having, they'll have a days and B days. So eight days go, like Mondays and Thursdays and then be days go Tuesdays Fridays, and that way they can sanitize in between. And then we get Wednesdays, as a teacher work day just to collaborate really get a good sanitizing in there. And then the kids that way, the kids aren't missing super extended amount of days without school. And that way, they can have no more than 12 kids in a room at a time, they figured out that 12 kids is like the max number that they can have in a room space six feet apart, and in their own little desk bubble in the classroom.
Scott Benner 12:43
What are the chances as an educator in your opinion that five year olds will stay spaced apart?
Kristin 12:49
Um, I fully expect that if he doesn't, um, I mean, he's really good about wearing a mask. And that is a rule is the kids are supposed to be wearing masks, but I mean, recess, forget it, they're gonna they're gonna do their thing. They are eating lunch in the classrooms, and so they are going to be stuck at their desks eating lunch. Same thing throughout any other classroom that's in. And so I think they're gonna try their best, but I think recess is where they're gonna fall apart. Um, that's not as regulated as PE. But we don't even know what recess looks like yet. So let me suggest.
Scott Benner 13:30
But let me suggest you take two ropes and a six foot long stick now here you go. You tie one into the stick to one rope, but the other and just stick to another opportunity to tie the ropes around the kid's waist. So they can run about but they can't quite get close to each other and then continue to do that, like a honeycomb pattern and set all the kids in that situation, then they can just kind of move like a like a bird. Birds, what is it called a flock, they can move. I can't move. I couldn't pick a flock, I was in the middle of a absolute ridiculous idea. And then I lost flock and ruined my flow. That was flocking difficult. So you just move it around like that, and then they'd be fine. I don't know who's gonna untie them or tie them back up. That person will probably have to be, I don't know, euthanized, I guess right after they
Unknown Speaker 14:11
know the kids.
Scott Benner 14:12
So I'm not making light of it. Because I don't believe in being safe. I'm just trying to say that I think that the nature of man is going to take over at some point. And I think the opposite of someone's going to get sick and everybody panics is no one gets sick. And inside of two weeks, everybody's like, ask screw these rules. Yep, yeah. So this is gonna be quite a little experiment. How do you feel about Caleb and his type one being in this experiment?
Kristin 14:45
Oh, um, we will. I will say we really trust our doctors, his pediatrician, his endocrinologist, everybody we've spoken to I mean, listening to your podcasts and reading and stuff. Everybody has said they're no more susceptible than any other kid. We, my husband and I are kind of old school, we're, I mean, we say this unless something major happens, but we're kind of under the, the idea that you got to live life, he's got to get out there, he has not been able to go and he doesn't get to go play over other kids houses and you know, mommy just drop him off and drive away because of his situation. And so he needs that interaction. And it's a safe place. He's got a nurse, and I'm right down the road. And so we kind of feel like the benefits of being in school and around other kids outweigh the chances of him getting sick. And my husband and I are really particular. On watching numbers. He's got the Omni pod, he's got the Dexcom all that good stuff, we have an excellent nurse. And so we're, we're hoping that we can be a good team and just rally around him and he's gonna do whatever he's gonna do, because he's gonna love life and enjoy his time. And he's so excited about school, and all the adults will do all the worrying in the background kind of prep.
Scott Benner 16:06
Whoever's knocking, I'm recording, it's very likely my son who wants me to make him breakfast. I guarantee that's what that was 20 years old. He's like, Can you give me some eggs together? He's in between classes. Right now. He's in his bedroom. Getting a quantitative economics degree in my, in my house.
So that's exciting. And Tuesdays, which today are his, uh, his, like, he's got like three classes pretty much stacked on each other in the middle of the day here.
Unknown Speaker 16:37
I don't know. Yeah.
Scott Benner 16:40
So it's funny, because everything you just said, I can I can easily find myself agreeing with, right. Like about going back to school? I absolutely can't I'm not even like, it's not like a you said one thing that I completely disagree with it. I'm just being you know, amenable. I really can find myself agreeing with everything you just said. And at the same time, we have the ability, because right now Kelly is working from home because of Cronin. They're not making her go back anytime soon. And I obviously do what I do, you know, from my house. And so when the option came up for the school, you know, would you like to go back? Or would you like to stay home? And we said to Arden let's first I guess figure out what she wants to do. So we got her aside, and he said, hey, look, they're giving you the option? What do you think? You know, we like to give her the, like the illusion that we're like taking her opinion into account. letting her like if she said something crazy, we would just be like, Oh, well, if that's what you think, sure. We just shut that down in two seconds. But we're like, you know, what do you think? And she didn't hesitate. She said, I could stay home again. And I was like, Yeah, she goes home doing that. I was like, why she was so much easier. I get to sleep later. I don't have to get dressed in the morning. And she's like, this makes a ton of sense to me. Plus, you know, just it's better for me. And I was like, how's it better? She's like, I don't have to get up early. And I was like, gotcha, that was really I think the the real crux of her decision making process. And I said, so we said, well, what about people? And she goes,
Unknown Speaker 18:13
Oh, no, I don't need people. Yeah,
Scott Benner 18:16
it'd be alright, she goes. And she has a circle of friends. That is interesting, because they don't particularly have a second circle. So it's not like these six girls leave each other. And then each of them has five other friends. You know what I mean? Like, it's just they just stay together really. And so they've had some interactions and, like gone, like they're all starting to get their permits now. So they're driving, you know, and picking each other up for things and you know, stupid stuff. Like I'm going for a lot of rides with little girls is basically what I'm doing. It sounds terrible. I know I met it. Yeah. And it's just me and a bunch of little girls in a car usually. And but but don't worry, I let them drive. And you know, and it's very simplified. They'll come over to the house a little bit, a couple of them. They'll sit outside, light a fire at night or watch movie outside or something like that. And it's there. None of them are going back to school. They all were just like no, no, thanks. Like we'll just stay here so everybody makes this decision. Two weeks pass and the school pops up and goes you know what, we're not gonna let the kids go back to school and so all that Oh, yeah. All that for nothing. Right? Just like they just they did a 182 seconds. They're like, can I forget it? I think they're letting like the really little kids go back. I
Kristin 19:35
guess how ours?
Scott Benner 19:36
Yeah, I think they're more expendable a little kids apparently. I don't know what Just kidding. Easier to replay. Well, they're smaller. And so when you bury them, you don't need as much of a whole like so I think that's how they're probably thinking about it. But no, I mean, I obviously don't know the idea behind why it's okay for a little kids but not older kids. None of it makes sense to me. I actually think we're all in a situation. that none of it makes sense, like everything you try to do doesn't make sense. Like, in my opinion, you either have to say it's over, by end by over meaning, we're just gonna all go back and do what we used to do, and people are gonna get sick. Or you got to keep, you got to keep doing what you're doing. I don't see where the the middle ground confuses the hell out of me. Like you don't I mean, it's like, it's like, Christian, it's like starting with a condom and halfway through going, I had it on for over half the time. Yeah, the rest of this is probably gonna be fine. You know, like, and by the way, if you're only gonna wear it half the time. Don't take my advice on this, but I'd wear at the second half not the first day.
Kristin 20:45
I would agree.
Scott Benner 20:46
Well, that's the part where the magic really happens. And so at least, you know, in, in the confines of the condom, and I don't I didn't mean that until I said it now, I love the pun. But
Unknown Speaker 20:58
but so I just really don't.
Scott Benner 21:01
I don't know, like I get I I wear a mask everywhere I stay distant from people, I still, you know, I clean my hands. Very, very carefully. When I go out, you know, you're in the grocery store. And somebody's like, intersection, you stop, like, go ahead. You know, like, like, there's all that still going on. I think if there was a fight in the grocery store right now, which, obviously now you all know, the secret that I only ever go to the grocery store. But because this is my only examples. But, but if there was a fight, and like somebody was like, gonna be like, how that kid's beaten up that kid, that's not fair. I'd like Oh, well. And I'd walked away, you know, but like six months ago, I would have just grabbed one of them and like, what are you doing? You like? So? There's that kind of stuff? And having said that, like? I don't know, like, I mean, if anybody claims to know anything about this, I think you're hoping more than understanding. So it's either gonna be terrible, or it's not. Some places might be okay, and some might not. And I don't know how the hell you think you're gonna guess which is which? So I'm super interested, like, I love using your kid as a test case. So let's get them in there.
Kristin 22:07
All right, thanks. I like the HKT. But I don't know if I want to visit them at all.
Scott Benner 22:12
No, I mean, listen, I think at this point for children, the idea that, you know, they can be asymptomatic and fine or fight it off pretty quickly, or obviously have not been a big part of people who have been, you know, Elon and really, really impacted by it is pretty obvious from the data. But I do wonder about that next step, like you know, is, you know, I'm not wishing this on you, but like, is Caleb gonna grow like horns? And when he's 35, you know, out of the side of his head or something like that. And they'll be like, Oh, those are those Corona horns. Yeah. All the kids that went back to school in 2020. got those.
Kristin 22:50
We'd be doing because we get a preschooler, too. So Oh, yeah.
Scott Benner 22:53
Well, they'll kill each other when they have you ever seen Rams run into each other? It's vicious.
Kristin 22:56
Oh, net? Well, they already tried to do that without the horn. So
Scott Benner 23:01
tell me a little bit about Caleb's. Um, diagnosis view what? Okay, it's time you've thought about it long enough. I mean, it's not even a commitment. What are you thinking about? You're just asking Omni pod to send you a free no obligation demo of the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump. That's not a commitment. That's, you know, you get something fun in the mail and you give it a try my Omni pod.com Ford slash juice box to get that going right now. When you get there. It really is just a couple of moments of information. And then on the pod with magically in their hearts, send you out a free, no obligation demo. You try it on, you decide if you like it, and then you move forward or you don't. It's that simple. Would you like to experience everything that comes with insulin pumping, including Temp Basal increases and decreases, extended boluses for those tough meals like pizza and pasta. If you're MDI, you're probably injecting multiple times through those meals, but you don't have to do that with the Omni pod. And with the Omni pod, you get to do it tubeless Lee, all of the other pumps are connected to a controller via long piece of tubing that delivers the insulin from the controller to the site. But on the pod is all in one. It's tubeless. It's self contained, and it's worth understanding what it is. So have them send you a free, no obligation demo. It's that easy. A pod experience kit will show right up at your house. You can try it on where it do whatever it is you do in your life, see if it's for you. If it is great, and if it's not, no harm, no foul, you tried. Just imagine an insulin pump that you can hide with your clothing or wear out loud and proud. It's up to you. It has no tubing. You don't have to take shots all day anymore. And when you're having those tough meals, you can manipulate your basal insulin or do whatever you want. It's it's all within your control. You're in control of your insulin bazel and Bolus. It's huge. You know what else is huge? Hmm, nope, not that the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. You want the Dexcom g six, you need the Dexcom g six. I am putting you in a trance right now you're listening to my very deep voice. And my very deep voice is saying to you get a dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. That's it. You've been hypnotized. I don't even have to keep talking. It's already over. But just in case that didn't work dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. Go find out about rise and fall rate alarms. Find out what it means to be able to see your blood sugar, speed and direction right there on your cell phone, Apple and Android. Learn the joy and goodness of no finger sticks and no calibration. Would you love it if someone could see your blood sugar from afar? Hmm. Would you like to see your child's blood sugar while they're at school, or your wife's while she's sleeping? or anybody else in between Dexcom users can share their blood sugar's with up to 10 followers of their choosing to Mason. I get whipped over my phone right now and tell you that Arden's blood sugar is 103. I am nowhere near art, but I know what our blood sugar is. And I know that it's stable. You could have that to dexcom.com Ford slash juice box. And don't forget that on the pod tubeless insulin pump, my omnipod.com Ford slash juice box, round out the trifecta go to T one d exchange.org. Ford slash juice box and throw in your information with that survey, make a difference in people's lives with Type One Diabetes. While you're supporting the podcast, it's 100%, HIPAA compliant, and totally anonymous. You can drop out at any time. Links to all the sponsors are available at Juicebox podcast.com, where they're right here in the show notes of your podcast player. Let's get back to Kristen.
Kristin 27:14
He was three years old. So we've we've passed two years, and we noticed him gone, you know, peeing a lot. He was wetting the bed and he had already, you know, he was doing really well with potty training and stuff, especially at night. And so we just chalked it up to he's just sleeping too hard. He can't wake up. And he was drinking a ton of water, like just dying of thirst. And so we call the doctor and we spoken to one of the nurses This was on a Saturday and they're like, well just we'll schedule a time for him to come in come in on Tuesday. This was an April 2018. And so we we go in just kind of like be bopping along, it's the end of the day where the last appointment and they do a finger prick. And then they did a urine test and his blood sugar was like 224 and which in the realm of things compared to other kids. I found that is not too awful, right. And he, the doctor called the endocrinologist at ch Katie and spoke with them. And they It was a lot of information real quick is very, very end of the day. It's the doctor and us in the office and he said kills pediatrician. And he's like so I spoke to this doctor and y'all need to go ahead and pack your stuff. Somebody's gonna need to stay with him the night at ch Katie and they'll fill you in on what's going on. It's looking like he's got diabetes. And that was it. And my husband and I are just completely in shock killed. still mad that he you know, got a finger prick and that her and and then he had no idea what was about to come for him.
We actually
got all packed up. And I we got him in the car. We went to chick fil a and got him we still laugh about it. We got him a chocolate milkshake on the way to the hospital. And we had no idea what chocolate milkshakes do some blood sugars or anything. And we were trying to make them happy. We didn't understand what's going on, got to the hospital. They got them in they did all the blood work and everything that was probably one of the most traumatizing things for him and for me to sit and deal with. And they told us like officially the next day. We spoke with the diabetes educator Debbie miles who was amazing and she just threw a ton of information at us. And we had trainings all day that Wednesday Caleb hung out With a friend of ours, actually, that came in and sat with him and like, the playroom they have upstairs. And I spent the night with him. And we started trying to learn how to do the whole dosing with insulin. And he was so teeny that he had to get the diluted insulin. And so they were trying the teeny tiny little syringes. And my husband and I are like, you know, what the heck is this? How does this work? I didn't understand the calorie, the carb counting and the ratios or anything like that. And I just remember, every two seconds crying, because, you know, I thought I had done this to my kid. And then we got a little more big, we got a little more education that Thursday. And they actually pulled us because he was so small. They were like, you know what, you need to try a pump. And I know a lot of people say that their doctors make them have, you know, diabetes for so long. And you have to get used to do on insulin, you know, injections and stuff. But Dr. Dre risko was wonderful. And he's like, no, let's just try a pump. He's got such small amounts anyway. I mean, he was getting my new amounts of insulin at first. And so we started in Medtronic. And they told us about the CGM and everything, we got a loaner. And we learned how to use the pump. We went home with a loaner that Thursday, my husband and I probably called the emergency number, like three times from Thursday to like the following Monday, when we went back to get just because, you know, he, his range was 101 80 was his safe range at the time. And then if he was over 250, you know, check ketones and do all these other things. And, and I remember he'd hit like, 252 and we'd be like, Oh my gosh, he's gonna die. What do we do? And so we'd call them the doctor on call, and they're like, it's okay. Just give him some water give the insulin time we were still learning. You know, we had to bolus him after he ate because he was picky. And we were still trying to figure out what foods he would eat and what was safe and, and he eats anything you want, but at the time, how much you eat. And so and then we got set up later the next week with his CGM, and with the Medtronic, and the The Guardian, and then his own pump and everything. And he, I ended up I had to quit work, because I was the full time caretaker and he was in preschool at the time, and he was not allowed to be at preschool. without somebody they weren't licensed or anything to help take care of them. And so I went every every other day to preschool with him, and I would hang out for three hours while he did his classes and stuff. And I would bolus him first food and snacks and stuff. And, and that was our whole spring. And then he was and that was it. And then the next year, his preschool was wonderful. And they actually got licensed on giving him his his insulin doses, they learned how to use this pump and everything. That's great. And so we kind of sign you know, son his life away that we trusted them to do it. And he finished out two years. Well, one and a half years of preschool. And when we we traded to the Omni pod and the Dexcom because my husband listened to your podcast a long time about it. And we were tired of the tubes and just the site changes took forever. And it was just a whole lot. And we weren't happy with how accurate the CGM was at the time and he was just we're just annoyed with it. So we tried the Omnipod and the Dexcom absolutely love the way that we do everything now so much easier. And he even Caleb has said he likes it there's no there's no to was he's not getting caught on anything. And he he helps out with his site changes and, and everything and got a little routine down. And yeah,
Scott Benner 34:04
do me a favor. Just just take one pause right here. Yeah, this is where I'm gonna put the ads around the pod index calm. Okay, and then we'll start back up again. Okay, so
Kristin 34:17
good timing.
Scott Benner 34:19
I didn't know you're gonna say that. But not only did you say it You said it right where I was gonna put the ad and I was just like, my gosh, this is easy. Should I just do the ad live with Kristen right now? Can you that'd be so funny kid. Yeah. Do I say it enough that you could probably say
Kristin 34:36
what is it? I'm dead? Well, I know I was thinking about the contour next test strips that actually like strips you know, if you put a dab of blood and it doesn't get it all you can do it again. And And so yeah, every time I pick up this contour next, because we have that do your ads are working real well. We I think about that,
Scott Benner 34:59
so yeah. That's so funny, I could slip into it. In two seconds, the episode or two ago, I did the I did two ads. And I didn't pause. And I just did the whole thing. And I was done. And when I got done, I actually left it in the episode. I was like, I can't believe I just did that. That was amazing. Even I was, like, I got through that whole thing. I didn't make a mistake. I didn't say anything stupid. I was like, sometimes I'll just wander off into just absolute, like odd things later on. Like, I should probably just trim that up a little bit there. I get, I get a little pilot, but I'm glad it's working. And by the way, if you're an advertiser, you know, you're a Christian saying, Yeah, it's not too early to talk about 2021 give me a call. Anyway, well, I guess I should ask like, you didn't just get bullied into something by a guy on a podcast, what made you change from the Medtronic to the the Omni pod in the Dexcom.
Kristin 36:00
So I'm actually, um, I had a student two years ago, and he had the Dexcom. And so this is my first year teaching here in my little town, and killed still had the Medtronic and everything. And I remember seeing his decks Come on, like, What is this thing? There's, you know, you don't have to finger stick No way. And just, I mean, he just be bought along. He only had an Dexcom he was still doing the injections and everything. But I remember seeing that. And then with listening to your podcast, and then my husband was, was talking with me about it. And we asked Caleb, like, Hey, would you like to try this? What do you think about this thing? We got the little test Omni pod to try that out. And so he wore that around for like a day. And he's, I mean, he's five. He's more worried about plan and what kind of video games he can play and what friends are coming over then he is what kind of pump he's wearing. Because that's just not his. He deals with that when he has to. That's not his world right now. Yeah. So we said, let's try this out and Scott's wrong, then we'll just not listen to the podcast anymore, and we won't use them anymore. We'll just go back to what we've been doing. Because it's, you know, the worst. Worse than that would be the shots and we don't want to deal with that
Scott Benner 37:21
person. Let's just clarify. If you don't like the pump, that's the advertise. You can still listen to the show. You don't have to like, you know, you don't get people ideas are like, wow, if I don't agree with them once I can stop listening. No, you're not even allowed to stop listening. stay subscribed, listen to every episode. These are the rules. I've Yeah, don't give people those thoughts. Not allowed to stop. None of you were allowed to stop listening. Okay, Chris, and now keep your thoughts going is, you know, you see how easy it is to to get a thought in someone's head.
Unknown Speaker 37:53
choke him out. Geez.
Kristin 37:55
So we ended up we love it.
And it really has been great. It, I was kind of nervous about the Omni pod because of his size. I mean, he's teeny, he's like 45 pounds, you know. And he's just, he's always been on the smaller side. And I'm thinking he's got this big old block stuck to him, he's gonna knock it off. how's that gonna work. And it's been great, the changing sites is so much easier. We have the sticky patches that we put around that and he just does this thing I like that we can rotate sites more because with the pump, it was kind of harder to you know, yet have like double tubes stuck into places and trying to find the right spot and everything. So with the pod, we can put it in more spots and try things out that he likes and and we like the PDM setup, it's so much easier to use the the little, you know, phone thing that they that came with it. And then we have a phone that we use for his Dexcom. And he just keeps it in a little. A little fanny pack that he wears on his back one of the spy belts that are running and stuff and he he you would never know. That's cool. We get compliments all the time on it.
Scott Benner 39:16
I have to ask you so you to go back just a second. Like you said you went into the preschool. And for that first that first time he was he three then? Yes. Okay. And you kind of just do sat off to the side. I used to sit outside Did you sit outside or what did you do?
Kristin 39:34
It's at a church and so they just let me sit. I would hang out like in the front foyer. I end up getting bored and so they let me help with the volunteers. Like setting stuff up cutting things out and just just being around so that when the time came for lunch or snack or whatever that I was there to be able to go home.
Scott Benner 39:56
I see I would have fallen asleep and one of the pews I think I would have I used to car, listen to the radio and just chill out
Kristin 40:05
on high alert at this time. Yeah,
Scott Benner 40:07
but Oh, don't worry, I was running back and forth like in like a moron, get it, you know, like there was no CGM back then. So I was like, it's time to test again. And oh my god, I just I do not. I don't I do not remember that time as fondly as I'm making it sound I don't think I'm saying I don't think I'm making it sound that fond and I'm still like, oh, but you quit your job to do it. Like that's pretty bad ass like you just were like this kid like you never thought like, oh he's little we don't even know him that well like nothing like
Kristin 40:38
um, no I so I was a teacher and another local city and, and it was April and so at that time my husband and I were talking, I mean he's diagnosed on a Tuesday and so that whole week, you know, in the hospital and stuff I'm dealing with that my thing about work. And I have seen teacher at the time. So that actually helped out a lot with my room, I had somebody who's kind of in charge, and they just had a sub, kind of sit there and, you know, just be a warm body in there. And so my students were still taking care of I knew that and then I remembered
Unknown Speaker 41:13
a picture of education.
Unknown Speaker 41:16
I know,
Scott Benner 41:17
we were legally covered. Don't worry, we were legally covered. It's fine. I don't know what those kids like, learned or anything occurred to me, you're the teacher who like I like the kids come home and go, yo, guess what? My English teacher just flaked out and quit. Yeah, I don't know. Kid got something and she's gone. Like, it's just that. Yeah, that's the other side of it. Wow, that's really cool. It's interesting to hear the side of it is what I mean? Like it's a, it's because I'm used to, I'm used to the other side, like, Hey, I'm used to art and coming home and going, Hey, my math teacher got pregnant, so should be gone pretty soon.
Kristin 41:53
Yeah, no, um, we. So I ended up having to quit, and my boss completely understood, she was awesome about it. And I actually went in and visited my students at the time. And the cool thing was, this was actually a group that I linked up with. And so I had known them for two years. And so we had a really good relationship. And I just explained, you know, Caleb got sick, and this is what's going on, and I'm crying and they're crying. And so they, but I would come and visit, like Field Day, things like that, when we still had that fun stuff in school. And then I was able to get a job. We decided we were ready for me to go back because we could only do so long. Like, unfortunately, I could not be a stay at home parent. So when his preschool agreed that they would, because we knew he had two more years, he's in that weird birthday time. His birthday is Halloween. So he's, he's the older kid in class. And so when the preschool agreed to actually let him come and they get trained in everything, we said, okay, we can make it work. And so we were able to set up our daily routine. And I worked. I mean, I still work. I'm sitting in my building right now, five minutes away from his preschool. So if there was an emergency, I could go and help. And we trained him on everything. And we just had a really good texting system set up. And we had like a text group among the teachers and the, the administrators there and my husband and, and me, and we just did that
Scott Benner 43:28
said, Would any would anybody feel comfortable popping into the text chain? Or was there somebody that was kind of leading the charge, like you or your husband? or How did that work?
Kristin 43:38
So the cool thing was, my husband would, he's really good about remembering, like with lunchtime and stuff, so he would say like, hey, when we got more brave about giving him insulin beforehand, we would text the group and say, Hey, you know, lunch is coming up at 1130. I know it's 1115. Go ahead and give him 20 carbs. And then let's see what he does. And then give them the rest after lunch kind of thing. By the time he had and he was getting finger sticks. And so he they would always tell us what his number was and whatnot, and we would correct or, or Bolus after he ate when he was still on the pump. But with Omni pod in the Dexcom they would just look at his number and say, Hey, this is what his number says. Do you want us do anything else? Unfortunately, because we are still working on getting his ratios down, he always ran a little high. We kind of let him do that for safety reasons because he's so active. So when he drops he drops like a bombshell and he'll just he'll go low real quick. And so they were normally correcting right before lunch and Pre-Bolus saying if there was ever anything like we have all the bells and alarm setup, where things can go off for lows and highs and stuff. But my husband was always the one to text and kind of just tell them hey, do this for lunchtime.
Scott Benner 45:00
What is it different now the management style because it's funny you said something that I find that people say very commonly, you know, blood sugar's just dropped out of nowhere all the time. And then as time passes, I think people come to realize that their, their boluses are probably like pretty severely Miss timed, and it's creating an unbalance of, you know, the insulin action against the, you know, the impact of the carbs. And then they they're crashing, because the foods getting out of their system and the insulin still behind, and then they feed that and then they don't bolus and they jump up again, that goes back and forth. Have you? Have you gotten better with that yet? Or is that still sort of your, your reality?
Kristin 45:45
We have, we've had some days, from actually from listening to you is where we've made the big decision, like, we've got to start getting his numbers under control. You know, if Arden can have a one to five, whatever, and Caleb's is eight, something, we got to work on getting it down. And so we're getting better about timing and Pre-Bolus saying and, and correcting with giving him with bolusing for his number, we still rely on the on the pod and let the pod make the decision for the number. We don't, I've heard you talk about, you know, I'm gonna give are the equivalent of a juice box, you know, in carbs, we still just kind of rely on our ratios right now and getting those together. But the last six months, he's been hanging out with just me, him and his sister have been bored at home with mom. And so we've really been able to hone in on his numbers because I'm around all the time. If there is an emergency, we're not having to go run off somewhere and hope that the school nurse gets him in time.
Unknown Speaker 46:51
We're getting there.
Scott Benner 46:52
Yeah, using this time for but to make those adjustments. That's really cool. I just I'm watching this person right now their blood sugar's and I have, you know, helped them a little. And it's funny to see somebody. Not funny, but it's interesting. Excuse me. It's interesting to see somebody have a problem. Be kind of told, oh, look, you know, this is the fix. And then you help them with it. hold their hand with it for a day. And they're like, Oh my god, this is amazing. Look at how stable these blood sugars are. I'm like, Yeah, right. So just do those things. Then the next day, they're like, they just fall right back into it again, like, Well, I was scared to give the insulin I was like, Oh, yeah, but we did it yesterday. And you saw it was fine. And you know, like, you know, like, but I don't understand what happened. I'm like, do not understand or like, what is it? Exactly? And then they'll kind of pare back well, I guess we should have done this and I'm like, Yeah, right. Like so do that you know and then the but the fears real like it's it's like it's it's just like they've been indoctrinated to believe like this blood sugar is going to get low right here. And I'm and I said but it didn't the day we were together I showed you like look, Basil's right now put the insulin in the right place for the meals. Didn't get too high. Didn't get too low. Do it again. And then they're like, well, I don't understand like the last 12 hours have been a mess. And I'm like, Well, no, you do understand like, look here. You didn't Pre-Bolus this meal, it led to a high, then you overcorrected, which led to a crashing low, which led to it which led to you eating too much food and then not putting it insulin for you got high, and then you corrected. And now all of a sudden, it's 12 hours later. And I said, so you're 12 hours later, trying to say like, I don't know what happened. I know what happened 12 hours ago, you didn't Pre-Bolus lunch. That's what happened, you know. So anyway, this person is going to get it. They're real bright, and they want to do it. And they're going to and it's just it's interesting to watch that resistance in the beginning to Yep, you know, what you think is going to happen and being so wrong. I've come to explaining it to people. I don't know if I've ever said on the podcast before. But I said, I said, Look, you know, first we're going to get your bazel. Right. And then you're going to see that everything that happened before wasn't what you thought. I said one time this I feel so bad about this. I said one time to a person who I didn't know on the phone. I said imagine you've been married for like 20 years. And it's been this happy marriage and everything's fine. Yeah, little house and your picket fence and a couple of kids and the dogs cute. And one day you find out your husband's got three other families. Right? Like what? And I'm against three other family I think I'm being like, like, fantastical when I'm making this really big, crazy story. It's got three other families. One's in another state two are up the street. You know, everything you thought about your life isn't real. And I said so all of your memories and your feelings and the way that it none of its true anymore. And the next thing I was going to say was and so you know when your Basal is really wrong like that you're living sort of in a lie. You're seeing things happen that aren't really what's going on but Now we're going to make your appraisal right. And then you're going to, you're going to be able to not only get things more predictive, but you'll actually be able to trust what you're seeing. And you're going to have to give away some notions that you have that really are based on these lies. And then she starts crying. Oh, I'm like, wait, what's going on? Husband just left her. Like, Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Actually, that person's listening. I still feel bad. But, but it was just like, I guess I have to think of another explanation, because that's the one that that's the one that really like resonates with me, like, you know, because people think they're so certain What's going on? And then you fix their bazel. And they're like, No, I don't understand. Like, this is what's happening. I'm like, No, no, no, no, he wasn't out volunteering. He was he was staying with his family on j street right over there. Anyway, probably too much of a word picture. So I'm working on paring it. I really do feel bad about that. But she she rebounded, though. And so you know, I mean, listen. Well, what was what was the other option? We were halfway through the conversation? She couldn't leave then right. But anyway, so are you gonna take this system from preschool, into kindergarten.
Kristin 51:22
So we have already had his, um, his IEP has been about individualized health plan, meeting and 504, like all in one with his, the nurse and you know, everybody else that needs to be involved at the primary school. And so we're pretty much gonna have the same kind of system on a texting basis with the nurse. We have sugar mate for like numbers, if, and that's something I have to talk to her about if she wants to have like sugar made up where she can watch that on the computer at school. I mean, my husband and I always have the Dexcom follow stuff. And so we've always got alarms going off and send other busy, they're dealing with a lot of stuff right now. And so we, I mean, part of me just kind of feels like where he and I are just going to watch numbers, and we're going to see if the nurses interested in having his Dexcom follow up on her phone. And because he is the only diabetic right now? No, there's, I think he's one of two at the school right now for this year. And so it's, it's not, you know, like 10 different kids and all sorts of alarms going off for all of them. We're a small town. And so we watch out for each other here. And so we're gonna try the same system. We're hoping we don't always teacher is yet so we're hoping that she'll be really willing to talk with us and either email back and forth with me, or our big thing is just communication. Because he's, he's not at the point he can't read. So I can't text him and tell him you know, hey, give yourself this much or anything, I have to do that with the adults. But we're hoping that they'll be willing to work with us enough and understand, like, Hey, we can make your world really easy if you'll just send us a text here and there or respond to them. And your world can be really rough. If you don't, because then you're gonna have a kid that's like passed out on your floor. If you're not careful. And you don't listen to us, do you? Do you think
Scott Benner 53:20
you'll get a little more? Like, does it grease the wheels that you work there?
Unknown Speaker 53:25
A little bit?
Kristin 53:26
So I'm not at that school, but
Scott Benner 53:29
they know where you are though. Right? Like you guys are, like, get away? Yeah, like do you get like some professional courtesy or something like that? I guess is what I'm saying.
Kristin 53:37
Um, I think the big thing unfortunately, I can be the
I can definitely be the squeaky wheel because I can direct call, like work extensions kind of thing. But, um, I it does make me a lot more vocal for any diabetics at all in the system. Yeah, just because it's it's so near and dear to me. And like I actually just got trained yesterday to be one of the people to help with diabetic students at my school. And so I can help with other children that I mean already know what I'm doing anyway. But you know, now official. So yeah, I think I had it's a fine line because my husband and I are, I mean, that's our kid we're gonna take care of him and we're gonna mama bear and Papa Bear we're gonna come out but you also don't want to alienate anybody or make yourself look bad because you do have to work where they do. Yeah,
Scott Benner 54:30
it's um, and it sticks to you that whole like, yeah, Christians unreasonable, but you know, like that thing. It's hard to get rid of that. Yeah, but no, I think I mean, obviously, I think you'll be fine. I was just wondering if it if it's any easier, I guess just being able to get to people is the easy part. Having like, closer contact, but even that, I guess you're you're not being treated. He doesn't feel like you're being treated any differently than anybody else would be.
Kristin 54:53
No, they're I mean, they're really good about it. Luckily, with the five of four practice, our district requires any case with allergies, any anything special asthma, they all have five oh fours.
Scott Benner 55:05
I'm excited. I'm actually sitting here. But while you're talking about this, I'm looking at this I have a sample hypo pen, the G voke glucagon hypo pen and I keep thinking like, the one reason I was excited for Arden to go back to school was I could look up the nurse go look at this here, you don't have to mix it anymore. You just like this. And like just click, it's all done. And meanwhile, artists never used glucagon once at school, but I still am like, wow, that's such a leap to put it into, you know, like this pre mix thing that you just kind of, I don't know if I'm saying in a way that people understand but very similarly to like everything like an epi pen. You just like pop the cap off and just go. Yep, it's done. It's very cool.
Unknown Speaker 55:44
So we have the powder for him. Yeah.
Scott Benner 55:47
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, listen, whatever works for you is I'm just I'm excited about this one. I think this one's interesting. So anyway,
Unknown Speaker 55:56
I
Scott Benner 55:57
so you seem okay. Like you're like, Alright, now let me paint a picture for you. Caleb's in kindergarten, and you hear through the grapevine little girl in third grade, had a fever today. She went home. And they're testing her for COVID. Caleb don't have school tomorrow.
Kristin 56:19
Um, I have a feeling that this school wouldn't let us just because I think they're, I mean, the schools open. Yes. And I'll tell you why in a second. But if the school if they follow whatever procedures they've said right now, I have a feeling they'd be waiting for the results before they would open it back up. It'd be that like two to five days. Yeah. Um, but Caleb, I've always said there's two types of diabetics, there's the really sickly ones that seem to catch everything and they're always you know, in the hospital or they're always at home or and then numbers are all over the place. Or there's the ones whose bodies are like on superhero status and their pancreas is dead because our immune system so good that it's like killed off the pancreas, and it just continues to kill everything that comes at it. And Caleb, I say this and hopefully I'm not, you know, shoot myself in the foot.
Scott Benner 57:10
be emailing three weeks now. Can you take that part out about kale never getting sick? He's got the bubonic plague.
Unknown Speaker 57:17
Yeah, exactly. And a
Kristin 57:20
Yeah. But he's, um, he's always been a really healthy kid. I guess sister's the one that's like, you know, got ear infections and fevers and stuff all the time. But, um, she's not in type one. But, uh, my husband and I are kind of convinced that he his immune system is just so hardcore that it's like, you know, take that COVID. And he's only been, he's been to the hospital one time for his blood sugars. And it was because he had a three day stomach virus. And we just could not he couldn't keep anything in. And we hadn't learned the whole glucagon, you know, many doses or anything yet. Yeah. So we got to hang out with endocrinologist that ch Katie again for three days, because he couldn't keep food down and his numbers, he just kept staying low. We couldn't get him up. Yeah. So I'm certainly
Scott Benner 58:06
not trying to talk you out of it. I'm just I, you know, I think it's first of all, it's a personal choice. And, and, you know, it sounds like yours is well thought out as anyone elses. I just, you know, I'm wondering, I can't wait to find out what happens. I hope it's all great. I want to get back to life. You know, what I mean? Like, I'm not looking to stay in my house. And, and, and do all this forever. So if, you know, if there's a path back, I'd like to be on it. That's for certain. Yeah. You know? And I don't know, like, do you think you'd give him a vaccine if one came out? Or do you think you would take it yourself? Or
Kristin 58:44
so being a teacher? I've been told that I'm, I'm not an essential worker, but I am because I'm, you know,
Scott Benner 58:52
wait a second, teachers aren't essential workers.
Kristin 58:55
Were not the nurse, if you want to call it like nurses kind
Scott Benner 58:59
of thing. We're not that kind of seeing what the problem is.
Kristin 59:03
But we are essential workers in schools. I mean, where it's kind of hard to fill the spot if people are sick.
Scott Benner 59:09
Yeah, we know the guy that drives my garbage truck is an essential worker in that garbage truck. And I think in life, like I think everybody's essential at their job, which is it's such an I understand the difference. I just I was what I was wondering was like, Are you really not a designated essential worker? As a teacher?
Kristin 59:26
I do not like, I don't want to comment on snow days. We can put it that way. But I'm in the realm of like vaccines and the first people to get them. Yeah, yes. I think they haven't talked about it yet. It's not like they haven't mentioned here, like everybody will get it if it comes out. But I mean, we're always the first to get flu vaccines, things like that. My husband and I, personally are huge proponents. I'm the type if there was a pill that's going to fix the problem. Where is it? If there's a shot that's going to make me not feel like this, then you know, come on, let's do it. So yeah, we we would I'm also a teacher. So I'm all about learning and trying. And so we definitely have our family lined up. Let's do it. Cool.
Scott Benner 1:00:07
Are there are you hearing about any teachers who fall into categories that may make them susceptible who are skipping, going coming in?
Kristin 1:00:18
So we have some, we have some teachers that are pregnant, but they're in the older grades. So they don't have students right now. So they're just continuing on and they're able to teach from the rooms without still without kids there. We do have older teachers, I think we only have like, four in our district that have actually said like, Hey, I'm not, I'm not going to trust it. Sorry, but I'm out. But I think in that case, it's like I FMLA thing. I'm not sure. Right. Everybody in my school, we're here.
Scott Benner 1:00:48
Ready to go. I you have now absolutely encapsulated my thinking. I'm trying to imagine myself in 11th or 12th. grade, my teacher nine months pregnant, run a zoom call her water breaks. Oh, through zoom, the class coaches are through the birth because the the ambulance can't get to her. This is my this is the scenario I'm making up in my mind. How great would that be? Oh, how great would it be if somebody actually yelled Mrs. Patton's Mrs. Patton, you got to move the camera. We can't see her vagina, right. We don't know what to say. Like, I don't know if the heads out or not. It's breech call your cat you need help. Seriously, there are going to be so many great videos of kids going to school. Online. They're already I don't know if you've already Christian, I'm gonna bleep this out. Okay. But there's, there's a video online. And it's, it's, there's it's a classroom, right? It's like, it's like a high school classroom. And I swear to you, you start hearing, kind of like heavy breathing, and then a little commotion. And a female voice says, Oh, my God, you're so big.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:03
Oh, my
Unknown Speaker 1:02:05
God.
Scott Benner 1:02:07
I believe that out for everybody. And it was I it was absolutely. I'm like, wait, what is this my son's like, you're gonna want to listen to this again. And I'm like, okay. So it's just even in my son's own school. So I know, people aren't making this up. He's in a class. And this very complicated thing is being described. And there's this boy in the class who's not on mute. And he thinks he is. And so that, you know, the professor's like, so Does everyone understand? Oh, and the kid just goes, No, Kathy, actually, I don't understand. I'm completely confused and worried that I've chosen the wrong major. And there's a pause and she goes, john, I don't think your mic is muted. And he just goes, he bought, he almost breaks down, because I'm so sorry. I'm just really stressed out. And I already went into this whole thing. And I was like, these are fascinating. I want all of these videos to be pulled together on one website where I can spend a year of my life watching people say things that they don't realize other people can.
Kristin 1:03:15
What is it like zoom fails? or something? I don't know.
Scott Benner 1:03:17
But I mean, honestly, what are we doing? We shouldn't be filming this. But we shouldn't be doing this podcast, I should be online registering a URL right now. I mean, really, there should be a YouTube just for this. Because this is not gonna stop. And I don't know if you've seen, you haven't seen the other side. But I have, like, I've seen Arden shutter camera off, mute what's going on and start a text chain with the kids in class where they're talking behind the teachers back. So it's and it's just like, Dude, what did she just say? I don't understand. And sometimes it's that easy. Like, it's just the kids talking without, like, you know about the class. But sometimes, you know, teachers or people, and they sometimes do silly stuff, and then the kids are just like it. I don't know, are you gonna allow yourself? You have to you have to be on video as a teacher.
Kristin 1:04:09
So we do, um, we were hoping I mean, us personally as teachers. I mean, since they can't be with us, we would like to have it required where the kids have to be on video because I mean, fourth graders, if they if they lock it out, and they get rid of their script, their video and their audio, like they're in the next room playing fortnight or whatever, they're not sitting there listening.
Scott Benner 1:04:34
Have you seen that guy who figured out how to make a he made a video of himself appearing to listen to a zoom?
Unknown Speaker 1:04:40
And no one's playing
Scott Benner 1:04:41
it in front of the camera like on another device? You can't tell?
Kristin 1:04:45
Oh, God cannot tell. Don't move ideas out like that. Please.
Scott Benner 1:04:50
Do you think these kids need your help with this? They know what they're doing. They know what they're doing. They're making money on Tick Tock. They know how to they know how to manipulate this whole thing. There's kids With careers from little booty dances, he understands they don't they don't need me to figure this is anything I can figure out. They figured out three months ago.
Unknown Speaker 1:05:10
But no, so yeah.
Scott Benner 1:05:12
Sorry, I was gonna say Do you have any, like concerned about kids recording you?
Kristin 1:05:17
Um, I will not really, um, I mean, that I don't do anything or say anything that's great enough or dumb enough to afford. I mean, I might like look kind of funny. But we're also in the work setting. So I'm not like at home, you know, rolling out of bed with a cup of coffee in my PJs or anything. I'm at work in my classroom. Like, I've had to get ready for the day. And so hopefully, they see a very, you know, put together teacher sitting at her desk talking to them. You know, the, the what I look like in the spring like the mom rolling out in my leggings and T shirt. There's a homeless lady trying
Scott Benner 1:05:57
to teach us about social studies right now. And she looks like she's about to murder somebody. Yeah, that's how I would look normally. Yeah, but let me help you here if I can a little LED light at just the right angle? Uh huh. washes out all the wrinkles, make sure double chin go away. It's fantastic. Yeah, absolutely have to invest in just a small little light, then you want those kids to click on and be like, you know, our teacher looks like a movie star over there, like, you know, but now I figure there's going to be screen grabs, and they're going to be right on your face with mustaches. And, you know, yeah, I feel like that's what I would be doing, if I was
Kristin 1:06:33
whatever they you know, whatever they do, as long as my thing is as long as they they get?
Yeah, I mean,
Scott Benner 1:06:42
how do you test remotely in a way that makes you feel like they're not cheating.
Kristin 1:06:48
So we actually have some platforms. Google is awesome, because you can do Google forums, and you can have quizzes through there. So it like automatically grades it for you. And then we have a system that we use, called power test. And it's like, you put all these tests, sort of like our sLl is here in Virginia, and you put everything in on there, and the kids log in, and then the kid it automatically grades it shoots out their data to you. And it's but it's like locked out like their screens locked out when they're in it. They can't try to like go on Wikipedia and look up the answer really quick or anything. But at home, we we kind of have a benefit of the doubt or trusting that they're doing what they're supposed to do, and that there's an adult around making sure that they don't have the textbook open while they're doing the test. So but, I mean, you can't be 100% certain, we're just, we're just little by little chugging along, seeing how it'll work.
Scott Benner 1:07:50
No, I hear you. It's it's gonna be interesting. I, I want to be clear, I would cheat my absolute head off if I was in that situation. And I just I remember who I was back then. And I would absolutely cheat like in just in a vicious way. I, I mean, listen, you're doing everything you can obviously everyone's doing everything they can. But this is I have to say, too. I do think that an unintended good thing from kids having text is that when they get home, I see them, like they'll get confused. And they'll start a text chain. They'll be like, Listen, I don't understand your problem number six, and there are some kids who just want the answer. But there's always like, one kid is like, No, you could understand this, I could explain it to you, like children are going to be really good at working in groups. I think it's an unintended unintended, you know, benefit of this kind of concept of them being able to quote unquote, cheap. And it really is interesting like to watch how, how things are changing. And at the same time, they're not as they're not as good as we hope in some places, and they're not as bad as we think in some places, too. It's a really, it really is something else. You know, I have I have a lot of hope so. Oh, there's also a video online by the way. I don't I think it's a South American country. I can't think of where exactly, and they're having like a political meeting of you know, like the people who run the town. And one one lady just rolls out of the shower. And her cameras on and she doesn't realize that Her phone's propped up and she thinks she's listening but it's the videos on and she just butt naked just walks out of the shower. Absolutely fantastic. I just I'm telling you like this is this is the year of videos that you're gonna look at online and go oh my god, this is fascinating. So, but yeah, absolutely great. stuff. Well Listen, good luck, first of all, seriously, in figuring out a pathway. Is there any concern that this doesn't end? Or do you guys feel like in the spring? What's that? What is the long term like outlook for how long you'll be doing? This? I guess, is my question.
Kristin 1:10:18
So our students are locked in for the first semester. So they had to make their decision on hybrid or virtual through the end of January. And so they, what we've been told is that we're going to reassess and they did like parent surveys to figure out what parents were willing to do and wanted to do. And so we were told that they'll do surveys, I guess, right before Christmas, right after something, and they'll see, you know, where the cases have been blown up, and they're crazy now? Or are we at like, 52, compared to 50, or something, where we are now, and they'll go from there. So I have been told that you're gonna have families that can keep virtual the whole time. And then I'm pretty sure if we've gotten into hybrid, and we're actually in school every other day, and our groups flip flopping, then they'll continue that. My hope is, it'd be amazing if this vaccine, you know, a vaccine came out, and everybody starts getting it, and everybody's like, Alright, let's do this school, and everything opens back up. And it's, you know, like Disney World. And magically, everything is just amazing. And we're back and spring is normal. But, um, we just got our time. See?
Scott Benner 1:11:35
No, that's really interesting. I have to say that. I think that all schools and industries, and everyone is doing a reasonable job of being like, Look, we're really hopeful, like we'll see in a week, we'll see in two weeks, we're gonna keep going. Everyone is staying very flexible, which is, which I think is interesting, although I think it doesn't look flexible from the outside, I think sometimes feel like they promised this and they knew they weren't going to do I don't think anybody knows anything. You know, I think whatever they think today very well could be bad information in a week or two. And yeah, you know, I it's ball. Listen, it's obviously socks, and it would be very nice to go back to school and into work into all the other things. So yeah, my fingers crossed. I hope it I hope it goes well. But you know, yeah, yeah. Right. I hope it goes well, for you specifically. And for all of us, actually. Is there anything we didn't say that you were hoping to talk about? I took you on, like a very twisty windy road. But I actually feel like we got everything out that you that you were hoping to talk about. But am I wrong?
Kristin 1:12:42
Oh, no, um, I think the biggest thing that I wish that parents out there, I'm on a lot of parent boards on Facebook, and all the parents are like, what are you doing with your kid and your kid going to school and all these parents are, you know, like, no, my child's not going to school, and you know, this disease is bad enough. And they everything is blamed on diabetes. And I feel like when you start doing that, you're the kid kind of feels like, well, we couldn't go on vacation because of my diabetes, or, you know, we couldn't have cake at grandma's birthday. Because my diabetes, like parents got to remember their their kid, there is a child first. And you don't always have to involve, you know, kids or kids. And you don't always have to let them be privy to adult discussions. And so if you decide as a family, hey, we're not going to go to school, we're going to do virtual, then don't just say, Well, you know, because little Johnny's got diabetes, and even though he's well managed, and he, you know, been sick twice in his life, he's not going to go. Don't always try to you kind of make the kid feel like they're at blame. Yeah. If you're not careful.
Scott Benner 1:13:57
So your point, your point is, is that do whatever you're gonna do, but whether it's around Corona or anything else, don't turn to you don't turn to your kid and go, Well, you know, we saved up we were gonna go to Turks and Caicos but we don't know how to keep your insulin cool. So we can't go like it's you know, like, don't get don't put it on that even if that is your reason, although that'd be a strange reason, because there's a lot of easy ways to keep insulin cool. But, but, but even if that is your reason, don't let the kids think that's the reason and and and kind of be cool about it. You got to be an adult in those scenarios. I'll tell you. It's funny because as you're talking, I'm making your point just now. I think that the one caveat for me, that's, that's bigger. Like I think it fits in All of the explanations you use. And and I can see where it doesn't fit in the in the COVID explanation because there really is. There is an unknown that you're just not like you live in a place where you said like you said there's like 50 cases, but I live in a place where There were a lot of cases. And and you know, there are people who were in New York City or Florida or other places where, you know, California still getting over run, I think whether it's a situation is different. So it's situational to, and, and I think nobody, what you're seeing online with people just like what are you doing, they're just dying for someone to give them some direction. You know, like anybody just say something that that I can that I can believe in and and, you know, kind of hook my wagon to. And I think I honestly believe that there's no, there's no way to know how this is gonna go this could end up being nothing for somebody and you know, and it could end up being the end of someone's life and and then you get caught in that weird conversation where if you know, how many kids dying is okay with us like that, that you know, like in and, you know, where's the line? Like, where do you draw a line who gets to draw the line? And so I think that's why it's America and you get to decide, you know, so it's a there's personal freedom. And, you know, if you're not if, if your personal freedom is not completely, you know, is not hurting someone else, then you're good. But you know, whether it's Corona or anything else. Your personal freedom doesn't get to outweigh my personal freedom, I guess is the it's is the way I think about all the time aside of this as well, just, you know, I have free speech, but you can't yell something that, you know, you know, the old adage can't yell fire in a theater and then I get trampled. That's, that's not free speech. Yeah, that that's just not nice. So be nice. Just be nice. There. It is, it's a weird thing to feel like you're protecting someone else. Like that's not a position we find ourselves in very often, like I'm wearing a mask, so you don't get sick. Not so I don't like as much it's a I think that's a an easy idea for people to wrap their heads around in some. And for some people, it's just not we were somewhere recently in a store. And there were 30 people in this kind of large warehouse space. It's you know, nobody was anywhere near each other. Everyone had a mask on with the exception of this one person who had the mask, but just was wearing it around his neck. And it It wasn't by mistake he didn't forget. Like he walked in as soon as he got past the people who were running the store. he purposely pulled this mask down over his neck. I don't know the guy said it, you know, situation. But it started to feel like, go ahead. Somebody say something to me. I dare you. They started having that vibe about it. I'm like, I was finding myself thinking like, Look, man. I don't know. I mean, I don't know how much this mask is helping anybody or not helping anybody. But just what are you doing? Like, why are you making everybody It was almost like he walked in with a zipper down and was just like I had someone say something to me about it. I dare you to and it was it was very strange. And he was just it was a weird feeling to be around. And I don't even know how to put it into context for our conversation honestly, other than it just felt strange. And I don't know, I don't know if he's right, or I'm right. Or, you know, it. Could we all have been in there without a mask? I don't think so. But I don't know. And I don't know how long this is gonna last either. I think that say like, we put a lot of arbitrary stops on things like it'll be right by this fall. It'll be alright, by the summer, it'll be alright. But the spring like, it gets all right, when it's all right. And, you know, I agree. I don't know what the hell that is. whole thing's confusing, is gonna curse. Really? So do you think my last question, I'll let you go? Do you think that kids are going to come out of this year of school? With the same level of understanding that they would have if they were in person? Is there a way to do that?
Kristin 1:18:56
Um, I think it depends on the kid. There are kids learn all sorts of different ways. And some kids, you know, they, they walk by a book, and they learn everything that's in it. I mean, you're gonna have the kids that are really into the virtual and that's just where they shine. And they, you know, they little sponges, and they soak it all up. You have kids that are in the classroom, we're going a lot slower, our pace has to be slower because it's we're trying to keep pace between virtual and our, you know, in class at the same time. And you year, it just, I think the big thing is, is there I heard somebody talked about it, it's like, everybody's trying to say, you know, all these kids are, you know, they're not going to know everything. Well guess what? Everybody's going to be in that boat. It's, it's not like if you're one kid who worked out in the fields for a year and didn't go to school at all, and everybody else went to school. Now they're behind. It's not like that. Everybody's in the same boat, unless you're homeschooling. And that's you You know, you're doing your own thing. So all the kids are on the same, the same kind of playing field. And they, we just got to trust that they have parents at home that are willing to support them if they're virtual and hanging out, and that they're making sure they do their work and listen and not text in with a group of friends while the teachers talking. And then you're going to have kids that in the classroom that are doing awesome, because they're glad to be in school, and they're able to interact with the teacher, even if they have stay six feet apart. And that they're just happy to be here, though. They'll soak up anything. And they want to listen to anything that the teacher says, because it's a different adult than, you know, mom and dad that they've seen all all summer. And so everybody's everybody's in the same boat right now. Yes,
Scott Benner 1:20:50
that idea of incremental growth. He was what I took from what you just said, is really interesting. Like there's, I think, I think it's easy to feel like there's a grouping of information I learned in fifth grade and a grouping of information. I live in sixth grade. And if I if I miss one of them, I fallen behind and, and now Oh gosh, like it reminds me of like preschool is a great example. Like, you know, at some point, it became okay to learn how to read in kindergarten, you know, but, but at some point, people are like, well, I could probably teach my kid when they're four to read. And then the first four year old who knew how to read made everybody else go, Oh, my God, I gotta get my kid to learn how to read by the time he's four, because it'll be behind like, as if that would make a difference. And I guess this really is the same idea. Like we're like, you know, everybody's going through the same thing. There are going to be some people who shine and some people who would have shined who might not and vice versa. But that's just natural selection for the moment. Really? That's so interesting to think of it that way. See, I was
Kristin 1:21:53
way outside of this, too. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:21:55
Yes. Some people are surging, I'll tell you seriously. This podcast is a great example of that. In February, February, let me take a look real quick, I'll make the point to you. So I have to pull it up real fast.
Unknown Speaker 1:22:16
In
Scott Benner 1:22:18
I can look at the whole year real quick, just to look. So I run the numbers for the year and then look at it by the month, right. So as January started, I had the best month I ever had. And in February, it did better. And in March, it did better still. And I was like, Ooh, I'm experiencing some growth, then Corona. And April dropped down, like something like I think was 14% at the time, like total downloads. And I was like, oh god like is that if the podcast not work anymore? You don't even like like, like what's going on? And and then I saw some reporting from from reputable podcast hosting that said that podcast listening was down almost like 18%, I think. And I thought, Oh, well, at least I'm not 18% you know. And then the next month, it was right back to where it was in March. And then the growth continued June, July, August. And I thought, Okay, this is cool. But then I checked back in with the, you know, the people who keep track of stuff like this. And a lot of podcasts are still really faltering and they're failing. And so even that's random, like, my topic, apparently, is something people are still willing to listen to, even though life has changed. But there were other topics where people were like, no, I only listened to that when I commute, or I only listened to that. And they just stopped. It just it's not for them. And so some people grow and some people don't. And just I guess it's not something you can really control. Like, it's just there's going to be some luck of the draw in this.
Unknown Speaker 1:23:49
Interesting, huh?
Scott Benner 1:23:52
All right, there's a lot to consider here, Kristen. We're not going to fix the world today. I appreciate you coming on and telling Caleb's story and, and and sharing how you handled you know, preschool and and I love it. Like it's just I love that interaction. The one thing I didn't ask you was, have you seen a decrease in a one seeing an increase in stability over the couple of years?
Kristin 1:24:17
We're getting there. Yeah. His his body you know, diabetes, yay. Those for a loop every once in a while and he'll have it just depends on how active he is we're finding out okay, if he's active, his numbers seem to be great. And his ratios really good. And he has this good flatline. And then if he has days where he's like vegging out on the couch or just, you know, kind of hanging out, then he'll be higher. And so we're we're still just trying to get that figured out. We're really hoping that just him being in the school environment and and up and active and doing things will that his ratios and his bazel rates and stuff are perfect for that country. Today
Scott Benner 1:25:00
Yeah, no, I, I had the same thing when Arden stopped going into school. I her insulin needs changed pretty drastically in different ways than you're describing. But yeah, yeah, it's interesting, like, you almost need a sitting around basal rate and up and moving base or you know,
Kristin 1:25:18
and we have that we have weekend versus weekday and we've found his, his body is kind of different, like he doesn't really drop while he's active, like if he's running out at the beach or something, he's fine. It's like the hours after is where he'll start to drop, and we have to change his we have to decreases bazel after the activity. And I know some kids like during the activity or something but or for him. We've had days where if he's really active One day, the next day, his numbers will be lower. And it's like his body's just got to have a chance to catch up.
Scott Benner 1:25:54
Have you have you know, tried taking bazel away prior to activity and getting into what I guess some people would call like a neutral? Like no bazel during the activity situation. Have you messed with that at all? It's hard. I know, because the activity sometimes does not present itself as like, we're gonna be active in an hour,
Unknown Speaker 1:26:15
you know? Yeah.
Kristin 1:26:18
Yeah, for example, like we would have, wow, that's a cool days and just hanging out in the backyard, and my kids are playing this little kiddie pool and they go crazy for like two hours. And I would have days where I would try to get as bazel down before he started, I really would never take it away. I would just decrease it quite a bit. And still, he would either ride high afterward and his body like Haha, yeah, right. You know, you felt you're doing something right. And then we would have days where he I would not mess that at all and see what happens. And then all of a sudden, we're like, Don't juice boxes at him three hours after he got out of the pool or? Yeah. So he, his I don't know his body is it's like it's on a lag. Sometimes.
Scott Benner 1:27:06
Yeah, almost sounds like in that scenario, you need to have like a much lower basal rate, like as the activity ends into the many hours afterwards. That's interesting. Yeah. Well, good luck. I hope you figure it out. That is, but does not sound like fun at all. In any way, just so in case you're wondering, nothing fun about what you just said. I really do appreciate you doing this. I really want to wish Kristen Good luck as she heads back to school. And for all of us. Honestly, I hope that whatever you're doing or have to do or need to do is safe for you. And something that you're comfortable with. I realized it's a really difficult time. And it's genuinely hard to know what the right thing to do is so good luck to everybody. Thanks so much on the pod index comm for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Please go to my Omni pod.com Ford slash juice box, and dexcom.com Ford slash juicebox. To learn more about those sponsors. And of course, T one d exchange.org. forward slash fusebox. Oh, geez, I almost forgot you wanna hear something bizarre. So I just put up the episode how to eat vegan cat with Jordan. If you haven't heard it. It's fun. And later that night, like the same day, I put it up right later that night, I get a notification from the website. I used to run my giveaways. And they're like, Hey, your giveaways over choose a winner. So I'm like, All right. So I go to the website, and I take my mouse and I click and I say hey, pick a winner. And it goes blue does it ever does. And boom. You know who wins? Jordan? Isn't that not crazy? Here's why. I recorded that episode with Jordan six months ago. Put the episode up with her that day. The giveaway ends the magic machine picked Jordans name. Crazy is what it is. blew my mind. I was like I just sat here I was like what mysticism is this? Anyway, Jordan God, what did Jordan get? I might forget what Jordan Jordan got a sweatshirt from the podcast the know the signs sweatshirt when it's got the list of you know all the signs of symptoms with Type One Diabetes on the back. She got a bunch of Dexcom swag, a bunch of Omni pod swag. A really cool Dexcom t shirt was in there and on the pod shirt that I think for dash like a pretty read artist has a very soft she has one. She got a bunch of stuff from touched by type one. They're gonna be sending her stuff. Lily's chocolate gift pack, and I understand Jordan, that lilies might have put a little extra chocolate and that gift back. So look for that coming up. Jordan one, a 30 minute consultation with Jenny Smith. And I mean, just the, you know, just the good feeling of winning I guess she got to. Anyway, thanks to everyone almost 3000 entries. Thanks to everyone for helping me to celebrate the 2 million download of the Juicebox Podcast. I don't know what we'll do with 3 million. But if what I'm seeing is any indication, we won't have to wait a year to find out. Which I guess really should make me say thank you so much for sharing the podcast with people because it is growing exponentially. And I have all of you to thank for that. Every time you share the podcast on Instagram or Facebook or tell a friend about it, the show just gains more and more listeners and people seem to enjoy it and they stick around and listen, so I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I can't I don't know what else to say other than Thank you, but 2 million is crazy. Can't wait to get the 5 million, 5 million. I think we can get the 5 million pretty easy. Let's see if we can't do that. I'm betting weekend.
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#373 How We Eat: Vegan Cat
Jordon has type 1 diabetes, two cats and a husband named Tyler. She also eats a plant based diet.
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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, everyone, and welcome to Episode 373 of the Juicebox Podcast. You may disagree, and you can let me know if you do. But for my money, this is the best episode of the podcast that I've ever recorded, and it gave me a great idea. I'll tell you more in a second. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making changes to your health care plan. On today's show, I'll be speaking with Jordan, she's a type one who originally wanted to come on the show to talk about how she
Unknown Speaker 0:35
eats.
Scott Benner 0:38
But through some confusion, I didn't do the recording the first time and it just it was a mess sock spending theme in the episode. Anyway, Jordan gets on. And she was nervous. So I was trying to make her feel not nervous. And I by mistake, I think I recorded what it might be very well the funniest episode of this podcast ever. But we then eventually do get to how Jordan eats. And later I found myself thinking, I'd like to know how everyone eats. So this is the first in a series called how we eat. This one's not really an official how we eat, because it will you'll see it goes in a lot of directions. But future how we eat will be more focused on different people's diets. Jordan happens to be a vegan. And that's why this episode is called how we eat vegan cat. Well, that's not completely why it's called that. But you'll see this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Contour Next One blood glucose meter and touched by type one, you can go to touched by type one.org to find out about all the wonderful things they're doing for people living with Type One Diabetes touched by type one.org. And the Contour Next One blood glucose meter is my daughter's meter. It is a fantastic meter. It is the gold standard in meters. It has amazing test strips that you can like, you know, touch blood, get it wrong, go back and touch it again without wasting the test strip and still get an accurate reading. It's small and easy to hold and has a beautiful bright light for those nighttime blood sugar checks. And in general, I just really love it. Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box. Go check it out. I'm going to tell you two things. And then we'll get started. Okay. Okay. The first thing is after I ghosted you last time we were supposed to do this. I thought I wonder if she'll do it back to me just to be funny.
Jordan 2:54
The thought crossed my mind. But
Scott Benner 2:56
so that's what did it actually did you think I'm gonna do it back to him?
Jordan 3:00
No.
Unknown Speaker 3:02
Well, I thought
Jordan 3:05
last night when I was driving home, I remembered that I had this today. And I was like, Oh, I wonder what would happen if I just had forgotten.
Scott Benner 3:14
But what would I have said Really? I mean, there wouldn't have been anything I could do. Right? So are we gonna say your name? Yeah. Okay. So Jordan. Jordan was supposed to be on the show, you know, a couple weeks ago. And I, we can't but was it it was a holiday right was Martin Luther King Day? Yeah. So that day threw me off. And I just was a day behind in my head. So while Jordan was up, I'm guessing pretty early in the morning. Where are you at? Washington State. So it's nine o'clock here right now. It's six where you are? Yes. So while Jordan was up very early in the morning to record a podcast, I was cleaning my house and doing laundry. Completely able to record a podcast if I wanted to just there was no reason to because I thought it was a different day that it was. So when she was logging on this morning. I thought wow, what a nice person she actually is here. very well may have just been like ups. Now, here's the second thing. It's all gonna make you feel worthwhile.
Unknown Speaker 4:21
What?
Scott Benner 4:21
During the time you were supposed to record I had a piece of software do an automatic update that I didn't realize it did. And it changed a setting like deep down setting that you would not have noticed on top okay. Because of that. I recorded three episodes that were not usable.
Unknown Speaker 4:46
Oh, no.
Scott Benner 4:48
And had I not ghosted you by mistake. You would have been the fourth.
Jordan 4:54
Well, it all worked out. I guess. That's how I'm trying to look at this.
Scott Benner 4:59
Now We can get rolling and then you have to go off to your job where you let me think I remember because here's the funny thing after this happened, I just I was like Jordan call me so he must have spent like 20 minutes on the phone with me just like very ham fisted Lee trying to make you laugh and apologizing. I just was like, let me give her something for the day. I probably just wasted your time. You're like, yeah, wish you could have just left me alone, but I don't know what happened. How did you feel after I? Okay, well, anyway, let's start with this. What's your name?
Jordan 5:28
My name is Jordan. Do you
Scott Benner 5:31
have diabetes? Jordan?
Jordan 5:32
I do. Yes.
Scott Benner 5:34
And did I leave you hanging to record the podcast on your birthday?
Unknown Speaker 5:38
You absolutely did. I won't. Wouldn't you have been on the day? We were recording?
Jordan 5:43
26
Scott Benner 5:44
Happy birthday. Thank you very well. Okay. How old were you when you're diagnosed? I was
Jordan 5:51
eight.
Scott Benner 5:52
Okay. I got some quick math going. I feel what is going on here. Mother. I know what this is. wife's at home working? Oh, it's not my. My quick master. That was 18 years ago. But then I had to check myself 1922 and I'm right on.
Jordan 6:12
Here. It'll be teen years in August.
Scott Benner 6:15
Do you think like your diabetes as an adult now? Maybe it'll go off on its own and take care of itself?
Jordan 6:19
Maybe I'm excited for it to turn 21. So I can take it out for a beer and have a little chat?
Scott Benner 6:25
What will you tell it when you take it out for that beer?
Jordan 6:29
Well, we'll reminisce a little bit on some good and bad times. But Alright, let's just talk about things.
Scott Benner 6:36
I think that's fair. Why don't we practice? Wait, first of all, are you on for any reason? Is there something you want to say?
Jordan 6:45
Eventually, maybe we'll talk about that diet a little bit. Ah, gosh, I'm kind of and open to talk about whatever. Alright, well,
Scott Benner 6:53
let's do this. Since we hadn't planned for it. If your diabetes was a person, what would you sit down and tell it?
Unknown Speaker 7:02
Did it ruin your childhood? Did it
Scott Benner 7:04
drive away a potential dating prospect? Has it made your room smell weird? But is it done?
Jordan 7:12
it? Honestly I think it's kind of made me who I am today. I I I don't know my life without diabetes. But I feel like I'm more health conscious. And just
I don't know, the person I am. Because of it.
Scott Benner 7:29
It helped to shape you. Yeah, in good ways, bad ways or in a collection of ways.
Jordan 7:35
Probably both.
Scott Benner 7:38
Has anything good and bad? Well, we'll start with a good because you're a positive person. And you're in that upper Midwest, Upper West Coast kind of an area. So I'm thinking I mean, I'd six in the morning, but you're high as a kite right now. Is that right? Jordan? You've been smoking for 1020 hours at this point. Is that right?
Jordan 7:58
Well think that Yeah,
Scott Benner 8:00
you don't you don't have to lie, Jordan. I'm trying to point out to people that you're like, one of the nicer people I've ever met. I don't imagine that's true of you. Not that you couldn't be a nice person and be completely blazed. I'm just saying that I don't think you are. And you're not right. What's this? What's the riskiest thing you've done in your entire life?
Jordan 8:21
riskiest, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 8:22
like something with no idea.
Jordan 8:26
I'm pretty boring.
Scott Benner 8:28
Probably don't admit that upfront in the podcast. Okay. Because people are be like, well, Jordan said she was boring. So I just like I bailed after a couple of minutes.
Jordan 8:36
Not listening anymore. Up gave up already.
Scott Benner 8:42
Looks like I'm talking to Arden about how to Bolus for a muffin. 40 more.
Unknown Speaker 8:51
There. Sorry.
Scott Benner 8:54
She doesn't feel well today. She's got like a, there's like sort of, I don't know about like six o'clock last night. And she suddenly like for a half a second like spiked like this tiny little fever like 99 for like, is that right? 99 is a fever. Do I mean nine? I think that's what I mean. She had a tiny feet, which is like up one point. And and then she's just as like, My throat is scratchy. And and we were like, Alright, and we let her sleep like we let her lay in our bed last night to try to get comfortable. And then she fell asleep. And I said to Kelly I'm like, how are we going to get her out of here? Jake we couldn't wake her up. She's like a lead weight at this point. She's like a real person. Now you know what I mean? So like, like we could wake up I'm like, okay, so I spent my evening overnight sleeping in the eight and a half inches between the edge of the bed and that and on my side. And then Kelly did the same thing while Arden was like all spread out in the middle of
Jordan 9:52
it bring back some memories
Scott Benner 9:54
brought back memories of my back not feeling well. And so. So she gets up in the morning. She's like, I've got to go School. She's such an oddly, she's an interesting person when it comes to school because that happened to me as a child, I would have just said, Well, this is an obviously appropriate reason for me not to go to school today. Kelly would have gone to school. If you know somebody had recently shot an arrow into her skull, and she was still functioning and Arden's like a weird mix between the two Arden toxic a game about not caring about school. But then everything she does indicates that she cares about it a lot. It's a it's it's interesting. She's got my like, she's got the way I talk about it and the way Kelly feels about it. It's very interesting because they don't go together in any way.
Jordan 10:41
Yeah,
Scott Benner 10:42
imagine the person ranting and raving that they hate bologna sandwiches while they have a bologna sandwich in each hand and are eating it voraciously. That's are they talking about? Alright, have I loosened you up yet? Are you nervous? What's going on here?
Jordan 10:56
I'm a little nervous, but I'll get over it. Okay,
Scott Benner 10:58
so let's we'll let's talk about that for a second. Are you just nervous about this specifically? Or would you be nervous in any scenario like this?
Jordan 11:07
Any scenario? Okay.
Scott Benner 11:09
All right. So let's find out a little more about yourself. Then, when you were diagnosed at what I'm calling eight years old, whether it's true or not. Let's just go with it. Were your parents coupled in a traditional way
Unknown Speaker 11:19
at that moment? Yes. Did
Scott Benner 11:22
the did your care fall to one of them or to you? Or was it a group effort?
Jordan 11:27
And it was a group effort. My dad worked and my mom was at home more. So she did more the immediate caretaking, but my dad would take me to a lot of my appointments and stuff. But I pretty early on, I decided that I wanted to start doing my own injections. And I think it was only like, maybe six months in before I was like, Okay, I want to do this on my own. Cool. And and you started with injections.
Scott Benner 11:55
Yes. How long did you do MDI?
Jordan 11:59
until I was
12? I think I was in middle school. Before I decided I wanted a pump
Scott Benner 12:07
kind of pump. So what kind of pump was available then? Which ones were on the market? Do you remember which ones you joined up with?
Jordan 12:15
I had the Animus
Unknown Speaker 12:17
the ping?
Scott Benner 12:19
Is that right? It was called the Animus ping?
Jordan 12:21
I don't think it was the ping back then. No, not even the packet? No, I think it was before that.
Scott Benner 12:27
Any chance they call it the Pong? Probably not right. It's so what made you want to go to a pump back then.
Jordan 12:36
I think
just hearing about it. And people kept saying it was the way to go. And the best way to manage so I decided to give it a try. But leading up to that I was like, I don't want anything on my body. I don't want to deal with that. So, um,
Scott Benner 12:52
as Jerry Seinfeld would say, Who are these people? Were they teachers, other people you knew had type one your doctors who was kind of directing you,
Jordan 13:02
doctors and my parents a little bit. I know they wanted me to just kind of do what I wanted to do and was comfortable doing but deep down, they knew that I would be better with a pump.
Scott Benner 13:14
That's a parenting secret for anybody who is younger, doesn't have kids yet you know exactly what you need your kids to do. And then you some people act like it's up to them. And then they behind the scenes are puppet mastering everything. And some people just come out and say it and some people just hope that the kids figure it out. But you figured it out. So that's actually or like not that not to say that a pump is a necessary thing. Just that it came to you that you would like to do it. Are you wearing a glucose monitor right now?
Jordan 13:44
I am Yes. Which do you have? The dexcom?
Scott Benner 13:48
Is it the G six? It is? Is it the one that's available@dexcom.com forward slash Juicebox. Podcast? I just say about No, I'm just kidding. So when did you go to a glucose monitor?
Jordan 14:02
Oh, man, I have had one off and on but really consistently for the last like year and a half.
Scott Benner 14:08
Okay, so did you start with the G for the G five?
Jordan 14:13
thing think? Yeah, I started with the chief for that at one point. I had a Medtronic pump. So I had that GM
Scott Benner 14:22
is that when you get a Medtronic pump they kind of I don't want to say force but they force their CGM audio, right. Like it's
Jordan 14:29
Yeah,
Scott Benner 14:30
it's like here. It's a package ticket like that. Okay, so but you went to, uh, how long were you with Medtronic?
Jordan 14:41
Three or four years? I've been all over the place. I've also had Omni pod. Look at
Scott Benner 14:45
you for a shy person. You're not that shy about things are you know, so you've used every conceivable insulin pump. Which one are you using right now?
Jordan 14:54
I'm not using one right now.
Unknown Speaker 14:57
I don't know why I asked. I should have just assumed that. All right.
Scott Benner 15:01
What was your favorite pump that used?
Jordan 15:05
Probably, honestly, Medtronic, okay, because I didn't have the best experience with Omni pod. Okay? It was like five or six years ago, and it just kept alarming on me. It was in malfunctioning, so I got off of it when you're
Unknown Speaker 15:24
getting like occlusions
Jordan 15:27
Yeah, I would just I would put one on and like, within a few hours, it would start alarming, and it was just on my abdomen. So it wasn't even like I was putting it in weird places. So I was in college at the time, and I got to the point where I just get so anxious about it going to class or something that it would start alarming and middle class and I would thought it was gonna have to change it and, and so listen, and want to be stuck without insulin
Scott Benner 15:54
course. And then so those are the Medtronic, just soldiered on for you.
Jordan 16:00
Yeah, it just worked and was pretty much hassle free.
Scott Benner 16:05
And then, but now you're not using a pump at all? What led you back to MDI
Jordan 16:12
and just being annoyed having something on me? So I pretty much came full circle.
Scott Benner 16:20
Jordan, Are you married?
Jordan 16:21
Hey, poor guy.
Scott Benner 16:22
I see what's happening here.
Jordan 16:26
Yeah, he's a trooper. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 16:27
I would imagine this.
Scott Benner 16:32
Has the word fickle ever been used about you in your presence?
Jordan 16:37
Not that I know. No. So you don't like maybe behind my back, Jordan, tell me
Scott Benner 16:41
why it is. You're 26. But you're talking about life like you're 53.
Jordan 16:48
Maybe diabetes maybe grew up fast.
Scott Benner 16:52
But no, seriously, you're just very like measured. And you're like, I tried that. I didn't like it. I tried that. It gave me a problem. This one didn't give me a problem. But I'm not using it anymore. Anyway. And you just you're rolling through things, are you? So you, you know, we talked earlier about for a brief second about Arden being inconsistent with how she does things, but you are too. You're like, like, on your face. You're like I'm you know, I'm kind of quiet and a little shy. And everything except you're not shy about switching pumps or the ways you get insulin, or jumping around from your cgms. Do you see that? These two things seem incongruent.
Jordan 17:33
Yeah, I guess, okay. I'm also here to talk about that stuff. I don't just like bring it up with strangers and start talking about it. Know,
Scott Benner 17:41
when that'd be something I didn't think you did. But no, I meant like just just that you're, maybe I'm wrong. But when I think of someone who's sort of quiet reserved, I think of them as getting something it works. And they just stick with it. And, and they're trying to keep things simple, and from being a problem. And maybe that's me projecting. And also, not being a quiet person. I'm guessing a little bit too, but it just it struck me as it's like when I'm interviewing people, there's a little voice in the back of my head that kind of knows where things are going. Don't me like people don't surprise me that often when they speak. And and but it's only because I've been doing this for a while but you have never so far in 17 minutes. You haven't said one thing after another thing that I was like, I knew she was gonna say that. So
Jordan 18:31
I was trying to keep it interesting.
Scott Benner 18:33
I fit part of me feels like you're lying. Just Just like to think of what I feel like. And I'm going to say the opposite. And then I'll go back to me and then I'll but I know you're not but it's just very Okay, so how long
Jordan 18:45
you've been married? Three years. Interesting. Now.
Scott Benner 18:51
College person yourself. You said yes. Right. Yes. And you have a degree and I know you're out in the world doing something. Do you talk about what you do? Or is that something you're keeping private?
Jordan 18:59
Yeah, I can talk about it.
I work in cardiac and pulmonary rehab.
Scott Benner 19:05
So you force unhealthy people to run on a treadmill. Is that right? Jordan?
Jordan 19:10
Yes.
Scott Benner 19:12
Yes, you're a sadist?
Jordan 19:14
I don't make them come from. What
Scott Benner 19:16
do they do they just kind of hop up go for a little walk. You walk and you do what?
Jordan 19:21
Help them? Well, I prescribe exercise intensities, basically. So we'll do the treadmill or seated machines and some strength training. You
Scott Benner 19:32
ever go too far and kill one of them? Just tell you don't have to say but just tap on the microphone once if it's happened. No, I haven't. You have not excellent Good for you, by the way and if you have good for you not admitting it. So you're just Are you trying to get people back? I guess some people back to healthy some people. You're just trying to find a, I guess a balance of life style for them. And they're all they're all rehabbing from some sort of a heart issue.
Jordan 20:00
In cardiac rehab they are and just giving them lifestyle changes they can make to decrease the risk of furthering their heart disease. And then for pulmonary rehab, it's just disease management and trying to help them breathe a little bit easier. How do
Scott Benner 20:21
you find that work? Do you enjoy it?
Jordan 20:23
I do. Yeah. Built a lot of relationships through it. Nice.
Scott Benner 20:27
What did you take in college that led you to this?
Jordan 20:30
my undergrad degree is in kinesiology. Just basically just movement of the body. And then my graduate degree is in clinical exercise physiology.
Scott Benner 20:44
No kidding. This pay pretty well. This is why this guy latched on to you at an early age.
Jordan 20:51
He's not at
Scott Benner 20:52
home play video games while you're helping people or is he
Jordan 20:55
know he is in school right now himself?
Scott Benner 20:58
getting a good degree, I'd like to see a little equal share of the burden coming up, you know, yeah,
Jordan 21:03
yeah. Oh, yeah.
Scott Benner 21:04
How long are you gonna let this go until he's, you know, pulling his own weight?
Jordan 21:09
Oh, well, we got four years of school left. So
Scott Benner 21:11
four years, becoming a lawyer, Doctor.
Jordan 21:18
Doctor of naturopathic medicine.
Scott Benner 21:22
Not that I don't find that interesting. But I just realized that there should be a Netflix comedy called lawyer doctor.
Unknown Speaker 21:29
During the day,
Scott Benner 21:30
yeah. Right. And he does. So while he's fixing you, he's also setting up a lawsuit against himself. Right? On the weekends, he's a volunteer fireman. What do you think of this?
Jordan 21:43
It could work. But
Scott Benner 21:45
You're damn right. It could. I think it's a limited run situation, though. I think maybe after four hours, you would get tired of it. But I think for a couple of hours, it would be right there. If that ever comes up on any television show. I'm using this recording as a reason to sue somebody.
Jordan 22:02
You can ask the lawyer doctor to help you. I couldn't
Scott Benner 22:05
be either of those things. The idea of going to school for that long baffles my mind. But I do know my wife right now, if I said to her, hey, we've got all the money in the world. You don't have to work anymore. she'd take a day and a half off. And then she find some degree to go get. She would love to go she loves being in school. It's very strange. Did you enjoy it? Does your husband let's call them making air quotes because I think he might just be a squatter. But is your Does your husband enjoy it? Oh,
Jordan 22:34
he does. Yeah, he's a good student.
Scott Benner 22:37
Alright, so are you guys. Do you like that part of the country? You think you'll stay there?
Jordan 22:41
Yeah, definitely.
Scott Benner 22:43
I think you there's probably only a few places where an energy as laid back as yours, Jordan Bulwark. I feel like have you ever been to like a place that's moving like 1000 miles an hour? Like you've ever driven on the highway in Los Angeles or walked across? Yeah, you're
Jordan 22:57
terrifying. It's kind of cool. Cuz everyone's got it's bumper to bumper traffic, but everyone's going like 80 miles an hour.
Scott Benner 23:05
Makes you feel like you're in a NASCAR race. Yeah, you're like, I wonder which one of these people
Unknown Speaker 23:09
is gonna stop?
Scott Benner 23:13
Now, when that happens, do you get a little excited? Like, like, what happens to you when you get flipped out? Is it just this measure Jordan that I'm talking to you now? Or do you have like another gear?
Jordan 23:28
I get excited. But not. I don't start screaming or like it.
Scott Benner 23:34
I wish you guys hear anything. I wish everyone listening could see. Like, I can see a picture of Jordan right here. And Jordan, you're a beautiful person, you know, way does your picture match your like your speech pattern? I don't know another way to put it. Like, it's just very interesting. I don't know. I don't even know how to explain it to anybody. Just the person I'm looking at. It's not the person I'm talking to in my mind. Were you always a quiet child?
Jordan 24:04
I think so. I'm the youngest. So
Scott Benner 24:07
Oh, you were just lucky to be alive.
Jordan 24:10
I see. No, my parents paid a lot of attention to me because of diabetes.
Scott Benner 24:17
Okay, so all right. Let's dig in here a little bit. Maybe we'll find it here. psychologically. Do you think that's the only reason your parents paid attention to? Yeah, no. So you think they love you for other reasons? Absolutely. Are there any of those other reasons that you're the best of the siblings?
Jordan 24:35
I wouldn't say Oh, do you
Scott Benner 24:36
remember when a girl came on and did say that? How much fun that was? Do you have any idea how many emails I got?
Jordan 24:42
I do remember that. For any of the emails from her siblings?
Scott Benner 24:46
No. Although that would have been terrific. They were just one other people like Yo, I love that girl when she said that she was the best kid. Anyway, how many siblings do you have? So there's three of you total. Yes, my math is late today. I don't know if you've noticed or not. I have had plenty of sleep plenty of sleep. Although my sleep was on eight inches of a mattress, I still did get my hours. And two, how much older Are they the new?
Jordan 25:17
My brother is about a little less than a year and a half older. And my sister is nine years older than me.
Scott Benner 25:23
Oh, there's a story here.
Jordan 25:26
She's, she's my half sister, but we grew up together. So
Scott Benner 25:30
they would find her on the street. One of them made them now let's guess. half sister dad side. Yes. Mm hmm. See how I know people?
Unknown Speaker 25:39
It's okay.
Scott Benner 25:41
All right. So
Jordan 25:42
the only predictable thing you'll
Scott Benner 25:45
feel naturally I forgotten one thing, right yet. I'm just like, Alright, so, dad, your dad made a baby with some lady. And then we don't know what happened to her. It's not important. And then he bumped into your mom, I'm gonna say the disk attack in the 60s. Right. Right. And then they became fast friends, because of their love of Molly. And then they got married. And then they wait a minute, how old was your, your oldest sister when your parents got married? You know?
Jordan 26:20
Let's say like,
Scott Benner 26:21
five, five. And then they had to wait four more years until they made the brother. Yeah, then he wasn't too much of a trouble. three more years. Sorry.
Jordan 26:30
While you're
Scott Benner 26:33
cooking, you're adding in the cooking time for the baby, which I can't do on the fly. Just so you know. And then they didn't dislike him very much. And so they made another one. Yeah, and now we're done. And it's that you think he's gonna stay with your mom or you think you'll run out and like go roll up again on some other lady and start over?
Jordan 26:53
I think they're in it for the long haul.
Scott Benner 26:56
How old are your parents? Like just if they're in their 50s? Or 60s 50s 50s was trying to imagine like a 65 year old guy like I'm out of here. gonna talk to Betsy? She seems sweet. Do it again. God, all right. Um, you on their insurance, though? Because you have a job. You have your own. Were you on their insurance right up until you started working? Making old people walk on treadmills.
Jordan 27:24
I was on it until this last year, because I turned 26. So you, you thought like cool
Scott Benner 27:30
advantage of that? Yeah. Can you talk about how helpful that was while you were in college?
Jordan 27:39
Well, I mean, it was really helpful. I don't I don't know how helpful it would have. What am I trying to say? If I just I don't know any different?
Unknown Speaker 27:52
What would have happened if you try.
Jordan 27:55
If I was in college, and I wasn't on their insurance, I would have had to pay for my insurance somehow and probably wouldn't have gotten as good of coverage and not being able to have a pump for CGM or anything. So do you think you help me with that?
Scott Benner 28:09
Yeah. Do you think you would have had to turn yourself out? If that happened? Is that a phrase you don't know? Would you have had to hook is what I'm saying? Do you think you would? Would you had to become some sort of a part time prostitute? Just before it's
Jordan 28:24
possible? I mean that diabetes is expensive. So
Scott Benner 28:28
do you think that happens on college campuses?
Jordan 28:31
I'm sure it does. Yeah, I
Scott Benner 28:34
think the younger girls are probably not as a hardened at that age. Right? That can't be how it goes. But that would be a sad story. By the way, if, if you were on here to tell us that you hooked your way through college to pay for your insulin pump. But by the way, if let me just say this for a second, if anyone listening hooked their way through college to pay for their diabetes supplies, please immediately send me a note and asked to be on the podcast. Thank you very much. Jordan, I at this point want to ask you with all sincerity. Has your heart rate ever gone over 85? If you put yourself on that treadmill, could you get your heart rate up?
Jordan 29:14
I can Yeah.
Scott Benner 29:16
You're still nervous, aren't you? A little bit. I have tried really hard for you. Service. I don't know what to do at this point.
Unknown Speaker 29:24
Well, what would make you just keep going?
Unknown Speaker 29:29
I just thought of something to say I'm not gonna say
Scott Benner 29:39
I apologize. Excuse me. Okay. All right, Jordan, let's so you had no real affinity for any of your insulin pumps. You switch back to MDI because you're tired of being attached to stuff. Although you don't seem to be worried about being attached to this guy, he's not paying any bills. That seems to be okay with you. I'm just joking. I'm sure he's a lovely person. I'm so sorry. Yes, if you talk, I will
Jordan 30:05
be sad. He feels bad. I
Unknown Speaker 30:08
will be sad.
Scott Benner 30:10
What's his name? Tyler Tyler, listen to me. I have been a stay at home dad for 20 years, 20 years of me going up to my wife at gift giving occasions and saying, look, I got you this happy whatever day and her looking at it and going, I don't want this. And then me knowing in my heart, she's thinking, I just paid for something with my own money that I don't want. So jever it's not a good feeling like so. But I've learned to live with a Tyler so just suck it up. Okay, you're gonna be alright. You just put your head down and plow through, it'll be fine. And one day, you'll make a couple of dollars. And hopefully this beautiful girl won't kick you out of the house and you'll get to make it up to her. But if her dad's any
Unknown Speaker 30:55
indication, you're not long for this world.
Scott Benner 31:02
By the way, if you ever get divorced, it's not my fault.
Unknown Speaker 31:04
I just did. I'm just joking.
Jordan 31:08
send you a message like a year from now and be like Scott, you ruined everything.
Scott Benner 31:13
I had to leave with my five year old but don't worry, I found another guy who it'll be fine. No, seriously, probably you shouldn't feel bad about this man. It's a it's a nice thing that you guys found each other. And you're willing to support each other in this situation. It really is wonderful. I am you know, I'm, I'm saying a lot of stupid things. I don't mean 85% of them. But the 15% that I do mean, I drastically mean them. But, but you'll have to figure out what the percentages are and how that breaks down later when you're listening back. I just know. I think it's nice. Um, it is uncommon for in my eyes for somebody your age, to be married. And have come from a decent home. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like we were married young, but we were raised like animals. Like, like, honestly, my parents will never hear this. Neither were Kelly's. But let me just say, not a parenting instinct between the group of them. You know what I mean? Like, really? Not? If I got diabetes, when I was a kid, there's no way I'd be alive. That I mean, people would have just been like, good luck. And then that would have been it. You know, Kelly's parents probably would have sold her for I don't know fabric and yarn or something like that. So it so you were raised like these people took really good care of you. Let's look into that for a second. You said you switched over to kind of your own management pretty quickly. Do you remember what your goals were? And if you were meeting them I guess back then really a one C was the only measurement people gave you right?
Jordan 32:42
Yeah, I I can't remember when I was younger what my a onesies were but up until a few years ago, I didn't. I didn't really have set goals. Yes, I I would always shoot for in the sevens for my agency, but I never actually got there until a few years ago.
Scott Benner 33:07
A few years ago, the diabetes technology society you can find this online did a thing about blood glucose monitoring systems blood glucose meters. And I bet you can guess which meter was at the very top of that list. Contour Next One. The Contour Next One is the blood glucose meter that my daughter uses. It is incredibly accurate. It plays very well with ardens dexcom CGM. And it's easy to use, easy to hold easy to read has test trips that allow a second chance so if you touch the blood drop and don't get enough, you just go back and get more and it doesn't really need very much. But one that you can touch on touch and touch again and still get an accurate reading from that's not common. But it is with the Contour Next One Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box. Go check out the Contour Next One and all the meters from a sensia touched by type one.org that's where you're gonna go I'll do it right now with you touched. you spell it right there you go touched by type one.org programs like their annual conference, their awareness campaign bofur cause their dance program called dancing for diabetes. The D box that they send out to newly diagnosed people who request them so much going on at touched by type one. And all they want from you is for you to know about it so you can take advantage. Head over, touched by type one.org. Get in there. See what you can find out learn become a part of last thing I'd love it if you guys with the T one d exchange.org forward slash juicebox and participated in the T one D exchange survey. I've done it just recently. If you do it, you'll be supporting research for type one diabetes and supporting the podcast. So it's like a win win. In that scenario that I've described, T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox took me about seven minutes to fill it out was not a lot of like deep personal information about Arden. By the way, you need to be a type one diabetic who lives in the United States, for the person who's caring for an under aged type one diabetic who lives in the United States to participate. But I think it's well worth your time. And here are just a few reasons why T one D exchange research has led to increased insurance coverage for blood glucose meter strips, it has led to changes in the American Diabetes associations guidelines for pediatric a one c goals. And maybe you remember when Medicare started covering CGM devices. That was also from the information that the T one D exchange gathered, right? Through the surveys, you can be a part of that. It's fantastic. Hundred percent HIPAA compliant, completely anonymous, you can back out of it anytime you don't have to stay in it. You don't have to leave your house to participate. You'll never be asked to see a doctor or go to a site. And once a year, they'll send you a little update you just you know, answer some questions, update your answers. That's it. T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. Contour next.com forward slash juicebox. Touched by type one.org. Support the sponsor support the show, there are links in the show notes of your podcast player, and at Juicebox podcast.com. Let's get back to Jordan and get ready to laugh and actually learn about how she still so we're getting to that.
What changed a few years ago,
Jordan 36:58
I started just doing more research about what helps and I got my CGM and started doing just taking more responsibility. I graduated from college. So I, I don't know I think I just started taking life more seriously. And I got married and was thinking about kids and stuff. So knowing that I had to get my stuff together if I was ever going to have a family and
Scott Benner 37:27
that said just felt like the only path to it. Yeah, yeah, it's funny. First of all, you have to give me a ton of credit here because I stopped myself during your really thoughtful answer from saying that you realize that you're gonna have to take care of Tyler's that you need to
Unknown Speaker 37:40
be healthy.
Scott Benner 37:44
I'm so sorry, teller. I'm still just joking. But, but no, I mean, that's a really. I mean, I think that's a moment that a lot of people come to right. Like you're in the sevens and thinking, well, this is where you really like in honesty really like good enough. Is that how you felt about it?
Jordan 38:02
No, I wasn't in the seven. I was in the eights and nines. Oh, you're shooting
Scott Benner 38:08
for the sevens but we're landing in eights and nines.
Jordan 38:11
Ah,
oh, God, I think I think back on it. I'm just like, I don't know how I made it this far without having some major emergency or being in decay or having a serious low or anything. But as far as emergency situations, everything was pretty mellow. But I just don't remember thinking about my diabetes as much as I do now.
Scott Benner 38:36
See, You surprised me again? Like you really I'm genuinely I'm being genuine like you. Like everything about you made me feel like when I eventually asked you how you are managing and how it was going that you were gonna say Oh, Scott, I I vary between a five six and a five nine. You know? Yeah, I thought you were I thought you were gonna be one of those people like, I I can't imagine like it just did. You're challenging everything I think about everything.
Jordan 39:06
Now my agency is what's 5.8 most recently so I'm there now so I'm personally you think I am now?
Scott Benner 39:17
So the person I thought you were that you weren't? You are now. Yes exactly. But Tyler still not paying the electric bill. I gotcha. You guys live so far for me. That's the only reason I'm comfortable doing this. There's no way Tyler can lose his mind to come completely across the country like even if he did by the time he flew over like Wyoming he'd be like this wasn't worth it. I should go home.
Jordan 39:39
forget why he went there in the first you
Scott Benner 39:41
would think by Minnesota he just be like, why am I on this point? What what changes so interesting for people? What changes did you make like concrete changes? Did you make the go from an A one C and the nines two. Are you in the fives now? Yeah. Wow. That's by the way. It's amazing how many years did that take, though.
Jordan 40:03
And I remember my first day when seeing the sevens about almost coming up on three years ago. And then I've been in that. And then I was in the sixes. And I've been in the fives now for a little over a year, I think,
Scott Benner 40:21
what was the first change? You made?
Jordan 40:24
my diet?
Scott Benner 40:26
What was your diet previously? Was it just pizza, whatever you found on the floor of your dorm room, or?
Jordan 40:32
No, that's the thing. When I was in college, I thought I was. I mean, I felt like I was eating healthy. I wasn't eating fast food every day, or, I mean, I was eating what I consider to be a healthy diet, and but I was still just all over the place with my blood sugars. So I was always really frustrated with them. And I think I just kind of gave up at one point, I was just like, they're just gonna do what they want anyway. But I hadn't listened to this podcast either. Which helps.
Scott Benner 41:06
Wait a minute. Now we're getting to me. I'm getting very interested. What I'm, there's a certain segment of people who thought I was serious. But that's when did you start listening to this show? And And where was your a once you when you started listening?
Jordan 41:21
I started listening about a year ago, I think so I was I was pretty well controlled already. But it just helped me view things a little bit differently and help to I don't know, I for a while I had my high alert off on my CGM. So I could be high and just not even know. And now I have it set at 120. So I just try to catch things sooner. And even things out a little bit.
Scott Benner 41:50
made me smile when you said 120. I hope you know. I was that was nice. And so you're is that really what's going on? Well, let me ask this first, when you say you change your diet, did you change your diet to like, did you go low carb or
Jordan 42:06
quite the opposite? Actually? Good.
So I eat pretty much all like fruits, veggies and whole grains. I don't eat any animal products or anything. But there's a lot of research out there that talks about insulin resistance and how fat causes insulin resistance. And I know you and Jenny did an episode recently right on insulin resistance. But from my understanding, and everything I've learned, like true insulin resistance is caused by fat in your body, whether you're overweight or not. Making it so that carbohydrates can't get into the cells that they need to get into. That's easily because there's fat blocking the way basically. And so when I changed my diet and started just focusing on like, Whole Foods and not eating, I don't eat a bunch of processed foods anymore, either, but just cutting out a lot of the high fat foods, my insulin sensitivity, like shot up, like my I know you don't use a insulin to carb ratio. But I went from one unit for every nine carbs to one unit for every 30 carbs. Wow, just by
Scott Benner 43:39
going to a cleaner diet.
Jordan 43:41
Yeah, no kidding.
Scott Benner 43:42
And so in that gives you more consistently,
it stays pretty consistently. And that gives you more control. Because you're not using as much was it hard to want to use so much insulin when you were doing something? Did that scare you ever? When you like prior to this, like the bigger boluses scare you or?
Jordan 44:03
No, not really, I just I didn't know any different and I just did as much insulin as I needed to do and I would my insulin sensitivity kept, like getting worse and worse because I my ratio kept getting lower and lower. Like it would be one for every 15 and then eventually it was one for every 12 carbs. And then my lowest I remember is like 148 or one per nine.
Scott Benner 44:34
Were you gaining weight through that time or no?
Jordan 44:37
No, no, it just
Scott Benner 44:39
the diet.
Jordan 44:41
Yeah, and I know people. I mean, even people without diabetes, if they have a diet that's high in fat, I imagine their pancreas is are just pumping out more and more insulin to try to compensate for that.
Don't show up. But I
Scott Benner 45:02
feel like that's happening underneath anyway. Well, I will say that my body, excuse me, my body is not a temple of great eating. But I'm also not unaware that, you know, the more you put, the more challenge you give to your body, the more it is challenged, you know, if I, I'm looking at a piece of paper, if I eat it, my body will find a way to process it, you know, and you put stuff in there that it has a harder time with, or that maybe, you know, maybe your body is really not meant to, to have in it. And, you know, you're you're going to use up services, you're going to use up resources, and it's going to work harder to get less accomplished. It's, it's like anything else. Honestly, I have no nutritional background whatsoever. But that's just common sense. Right? You know, I don't whatever keeps the Twinkie fresh for 35 million years is probably not good for you. All right, my guess, you know, don't know hundred percent not sure people from Twinkie might disagree. I'm not saying I know anything. Just saying that. It seems to me that that's not a that's not reasonable. And you know, not that you couldn't throw one in every once in a while. But like you said, if they become if that processed food becomes a staple in your life, then you know, that you end up or you end up and that turnaround that you had your insulin to carb ratio going, like one to nine to one to 30 is, is significant, really significant. You know,
Jordan 46:33
I didn't even know it was possible until it happened. I'm just like, okay, there's a few days where I just, I kept going low. And I was like, Man, this is getting frustrating. But I just kept cutting my insulin back. And I mean, I eat between 300 and 500 grams of carbs a day. But they're all from home. good and healthy foods. It's that. But
Scott Benner 46:59
hold on a second. It was cool. What you just said, Hold on. I really did. It did take you a while to warm up. But you're there now. Okay, so hold on a second. So at a one to nine. If I took 500 divided by nine, it please trust me. I'm not 100% sure I've just done the right thing. But it seems like that's 55 units of insulin at a one to nine. But at a one to 30 I would take the 500 divided by 30. It's 16 units of insulin. Mm hmm. So prior, so if you would have eaten 500 cart, wow. 500 or you're nine feet tall, 500 carbs of, of, you know, pizza and chips and that kind of stuff, you would have needed 55 units of insulin. And I'm gonna guess that might not have been enough. And so, but if you have little asparagus and an apple and a couple of things like that, keeping the I guess you're keeping out you're vegan, right? Yeah, you keep out that stuff. You're down to 16 units of insulin a day for 500 carbs worth of food. Yeah. And you're not gaining weight. Right. So it's healthy for your body. Yeah. All right. So what do I do now? Let's just go over this. I might start doing this Jordan. What do I eat? What do I What do I gotta do?
Jordan 48:19
So Well, before I even so I have over the past. Probably year, I've also lost about 30 pounds, but my insulin sensitivity had had gone way up before I even lost any weight. So okay, so even
Scott Benner 48:40
weight loss. You had that experience? Okay. No, no, no, I'm, I'm, it's Listen, we're from two different coasts. You're speaking at one speed and I'm speaking another and I'm trying my hardest. And so but you don't hear you want to hear a secret? Usually when people speak very slowly. You I don't mean usually. I mean, in the past, my there'd be a little voice in my head that I could hear yelling at me like speed up go faster. Like right, like they're like, tell him to hurry. But this podcast has actually helped me. Like, not feel like that anymore. Like you spin Yeah, you speak slower than I do. And I'm not anxious about it. But I used to be. I used to feel there's an episode of this podcast where a guy spoke so slowly that when I edited it, I had to take out all the pauses. It took me like hours to edit it out. But he just
Unknown Speaker 49:38
couldn't
Unknown Speaker 49:41
talk
Scott Benner 49:44
fast. It's like, oh my god. No one's gonna listen to that. They'll fall asleep in between the words. So I like I compound it down that still made it seem normal, and I still get notes about it about how slowly he speaks in that episode. Well That's okay. It's fine. He was thinking about every word. Except skin. Yeah, I mean, is it and you just say a couple things that don't make sense. People like that was funny. And then it ends you know it's over to get going. Okay, so your what's a normal day for you get up and have breakfast? What does it
Jordan 50:22
mean usually have some berries with oats and bananas and dates.
Scott Benner 50:28
And Bambi doesn't try to take it from me or Thumper or anybody?
Unknown Speaker 50:33
No, no.
Scott Benner 50:34
Okay. And then you're starving and you eat again in five minutes. Now, just kidding.
Jordan 50:39
That is such a big breakfast. Do you snack
Unknown Speaker 50:41
in between meals?
Jordan 50:43
No, I don't.
Scott Benner 50:44
Okay, at lunchtime.
Jordan 50:48
It varies, but, I mean, we make curry or chili or pasta or? No, sometimes, sometimes we'll have salad but not very often.
Scott Benner 51:02
That salad see a couple people every year you ever noticed that ever just pops up? You never see a lettuce that kills people, like every couple of minutes? Not a lot. But it's like a handful of people every year like that. They eat a bad head of lettuce. They're dead. Yeah, they poo for three days and died. Like
Jordan 51:19
sounds like a terrible way to go.
Scott Benner 51:22
It. It really does, doesn't it? I am a strong, strong possibility for the title of this episode. Two for three days. And I don't know today's episode. Did you see today? You didn't because you're on different coasts. But I put an episode up today that finally made my wife go, how do you name the podcast? I called it waxing waning and Hulk Hogan's dragon. And she's like, what's that about? I was like, it's all there, baby. She's like, it doesn't make any sense. And I was like, I said the episode was about so much. I didn't know what to call it. And these words were mentioned in the episode. So go listen to it. Find out what it's about. Meanwhile, she wouldn't do that. I bet you she's never listened to the podcast. I don't ask her.
Jordan 52:16
But you're afraid? Are you afraid that
Scott Benner 52:18
I'm afraid to ask that like, like Tyler's afraid to mention
Unknown Speaker 52:23
the rent.
Scott Benner 52:31
Anyway, Tyler, nice going, man, I'll tell you right now, when young men come up to me and they say, what should I be looking for? In a woman I always say, earning potentials first and then after. You want to go getter? The girl. It's not gonna be like, you know, happy to take a day off in the middle of the week. Just go go go a worker.
Jordan 52:52
Oh, I'm still happy to take the day off. And
Scott Benner 52:56
wait, you're saying that in an Armageddon situation. You're not willing to pull a plow.
Jordan 53:02
That's, that's not my situation.
Scott Benner 53:06
Can you imagine that? There was a time in the world where you would literally put your wife on the front of a handheld plow and be like, yo, pull this through the turret. I was it not the guy pulling the plow? You know that this is a true thing I'm saying right.
Jordan 53:20
Yeah, yeah, maybe. Maybe the women were more capable? I don't know. Listen,
Scott Benner 53:25
if my life is any indication, women are way more capable. And I think Tyler's gonna have to say the same. So I don't see how he can get out of this. You know what I'm doing for you right now. Right? It's like, I've set this man on a path where he's gonna just make a ton of money and take care of you now just to get rid of this pain. And you will call him thank me later. Now, you'll be like, Wow, he really got to it after college. And I was like, say Meanwhile, this is very sexist. Women can do this. Right? How would you feel if you went to all this trouble to get your eight one c nice and low, right? Let's paint a picture. Tyler comes home from a long hard day of listening to other people talk in a room. And you guys are amorous. And by mistake, a little baby Jordan comes out like in nine months. And then Tyler's like I'll stay home with the baby. How would you be with that?
Jordan 54:20
I don't know. Probably not very happy but
Unknown Speaker 54:26
so would you want to
Jordan 54:27
be like No, no.
It's time for you to go away.
Scott Benner 54:32
It's enough for you buddy. I'm just saying trying to set up Tyler's expectations here. So now would you you want to stay home with the baby? Are you looking to be a working person so
Jordan 54:44
I want to stay home at least for a little while but I don't know. How long would you take it? Yeah.
Scott Benner 54:51
I took our new an appointment yesterday. I'm not I'm This is no lie. I can't believe this is coming up. And the woman working behind the counter says something thing like to me like it was like 230 in the afternoon was right after school. How are you able to be here with her? And I said, I must stay at home dad. I've been a stay at home dad for 20 years. And she's like, Oh, I tried that. couldn't take it. Now, this was a younger person. So I'm like, I try. I said, how old your your babies? She was. I just have one, two. I'm like, wait, one, two. And she was Yeah, he's two years old. Like you couldn't take it for two years. I was like, Where is he now? And she's like, basically, I forget exactly what she said the kids in some sort of a human kennel. Now you don't I mean, like, and so she, she's like, I couldn't take it. He was too much.
Unknown Speaker 55:35
I was like, What was
Scott Benner 55:36
so ordered, I go to the she goes to the appointment, we come out, we get in the car. Look at each other. We really are like two peas in a pod. And she goes, what was that woman expecting when she had a baby? I was like, I have no idea. I was like, but there are a lot of work. And I said they basically just poulan things and don't do anything else. Like they're fairly useless. You know, like, you can't they're like weights that you have to keep alive. Like, imagine if you were in charge of keeping your broom alive. Like there's like it's it doesn't do much, you know? And she said, Arden was like baffled by that. And I was too so you're thinking about having a baby, right?
Unknown Speaker 56:13
Yes, sooner than later.
Jordan 56:17
Well, I mean, we got four more years.
Unknown Speaker 56:21
You're, you're on a countdown
Scott Benner 56:22
clock. What happens in four years do you think? Do you think your eggs are gonna expire? or something? Or what do you
Jordan 56:28
know Tyler graduates from school?
Scott Benner 56:31
Oh, you have to wait. Four more years.
Jordan 56:32
It's at least four more years. Yeah.
Scott Benner 56:35
Interesting. Now, you know, my marriage advice is don't marry till 30. Right.
Jordan 56:41
I have heard that. Yeah.
Scott Benner 56:42
Okay. And but but don't have a baby till 30. Okay, so let's say let's say Tyler graduates, then we got to hang back a little bit. Make sure you can get a job you understand? I'm saying and then he gets hooked up with some some employment you're like, Alright, this seems to be going okay. I will now allow you over here to make a baby. And then that happens. And then you're 31 is taller your age?
Jordan 57:05
Yes.
Scott Benner 57:06
Okay. Thank god cuz I thought you're gonna say was younger, and I don't know why that would have bothered me. And for no real reason. But so you're both 31 little baby Tyler Jordan is here. Tyler Jordan sounds like a title of a movie. But anyway, that's nothing that's neither here nor there. He's here. You look at him for a while or she? and two years later, you realize you can't take this kid anymore.
Unknown Speaker 57:30
You go back to work.
Scott Benner 57:32
Is that your Do you have a plan?
Jordan 57:35
No.
Scott Benner 57:37
Have you ever had a
Jordan 57:38
ball up in the air right now? Gotcha.
Scott Benner 57:41
You have what is one thing you've planned this worked out the way you expect it to?
Jordan 57:47
Go into school. Nice.
Scott Benner 57:49
That's a good one. Was that hard to do? was our server point during college that you thought like this isn't for me? Or were you really like locked into it?
Jordan 57:59
More so I think just thinking What have I done? What did I get myself into? But no, I I wanted to see it through
Scott Benner 58:10
give massive loans that you will never be able to pay off.
Jordan 58:15
They're up there but they're not
absurd. Good. They're pretty average. I think as far as student loans go,
Scott Benner 58:22
That's excellent. Good. It's a it's a scary proposition. Yeah, and this Tyler I mean, come on. He's gonna be a couple hundred grand in the hole by the time this is over. Yeah, I mean,
Jordan 58:34
yeah, it's a different story. That guys maybe should wait till you're not paying on those yet. So I
Scott Benner 58:40
think you should wait till Tyler graduates and and get a cat. Maybe you have a cat. So there was one thing I was sure of while we were talking. And that it was you owned a cat? That's because they're quiet and slower. And I feel like that would make you
Jordan 58:59
we have to
Scott Benner 59:00
do they fight with each other? Sometimes? Mm hm. Whose cats? Are they? Tyler's are yours.
Jordan 59:08
We got them together. I didn't say that. I said
Scott Benner 59:10
who's really in charge of the cat? Like, who cares? Like who would be like, oh God, the cat died and be upset and who would be like, ah, did the cat die? which one is which?
Jordan 59:21
I would think we would both be sad. Was that he? He worries about them more when we're not really? I guess.
Scott Benner 59:32
Yeah, Tyler's a nice person. He
Unknown Speaker 59:36
is he he?
Scott Benner 59:37
He's a sweet guy. I worry about our dogs when we leave the house. I'm always like, we have to go home. And then I complain. Why did we get a dog? Oh my god. I'm arguing with the bologna sandwich thing. I guess that's not surprising to me. But I love the dogs and I want the very best for them and like if we have to go out like for a long afternoon, I feel badly about that. But it immediately makes me say to my wife, I told you not to get a dog. But the dog is ruining our life. That cat can't ruin your life though, because you can leave a cat home for I mean until it runs out of water. It's just gonna be okay. Right?
Jordan 1:00:15
arc. Cats are pretty needy, needy cats. I know. One of them has a food allergy and the other one will eat all the food.
So we can't just leave food out.
Unknown Speaker 1:00:35
I don't know if anybody cares about this episode, but I'm having such a good time. You have a
Unknown Speaker 1:00:41
cat with a food allergy?
Jordan 1:00:43
Yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:00:45
You can't make it a vegan. You know, it'll kill it. I know. Chip receipt, people I've
Unknown Speaker 1:00:52
seen people have eaten cats.
Jordan 1:00:55
I've heard about it.
And that's
Unknown Speaker 1:01:04
your one cat your cat eat?
Unknown Speaker 1:01:07
I can't stop laughing.
Jordan 1:01:12
I don't I don't know what it is. Exactly. It's I think that he's allergic to some form of protein. But
what about Scott? you're
Unknown Speaker 1:01:28
allergic the protein.
Jordan 1:01:45
They're allergic to like chicken or turkey or some?
Unknown Speaker 1:01:51
I don't know.
Unknown Speaker 1:01:53
It's just you in the other category. It's Tyler the cat, the kitty.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:02
Oh, holy.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:12
This is either the best or worst episode that I've ever done. I won't know until later. Okay, all right. Hold on. We're coming up on an hour. Let me pull myself together here. Okay.
Scott Benner 1:02:26
You did say some really important stuff about the diet, I want to make sure that we we underscored for a second you changed your diet, you took out processed foods became vegan. You're a one season the fives now and you're using to my math, a quarter of the insulin that you're using prior is all about correct. Yeah. How do you feel overall with your health compared to back then?
Jordan 1:02:51
Much better. Yeah, I yeah. Before I just kind of was in this state of mind where I felt like I was gonna get complications or have complications from diabetes. And it was just kind of a matter of when they would come on. And now I feel like I can just live a normal life and not really have to worry about the complications, not that they will never happen, but I'm much less worried about them now than I was before. That's
Scott Benner 1:03:25
excellent. Yeah, I would wait, I would worry way more about the lead weight that is Tyler than I would about diabetes. And I really appreciate Tyler as being the comic foil of this episode. Please. Pass on my regards. Actually, you should tell him that this didn't happen. Probably just be like, I don't know. It just didn't work out. Or we're gonna try again later.
Jordan 1:03:49
Yeah, I was gonna have to listen to it before I let tell anyone else about it.
Scott Benner 1:03:53
Oh, I 100%. Don't think you should let him hear this.
Unknown Speaker 1:03:59
Because I'm kidding. Fair warning.
Scott Benner 1:04:01
Yeah, I've been kidding the whole time. But I'm looking back now. And there's like three things I don't think he wants to hear. But no, seriously, I it's really cool. what you guys are doing the way you're like, you know, let's be serious for a second, you're in your mid 20s. Both of you are becoming educated. And you're supporting each other. You're, you know, you're a couple, you're married, you're taking care of each other. You're taking care of your diabetes in an amazing way. This is really a success story. Your life really is like it's easy to joke about but just because you're younger and you talk slower and you're kind of quiet, your cat can't eat protein. But I mean, other than that, though, you really do have your stuff together. So I mean, you should really be congratulated you by yourself pretty much in your mid 20s. Got your a one C from nine to five. And that's no joke. That's Yeah, as well done, you know, do you ever stop and just, you know, pat yourself on the back? I would. Seriously Have you ever do. What I was gonna say have you ever really stopped and thought about what in the comments This is
Jordan 1:05:01
Yeah, I have. And Tyler talks about all the time. Like, if I have a randomly, not random, I'll know what happens. But if I have a high number, Tyler will bring up the fact that when I when we first met and I would check my blood sugar, like two or 300 would be a normal number that we would see. And now it's very rare. So it's cool to look back and see,
Scott Benner 1:05:28
you know what I'm what I'm interested about about your transformation with food too is that you weren't addicted to food, right? Like it was easy for you to change. Because it seems like you just made a decision to eat healthier, and you just did it. Whereas if you said to me, Scott, you need to eat, you know, a certain way all the time. I don't know that I could, like so seamlessly do it. Was it seamless? How long did it take you to make the transition? We just like one day, you're like, I'm not gonna be like this anymore. That was it, or have you faltered back and forth, or
Jordan 1:05:59
the first change was just to a vegan diet. And we would still eat, like processed foods and still some higher fat foods. And I didn't see a huge change in the diet. And then when I switched to eating like just like Whole Foods, and not any processed or not a bunch of added fat or anything. I mean, you can have vegan pizza and also make your blood sugar go crazy if it has a bunch of fat in it. But once that happened, then it was the biggest change. But it was it was pretty much overnight.
Scott Benner 1:06:40
The change.
Jordan 1:06:42
Yeah, the transition, but I mean, eating, it's such a, like everyone has their habits with eating, and they have their favorite meals that they make all the time. And it's just about finding meals that you like, and what works for you. And eventually, just making those changes you can make a transition with maybe not even really realizing what a big transition you've made. Oh,
Scott Benner 1:07:08
it's really inspirational, honestly, I mean, as a person who I mean, my weight fluctuates constantly, it doesn't make any sense. Like one day, I'll look in the mirror and I look like one person. And three days later, I look like a different person. I'm like, What happened? But I think it's I don't think it's a secret what happened. Like, I really do believe that it's like processed foods and stuff like that, that makes your body begin to like, retain water and you know, and all kinds of stuff. So I agree with you. I just don't not 100% sure I could eat. Like, I'm never hungry is my problem. Is that as weird as it sounds like the food you talked about eating sounded like a lot? To me.
Jordan 1:07:47
It is a lot. Yeah. It's a lot of food. Yeah. And then I know nutrition is a controversial topic, especially right now. Because in low carb is a big craze right now. And high carb low fat is a big craze. So there's a lot of confusion out there. But I think if someone wants to make a change, definitely doing research and kind of looking into it before. It's important. But
Scott Benner 1:08:17
what I found interesting about what you said is that the transformation happens so quickly. So it makes me feel like the right answers what works. You know, like, whether it's one or the other, like wherever you're seeing, like real impact. Like like that would indicate to me that your body likes what's happening.
Jordan 1:08:36
Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:08:37
you don't I mean, I really would like it. My wife is asking me if I'm still recording. So I'm telling her Yes. I don't know why. She's asking me she has not usually this interested in my life. So weird.
Jordan 1:08:54
So cuz she is working from home.
Scott Benner 1:08:56
I'm wondering if she's gonna burn the house down with me and that's really my main concern. Because then she gets, you know, a small there's a small insurance policy on me. But the house and me plus then she gets like the, you know, the town will feel bad for they'll probably make her casseroles for like a year. And then the kids will really be stuck just the only loving her. I think this is what she's gonna go for here. Let me wait for the return text. Probably gonna be like you smell smoke. I'm gonna go check. That's her cover for the cops. You know, they mean I tried to help him but he was upstairs. He couldn't hear because of the headphones and I miss them. Like that kind of a thing. Like she's probably working or acting right now down there. She's gonna kill me one
Jordan 1:09:39
mile. So she walks when
Scott Benner 1:09:40
there are days when I think it will happen eventually. I always imagined she'll get me with a pillow while I'm sleeping. Classic, you know, they mean no reason to be flashy. Just, I don't know. I think he had sleep apnea.
Jordan 1:09:56
kept telling him to go to the doctor,
Scott Benner 1:09:57
my guest that's how I'll tell you what I bet That's how Tyler goes. I just had to take one more. So I get Tyler, who I'm sure is a lovely person that I've never met. Before, I guess. Listen, I would imagine is because you seem like a very grounded reasonable person. I don't think you would couple up with a jackass. So I think Tyler's property terrific. You really are wonderful. You know that, right? Like, I screwed you over a couple of weeks ago by mistake. And you were just like, that's cool. And now today, You're up early again doing this. And we are just it is six o'clock in the morning. And I am saying that your I called your husband a lead weight, I inferred that you would make a baby with him and then leave him like your father did to your first wife. We have said every ridiculous thing about your life that is possible. And the only reason this happened is because you were nervous, and I had to fill the time. You cause this yourself, Jordan. That's what I'm trying to say.
Jordan 1:10:58
I do appreciate you actually calling me today.
Scott Benner 1:11:00
Oh, look at you take it a swing back at me with some sarcasm. That's lovely. I like that. Jordan, you're terrific. If I was 25 years younger, and Tyler hadn't gotten there first, I would absolutely bother you at college. I'd be like, This girl is gonna make a great berry breakfast one day, I can tell. And she's gonna walk these people to death on a thing. And she looks real earning potentials there's I can tell. So that would check the first box right there. There you go. I don't really tell Well, wait, I was gonna say I don't really say that to people. But I have in the past joked about it. Like, you know, but it's sort of not a joke to at the same time. Like, I know someone who obviously I want out who is married to a person who is in my estimation, oh, lazy. Just like this person just doesn't. I know about their details. They're not motivated. They don't have health issues. There's nothing keeping them back. They just aren't really like looking to kill it in life. Do you know what I mean? Like, they're just like, yeah, you know, I'm awake. This is good enough. Like that kind of thing. And I didn't want a life like that for myself, like I wanted. I wanted to try a little bit. You don't mean like, I'm not trying to be wealthy? I don't, that doesn't motivate me. I'm not looking to you know, I'm not looking to be the king of something. But I would like to be able to, like turn around and say I need $20. And for it to be there. You know, and for that to be comfortable. Yeah. So it was important to me that actually, all the Joking aside. And I'm going to ask you a question in a second about Tyler that series. My daughter and her friend. My daughter has a friend who enjoys my company. I don't know why it's weird. But we got a text early in the week. And she's lovely. They she's one of my daughter's friends who I really, I think is one of my favorite ones of my daughter's friends. And so her name is Bella and Bella said, I want to go out for Friday night for chicken with your dad take us out to dinner. So my wife got sick Friday, which is a shame because she was going to come out. And so Bella and Arden and I went out to get Bella chicken, which is really what was happening and 100% I'm still not sure how it happened. So we're driving back to the house. And the kids start, you know, like sometimes kids to ask like bigger life questions. They started asking like, what kind of a person do you see me with like when I get older, because we were people watching in the restaurant. And I was pointing out to them, like, Look, you can see how people end up together. And we were doing kind of that like social math. Like this guy is handsome, but he's not as tall. So he ended up with this girl who's this but she's like, like, you know what I mean? Like, it's it's such a horrible thing to say, but we all fit somewhere. So we were just kind of talking about how people fit together. This made them really wonder who they fit with. And I was like, Look, I'm you know, there's no way to know, I was like, before we started talking about Bob and Bella says, you know, how did you and your wife end up together and I said, hundred percent. The most important thing to me is that my wife is bright, and articulate, and I can talk to her. I said 100% that's what attracted me to my wife. First. She's a thoughtful person, you can have a deep conversation with, you know, everything's not surface. She's not easily confused by things. You know, they mean like, You know how sometimes you can just make some, like half assed argument to somebody and you change their mind and like in the back of your head, you're like that was it like I swayed you? You know what I mean? Like, like you didn't want to, like work toward or anything. She's reasonable. But she's thorough. She's a hard working person. Her job means something to her. She takes pride in the things she does, and I always knew when I was dating her that she'd be a good mother. Like I could really tell and she absolutely 100 percent is all those things and more. And so I told the kids that and they were like, oh, and I'm like, Yeah, I know. That was the truth. Now let's get back to the fun stuff where we talk about the short guy not being able to get a tall girl, here we go. But yet, for a minute, we were like being real with each other. It was lovely. And so I'm wondering, see, thank you if you're comfortable. And to save his soul, in case he ever listens to this, how did you? How did you decide Tyler was the right one.
Jordan 1:15:32
Um, he is very smart, and very sweet. And he's been super supportive with my diabetes, which has been really just really helpful. My mom was saying the other day that she always thought that I would have to end up with someone else who has type one. Because, like, it's such a hard thing for other people to understand. If you don't really live with it, and know it. But she was talking about how grateful she is for Tyler and how much she's supported me. So yeah, just all around a good guy.
Scott Benner 1:16:13
That's lovely. Very nice. Well, Tyler, you're an all around good guy. And that is a really amazing thing to be seriously. I don't think people think sometimes that other things are, are thought of over just being a decent person, and having good, you know, intentions for people. And I is a person who, you know, I joke around here a lot. But you know, I'm sort of like that. And I found it to be undervalued by others in life. And it's a shame, like, I haven't bent from it. But it's definitely not something that the outside world looks at and goes, Oh, this guy's been a really good father for 20 years. That's not a point thing for most people. You know what I mean? they're just, they're like a, he didn't have a job, or he didn't do this or that, you know, all the things I joked about with Tyler through the hour. So anyway, I think joking aside, I, I find that to be the most important thing. I believe you guys will be married for a bazillion years, and have a bunch of cats that can't tolerate all kinds of different foods together.
Jordan 1:17:20
Hopefully a kids someday
Scott Benner 1:17:21
Well, let's hope the kids can eat tuna while though what would you make? Would you make a baby and make a vegan? Do you think he would write? copy? no reason not
Jordan 1:17:30
to play? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nice.
Scott Benner 1:17:34
All right. Yeah. Well, I want to know how that goes.
Jordan 1:17:39
I'll keep you updated.
Scott Benner 1:17:40
Well, you won't stop it. So wait. So here's the question. You're an animal, right?
Jordan 1:17:47
Yes.
Scott Benner 1:17:48
So could a vegan baby drink your breast milk?
Unknown Speaker 1:17:51
Oh, go ahead and answer the question.
Jordan 1:17:56
Yes.
Scott Benner 1:17:59
You don't want to be controversial about that at all. Jordan. Nothing. Okay, but you wouldn't get you don't drink cow's milk.
Jordan 1:18:07
And I'm not gonna stick my baby on the cows that are?
Scott Benner 1:18:12
Well, you'd wipe it off first. They're dirty because they walk around. They lay in the room. But yeah, oh, that gets sick. very dirty animals. Very, very dirty animals. But the insides are clean. That's why the milk is okay. You would, but you wouldn't give cow's milk to yourself, right? No, that's vegan. Vegans like nothing that comes from an animal at all? Yeah, okay. So your shoes are like, what? Yeah, like plastic shoes on like the whole thing, right? It's like sandwich bags wrapped around your feet or something. Or what do you got?
Jordan 1:18:46
Just go barefoot everywhere. Gotcha. All right.
Scott Benner 1:18:49
I'm leaving you with a. I'm leaving you with this. For a second story. My friend Mike who is no longer with us, dated a vegan when we were kids. And try to imagine that this was in the early 90s it was not exactly the epicenter of veganism. And we were shopping one day walking through a mall. We were all together. And we walked past a shoe store that had just, I there must have been 1000 pairs of leather shoes in the shoe store. And I'm not gonna lie. You could smell the leather as you walked past the shoe store. And we're all just strolling down the mall. And she just gasps and yells
Unknown Speaker 1:19:30
and yells against smell the leather. She ran away.
Unknown Speaker 1:19:40
And I put my hand on my shoulder. I was like,
Unknown Speaker 1:19:43
how do you handle this one?
Unknown Speaker 1:19:47
He says swear to God, it was like November. And he goes I think she got me a pretty good Christmas present and the sex is great. So I'm gonna hang on a little longer.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:02
I don't know where that girl is now.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:05
But a
Unknown Speaker 1:20:07
bless her she was really thrown by that she
Scott Benner 1:20:12
is one of like the I have two memories of that girl. This next one if your kids are listening, the podcast is over now shut it off. Okay. But my other memory of them is that we all went to the zoo together, which now that I look at it, I'm not sure that she should have been okay with it as a vegan. And, and we were really young, right? So we are and it's another time I want you to remember another time when I tell you the story. So the entire drive to the zoo she's talking about she's just had her nipple pierced. I told you to shut it off and you're listening with your kids, right? And we're all kind of amazed by that. And it wasn't really a vibe of people that we had hung around and we get out of the car. And she's taught she keeps talking about my nipple pierced my nipple pierced and like she's like, you can see it right through my shirt. And I don't know what possessed me and as an adult, I would not do this. But I reached out with the very tip of my finger and I touched it. I was like, Is this it? And there's this long pause and she goes, No, that's my nipple.
Unknown Speaker 1:21:12
And I pulled my hair back slowly. I went. I apologize. We wish
Scott Benner 1:21:18
everyone laughed. It was fine. But um, those are my only two memories of that girl. I don't know her name. I can picture her in my head running away from a shoe store but that's pretty much it. I don't I don't remember anything else about it. I do have a lot of fun memories of Mike but uh, but of her Those are my only two. Anyway, I don't get one so not bad, right. I don't know what he got for Christmas from her. But I hope it was worth waiting. Yeah. All right, Jordan, you were really lovely.
Unknown Speaker 1:21:45
Thank you. No, thank you for doing this. I appreciate it.
Scott Benner 1:21:49
When you email me an hour from now and tell me I'm never allowed to play this or people will completely understand so just
Jordan 1:21:56
know, you might have a angry mob of my family coming after you but
Scott Benner 1:22:00
I would or we could run it where everything said about your by the way everyone said in jest because I don't know any of these people about your father his first marriage. And Tyler you imagine if there was just like 1000 beeps over this episode. That was just you and I like four words went fine. There's like a beep beep beep beep and then went on maybe I put that up. Alright.
Unknown Speaker 1:22:19
Thank you so
Scott Benner 1:22:20
much. I hope you have a great day at work running people into the ground on the treadmill. Thank you seriously go save some lives you What are you doing here?
Jordan 1:22:29
I'll do my best. Huge thanks
Scott Benner 1:22:34
to the Contour Next One blood glucose meter touched by type one. And of course, don't forget about taking that survey at T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. Check out the Contour Next One blood glucose meter at Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box. Find out more about touched by type one at touched by type one.org. A bigger thank you to Jordan and an even more bigger Thank you which is not English. But you know what I mean? Bigger than bigger. So huge mungus. To Tyler, who? Let's just face it took it pretty hard for absolutely no good reason during this entire episode. Tyler You sound like a great guy. And I'm certain that you'll have a fulfilling life as a stay at home dad, two cats that can eat protein. Last things support the sponsor support the show, leave a fantastic review on Apple podcast. Share the podcast with someone else. Don't forget about juice box docs.com if you're looking for a great endocrinologist, or other practitioner who helps with Type One Diabetes, this is a list that is being compiled by listeners of the podcast looking for a great doc or have one to share juicebox Doc's calm. Are you trying to share the diabetes pro tip episodes with someone but you just can't figure out how to do it. Send them to diabetes pro tip.com. No s on that tip. It's just a pro tip diabetes pro tip.com. Love the show. Want to share it with a friend. Do that. Love the show? Want to make a great review on Apple podcasts. Do that. Don't want to do any of those things. All right, that's fine with me. Take your free podcast and just go Don't forget to check out Juicebox podcast.com. And of course subscribe to the show in your podcast app if you're listening online right now which I can see that countless thousands of you do. I'm alright with that. Right? Don't don't it's fine with me if you want to listen online, all the lessons count the same. That's fine, but still a subscribe is. He's really saying I love you. It's a commitment. You know, just go into a web page. I go I remember this guy Scott. I go holler at him real quick. See what he's doing. You know, you just click on a link on your like online listening. I mean, that's sort of like it's nice, but it's not a firm commitment. We're not really dating you and I we're just seeing each other. I don't want it to be dirty like that. So get an app on your phone Android or Apple. Apple's the other one right Apple or Android. You know, apple, for instance, there's a free podcast app on their Android. There's a bunch of I got links Juicebox podcast.com. You can find free players don't pay for a player and subscribe. Come on, it pushes me up on the lists. The lists are important. I found that a little lispy. When I said lists just now a lot of SS was you know, there isn't an S at the end of the tip at diabetes pro tip.com. I've clearly run out of things to say. So let me end with this.
No kidding. I've actually run out of things to say I was gonna say something flippant and nothing came out of my mouth. Stop back soon. There are two episodes every week, download them both. Listen, with your ears from start to finish, consume the podcast, become one with the Juicebox Podcast. Hey, if you're on Facebook, find the podcast. It's bold with insulin. That's the public page. There's also a private page where people are talking all about management ideas. That page is called Juicebox Podcast, Type One Diabetes head over, you know, throw in with us and have a nice conversation. Just about 5000 people in the private group now and I think the public groups up to 10,000 is doing great. You can find me on Instagram as well at Juicebox Podcast but there's no like major league conversation on the Instagram just pictures and you know if you're into that, I guess I'm not gonna tell you not to do it. That accounts actually up to about 10,002. So head over see what all the trouble is about. See what all the hullabaloo was going on is and then remember Brum, Brum,
Unknown Speaker 1:26:56
Brum, Brum,
Scott Benner 1:26:58
having trouble making thoughts maybe I should sing an old 20 song. What's a good 20th song? Hold on a second. Famous 1920 murders movies mobsters, musicians music There we go. Whoo. Ain't misbehaving was huge in the 20s. dark was the night downtown Hartford blues in the jailhouse. Now making whoopee by Bing Crosby. My man
Unknown Speaker 1:27:35
huh?
Scott Benner 1:27:37
West and blues Louis Armstrong. Do not wonder what the words to make an whoopee we're cuz.
Unknown Speaker 1:27:46
Now I'm wondering.
Scott Benner 1:27:48
Every time I hear that dear old Wedding March. I feel rather glad I have broken. Wait, I have a broken arch. I have heard a lot of people talk. And I know that marriage is a long long walk. To most people weddings mean romance, but I prefer a picnic or a dance of the bride and groom and other sunny honeymoon. Another season another reason for making Whoopie Is this the back end later the wedding. The chorus sings Here comes the bride and other victim is by her side. This is misogynistic. He's lost his reason? Cause it's the season for making Whoopi. down through the countless ages. You'll find it everywhere. Somebody makes good wages. Somebody wants her share. Jesus. This is harsh. She calls him toodles and rolls her eyes. She makes him strudels and bakes him pies. What is it all for? This is like a bad Cat in the Hat. It's so helpful for making whoopee. Wait, you got to trick me into those sex. Another year or maybe less? What's this? I hear? Well, can you guess she feels neglected? So he suspected of making whoopee. Are you following this? I think the inference here is men don't want to be married to the 20s. But that's the only way they're going to get laid. And so you give him a pie if you're a lady, and then he marries you. I'm not clear on what you get out of this yet. And the ladies I'm saying and then soon enough, he's going to get tired of your pie from what I'm guessing here. And then he's going to go make the Wolfie with somebody else. Or is he making the copy? Or do you just feel neglected because he's ignoring you and therefore you think he's making the copy? Let's read on it. We'll find out. She sits alone most every night. Oh, no, he's out. He doesn't phone or even right. He's gone. He says he's busy. But she says is he not easy peasy. Why? Like, is he from Grey's Anatomy is he? He's making whoopee. He doesn't make much money $5,000 per year. skies a slacker even by 1920 standards, some judges who think he's funny some judge who thinks he's funny says you'll pay six to her. Oh, I see. He only makes five grand but he's got to give six to the lady. I mean, how many pies did she make? He says now judge suppose I failed the judge says budge right into jail. We are up to this guy going from not wanting to go to a wedding because his foot doesn't hurt. He can't dance. To now he's gonna get locked up for not making his alimony you better keeper you'll find it's cheaper than making won't be. Oh, not cheating is cheaper than giving away your money. So dark song written by two men Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson. A lot of people recorded this song Doris Day. Eddie Cantor, Ella Fitzgerald in Crosby Huh?
Unknown Speaker 1:31:01
What do you know?
Scott Benner 1:31:04
My ADHD led us to reading the lyrics of making won't be at the end of an hour and 30 minute long podcasts where all we really did was make fun of Jordan's husband Tyler for no reason that is discernible. I guess that makes sense.
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#372 After Dark: Divorce and Co-Parenting
ADULT TOPIC WARNING
A father of a type 1 discusses his divorce and co-parenting type 1 diabetes
You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Alexa - Google Play/Android - iHeart Radio - Radio Public or their favorite podcast app.
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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, everybody. Welcome to Episode 372 of the Juicebox Podcast and Episode 1234 episode seven of the afterdark series. So far we've done afterdark for drinking, weed smoking, trauma and addiction. Sex from the female perspective, depression and self harm sex from the male perspective. Today we're doing divorce from the perspective of the father of a child with Type One Diabetes. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored today by the Omni pod tubeless insulin plump, plump, plump by the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump, go to my Omni pod.com Ford slash juicebox. Today to get a free no obligation demo of the Omni pod sent directly to your home. plump up your diabetes game. I don't even know what I'm talking about. The episode is also sponsored by the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor dexcom.com Ford slash juice box will tell you everything you need to know about what is in my opinion, the world's most amazing diabetes tool for measuring your blood sugar. See what direction and speed your blood sugar is moving in, in real time with the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. You want to make good decisions about insulin, get a G six. If you've been thinking about these tools and have been procrastinating, what are you doing get to it. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you have to go look, this stuff is amazing.
It took me quite some time to find someone willing to come on and talk about being divorced. And having a child with type one diabetes, and the CO parenting that goes with it. But today you're going to speak to a wise and brave man named Jeremy. And he's really going to share how his divorce went when his son's diagnosis cropped into the story and how they dealt with things and continue to deal with things to this day. Please remember, while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, please always consult a physician before making changes to your medical plan are becoming bold with insulin. You could become part of some amazing Type One Diabetes Research right there from the comfort of wherever your butt is at this moment from your phone or computer, go to T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. Take yet you gotta be from the US for this. Take a short survey, I think it took me about seven minutes to take, you're going to be supporting research and supporting the podcast at the same time. T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox.
Jeremy 3:02
My name is Jeremy Ross Meyer, I'm a single dad of 11 year old type one diabetic named thaman. We've been diagnosed at this point about two and a half years. And we have had an A one C at this point of six or under for the last two years.
Scott Benner 3:22
Congratulations. That's excellent. So you, Jeremy were very kind. I've put this call out a number of times and never gotten a response. But of the private messages that I get a number of them are consistently about Do you have any episodes about co parenting about you know, divorce that, you know, I'm having a lot of trouble. It always feels like it's one or the other, you know, either we're not on the same page or one person's taking the care. You know what, what feels like more seriously to this person than the other person is. And no one ever really knows how to do it because of all of the other entanglements that are wrapped around it. And so you're, you're here to talk about your your time with this, which is really kind and I appreciate it for everybody. So unlike most episodes, I'm going to start with how old are you and when did you get married?
Jeremy 4:22
I'm 38 now, um, got married when I want to say I was 25 or 26.
Scott Benner 4:32
Okay, how long did you How long did you make it? I'm gonna try to make this fun if I can
Jeremy 4:39
find I think I have a good way of answering this and it's not exactly how you want me to answer but I'm going to answer in this way please. So um I have always growing up. I grew up in roller skating rinks whether that be in Lincoln, Nebraska or up here in Montana and There was a co worker that said, Hey, I have this friend, I think that you would really like to meet. And she brought, I was the Friday night, Saturday night DJ for 15 plus years at this roller rink at this point, okay. And she walked through the door, and I instantly knew that, yes, that's the one, it was one of those things. And at this point, she was 17. I was 21. So I was, you know, it was a little different, but it is what it is. And from that point, on to the point, we got married, it was about four years, okay, um, and I'm a product of a divorce myself. And it was one of those things where we wanted to make sure in every way shape or form that that we were going to work. And if the even meant that we moved in together and live together for about two years to make sure that sight was gonna work, we always knew that we were going to end up getting married. But we wanted to make it make sure it was going to work. And in the end, it didn't work. We so we dated for about four years. And we were together, just under six years. And we've been divorced for just about seven years now.
Scott Benner 6:28
Okay. So you do you're married, you were together for four years living together, and then we're married for two years. Now we were married for six, six, excuse me. So four to 10. In total? I got it. Yeah. All right. So you went from 21 to 31. During that time? Excuse me, you met when you were 21. So you got married when you were like 25? She was 21. Okay, I got it. Yep. All right. Sorry. Okay, so so that's a, that's a long time. How is there a moment? in those 10 years? Where you thought, this is not working the way I wanted it to? Or did it sneak up on you? Did you walk in the house one day, and she was like, your stuffs on the lawn? I'm leaving and you went? Wait, what's happening? Or did you feel it coming?
Jeremy 7:17
Can you talk? No, she it? Uh, I knew that it was coming. It was one of those things? Were they were all the warning signs. She blatantly told me Look, you know, this needs to happen. And I guess we need to go into a little bit of, of at least least what what caused the divorce a little bit to understand kind of what happened. And, and at the time, I would have told you Well, look, kind of like you said earlier that that that, you know that. You know, I married that night and I didn't it was me being you know, retrospectively looking back over all this, you know, it was me honestly. Not wanting to put the effort forth in the in the marriage to make it work. I said, Well, I got what I wanted, don't need to go out and go to the park. I don't need to go out and do this. I don't need to go out and do that. And you know, you want to go have a have a one shot at the lake. Okay, let's go to Lake and well, I'm hot. Let's drive back. You know, it was me not putting forth a lot of the effort that was required.
All around, I guess, being lazy.
And it was me.
I guess being socially awkward, me being having a bit of social anxiety and not liking to be around large groups of people. Those aren't excuses. It was just, you know, looking back on. I think that's a lot of what I was struggling with at the time that it always seemed like she would ask me to go do something I would tell her No, I would continue sitting in my chair. And she would leave. And it got to that point where she's, you know, she had vocalized her concerns multiple times for a couple of years, to be honest with you, right? And I kept on saying, you know, no, I'll change no oil change the oil change. And
Scott Benner 9:34
did you can I ask, did you share with her that you had, like this social awkwardness? Was she aware of that?
Jeremy 9:41
Not really, until afterwards. It wasn't until we were we were divorced. And we for you know a good number of years, probably three years or so. That that I we really sat down and talked about it. And it was kind of eye opening at that point because she she kind of understood me more at that point. And I understood her more.
Yeah, it was just a really awkward time. Do you?
Scott Benner 10:15
Do you have feelings? That you said, You're from a divorced family? Did you feel like you were like that was going to happen? At some point? Did you have an expectation that you couldn't stay married? I'm wondering or no,
Jeremy 10:28
I was always very, very much from the standpoint of, you know, marriage. Because I mean, I grew up in parochial school until at least sixth grade or so. And I was raised that you know, whenever you get married, you get married, and you're married. And that's it. Yeah. You know, once and done it, it isn't a failure option thing. But in a way, yes. Because like I said, You know, I took every precaution beforehand, unlike, you know, lots of people nowadays, or even 10 years ago, where, Hey, stop a cat,
Unknown Speaker 11:10
where
Scott Benner 11:10
you got to give that cat a better name. I know
Jeremy 11:15
where it was, ever. They just, you know, kids nowadays, they just move in with each other not trying to bet anything.
Scott Benner 11:24
Well, that's a good point. And during those four years that you live together, were you awkward then or is that something that you grew into?
Jeremy 11:31
It, it was something I grew into, and I've always been a bit socially awkward. And it's been one of those things where if even now trying to go to Walmart, by myself, for myself, it's not, it's not gonna happen, unless I have someone there. Like, even my son, violent someone there, I'm okay, I can go inside, I can shop all day long. It just got socially, Eric, I guess it got worse with the marriage because I started learning that I don't even have to go, I could just ask her to go.
Scott Benner 12:04
I say, you know, taking away this awkwardness for you by being the person who went out and did this thing, you didn't have to do that anymore. But then when she has wanted to do something personal with you, you are getting more and more comfortable. In at home.
Jeremy 12:18
Exactly. Okay. The
biggest thing, but with that, it also, I didn't realize at the time that that's what it was, it wasn't until you know, I I seeked out a doctor and I and I talked to a doctor over all this that I found out about all this, you know, I knew that there was something wrong and but I couldn't explain it. It wasn't until after the divorce that I truthfully understood what it was and why I was experiencing it and everything else. Because I've always been okay at work. Because Well, I be there a been in a position of power, if you will, at work where I'm in control. But you put me in a situation where I'm not in control. And that's where I break down.
Scott Benner 13:07
Okay. And you didn't even know it yourself. So you couldn't even tell her. It just felt like I don't want to go out or I'll do it.
Jeremy 13:17
Yeah, it was overwhelming anxiety. And at that time, once again, didn't know what anxiety really was, you know, I? It was it's different, I guess.
Scott Benner 13:29
And and so I guess when you don't know what it is, it feels like, like, Oh my god, she's bothering me all the time to do these things. She knows I don't want to do them. Like why so you can almost get angry in return. In this scenario where you have no real? No, no real right to be angry. But it just it kind of manifests itself I guess. In that
Jeremy 13:51
Yeah. And I wouldn't really call it anger. It was just it wasn't, like I said, an overwhelming sense of anxiety.
Scott Benner 14:00
Okay. So you didn't mind her asking you to go out you just once the Ask happen. You just were like, well, I can't do that.
Jeremy 14:06
Yeah. And then you know, and I knew there was a serious breakdown whenever she stopped asking, right? It was, Hey, I'm gonna go over to my parents. Or, hey, I'm gonna go do this. It wasn't, hey, let's go do this. Or let's go to the park or let's do this, or let's do that. It was I'm going,
Scott Benner 14:27
huh? So it's kind of it's fairly classic then. So you get married. There's a person there that does this stuff. We are together because I work or you work or we both work and we we intersect we have a meal. We'll bang our genitals into each other once in a while. keep the house clean, pay the bills. That's what we're doing over and over again. Like that's just what this is. And, and she wanted more than that. And you were really probably pretty thrilled with how it was I would imagine.
Jeremy 14:55
Yeah. And then I mean, don't get me wrong. We had tons of great years. tons. great memories match.
I mean, and I
I'll be honest with you, I mean, I, she's, she's been remarried now for three or four years. If she was to get divorced and want to get back together, I would take her back in a heartbeat. We've grown that much since then. I still love her as the mother of my child. But we actually get along better now than we did for most of our marriage.
Scott Benner 15:35
Well, I guess probably because you explained yourself to her. She understands now and yeah, and the and the stressors gone? Because, you know, do you think if Do you think if we wave the magic wand, and she was back in the house and said, hey, let's go out and have a picnic? you'd just be like, yeah, cool. Or would you say, Oh, no, that makes me anxious. But let's work through it. Like, where are you at?
Jeremy 15:56
It's giving me anxiety right now, just thinking. Gotcha. But at the same time, I don't know. It's like it would be worth it in the long run. And I'm not saying that that will ever happen. I understand. No, I understand. In my mind, we've, we've, we've grown enough to I think we could end up doing it. But that's you're trying to say that
Scott Benner 16:17
you guys have your relationship didn't stop growing. When the divorce has no,
Unknown Speaker 16:22
yeah, I'll be honest with you.
Jeremy 16:25
Whenever we even
so right after the divorce thing, not right after right before the divorce, and then the preceding years after the divorce things were not great.
And I think we need to talk about that.
Scott Benner 16:42
Yeah, Jeremy. That's why you're right. Yeah, that's why you're on because because you had a contentious divorce. And it's not any longer and so let's just put a little perspective on it. Your child with diabetes? How long? How old was? How old was your child when you were divorced when you got divorced?
Jeremy 17:03
Um, he was four or five appetite?
Scott Benner 17:07
Okay. Did he have type one then?
Jeremy 17:10
No, we didn't get it diagnosed until 2019. February 9 2019. Oh, no, not 918.
Scott Benner 17:19
roughly how long? Were you divorced when he was diagnosed?
Jeremy 17:24
Four years.
Scott Benner 17:25
Okay. There's a fair amount of time. And yeah, in those four years, what you were about to say is your relationship with your ex was how
Jeremy 17:34
it was. Okay. So it was interesting. I mean, right before the divorce and for, you know, since then it was it was very rocky. I mean, it was where everybody's taking notes on everybody else, just in case. And, you know, this is your time, this is my time, if it was me trying to manipulate a lot of the situations. It was me fighting to get this done or fighting to get that done. It was, you know, it was me versus her. But at the same time, we always, she always still called me whenever she was, you know, needed something, or should we still talk like we were friends, but there was still a hardcore line there. Yeah. And
as that progressed,
it got more and more to the point where we were talking more as friends. Even to the point where she would call me about her boyfriends. Hey, this guy is saying this. What does this mean? You know, and it was it was weird, but at the same time, I knew that she trusted me, right. And even to this day, I mean, like, whenever thaman went to his first camp last year, his diabetes camp. She called me at 3am in the morning on her porch, freaking out, you know, talking to me, and I'm like, you have a husband go talk to your husband about it seems like no, but you understand.
Scott Benner 19:17
So cat and I are sleeping. So
Unknown Speaker 19:19
yeah, exactly.
Scott Benner 19:21
No, no, I hear what you're saying. So So this, so I guess removed from being impacted by your social anxiety. She really did like everything else about you. It wasn't it was it was really that part right there. Did you must have really been a hermit huh? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I say it. Alright. Tell me about the diagnosis a little bit. How did that go? Cuz you're gonna have a different story than other people. This week, I've been helping a newly diagnosed family get through the first couple of days with type one. This is something I'm doing personally in my own time and It didn't take 48 hours for the person to say to me, is there another way to get this insulin in besides these needles? And I said, Yeah, I mean, you could get an insulin pump. They asked me which one I would choose. And the only thing that I could tell them was that the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump has been a mainstay of my daughter's life since she was four years old. And Arden is 16. Now, for 12 years, every day, my daughter has been wearing it on the pod tubeless insulin pump. And it's been a friend, honestly, in our our lives with Type One Diabetes. So not because you know, it's a click for the podcast, but I just said to her here, go to this link. And give it a try. it'll send one to your house, and you can slap it on and give it a whirl, my omnipod.com forward slash juice box? Well, the pods on its way, and they're very much looking forward to it. And I'll be able to report back to you what they do in the future. But I'm you know, them I don't, I don't care what any of you do. I'm just telling you that the Omni pod exists, I think it's terrific. And it's super simple for you to check out because you can get a free, no obligation demo, my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. The Omni pod is tubeless. It's easy. It works. You can swim bave, recreate, do whatever you want, and keep it on. Super important not to have to disconnect to do those things. Because when you do that you're without your insulin. That's it. You don't need a big sell. For me. It's what I think is right. It's why on the positive sponsor, if I didn't like on the pod, if I didn't love it, if my daughter didn't have the most amazing experience with it, they would not be sponsors on this podcast. That's it. That's how you can take that to the bank, as they say. So support the podcast if you will use my link. And if you don't, as long as you guys are happy. That's what makes me happy. Another thing that makes me happy is being able to see the speed and direction of my daughter's blood sugar. You don't think I thought those other people about Dexcom? I certainly did. Why? Because right here on my iPhone or on their Android, she told me I have an Android phone. So don't worry, it works with that too. I can see my daughter's blood sugar right now. Well, I know what it is. It's 115. That quick, it's stable and steady. It is not rising or falling. It's actually been 115 for about the past 45 minutes, she came down from a little bit of a high from a lunch that had some fat and protein in it that it didn't do a great job of bolusing for but we were able to bring that number down and come in for this beautiful landing at 115. Because we can see Arden's blood sugar in real time because of the Dexcom g six, understand, went to a lunch had some food it hit or harder than it should have. And instead of sitting there all like I don't know what to do, you know, for three or four hours and looking at this big blood sugar, we were able to bring it down gracefully and safely. right back to where we want it.
I'm not even gonna bother telling you today. You know what I said? I'm gonna tell you anyway, right about the share and follow features. My daughter's sharing her Dexcom data and I'm seeing it on my phone, she could actually share it with up to 10 people of her choosing. If she was an adult and still wanted us to follow her blood sugars in college, we could do that. Or even if she was a you know, 1000 years old, the oldest person in the world with diabetes, we could still follow her blood sugar on our phones dexcom.com forward slash juicebox my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box links are in the show notes and at Juicebox podcast.com if you can't remember them, and please add your name to the T one D exchange T one d exchange.org forward slash juice box back to Jeremy hoppy dem one take no edits. I am so pleased with myself right now you have no idea I don't mean to break the fourth wall here and you're listening to the podcast I'm thinking like is Jeremy going to tell more about like is he is he's gonna get really into being divorced now and stuff like that. I don't think he cries. But one time he almost made me cry. not the point. The point is, I just did that ad in one take no edits. I only fumbled a word like one time. I am so happy with myself right now. I'm so sorry. Here we go. podcast Here comes. Tell me about the diagnosis a little bit.
Jeremy 24:26
At that time. claim. My ex wife lived in Helena about 80 miles away from where we live in Great Falls. We Great Falls. It's it's me thaman my son and her parents. And she lives in hell 80 miles away. And he stays up here in Great Falls to go to school. That's where all his friends are. That's where he started everything and then she sees On the weekend, or whenever she comes, she'll either come down to Great Falls and standard parents or thaman will go up to her. My, my. I don't want to call her my ex mother in law because she's so much more than that. To me, she's really is my secondary mother and her parents very much are still my family gotcha. She had noticed that he was urinating more than usual. I'd kind of noticed that, but he's growling, whatever. And then finally, the school teacher called and said, You know, I don't know what's going on. But Damon went to the bathroom 15 times today. And Kathy is sorry, is Damon's grandma had told me Hey, look, you know, he's been going to bathroom law, just pay attention. So the teacher actually allowed him to do it. And then that night, I was like, Okay, so this, yeah, he had gotten up four or five times. And then all of a sudden, he started wetting the bed. I'm like, What the hell is going on? You know, he's, he's nine years old, this shouldn't be happening. And then all of a sudden, it was he peed the bed four times that night. And I'm like, Kay, there's something going on here. So I had called Kathy, my ex mother in law. And she said, You know, this can be quite a different couple things. It's probably just urinary tract infection. But I had this one kid at school, where it was something else. I don't want to mention what it is just you make an appointment. So I made an appointment. And I had called, said, Hey, this is what's going on. Can I get an appointment sometime this week? And she's like, Well, yeah, so they scheduled it three or four days later. And within 30 minutes, our pediatrician called me back and she said, we're not waiting till Wednesday. I need you down here. Now. I'm like, Okay, is there something wrong? She goes, there could be Don't worry about it. Just get down here. Now. Let them know what the front desk who you are. Just get down here. Yeah. We got down there. It was just me and Damon at this point. And I did that the nurse was at the door with the door open waiting for us. They pretty much had this nailed down from the very beginning. And, I mean, the nurse grabbed ahold of Damon's arm, started walking fast. I'm like, Whoa, chill out. He just peeing a lot, man. And she's like, Well, good, because he's peeing all the time. He can pee in this cup. And she peed in the cup. And they put us in a room and I have 45 seconds later, the pediatrician was in there with the with the big old glucometer on one of those vampire pokers and got him bleeding stuck him. It was like 532. And I'm like, okay, that seems high. That seems like a good score.
Scott Benner 28:15
500 that's a hard number to get.
Jeremy 28:17
And I'll be honest with the I remember that point because her name's crystal. She's an amazing, amazing doctor. She just immediately broke down and started crying. I still remember that. Like it was yesterday. And I said, Is everything okay? And she's like, well, I'll be honest with you.
It looks like your wife's about to change.
Unknown Speaker 28:44
For
Jeremy 28:47
I need to get some blood to verify it, but she goes, you know, just be prepared if you need to call anybody to come down to the hospital with you and everything. You know, this could be type one diabetes, and it's a it's a fairly large change in your life and you're gonna need support. Like, okay, well, you know, my grandma had type type two, I got this this. And I remember seeing grandma every bit every night just taking a shot. I bet it'll be fine. Right? So, you know, we we got the blood test. And it was taken a while to come back. And she said, You know, I want you to go home. And, you know, I'll call you get your stuff together, though. You're probably gonna have to go into the ER. And so we went over to grandma and grandpa's, because grandma grandpa's was a lot closer to the hospital and where I currently live. And I sat there and I talked to Rick, my ex father in law once again, so much more than just to ex father in law. And I told him right before we left the doctor a call back and she goes yeah, you're gonna have to get down to the ER And I talked to my son now I'm probably not going to be able to do this by myself if this is something crazy. Just stay on standby. We got down to the ER, they they smelled his breath. They did all this other stuff. They took blood and they're like, oh, yep, this type one diabetes and I. And I kind of just sat there for a second. I didn't know what any of it meant. Of course, they're not explaining anything but he's not in DK at this point isn't like, we're, you know, rustling and bustling. And yeah, like, everything was going off. And I. And I just I remember picking up the phone and talking or calling his grandpa and I was like, Look, you need to get down here. I might need a second set of ears on this. I'm kind of deer in the headlight right now. And he came down and he was there for the next at least 18 to 20 hours with me?
Scott Benner 31:01
How do you handle that with your, your ex wife being so far away with you? Do you tell her in that moment? Or do you tell her at the end? Or when do you contact her?
Unknown Speaker 31:11
So, um,
Jeremy 31:13
the way we've always done medical stuff is it's 5050 decision. And which, you know, that's just a legal term to keep people happy in my opinion. And it's just something on a piece of paper, you know? And I and I called her and I said, Hey, you know, I kind of kept her abreast but I've always known you know, you don't give her the full shebang right away. Just let her kind of know the basics of Hey, I'll keep you informed if it's anything crazy. Oh, give me a call. And I remember calling her and I and I told her I said, Look, we're down at the ER. They're saying his blood sugar's high. At this point, they're they're saying something about type one diabetes? I don't know much about it. Don't worry, I'll keep you keep going. I go, I just need from you it. I mean, if Can I need to know that I have your permission to do whatever needs to be done. Hmm. And she's like, Well, isn't that serious? And I said, it's, it's starting to look that way. Yes. And she's like, well, is he gonna die? And I'm like, No, he's not gonna die. He they said, He's fine. He'll live he'll, you know, be fine. And everything, it just, I need your permission that, you know, if they say they need this, you know, an IV, if they need this, give that and she's like, No, just do whatever you need to do. She goes, you know, just let me know what's going on. And, but with everything else, just like nowadays, it's like he needs a flu shot. Yeah, yeah, get it, whatever. You know, we felt each other out to know kind of where liberties are. Because primarily, I'm the one taking them to the doctor's, I'm the one getting ready for school. I'm the one that's, you know, she lives 80 miles away. And so at this point, she just trust me to do whatever just, you know, tell her afterwards, and she's fine. But what type one it was, it was a little different. I mean, there was a lot of asking a lot of
explaining a lot of
Scott Benner 33:28
so give me a second here, because that's interesting, because you're the one who understands what's happening as best as possible, because you're there, but you still need to get someone's okay. But I'm assuming you don't have you can't walk her through it every step of the way to make sure she understands, because you don't have that kind of time on this end. And, and so does it does, in your opinion, does somebody have to just give over and say, Alright, look, you know more about this than I do. So I'm gonna defer to you, or is it about educating the other person? And how do you, I guess, what did you end up doing?
Jeremy 34:06
So, from that point, um, I finally told her, you know, we got our own room, go ahead and come up. He's perfectly fine. He's not gonna die. But there is a lot of information, we're not going to be allowed to leave the hospital until all the caretakers are up there, get educated and we pass the test. That's just how they do it up here. And she's like, okay, so she came down and there was this moment whenever she had called me whenever she was outside, because the pediatric floor up here is locked. You have to be let in. So crazy people can't come in and steal your kit. Or the kids can't wander off, right? And I remember meeting her at the door. And I remember she wanted to go into the room and I said no, we'll just come over here with with you For a second, and this is really where it all for us. This is where it all broke down. Okay, well not broke down in a bad way. I pulled her into the room right next door and I said, Look everything in the past, everything that we've been fighting about for the last two years, three years, whatever it was that point, all of the bolts that we've been doing all of the arguing all the fighting all the lying all the everything else. It ends now, okay, I go, what you're about to walk into is going to change your life, our life, our family's life, forever. I go, things are completely different now. So at this point, I need your word, that everything from the past, it's done, it's clean slate.
There can't be a divide anymore. Yeah.
And she, she kind of, I remember, I remember this, like it was yesterday, she just, she kind of looked at me. And she's like, Is it really going to change her life that much. And I said, every day, it's going to be something different. And if we don't work for a team, as a team, there's going to be more payment, payments, health is going to be at risk if we do not work as a team. Yeah. And I remember she just kind of it she, she let out this little. Like she, like, let out all the air in her lungs. And she's like, Okay, let's do this. And it was off to the races at that point.
Scott Benner 36:46
I have to stop for a second, I'm imagining that when you said that to her, she thought, Wow, this is so bad. You and I are gonna be nice to each other. You know, I'm
Jeremy 36:56
sure. And you have to kind of remember, at that point, you know, it was it was weird. We were still friends. But we were still whenever it came down to the same in level, we were very, very against each other. You know, this is my day, this is my day, you know, you get in between this time and this time? And can I ask you that this?
Scott Benner 37:19
Like, from your perspective? Why does that happen? Like, what what? What is it a fear that, that he's gonna like one of you better or that like, what feeds that in?
Jeremy 37:29
Okay. So and
I have an interesting way of looking at that, um, for one, and I'm not talking about like, my ex wife at this point, I'm just talking in general, I honestly think it's a power trip. I think that it's because I remember this, I remember getting in into this exact fight was cleaner. I said something to the point of our son or my son, and we're, she's like, No, he's not your son. He is my son. And I remember fighting with her about No, it no matter how many times you spend this, he is our son. We created him, whether you like it or not, we are going to be, you know, dealing with this until he's 18. Right. You know, and so I think a lot of it is is a power struggle, you know, you did me wrong, so I'm going to lock down and be you know, this is my kid. It is a lot of it. A lot of people do have something to worry about. There are those those relationships where, you know, either either one of them are abusive, and it would be stupid to let them you know, take full control. Yeah, or, you know, there are those situations, but for the most part, I think it's a bunch of peacocking. It's, you know, they're everybody, they're still in that stage of being pissed off about the divorce, they're still in that human stage, I guess, kid, whatever, whatever it is, and they get stuck in this thing. And they they're like, the kids are perfect ammo for my destruction of this other person
Scott Benner 39:18
is the one thing that I still know you care about. And that you'll be upset about if it goes the way you want it to go.
Jeremy 39:27
Now, I understand that not all cases are like that. I mean, there's some families it's like, I bet I read online. It's just like, I wouldn't get into I wouldn't give the kid to him either. Yeah, yeah.
Scott Benner 39:38
Yeah. your specific situation, your two very decent loving parents who either of them could, you know, either of you sounds like could have your child full time and it wouldn't be detrimental to your child, but either are situations where there are people defending against more than just bickering. It's absolutely absolutely right. Gotcha. Wow. Okay, so So you basically came from the perspective of Look, this is a health issue. And we can't, like nothing's more important than his health. So we're going to, we're going to put this all aside, did it work initially? Or were there bumps getting to that?
Jeremy 40:19
Oh, no, it was an immediate for us, it was immediate, there was a little bit of feeling out of, you know, that there had, there was a lot of trust, that had to be built in a short amount of time. Um, and for the first three months, when we were still, you know, doing the, the what the endo wanted, if you will, um, there was a little bit of a, of a power struggle, but it wasn't bad. I mean, it wasn't like we were arguing left, right and center.
Because at this point is primarily just
myself and his grandparents. claiming to have to go back to Helmand. She had been trained at the hospital, but it was still it was military boot camp, you know, there's no, here's your pens goodbye. Although I will admit, our hospital up here did amazing job, I mean, that I still met the pediatric nurse Jamie was amazing, I could bet that woman deserves a raise three fold over. But anyways, it wasn't until about three months in whenever I've always been that type of person that like I owned a lot of Honda Civics and I could still probably tell you what every single wire in that car does, okay? Know what the voltage is what it leads to, and everything else. And I kind of applied the same thing to diabetes. I instantly got online the night he was diagnosed, I remember sitting there until four in the morning, and we were putting a double room and given the corner room. And they knew there was a lot of families so that we needed a bigger room and whatnot. So I slept in the hospital with him. And every single night he was there. I remember sitting online, and I started researching. And then I found Facebook groups. And then I found out found other Facebook groups, and then I found parents of you know, parent type groups. I'm trying to be sensitive here to names of groups. And I buckled down and I started reading people's experiences and their knowledge. And then, of course, I went off the deep end and of course had to I wanted to know exactly what failed in my son. And you know, he and he and I trained my son that way the same way to us that kid would now for Sella beta cell, adult cell and a gamma cell is he can tell you what each one does. You know, and I, I deep dove and became obsessed with anything and everything, diabetes. And all of the crazy ways that his body works differently than our bodies and everything else. And I quickly learned that what grandma and grandpa knew and what mom do knew and what I knew there was a clear, you know, like, Okay, what the endo is telling us, yes, that will keep him alive. But I don't want to just keep him alive. I want to make sure that when he leaves 18 or whatever, and then I've told him I go Do you want to live with me until you're 30 I don't care. then ultimately, you know, whenever you turn 18 I want his Look, I want to be able to honestly tell him that if he goes out and keeps doing the things he's doing, he's gonna live a long and happy life.
Scott Benner 43:59
Yeah. And do you think he's getting how long he had type one now, I guess a couple years
Jeremy 44:06
is about two and a half years. Okay. And
Scott Benner 44:09
it's going really well for you that you really are. I mean, I watch you in the in the Facebook group and you're a resource for people you really have a handle on it, how are things going and how have you been able to communicate that back and forth with his mom and him and you you have a smooth system at this point.
Jeremy 44:30
It as smooth as it can be? It is very smooth. So I would want to say if you had to break it down, grandma and grandpa have him about 50% of the time. I have him about 40% of the time and cleaner has him about 10% of the time because she has weekends and whatnot here. So, um, you know, like, like I said the very beginning I'm a single dad, I and whenever I mean single, I mean single single. I don't Have someone else to watch my son whenever I go to work. So Grandma and Grandpa, haven't they I give them a couple nights a week because of all they do for for me. So it comes out to about 50 4010. And whenever I finally said, Okay, I'm taking control of all this. And, you know, I understand what's going on the way that I see diabetes in my head. I'm sure I could make an episode just about how visually it works in my head. Because it doesn't make sense to me, let alone anybody else, but it ends up working out. Okay. So, anyways, so the communication part at this point is kind of like your episode texting with diabetes, except it's instead of the school and instead of with your kid, it's literally with the kid, the mom and the grandparents. There's group chats, we use tide pool to enter in all of his carbs and his mealtimes and what he ate. So I can kind of look at things whenever he's over there and go, Okay, this rises from the food. It isn't just bazel or anything else, I can kind of look and see, okay, well, we'll had pasta tonight. That's kind of what this is. So we use tide pool where everybody can enter in information, and everybody can see everything that's being done. Real Time. Um, we use sugar mate to call us at night.
Scott Benner 46:43
If he gets low, or something like that happens, everybody gets that ring through phone call that sugar mate does.
Jeremy 46:48
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And and, you know, does it get annoying? Like, especially if he's at someone else's house? And he hear it? No, it doesn't. it the way we all see it, and we all discuss it and everything else is that it's back up? You know. And normally, we don't start getting a little antsy and start texting each other back and forth like crazy people. Unless he gets, you know, very low 60s or into the 50s. And typically at that point, it's at this point, it's just the text that Damon, have you Okay, dude?
Scott Benner 47:28
Yeah, someone's gonna do something about it. You just did it the anxiety of not knowing if they're maybe missing it? Yeah.
Jeremy 47:34
Because I'll be out for at first it was like anytime that that thing went off, and he was blown away at it was like, Oh, my God, what happened? Is it activity is food isn't this. And there is still a little bit of that on my side. Because, with, with me doing all the pump changes with me doing all of the generalized, this is the direction we're moving. It's one of those things I kind of need to know. And then it's turned into me just texting grandma and saying activity question mark. And she'll say, No. And I'm like, just sitting on his butt. And he's, she's like, yep. And so if I see that around two to two days in a row, typically I can go Okay, well, that's bazel just speed touched a sec, you know, just a little bit. Um, but that's kind of how we communicate at this point, at least me in the grandparents, we do have some phone calls that may last a little longer to try to figure out, you know, a little bit more, but for the most it's just very simple text. And then there's still times where things are just not right, like right now, right now. He's, he's just starting puberty. And although he's still like, 8590 95% range every day. There's the bazel still needs to be pushed down. You know, he's bazel just as like porn on you know, it's like your analogy with airplanes is your icon dump there, you know. And so anyways, we're going through that a little bit right now but like that, that's just we know that's what's going on. I'm, you know, add a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more every day. And the common thing you'll hear between me and the grandparents anyways, give me a couple days I'll fix it. Hmm. And they know at that point, you know, a, I know there's a problem b i have a plan to attack it and see just give me a couple days. With Mom, it's a little different. With mom, since she isn't around it quite as much. There's a lot more phone calls going on. And every time that you know, and she knows there's an open door and she calls sometimes it's she doesn't have to call call sometimes. She calls two or three times in a weekend. Yeah. And that's okay. Ultimately, I don't just tell her what to do and hang up the phone. It's typically I, I give her a quick, this is why it's happening. This is what to look for. And this is how we, this is what I would do.
Scott Benner 50:22
And that because yes, it works. And so
Jeremy 50:26
and why not typically, it's one of those things that you hear about that type of thing, once she gets it, we fix it, we move on. And that's really, you know, what we've had to do as a as a as a family. And you've probably seen me post it plenty of times in your group, you know, just fix it, and move on.
Scott Benner 50:47
Yeah. You know, there have been enough times where something's been fixed that then she says, Well, I figured this out now. And then that stops being a communication point, because she doesn't need it anymore. Like she's Oh, yeah, growing more slowly, because she's not around that as much but still figuring it out.
Jeremy 51:01
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And like I said, it is one of those things where I explain it to her once she gets it and we move on. There's there are some times that she'll text me and she goes, is this what we were talking about last week is the same thing happening here. And I, you know, ask a few questions. I'm like, Yeah, it is. So sometimes she wants backup just to acknowledge that, yes, this is what's going on. But for the most part, she's fairly independent at this point. There might be thing and she knows, then there are some times that if something's looking crazy, I will just call called Damon, I will take control, and I will tell him what he needs to do. He knows what's going on. If she needs to know at that point, then then he explains it to her. In a lot of bits, a lot of it's transitioning from me talking to the grandparents and me talking to cleaner to me talking to Feynman. And he, he may be 11 and everything, but there are some times I'll call him and say, Hey, dude, what do you think's going on right now? And he'll tell me? Well, it's obviously bazel. Dad, come on, you know. And so a lot of the communication now is between me and thaman. And everybody else just kind of follows that lead. Yeah. Now there is the point that yes, I do still have to tell Grandma and Grandpa, what what? You know, Damon and I are doing or?
Scott Benner 52:36
Yeah, they need to know, right? They can't they don't I don't want them to be surprised or not know, something's happened in him. Forget them. Yeah. Yeah. Back on it.
Jeremy 52:42
I mean, I can't tell them well, I'm increasing bazel. Because of this, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I can't sit there and go on for 30 minutes about it. Just, I need to let them know that I'm handling am adding a little more bazel. Here, I'm taken away a little bit here. Watch out at these times, hey, I've, you know, lowered the carb ratio down for breakfast or lunch. Just be kind of mindful of that timeframe.
And that's about it at this point, you know,
Scott Benner 53:09
yeah, well, it does become a situation where it is. So kind of 24 hours a day that you you don't there's not enough time to explain it, you'd need to different you'd have to pause your day to have an explanation day and diabetes doesn't work that way. So well.
Jeremy 53:22
Let's see. That's how that's how it was at the very beginning. I'll be honest with you there, I tried to explain everything to everybody. And the way I am, you know, like I was telling you earlier, I learned everything and everything. And I was trying to explain glycolysis to them at one point. And they're just looking at you know it and that's fine. They'll they'll get there on their own on that type of stuff. But I was trying to overload them with information to the point that it was like, why, why just shut up Jeremy. Just tell them you got it. Tell tell them hey, hormones,
Scott Benner 53:59
you know,
Jeremy 54:00
and and move on. And it we've evolved quite a bit because I although I'm like, socially awkward, I can tell when people are like looking at me going. Do your overexplaining way too much.
Scott Benner 54:16
Yeah. I listen, I it's not uncommon. I have you know, I find it sometimes it feels very important for me to people to understand all the facets of a scenario and it's not like they don't care and it doesn't matter. Yeah, it feels like it matters to me and you know it doesn't it you know, stuff like that causes problems sometimes because sometimes you're just talking and people are just like, what do you shut up? Like, just give up on them. Let's keep moving here, you know? Yep. So would you say that if I told you, Jeremy, I need you to put this into one sentence. The key or the key to your success right now. Is the anger part. You guys gave away? Yes, that was it. Right, like you just decided not to be angry with each other anymore.
Jeremy 55:04
Yeah, and
I know that's hard one sentence, but
it it's kind of like that saying, let go and let God.
I mean, I'm not I'm not religious or anything but you know, the whole concept of, you know, this is bigger than ourselves. And as parents, there's nothing more important than the child. And ultimately, you don't mean anything in this world without your kid. And if you don't get along, there's always going to be that risk of that kid not be in there.
Scott Benner 55:51
And what's the point of I think that probably when you hear people say they have these amazing divorces, I think those are people who both said, Wow, this was a mistake, we should not have gotten married. And everybody's everybody, you know, just suddenly backs up and goes, Oh, this is better like this. This that was a definite mistake. But I think a lot of divorce. Even. It's not always just on one side. But people are like, I don't really want to get divorced. I just don't see a way out of this. And it keeps repeating and repeating and repeating. You know, my life is going on, I'm not going to live forever. So I can't do this forever. We're not going towards anything. But I don't think that people get divorced thinking Yes, that's what I want. I think they think oh, that didn't work. But I wanted it to. Yeah, and it's a sadness that it doesn't work. And then, you know, there's that person still exist somewhere, and especially if you've been together for enough time? Oh, yeah. It's hard to think that there's a person that exists out into the world that you wish you were with, that you don't see. And, and I could take that away from divorce for a second say, you know, my brothers and I moved away from each other. And every day, I think, why do we not live closer to each other? You know, like, I wonder what my brother's doing right now. And, and the knowledge that I'll keep wondering that and keep wondering that and keep wondering that for years and decades. And then one day one of us is just gonna die. And yeah, like, that's, that's a really hard thing to think about. And I want to tell you something here, to hopefully make you feel good about sharing your experience. I'm, I'm a child of divorce, as well. And if you ask me what the most important thing in the world is, to me about my family, I don't want them to know what that feels like. Because I know, I know exactly what it feels like, I can see the looks on my little brother's faces. When it happened, I can hear my mom crying, I can see how angry My dad was, like, I, my goal in life is for my family to never understand what that is. And having that goal sometimes causes me to do do things that are actually detrimental to the goal. And I know that's really strange. But when you don't want something bad to happen, you know it. I explained it once that bad things don't just, you know, always happen because somebody puts them into into motion. Sometimes there's a bunch of different things that kind of intersect, and they're nobody's fault. You know, somebody dropped something or somebody and then it starts saying, oh, somebody says a curse word and that it's met with her, you know, but the next thing you know, you know how something like that starts in 10 minutes later, everybody's upset. And you think, wait, this is because the coaster fell on the floor? Like you don't mean like, how did we get to this? And when, when I see those things, cascading? It is right away, front and center, in my mind, stop this, like, stop this, that. And I really did just make up the idea of a coaster falling, but a coaster falling is not going to be why my kids know the pain that my brothers know, like unity, like like, and that's unreasonable. And I know that and I work at it, to not let it overwhelm me. But there are times where I feel like oh my God, this has to stop right now. We're all gonna end up in a bad place. And
Jeremy 59:09
it's a slow burn.
Scott Benner 59:11
Yeah. It's a slow burn terrible for anyone who doesn't know. You're lucky.
Jeremy 59:16
Yep. Yep.
Scott Benner 59:19
But for those of you who do know about it, and who write in all the time saying, Is there an episode about how to handle type one diabetes? With divorce? I think Jeremy just went over a bunch of things that are really valuable. support a third party even I think it's a big deal about your mother and father in law being involved. I heard group text messages everyone knowing when to be involved and when to be an onlooker. And the idea of you got to stop punishing each other, which is, you know, or yourself, by the way, which I think sometimes happens when you're when you have a person and you're you're just you're going at them all the time all the time all the time, there's got to be a part in the back of your head that thinks, and I genuinely don't want to make you upset because you've been so valuable here. But there's got to be a part of you that thinks like, how did I not figure this out soon enough to save my marriage? And that's, and so you're punishing yourself and punishing them? And vice versa? It's, it's really, yeah, ugly, you know,
Jeremy 1:00:21
and, you know,
I, I'll be 100% honest here with you. Um, I have honestly punished myself every single day. For the last seven years. It's gotten better over time. But there still isn't a day that goes by that I don't think I could have done something more. And ultimately, I think, in order for, at least, myself to move on, is I need to learn how to forgive myself. Because I've already forgiven her for all of her side of things, because there was things on her side to you. No, no, no, marriage is perfect. Understand. And that's the biggest thing really is. Everybody needs to learn how to forgive each other. Find the best way to move forward as a dysfunctional family unit, whatever that is, you know, a divorced family. And realize that it's just not about you. Because that's what caused all the fighting at the beginning and everything else of It's me, me, me, me, me. It's no longer us. So I have to focus on me. But yeah, there isn't a day that goes by that I still don't. In some way, just go you know, what? You're divorced dad. And what not, and I don't want to beat myself up. But you know that it is the constant, you know, failure point in my life, I guess. So all I can do at this point is to become a better dad. And I know this sounds weird, be a better ex husband. You know, um, and it's it's not me trying to get back with her. It's not you know, I had my dad, you know, who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, who, you know, as far away from he told me, he goes, Jeremy, you're just being nice to her because because you want to get get her back. And I'm like, No, dad, that has nothing to do with it. I mean, it wasn't until he came up the next year for three weeks in the summer. And he saw how labor intensive type one was, and understood why. You know, I would go over to Kathy and Rick's for dinner, is he didn't understand like, like, we walked up to their house, and we just walked into their house. And he's like, Well, why aren't you knocking? I'm like, Dad, they're my family, just like you are, he thought. And
Scott Benner 1:02:55
he really thought that you were just gonna, like you were pretending to be the person that your wife was looking for when you were married, hoping that that would just break Exactly. Not understanding how important doing those things was to your son's health?
Jeremy 1:03:07
Well, yeah, because, you know, my mom and dad got divorced, too. And that was that was nasty, nasty, nasty divorce. And his idea of divorce was completely different than my idea of divorce and how I was handling my divorce versus how he handled his divorce. You know,
Scott Benner 1:03:30
yeah, no, see, he was just he was just seeing what happened to him and kind of projecting onto you. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Wow. Dude, that was, uh, I appreciate this. I really do. Like you were me at one point at the end,
Jeremy 1:03:42
dude, I come on every hour. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:03:44
Well, first of all, that you said, I'm gonna be honest. And I thought, what you were being honest, man, you don't have to be any more honest than that. But that was the other part is like you didn't really need me, which is great. Sometimes I like that you can just you just came on and you can tell your story. And you knew you had it laid out. And I appreciate you being so verbal. And
Jeremy 1:04:02
well, and Scott, I'll be honest with you there there. There's so much left on the table. Like I said, I could talk for three hours. I know that's not a thing. But yeah. Well, they're there
Scott Benner 1:04:12
highlight a couple things for me, though. But I mean, what else do you think people need to know
Jeremy 1:04:17
99% of its communication. And it's not about you, it's about the kid. I mean, those that's really where it focuses around. And
at first, it's going to seem like herding cats.
You just have to figure out how each cat needs to be wrangled in, how how each cat likes to be stroked, and where not to touch certain cats.
Scott Benner 1:04:42
So when you're all in when you're on the same team, you know, family team, then there's a feeling from each person like when it's a connected family still like everybody's married all in the same house. There's a feeling of like, well, I don't agree with that, but I'll go along with it. But as soon as everybody kind of backs Way, everyone has their own style. And you're not going to get a meshing the same way. You're saying like, you have to understand there's this, this person's not going to react to that. So we don't do that with this person we do. Yes said, Ah, okay, because
Jeremy 1:05:14
grandma has it has one understanding of diabetes and the way that she cares for diabetes, grandpa has a different view. And mom has a different view. And I have to try to wrangle the whole group and try to get one cohesive line of treatment. And that's been the biggest challenge really, is to try to, you know, you read all these posts all the time of, well, he's that his dad's again, he's been above 300 for the last two hours. And, and I, I didn't want that. So I had to find out how to get
a lot of your
teachings, I guess if you want to call them those sounds
Scott Benner 1:05:59
alright. High minded when you say it like that. And
Jeremy 1:06:01
I know I have a blow that head up. I wanted
Scott Benner 1:06:04
to, I wanted to put on a burlap robe and shave my head bald when you said that, then go sit.
Jeremy 1:06:09
And I'll be honest with you.
Grandma was like, because I send her over episodes to listen to, like if something was going on, I would send her the fat and protein. You know, I don't do that every time. But you know, so she would understand that she's like, he has a lot of good points. But boys he cocky. He says he's so full of himself. But he has really good information. And I know you've heard that before. I've heard you say it before. Sure. And but that's the generation gap, because and that's the other big thing is we all know that. Type One is a family led disease. You know, the endo gives you your boot camp instructions to keep the kid live. Everything else is up to you. I mean, unless you have a really, really, really good endo. So grandma and grandpa are from the the generation where you went to the doctor, you listen to the doctor, and you didn't dare question the doctors authority, because they know and, you know, they're from that older generation. And where, you know, with me, in my generation, it's like, okay, the doctor said this, but how about a second, third and fourth and fifth opinion, and let's get as much information as we can. And let's move forward. You know, and so it's trying to find, or crowl, three different four different ways of thinking and getting one plan together to still have excellent glycemic control and be able to, you know, move forward.
Scott Benner 1:07:47
Yeah. No, I hear you. I'm Well, listen, man, congratulations. I think it I'll tell you, what really strikes me is that you were willing to say this and have it recorded, which means that the people you were speaking about, you very much believe we'll agree with what you said. And yeah, and that's a big deal, like, in my mind is that you didn't just set up some sort of, you know, it's not a paper tiger, right? Like, it's not like it works. But everybody's just teetering on the edge and about to explode. Like you, you guys actually are all comfortable with your piece of this. And, and it's okay that there's a person who has more of the knowledge about diabetes than the others and they're willing to, everyone's willing to work off of that. I think it's really wonderful. And, and by the way, I have a message to Grandma, I'm here in case she ever hears this. I'm trying grandma to get a bunch of information to people's heads. And I have to project a certain amount of confidence where I am confident, and I don't want to meander in the conversation. Because if I spend a lot of time being, but I am assuming she would take us polite and, and not forceful than the conversations get too long. And then nobody listens. And you lose the thread of the ideas. So there's a there's a method to this madness. I think if she sat with me, she'd feel like I wasn't like that. But you know, I'm sure No, I'm just kidding. I don't care what she says. I just listen, I'm from the east coast and you're in Montana. Yes, sir. I would assume she just like I probably talked too quickly and I just I come I probably come off terribly tired. I'm sorry. Tell her I'm sorry. But I'm glad everything's going happy the kids Okay,
Jeremy 1:09:33
that's all no I mean, she's she's she loves your podcast. It's just well that's
Scott Benner 1:09:36
still well tell her please tell I was you know, obviously being light hearted there. But then again, I don't know if it's obvious or not if she'll be like Carrie is doing it again. But I was just being light hearted but I appreciate that. It's helpful to you guys. I really do. And, and please, my best to everybody. And I really appreciate you doing this. Like I said there were not a lot of people willing to come on and talk about this stuff. So he did a really cool thing here today. I tried. Oh, you really did. Thank you so much and got my best your cat cat. But this isn't what is.
Jeremy 1:10:13
The cat is literally named kitty because that's what Damon wanted to name it.
Scott Benner 1:10:17
Well listen,
Jeremy 1:10:18
I'm like, dude, we can name it George man could
Unknown Speaker 1:10:21
name it. So
Jeremy 1:10:22
he tried to name at once. He was like, well, maybe we can do Bolus and bazel because there's two cats,
Scott Benner 1:10:29
okay.
Jeremy 1:10:30
And I'm like, I'm like, well, which one's Bolus and which one's Basal? That's about as far as that got. So it turned back into kitty one and kitty to
Scott Benner 1:10:38
say that, by the way, that's only something that would happen in a single Father's house. So that is a try.
Jeremy 1:10:43
Absolutely.
Scott Benner 1:10:45
There's not one woman listening to this right now that's thinking I would allow my cats to be called kitty one and kitty. Oh my gosh. All right, Jeremy, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Hey, I really appreciate Jeremy stepping up when a lot of other people couldn't actually got a couple of notes from people like I would love to do this but I can't. So Jeremy, your aces man, you're a great dad sounds like you're a great co parent. And there are a lot of people out there who are divorced a co parenting are probably pretty jealous of of what you guys have going on. Also a big thank you to Omni pod, check out the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump today at my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box get them to send you a free no obligation demo by typing in a tiny bit of information at that link, it might literally take you less than two minutes to get that demo coming to your house, my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. Find out more of course about the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor@dexcom.com forward slash juice box and the T one D exchange beyond being beyond doing great work is completely HIPAA compliant. One bazillion percent safe for you to do I did it myself put my my information right in there as the parent of a child with type one. That's what they're looking for people with type one diabetes, or parents of people with type one who live in the US. And this is completely blinded, meaning your answers are not in any way connected with your information. You know what I mean? Like it's that doesn't say like Scott said this, it's just parent of type one answered this way that kind of you know, it's it's anonymous is what I probably should have said, anyway, you take this survey, which did not ask any deep probing questions, as far as I was concerned, took me about seven minutes, and I was done. They're gonna follow up once a year with a couple of other questions. If there are other opportunities to do things, I have the option to do them, but I don't have to. And the best part is, you can do this from your living room right there on your phone or on your PC. That simple. And if at some point in the future, decide you just don't want to be involved anymore, you can drop out, no big deal. T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox support Diabetes Research and support the podcast at the same time. All of these links, of course are available at Juicebox podcast.com. You can also find it Juicebox podcast.com. The best doctors that listeners to the podcast have suggested for you. That's at juicebox Doc's dot com. And all the diabetes pro tip episodes are available at diabetes pro tip.com case you want to share them with people or something like that. Otherwise, everything like I said, is it Juicebox Podcast. And of course you can listen to everything that I've ever done right here. Hundred percent for free, always for free. Thanks so much for listening, check out the other afterdark episodes or diabetes pro tip episodes or just the regular episodes of the podcast at your leisure. And of course, please subscribe in your podcast app, tell a friend about the show and leave a wonderful review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen this five star reviews really help other people to check out the show. It actually happens. Trust me, it's not for ego if I didn't have any reviews. I still know how many people are listening. It doesn't matter to me. What matters is that the next person coming along says Oh look, people find this podcast valuable and then maybe they'll learn some things like you did, or it'll help them or they'll be entertained or not feel alone or whatever. But somehow they need to know this is the show I should try. So help me there if you can have a great week. I'll talk to you soon.
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