It’s a bit larger than the MP3 recorders I’ve been researching, but this unit has a radically different purpose, more personal.
For 35 years I have been on insulin injections for management of diabetes, and after hearing the tales of other diabetic runners during my training last year, I am moving into the computer age.
This insulin pump carries a resevoir of insulin, and is connected to a short tube that is inserted into my skin. It bleeps out tiny increments of insulin 24-7, and at meal time, I program in enough extra to compensate for the food I eat. I still need to carry another device for testing blood sugar, but the new version fo this beams the test results directly to the pump, which is then factored into the meal time pulses. I am needing to learn about “boluses” and “basal” rates. The tube and resevoir are replaced every 3 days.
For the next day or two, I am just getting accustomed to the attachment (it is filled with saline), learning to sleep with it, etc.
So if you see me at a conference, that’s not a pager clipped to my belt, it’s a computer faux pancreas. I hope.
New Tech Device
available on flickr
No, this is not another cool mini MP3 recorder– this is an insulin pump that is tethered to my belly. I am getting up to speed with the functionality before I put it in action.