Prep Day 2

Last night’s sleep was nonexistent. Although I was curled up on my comfy couch, next to a warm fire, cough syrup did not ease my coughing spells. And my asthma meds act like adrenaline, so when my cough calms down, I am wide awake.

Between 5:00 am and 5:30 am I must have dozed off. Only to be rudely awakened by sudden thunderstorms. Thor was undeniably angry about something. And the fire had gone out.

Hubby and I ran into each other in the hallway. “Where are you going?” he asked.
“To bed to snuggle with you and get warm.”
“Okay then,” he said, taking my hand. I slept in peace for over an hour.

While drinking 2 cups of coffee, I reviewed my prep list and set up my pancreas charger. Then I looked around in the manual, which frightened me because it listed warning after warning and barely mentioned how to operate the thing. I wasn’t allowed to operate it until my training session, so I stopped trying to learn anything.

I took a mental break and checked my email messages. Only one message was really for me. The other 25 were phishing and spam. Ho Hum. Meanwhile, my smartphone was charged to 100%, so I went to the App Store and installed the Pancreas app.
Hey! That went smoothly. Now I have an account that actually works. The next thing is to go try the iLet simulator website. And no, I have no idea what this does.
We’ll check it out after my nap…

Note: After the nap, I contacted Maureen and postponed my training. I felt awful, and why expose her to whatever-the-heck germs I had?

To be continued…

Preparation: Day 1

Items to have ready by November 2nd:

Charge the bionic transmitter/receiver
Have the glucose monitor in place and ready to monitor
Open the boxes of supplies and have 1 of each item available
Install the bionic app on your smart phone. Create an account and try the Simulator website
Have a vial of fast-acting insulin
Have alcohol wipes and sterile gauze
Additional supplies:
Ketone test strips
Glucometer and test strips

Oh, and have your current weight available.

Yikes! I have been avoiding the scale because I know I have gained weight. And I can’t lie about this matter. Unlike the DMV or your relatives, the pancreas must have my exact weight in order to dose my insulin correctly. Sigh.

Because I’ve been fighting off a cold and today it’s winning, I decide to have soup for lunch and then veg in front of the TV. Tomorrow morning I will start fresh and download software. Maybe even weigh myself.

I just don’t know how much more excitement I can stand.

Homework?!?

No matter how old you are, you can still get assigned homework. More proof that life is not fair.
Next week I will meet with the bionics training person, so I must get up to speed and do the reading and studying I need to do before then.

The company that makes the pancreas has trainers in Stockton, Sacramento, and San Francisco. All of them are hundreds of miles from the little mountain town of Arnold. My doctor suggested that she schedule an appointment with a trainer she works with, named Maureen.

What are the odds that it is the same Maureen who trained me on my former insulin pump 12 years ago? It turns out that she is that very Maureen! And she now has a good reason to visit Arnold and train me at home. I gave this circumstance the major “happy dance” it deserved. It was the first time since receiving the supplies that I felt good about this thing. Also, knowing I did not have to drive for miles helped me de-stress a lot.

Today I am organizing things and cleaning up the aftermath of quilt show things. Then, I will take the rest of the week to do my bionic homework. To be honest, I’m afraid to do it. I’m afraid to find out that I’m probably going to hate dealing with this new pancreas. The few things I’ve read on the internet are scary.

I promised myself that I would give it a fair chance. I may love being bionic. It could happen.

TTFN