I Spied a Pump!

I couldn't help myself a few weeks ago. I saw a stranger in public with a Minimed pump and I had to say hello. Actually I kind of joked around with the woman and I think she took it well.

I was watching my kids at a play area when I saw a mother there watching her kids. She had a blue Medtronic/Minimed pump on her waist.

I walked up and said, "That cell phone on your hip looks pretty cool! What kind is it?"

She replied, "Oh, actually it's an insulin pump."

Then I decided to run through a few of the questions I have heard from people who have no idea.

"Oh wow, so that's for diabetes...so that keeps track of how much food you eat?"

She answered no, but briefly explained that it helped her manage her blood-glucose levels. (Good response!)

I asked, "So that's connected to you?"

She smiled and said yes. Then I thought I had probably harassed her enough, and I interrupted and told her I knew all this. I pulled up my shirt to show the pump on my waist, and said, "I thought I'd try some of the questions I get with someone else!"

She laughed and said that I should have added that I had a grandparent with diabetes who didn't need a pump.

So that potentially awkward interaction went well, but I'm not sure why I felt the need to approach a stranger with diabetes to say hello, or to joke around like I did. Hey, isn't that what tudiabetes is for?

Tags: pump, stranger

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Comment by Terrie on November 12, 2010 at 3:39pm: LOL! Great contact experience Greg. Evidently you are spreading your wings to the Diabetic community where the pump connects you. Normally, People with Diabetes go unnoticed and are undetectable unless they are having a serious low in public or sometimes when they wear a pump.

I will give you the Sneaky Award of the month. Congrats! :)

Comment by Greg on November 12, 2010 at 3:52pm: I figure if a person wears their diabetes, he or she is not going to be too bent out of shape if another person asks about it.

Years ago some guy in an elevator asked me point-blank if I had diabetes. I was horror-stricken. I wasn't low. My pump wasn't visible or sounding an alarm and I panicked for a second. He saw my confused look then pointed out the American Diabetes Association shirt (I had volunteered for an event) I was wearing. I had forgotten what I had on and wasn't really trying to advertise.
I recovered and told him why yes, I do. Turns out his young son was just diagnosed. We wound up talking for a little bit about the disease and local resources. So everyone reaches out, and I was glad to provide some information.

Comment by Terrie on November 12, 2010 at 4:12pm: LOL! about the advertisement on the shirt and your reaction. You can't get too much bigger than that. In all my years, I've never been known by the general public as a Diabetic. I still am not when I meet someone new. We had some Friends of 6 years who didn't believe that I had it. It is Good that you got to chat about it with a perfect stranger and to discuss resources. Before, I always figured no one that I met on the street had it. I was probably Very wrong. Now I wonder about People that I meet.

Comment by Dana Clark on November 12, 2010 at 5:21pm: Stopped the principal at my kids school the other day after seeing his pump. 15 years for both of us, same age and both on pumps. It was great. For SO LONG I didn't meet other Diabetics. Now I meet a few and it is wonderful to share our motivations and stories.

Comment by melindalaw on November 12, 2010 at 6:15pm: Reminds me of he time I was in a radiologist's office waiting to have an xray done. There was a teenager, about 16 or so with her mother , who plopped down on the same couch as me in the waiting room. They started talking among themselves about blood sugar, and she whipped out her glucometer and tested. I also could not help myself and proceeded to tell them all about my pump and how I have had Type 1 for 50 years.

I was very encouraging and said the pump is a great asset. They seemed reluctant about it so I did not push. But I had the same feeling. It seems so rare to talk to someone else, and they may be sitting right next to us in a waiting room.

Comment by Sarah on November 12, 2010 at 8:11pm: That's pretty funny :)

I've been asked twice in public now by THE SAME LADY at walmart (she doesn't work there, I live in a small town and there aren't many places to go buy groceries) and I thought it was pretty funny (mostly because I'm good at remembering faces, but she clearly didn't remember asking me before). I found out just last month that her grandson goes to the same preschool my kids go to... we went to a field trip together and had a "hey, don't I know you from somewhere" moment and I realized she was the walmart lady. I didn't tell her that, I just said I thought she'd asked about my pump before and she said "oh, right, that has to be it!"

I remember I met a 5 year old pumper last year, and she was THE cutest thing *ever*. Truly she was - she noticed my pump before I saw hers, and she just lit up when she asked me about it (though I already sort of knew of her - my daughter went to school with her, we just hadn't met, then one day they happened to be at the park too). Her brother also has T1 and wears a pump too, but I was the first adult pumper she'd ever seen.

Most people seem to ask about my CGM before they notice the pump. And I'm with Greg, when you wear your diabetes, you have to be prepared for questions.

Comment by Jimmy on January 13, 2011 at 9:53am: I am a volunteer for the Canadian Diabetes Association, where I man displays, educate through Learning Series and much more. I always wear my pump so all can see and I also ensure some of my tubing is visable. As most of the events I work are health orientated, I find that curiosity always wins and that is where I interact and educate. I know alot of individuals are shy and hide their pump but why hide a great piece of technology from those who can take advantage of pump therapy as an option.. The pumps of today are a tie to a hidden community of friends with common goals and problems. You could say it is a support group waiting to happen..

Comment by Tom on April 29, 2011 at 4:04pm: I love it. Sometimes, I see someone with a pump and just want to be go "Hey, you're like me, let's be friends!"