Advice Needed

Over the weekend I attended the ADA Diabetes Expo here is sunny Southern California. My main reason for going was to hang out with my friends Jaimie and Cherise and their kids. We also met up with Jenny who is a twitter pal of ours so I had lots of reasons to go.

I have been to one of these before and it was a total let down. A lot of people looking for free stuff. A lot of things for the newly diagnosed which is great for them but for me, it always was a let down.

This one was no different.

I understand that the epidemic is in Type 2 diabetes and not Type 1 although our numbers are on the rise. Still, I always feel so out of place at diabetes conventions, events, and classes because they tend to focus on Type 2 stuff. We do have many things in common but still we have different diseases.

Don’t get me wrong Type 2’s I have all the love for you! It is just kind of a bummer because I sometimes get the sense that there is some big wig somewhere saying, “Well those type 1’s can never get off of insulin so lets pump up the type 2’s. At least they have a chance of avoiding the dreaded shots!”

When someone gets diagnosed with type 2 the first thing they want to know is how they can avoid shots. “Yeah but if I exercise and eat right I won’t have to take shots right?” That question gets thrown my way a lot and I guess I would ask it too. It just sucks because I have no choice.

Type 1’s have no choice.

Alright, this is going where I did not mean it to but I believe everything happens for a reason so I will not delete my rambling above and carry on.

**Back at the expo**

So Jaimie was talking to a representative from Medtronic and I saw her reference me to the rep. I walked over to meet her and here is how the conversation went.

“Hi I’m George.”

“I’m Kelly. So which model are you using?” Jaimie told her that I was a Minimed user.

“The 722.”

“Oh do you have the sensors?”

“I do not.”

“How come?” When she said this I almost slapped her. I mean, I thought, “really is she asking me this?”

“Well, I was speaking to a representative a while ago about it but I have not heard back from her so I have no clue what is going on.”

“Which insurance do you have?”

“Blue Cross.”

“Oh well they’ll cover it. As long as you are a type 1 and have at least 3 lows under 50 in a month.”

“I do and I know. I sent all that stuff in. Apparently the problem is with my medical group and not insurance. But I have no clue what is going on.”

“Which medical group is it?” I noticed her voice got quiet.

“Bright Medical Group.”

“Wait. What is your name?”

“George Simmons.”

“George! It’s Kelly! I am the sales rep you have been emailing!”

No flipping way.

And then it began. I told her how I was upset that I never heard back from her or the inside rep helping me. I explained to her that an email saying, “I am still working on it” is better then no response. I told her that I felt no love from Medtronic and that I was really upset.

She was very apologetic and assured me she would get back to me as soon as possible and that I was at the top of her inbox with a Red Flag on it so she would check on it for me first thing.

I still have not heard from her.

So now do I tell Decom to stop what they are doing? Do I tell Minimed to stop what they are doing (now that I guess they are actually still working on it) or do I just sit back and let them duke it out?

I need advice please, oh great and wise OC.

You Tube Tuesday #117

Here is an awesome version of an awesome song! 

Enjoy.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Ipod Shuffle

Cara posted a challenge to the Diabetes Online Community earlier this week. Today my good friend Karen posted her list and I wanted to join in. So below is the first 20 songs my iPod decided to shuffle in. I have also added my commentary since I can never seem to shut my mouth.

Cara’s hope is that in doing this we will learn a little more about each other.

I hope this goes good because you may not like me when you are done with this list.

1. By My Side – Godspell Soundtrack - This CD has become my life lately. Funny that this is the first in my list.
2. Beercan – Beck – This is off of Mellow Gold and it a total dance song. Love. It!
3. When I Come Around – Green Day – There is a funny theme happening.
4. Salute Your Solution – The Raconteurs – Jack White can really do no wrong in my book.
5. I Could Sing of Your Love Forever – Delirious? – Oh I feel like dancing. It’s foolishness, I know.
6. Anxiety – Black Eyed Peas – Why have I not deleted this song? LOL
7. Planet Earth – Duran Duran – The band so good they named them twice.
8. This is How We Do It – Montell Jordan – This, my friends, is a JAM!
9. Into the Mystic – Van Morrison – He is one of my favorite singers of all time.
10. With Rejoicing Hearts – Jaime Cortez – This guy came to my sister’s church and performed this song among others. It was awesome.
11. You Are My King (Amazing Love) – Newsboys – There is a lot of Christian songs shuffled in. A sign?
12. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2 – Bono is a hero of mine.
13. Island in the Sun – Weezer – I always forget how much I like them.
14. I Want It That Way – Backstreet Boys – And there it is! Hey, I WORK this song on Karaoke.
15. Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy – Glen Hansard – From one of my favorite films, “Once.”
16. Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve – Ahh, this brings back memories.
17. Is There Any Love in Your Heart? – Lenny Kravitz – This is from back when Lenny was a good musican imho.
18. Whip It – Devo – This is the strangest shuffle ever.
19. No Vaseline – Ice Cube – Yeah, he was not so nice to the fella’s from NWA but then again, I don’t think they were nice back.
20. Devil Inside – INXS – Kick is such a great album.

When you look at the first song on this list and the last one, I think you get a good picture of who I am. Not perfect. Good and Bad. This is actually a really good representation of who I am. Very eclectic and all over the place, like a DJ with ADD.

I would love to read your lists. If you have time over the weekend do one of your own and post a comment so I can check it out!

Thanks Cara for the great idea!

Echo Box

Last night Sara, Scott, and myself hopped on a little website called tokbox.com to check it out.

I heard from my good friend Ron that Tok Box was a site where you can hold video chat rooms. I thought it would be a cool idea to try a diabetes meet up online but wanted to test it out first with a few people.

The site was pretty straight forward and the video quality was a lot better then I thought it would be. After figuring out that we all needed headphones on to kill the echo from our speaker sound being caught by our mic which in turn came through the speakers which was picked up again by the mic who came through the speakers again…(That is the formula for insane echo) and there is always the buffering factor that tmana informed me about because she is awesome like that. ;)

Sara noticed that we could Tweet an invite right from the chat room. We sent a tweet and BAM, people started to join in.

IT WAS AWESOME!

Rachel, Windy, Kelly, Ninnifur, Major Bedhead, Cherise, Jaimie, Amy, tmana, Landileigh, Tim, and Mike were all in there are one point. It was awesome and a lot crazy because the echo was out of control.

Tim (aka "The Most Awesome, Feared, and Revered Timbabetic") snapped a cool picture from his desktop. Check it out.

And hopefully Sara will have some video up. I saw that idea on her brain. : )

I hope to plan more Diabetes meet-ups online like this. It felt so good to hang out and meet so many of my online friends. I know we cannot all travel the globe to meet up in real life and this was almost as cool as a real life meet up.

Having Diabetes made me feel alone for so long and this was another way to bring this community a little closer. I hope we can do this again.

I have to say……

I I I I I Lu Lu Lu Lu Ved Ved ed ed ddd I I I iii t It it it it tt.

"I Broke My G-String!"

These are all some quotations from me these last few days. I think it will give you a sense of my life.

“I feel so sick to my stomach”

“Honestly, I am so tired I could lay down on the floor right here and sleep. And cry. Cry myself to sleep.”

“I am so hungry I could eat my own foot.”

“I think my hair is almost long enough for an ‘up-do’”

“My brain will not shut off at night.”

“Some things freak me out. Like that little clip on your finger that measures oxygen. Seriously, how the hell does that work?”

“I would fling poo at her. If I was a monkey I mean. I would not fling poo as a human but as a monkey, poo would be flung.”

“A day of nothing would be so good right now.”

“You have perfected the taco shell.”

“I may pee the bed tonight. That is how tired I am.”

“The little rectangular one on the right! PLEASE step on that one!”

“Can we eat somewhere that does NOT have a commercial on TV?”

“I love you iPhone.”

**FYI - The title of this post was spoken at Church Band practice when my guitar string broke. The G string. Sorry for the visual.

You Tube Tuesday #116

I need this. Or I should say, I needed this when I was a kid. I could never make anything cool with one of these.

Enjoy.

My Latest Obsession

An iPhone.

This year I was blessed enough to receive a bonus from my job. I was surprised since business has been a little slow but we got one anyway and I am very thankful. I knew that we had bills to catch up on but I just had to treat myself.

I HAD to have an iPhone.

Why you ask? Well, if any of you ever get the pleasure of meeting Cherise, be prepared. She will sell you on one of these things in minutes. AND after I saw the exchange between her and Scott with their iPhones and all the cool stuff they could do, I had to get one. Had. To.

So as soon as that bonus hit the bank my butt was headed to the Apple store. I got a 16 gig white 3G iPhone and I love it.

I have several apps but still have more to go. My obsession has been Light Bike which is a game that plays like the Light Cycles from Tron. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?!

I am checking emails, tweeting (if you are not on Twitter you should join up, it’s a blast), updating my Facebook status, and listening to music all on one device that fits neatly into my pocket.

Anyhow, I know this has nothing to do with diabetes except to say that there are some diabetes apps out there that I have yet to check out. Maybe after I get tired of Light Bike. Like that will happen.

If you know of any awesome apps PLEASE let me know. I must know. I want to be uber cool like all of you with your iPhone and your…..coolness. J

Moving On

A while back I told you all about my attempt to get a CGMS from Minimed to work with my 722 pump named “Master P.”

I have sent in all the info, was told that my insurance will cover 100%, but that my medical group was dragging its feet approving it.

I guess my thought was that my insurance company would be the one to put the brakes on it but it’s my medical group that is causing the speed bumps. If someone can explain that to me I would love to know because it seems strange. Anyhow, I have emailed and called my “representative” from Minimed several times and she has told me, “I’m working on it and I’ll email you the end of this week.”

I have read that line in my inbox four different times and have never heard a thing.

So, I am done with Minimed. Did I give up too early? Oh well. They gave up on me so forget them.

I got in touch with a representative from Dexcom who right out of the gate got back to me with all the info needed. In a few days I was told the same thing that Minimed told me after having to drag it out of them. The customer service so far has been awesome and after reading what so many have to say, especially Bernard, I was a little concerned about the Minimed system.

Now I am waiting on Dexcom but I am a patient guy, I mean, I am as long as I am not ignored. I do not do well with that as you can tell.

Keep your fingers crossed and I’ll keep you updated on any progress.

From Blue to Pink

I won’t spend a lot of time asking for forgiveness for not posting. Whenever I hide away for a while and come back saying what an idiot I am, you all tell me, “don’t worry about it” and “it’s cool” so knowing what awesome readers I have I will say, thank you for supporting me even when I am being a whiny little brat that crawls away to hide for a spell. I love you heaps.

This post is going to be all about the greatest thing that has happened to my family in years.

Mya.

My niece was born on Tuesday April 7th (shout out if that’s your birthday too) and is just the sweetest little thing. Mya is the 5th grandchild blessing the Simmons family and is bringing joy to all who see her.

See? Told you. She’s a cutie.

Anyhow, the day she was born was delightful of course but it did not begin that way. In fact, I do not remember the last time I was as scared as I was the moment she arrived.

My wife, kids, brother in law, & best friend were all standing outside the doors to the labor and deliver area of the hospital. My sister had spent the night in labor, slowly progressing but as many of you know, it was a rough night. My older sister was in the room with the soon to be mom and dad helping them out. My sister's Mother in law and Sister in law (the soon to be new grandma and auntie) were literally outside the door to the room listening to what was going on inside and reporting back to us every few minutes since we knew it would be any moment.

“She just had the baby! I heard someone shout, ‘we have the girl’!” Barb, the new grandma, busted through the double doors and shouted out to us the good news. I immediately pulled out my cell phone to call my mother back in New Mexico and let her know her 5th grandchild was born. I hung up my phone quickly when I heard an announcement over the loud speaker.

“CODE BLUE. LABOR AND DELIVERY. DOOR THREE”

We all looked at each other wondering what that meant since I knew my sisters room was Room 3. No sooner did the shock hit our faces that we started seeing and hearing people running down the hall. Doors were opening and staff was running down the hall towards my sisters room. We opened the double doors to see if in fact they were going to my sisters room when we were met by Barb with her hand over her mouth.

“I don’t know what happened but everyone is running into Jennifer’s room. I don’t know what happened.” We didn’t make eye contact so as to not share what we were thinking. No answers were coming from the nurses and staff that were still running past us. An endless flood of help but why? What happened?

In my head I could hear my mother wailing as I had to call and tell her that something awful had happened. I felt sick to my stomach and weak in the knees. My wife later told me she feared I was going to have a heart attack because of the look on my face.

“CODE BLUE NOW CODE PINK” A new announcement.

Paul’s sister, the new aunt, came around the corner and said that Code Pink meant the baby. “Blue is for mom and pink means the baby.”

A vision of my sister in tears came to me and I began to well up like I am right now remembering those feelings. It was awful.

“CODE PINK ALL CLEAR”

No 4 words have brought me such relief. We all felt the tons of weight immediately lifted and I think for the first time in several minutes took in a breath. The sign we made was so loud it probably shook the walls and I know I began to cry immediately for every reason you can imagine but mostly, thankfulness.

To sum it all up, the code should not have been called. A nurse made a mistake and apparently the doctor that was in the room was not happy at all when 50 people came running into the room. We just figured Mya wanted to let the entire hospital know that she was here and they should all come and welcome her.

When I finally saw her for the first time I was so thankful that she was here, that her and her mom were okay, and that I had a sweet iPhone to snap a quick picture with that cute little hospital beanie that I always love.

Welcome to the family Mya!

You Tube Tuesday #115

First let me apologize for not having a You Tube Tuesday clip for you last week. 

I am truly sorry.

And I am sorry for not posting. Life has been busy and I have not made the time to post. I am working on getting my act in gear but I have lots to tell you about so stay tuned please.

This weeks clip is another amazing kid. I could never be this good at anything. Accept sleeping, I am good at that. 

Enjoy!