Pumps, pumps and more pumps!

Yesterday, Savannah and I spent 4 hours in a pump class up at Primary Children's Diabetic Center. Not to mention the fact that it took us an hour to get there and another hour back home, it was a 6 hour adventure for us. I didn't know what to expect when I got there and thankfully I didn't know how long it would take. This is a required class that has to be taken before your doctor will sign off on a pump for you. The first hour they explained the pro and cons of having a pump and all the new lingo that comes with having a insulin pump. It felt like the first week Savannah was diagnosed all over again. There is just so much information your head starts to hurt just sitting there listening to it all.

Then we had a break and when we came back our tables will filled and when I say filled I mean filled with pamphlets of all the different pumps that are on the market right now. Then started the fun...... One after another one, different sales men/women came in the room and told us what their pump does that is better than all the other pumps out there. I tried to explain this craziness to Clay like this. Pretend the next time you go and buy a car you just go to one dealership and they take you in a room and you tell them what kind of car you want to buy but 20 different companies make that kind of car you like. So instead of test driving the cars to find the one you want, 20 different sales men come and explain why there car is better and why you want that car over all the other ones. That is what it's was like last night. Every different pump does different things and they do so many amazing things you don't know if you would ever need it to do that much stuff. It's like when you buy a really expensive camera that has so many options. Do you ever really use all those options, or do you just take the pictures with it, like with any other camera? Anyways, we came home with tons of paperwork to look through and try and decide what will be the best match for Savannah.

The best part about going to this class is you get the chance to "test drive" the pumps for a few days to see if this is something she will really wear for the next four years. I say four years cause once your insurance pays for the pump they wont buy another one for four years. And they are way to expensive to buy and maintain on your own! Just an example of how much one cost: the one Savannah is wearing in the picture is the cheapest one up front, only $800- but it cost $370 to maintain a month!!

Today Savannah is wearing the Omnipod. This is the only wireless pump on the market. It's the one the Jonas Brother, who has diabetes wears. And yes, they use him a lot to sell this pump!! You fill up this pod with your insulin and then you stick it anywhere on your body that is comfortable for you. This is one of only a few pumps that is waterproof as well. So she can wear it swimming, to shower, whatever she wants to do! There is a controller that you don't have to wear, you can keep it in your backpack at school, any place, just as long as she has it when she needs to give herself insulin. When she wants to eat something she just punches in how many carbs she will be eating and it remotely tells the pod how much insulin to give her.

In the next few days we will be trying out two more pumps that we are interested in. And hopefully by Feb. if we can get everthing figured out, she will be on the pump for real!