Rocking In The Wind

Sometimes, something very simple and little can make you happy and bring you lots of joy.

This is what wind chimes do for me.

Just hearing it outside on the front porch singing out chimes soothes my soul.

and yes, that's a rocking chair wind chime.

Pump Questions

Over the past 2 weeks, I've been getting asked lots and lots of question about my insulin pump. and I love questions, I really do. I'd prefer someone ask me a question and allow me to give them the correct/real answer than them just going on assuming weird/wrong/crazy things.

and since we all know that:

     1) There is no such thing as a bad or stupid question (Not true. There is such thing) and
     2) If one person has a question then 20,000,000 other people also have the same question

I am going to answer some of those questions here in photographic detail. Cause words are only so fun. Pictures are where the party's at. You're welcome.

Question: What is actually in you? How big is the tube?

This is all that's in my body. A little cannula. Look hard, it's tiny. It's very flexible and I can't technically feel the tube in me. If I feel anything, it's usually just tenderness or a little soreness.

Question: So how does the tube get put in your body?

I put a new infusion site (little cannula (picture above) attached to tubing that's attached to the actual insulin pump) in myself every 2-3 days. With this thing:

Short story is, I load that thing up and pull a little lever thing back and put it against my skin (where I want a new site) and squeeze the sides and BAM! It sends a needle that has the tube wrapped around it into my skin. I pull the needle out and the little tube gets left in. and stays there for about 3 days till I rip it out and do it all over again in another location on my body. It sounds scary. and it is. But really it barely hurts.

Question: How do you take a shower or go swimming?

I just disconnect my pump. It takes half a second.

That pink thing just clips off. and I'm just left with this...

It's just like a round band-aid. I can do anything you can do. Only better. Just kidding. Not really. No I'm kidding. Kinda. I kid. I kid. But I can keep my pump disconnected for about an hour and do all types of crazzzzy stuff.

Question: What's left when you take out an old tube or change the site?

Nothing. I just rip off. Just like a band-aid. and I'm left with this.

A little dot. A well earned battle with type 1 scar.

Question: Does it just put insulin into your body on it's own when you need it? Do you still have to prick your fingers?

I wish the pump did all that by itself. I have to tell it when to give me insulin and I still have to check my blood sugar all the live long day to make sure my body is as "normal" as possible. Hopefully one day research will result in that kind of technology where I pretty much have an artificial pancreas that does everything on its on. Fingers crossed!

Baby Brother's Birthday!!

Today my little brother turns 21!!!!!

Happy Birthday Eric!!

It's crazy how that boy has gotten so old.

To me he still is 10.

No matter how much taller than me he gets and no matter how far he can throw me, he will always be a little boy.

and not just a little boy, but the sweetest little boy with the biggest and best heart you can imagine.

The size of his heart definitely matches the size of his body.

He'll make a good man and good husband one day with that heart...........

75 years from now.

D-bag

My tongue went numb so I knew my blood sugar must have been really low. So I start yelling to Aj:

"I need my D-bag, get my D-bag, I need my D-bag right now!"

I check my blood sugar, yup I'm low.

As I suck down a juice box I can't help but giggle.

"Hehe dbag"

Katie's Bridal Shower

This past weekend was spent up in Northern Virginia celebrating a very special bride-to-be!!

Katie gets married in a little over a month!

To this guy, Austin.

So these two girls threw her a bridal shower.

Here are some pictures of the shower.

and she was happy!

This was a very fun shower to decorate!

The decor goal of the shower was just to make it as pretty as the bride.

Pretty, soft, rustic, vintagey and full of love.

Yayyy Katie!!!

Don't be that guy.

Below is a post from a great type 1 blog called Six Until Me. Read it. The endings a blast.


***********************************************************************************

"Miss? Your seat belt is stuck to your ... hold on now ..."
The guy on the other side of the gas pump leaned in and peered at me while I was gassing up my car.
"I'm sorry?" I asked. "My seat belt is stuck?"
He was talking to me, but staring directly at my arm, where my insulin pump infusion set was nested into the back of my arm, the tubing snaking underneath my sleeve and to the pump on my hip.
"I thought it was your seat belt but it appears that you have a ... a big thing on your arm?" He smiled, bringing his eyes back to mine. "I'm assuming you know about this ... thing already?"
I laughed. "I am familiar with it, yes. It's an insulin pump. I have diabetes. It's okay." (I don't know why I always add that caveat of "It's okay," or "I'm okay," to every moment of disclosure.)
"Ah. You must have it bad, then."
"I don't know anyone who has it 'good,' but I use the insulin pump instead of taking insulin injections. it's good for me." I answered, finishing with the gas nozzle and capping up my gas tank.
"Well that's good, then." He finished up with his truck. "I didn't mean to pry - I just thought you were stuck to your car by the seat belt, and I didn't want you to hurt yourself walking away."
"Thanks. Have a good day!"
"You, too. And just remember - if you eat well and exercise, you might be able to come off that pump sometime and be less of a burden on the healthcare system."

**********************************************************************************
Loser say what?!?

I, like most people with type 1, take care of and am in more control of my body/health than the average person. 100% fact. My life 24/7 revolves around my health, my good health. Does yours?

I don't know who to blame for comments like that. Media? Healthcare system? Toe nail size brain?

Please don't be that guy. Ignorance doesn't look sexy on anyone.

You know what does look sexy? Being healthy. and my insulin pump helps keep me healthy.

That's sexy.

Want to hear a beautiful, pure, hopeful and joyful song?

It's one of my favorites.

 

Then I realized every song is about insulin pumps and dead pancreas

First off, what's the plural form of pancreas? As I wrote the title of this post I stopped and thought pancreases, pancreas's, pancreasues..........I have no idea. If you held a gun to my pancreas and told me to guess or you're going to shoot, I would say shoot it, it doesn't work anyways. and then I would say that I would have to guess its pancreases.


But do you know what I have realized during the past 2.5 months of diabetesliciousness, every song is either 1) about type 1 diabetes of 2) can be made to sound even better when it's diabetes related.

Don't believe me. I'll prove it.

Song 1 - Over You by Miranda Lambert

For the country music loving diabetic. Listen to the chorus. It's so obvious.

bold=Courtney's perception

But you went away (Pancreas died)
How dare you?       (Excuse me, your a vital organ, kinda need you to be a little more responsible)
I miss you               (I don't like you much right now pancreas, but I do miss you)

They say I'll be ok   (The doctor's)
But I'm not going to  (No no no it's not ok, it's not ok to this broken hearted girl Mr. Doctor)
Ever get over you      (I will never get over what my pancreas did)

Enjoy it for yourself.

Want more proof?

Song 2- Have you heard that awful song by Toby Keith called "Red Solo Cup." It's the most ridiculous song in the world to listen to, mostly because Toby is pulling a Madonna and acting like he's young, wild and free. Toby you are not young, wild or free. You're a grown man. Put down the solo cup and pick up a pilsner glass. That song would sound a lot better to my ears if the words were changed a little bit......

Insulin pump

I fill you up

Let's have some cheesecake and other carbohydrates

I love you insulin pump

I hook you up

Let's have some french fries and other carbohydrates

Here's the original not as good as Courtney's version. Sing my lyrics with the chorus, it goes perfectly.

Start at 33 seconds in.



Song 3- and your final example is a little song called "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard. Yes, yes metal fans. This song is actually about having extremely low blood sugar and begging someone to just give you some sugar, just give it too me, I don't care how you give it to me, why don't you just pour some sugar on me. Pour some sugar on me in the name of love. Please.

That's very obvious.

I should really be doing homework right now..............................................

Weekend Notables

-Finally decided to actually buy a new camera this weekend. We've needed a new one since summer when our old one started to crap out. Our old camera was a scary little thing. I'm talking lots of ghost orbs and demon red eyes. But that camera did last 4 years. That's pretty good, right? Aj and I were talking as we left Best Buy about how if this camera lasts 4 years too then it could be what we use to take pictures of my grad school graduation, of our first home purchase, of our first child......that's really crazy to think about. A lot could happen in 4 years.

-Aj and I went out to dinner on Saturday night. This resulted in our first sighting of a stranger with diabetes and with a insulin pump! Well Aj's first sighting. I missed it. You see, we were walking through the restaurant leaving, and I of course was too busy strutting my stuff like I was walking a runway (don't act like you don't do this when you are walking through a restaurant) and as soon as we walked out the door Aj says:

Aj-That guy in there has diabetes and a pump just like yours.
Courtney- What, wait, who, where, how do you know, are you sure?
Aj- Yeah positive, he was testing his blood sugar as we walked by.
Courtney- Why wouldn't you tell me?!?!?!?!
Aj-Why, what would you have done?

What would I have done?!?!? Good question. I don't know. Maybe I would have accidently thrown dropped my insulin pump under his table. Maybe I would have walked by and yelled "Type 1's say what!?!?!" and hope that he would have responded "Whohooo." Maybe I would have ran by with my hand sticking straight out high fiving everyone at his table. Most likely I would have just awkwardly tried to make eye contact and then continued on. I don't know. But just seeing another actually person, a stanger, who's living like I'm living is sooooo exciting. That stanger gets this weird diabetes part of my life better than any family member or friend. It's just fun to see.

-I had my first attack against my insulin pump by a door knob. I was expecting this to happen at some point but man did it scare the dickens out of me. When the tubing caught the door when I was walking full speed it felt like someone grabbed my ponytail and pulled me back real hard. Except just imagine your pony tail was attached to your belly.

This week is going to be crazy busy and I'm fully expecting to feel a lot like this by the end of the week

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It's my favorite day of the year!

It's my husband's birthday!

Mr. Man was born on this day 25 years ago.

That was a good day!

Raise your hand if you're excited.....

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I love my man not only because he's sweet, funny, humble, hard working and just overall amazingly awesome but mostly because he's cute.

Happy Birthday Ja-Wiena-Biena!!!

You da you da best.

Sonya Ruth Photography did this. Highly highly recommend.

http://www.sonyaruthphotography.com/#



BAM!

Notice anything different?

Besides that I look like a sweet innocent baby angel.....

Look hard.......

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!!!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures because they will be the only "taking pictures of yourself in a mirror with a cell phone" I will ever take.

Yeah buddy, I'm officially pumping.

That little thing is pumping insulin into this girl 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

and cause I like my diabetes with a side of TMI, here's what the infusion (connection) site looks like

A little cannula (tube) is all that's inside me

Yeah I know pink. Loves it!

and I am completely in love with my insulin pump so far.

This post unknowingly turned into a type of poem.

Haven't blogged in over a week.

Life is really busy right now.

Not the good kind of busy

The stressed, overworked, tired, and a bit overwhelmed type of busy.

I told Aj last night that I was an inch away from my breaking point.

Breaking point = sitting in a corner in fetal position mumbling craziness while making animal shapes with my hands.

If I do reach that breaking point I'll make sure Aj takes pictures and posts them.

You're welcome.


Three weeks till the end of the semester.

(Praise hands)

Then May semester classes start.

(Take down praise hands)

Aj's Birthday is Friday.

(Shake party hands)

Research paper due on Tuesday.

(Take down party hands)

Future Mrs. Murray's bridal shower in a week and a half.

(Pump up happy hands)

Finals are soon after.

(Umpump happy hands)

Whiplash.



*I think I just wrote a poem called Whiplash unintentionally*

Special Delivery

I received a special delivery!

My insulin pump arrived!!

This little piece of medical equipment will be delivering insulin to my body. It's going to be a lot more convenient and allow for a lot more flexibility in my life. It's going to take me from currently doing around 8 shots a day to 1 shot every 2-3 days. That's ah nice.

Feel like Christmas morning much?!

Medical goodies

Let me introduce you to Penelope, my pump. She's a little thing, right?

Now I just have to wait patiently until she and I can be hooked up....