The period, in terms of the reciprocal of frequency, is 3 days.
Every 3 days comes a beep from the box hanging on my belt. It actually looks like one of those antique pager devices.
That’s the warning that the supply of insulin in my insulin pump is getting low, usually when there are less than 20 units left (from a full supply of 300 units).
This October marked my 48th year of living with Type 1 diabetes. Until 2006 that was a regimen of daily or my then 3 times a day injections of insulin. For too long [foolishly] resisted the idea of relying on a device attached to my body, thinking it would limit my activities. Actually the pump has made life more flexible, manageable. It made the cycle of medication change go from hours to every three days when I refill the supply and move the spot where it enters my skin.
I estimate I have done this 1500 times since getting the pump, but until now, I had never thought about this cycle in my life routine. Now I find something interesting about getting a life is moving reminder every 3 days.
Mostly, it’s a pause to think, has it really been 3 days?
2014/365/352 Drip of Life flickr photo by cogdogblog shared into the public domain using Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0)
What’s happened in those 3 days? Some days, like last week it presented a problem, because the reminder came on the way into town for a full day of errands. I should have turned back, but instead tried to rationalize eating less and being more active. What a mistake, my blood sugar level was way over 340 when I got home.
That’s not a good number.
Main Road into Camp Glyndon flickr photo by cogdogblog shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
My first summer as a diabetic kid was 1970. My parents did many great things for me, one of the best was sending me to Camp Glyndon, a diabetic summer camp. It was the place I learned about diet, insulin, exercise, how to manage it. But also, the diabetic experts assured us there would be a cure “like 20 years in the future.”
Um no.
I’m still pushing insulin in my body.
Every 3 days.
It’s not like a ticking clock, I intent a lot more 3 day cycles. But still every 3 days, I pause, swap the tubes, move the injection point, and get to wonder what will happen in the next 3 days.
The next one is tomorrow.
Featured Image:
Metronome of Diabetic Life flickr photo by cogdogblog shared into the public domain using Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0)
