To pump or not to pump

From the very beginning, when Caleb was in the hospital at diagnosis, there was talk of pumping. “Oh it will be so much easier when he’s pumping.” “Oh he’ll be able to be more of a kid when he’s pumping.” “Pumping will provide so much more freedom.”

Well why on earth are we giving him shots?

The thought of pumping at first to me was a little horrifying. I didn’t understand how it worked and my imagination formed images that I didn’t like. I envisioned a permanent “something” surgically implanted in him. It seemed very sad. Very medical. Very dependent. No one showed us what it entailed. We just heard how great it was.

I’m not sure when exactly I got over those self-formed images (which of course were all wrong), but I knew Caleb would start pumping ASAP. All I needed to hear was that it was the best way to get control, would result in the best BGs and therefore give him the brightest outlook. The rest didn’t matter. My early reading included the results of the DCCT study. Enough said. Sign us up. When do we start?

Even so, I still had reservations. In those early days I watched Caleb running around, being a three-year-old and tried to envision this device strapped to him. It seemed like the increased freedom came at the price of the loss of other freedoms. We were just picking the lesser of two evils. Sigh.

Bless our dear friends, Dan and Meri. Dan’s company was investing in this new product by Insulet Corporation – had we heard of the OmniPod? Why no. Could this be? Is there actually an insulin pump that you don’t have to be strapped to? This must be a mistake – something new and not yet approved. Why has no one else mentioned this to us????

I cannot express how fortunate we were at the timing of things. Dan’s query came at exactly the point when I was looking at the various pump options. Had he mentioned it a week later, we may have made another choice.

I did my research and I was sold. We were decided. We were going to give the OmniPod a try. Now how do we get it? And WHEN??

I was told, “Oh the insurance won’t just pay for it. Needles are cheap. Pumps are not. You will have to wait at least six months and show that you can’t control his BG on injections.” That was not appealing. I wanted to do whatever I could to keep his BGs in control. I almost felt like we were better off not keeping his BGs in range.

And that doesn’t even touch upon the fact that many insurance companies were not yet hip to the OmniPod in early 2007. Our insurance listed it as a CGMS and thus would not cover it. I was prepared for a battle. I had my ducks all lined up.

That was all misinformation however. As soon as we could, within 3 months of Caleb’s diagnosis, we submitted to our insurance our request for a pump. We were told it would likely be rejected and we would have to appeal. We didn’t. I got the call one day. “Caleb is 100% covered.” I’m sorry, can you repeat that? “This is Insulet Corporation and I’m calling to tell you that Caleb has been approved for the OmniPod, 100%.”

I was elated. It was the best news I had heard in months.

To pump or not to pump. It is a very personal decision and requires careful thought. It is not for everyone. But for Caleb we chose to pump. We are very glad that we did.