Wednesday, October 8, 2008

SO....I Kinda Missplaced My Pump This Morning

Am I the only one in dBlogville who, in the rush to get on with the day has inadvertently misplaced their insulin pump???

Look, we wear the pump almost 24X7, sans the shower or a romp in the hay – and even then we have the option to keep on. Since we always wear our pump, it becomes an actual part of us.

But there have been moments in my early pump life life, like the time I had a 7:30 a.m teeth-cleaning appt - where I actually forgot to put my pump back on after my shower. Then there was the time I left the Chiropractors office in New Jersey and left my pump behind in the adjustment room.

I had to turn around in rush hour and drive back...from Philadelphia. I was frantic to get there before they closed & I had to literally beg them to stay open. Both instances happened early on, when I was very new to the pump. Since then, I have really become quite OCD (almost to the point of annoyance) as to where my pump is on and off my person, at all times – NORMALLY.

But you know once we throw the word normal into the mix, our world becomes even more abnormal!

This morning in the mad dash to start my day, I took off my pump; jumped the shower – cleaned all my parts, jumped out, got dressed, combed my hair out and dabbed on some styling product and blow-dried my hair. Before I put my” face on,” (hey, I never once claimed to be a natural beauty – I welcome any and all help in that department) I went to the bureau (where I always place my pump pre-shower to avoid the craziness of misplacing it) to grab my trusty pump – and it wasn’t there. WTF?


“Where the hell did I put it? IS it on my bed or on my nightstand? No. Could it be under the bed, under the covers, under the pillows? No, No,NO. By the coffee Maker? Unfortunately, no – but I did take a moment to refresh my cup. I looked everywhere and then looked in these places again, and time was ticking by. Work would literally be calling in 46 minutes because I had a phone conference at 9 am. Plus, it had almost been an hour since I disconnected.

I tried to listen for the pump alarm, but damn if that thing only went off every 15 minutes. Had I missed it? Would I have to wait another 15 minutes? I just didn’t have time for to figure out the whole pump alarm math of it all.


I started to get really upset. WTF? THIS IS JUST THE WRONG TIME FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. “Think Kelly, THINK!” So…I did. I calmed myself down and retraced my steps since the alarm (as in clock, not pump) went off this morning. OK, lets see - I got up and made coffee, took my blood sugar and bloused. Drank coffee, drank more coffee, and had some Greek yogurt with honey, cinnamon, and ¼ cup of frozen wild blueberries - which in case your wondering, is a really tasty breakfast & you should totally try it – but I digress. Then I went in the bedroom; stripped down, tossed my pj’s on the chair, grabbed my towels & went to the shower. Wait a second, let’s back track to the tossing of the Pj’s on the chair part.

I sprinted back to the bedroom, to the corner where my chair was. I removed (OK, more threw them on the floor) the towels that I had also tossed on top of the chair after my shower, found my PJ’s, and clipped to said PJ bottoms, was my super trusty pump.

I reconnected immediately and was relieved to say the least. But I was also really mad at myself for the pump misplacement. How could I have been so stupid? I mean, I knew better. But then I started to laugh...like really laugh, because you know – it was pretty funny after the fact! I mean, thank - God my head is attached - or I'd be in big trouble!

Shit happens, and so does diabetes. I found what I was looking for and life went on.
Life always goes on, curve balls and all. We need to go with the flow and appreciate the lessons learned and victories gained...no matter how great or small.

14 comments:

Crystal said...

LMAO!
Laughing WITH you my dear!

I try to leave it on the bathroom sink or toilet seat.

There have been a couple times in over 3 years it got left on the bed, somewhere in the rumpled blankets. Took me a moment to find it.

I have yet to have such an episode like yours. Hope I never do but I am getting older so, it's bound to happen.

I tend to forget where my testing kit is or leave it somewhere.

SO glad you found it and you were able to laugh about it. Diabetes Can be funny.....

Anonymous said...

Great post! Made me laugh as I can completely imagine myself going through the same process!!!

My classic act is to clip the pump onto my pants and think all is well--- later it turns out that I never reconnected my infusion set. Not fun, and produced "insulin spots" on your pants. I don't recommend it!

Cara said...

Oh my! I have gotten into the habit of taking my pump off in the bathroom EVERY SINGLE TIME! That way it would be really hard to loose seeing as how my bathroom is so small you can barely turn around in it! ;)
You make me laugh though. :) I understand the fear or "OMG! I've lost it!" Only mine is usually my meter.

k2 said...

CP -
Glad you laughing,...with me!
I always put the darn pump on my bureau to avoid such craziness.
Oh well, at least I left in the same general local as opposed to a different state all together ;)

Kristin -
Glad you liked it! I've done the clip and not connect thing myself a few times. Like I said, since the incidents back in my early pump days, I'm usually very OCD regarding my pump. Crap happens and great minds think alike!

Cara -
The thing is, I don't like to leave my pump in the bathroom for fear it will fall into the "tidy bowel!"
Hence the reason I ALWAYS put it on the bureau, EXCEPT for this morning! I hear regarding the meter! I will not buy a black lined hand bag for fear of not being able to locate my testing kit. And yeah, that major freak out has happened as well, but that's for another post!
k2

Scott K. Johnson said...

LOL! Great story! I once almost left my pump at an open gym basketball session... and yes, it is disturbing isn't it?

I was like "How in the HELL could I almost forget something that's attached to me 23.5 hours of the day?!" :-)

k2 said...

Scotty J
Great (and disturbing) minds think alike...So glad to hear I'm in good company!
k2

Lora said...

Okay, I don't have a pump to leave somewhere, but if I did, I'm sure I would. I wear glasses and can't see clearly more than a couple of inches in front of my face without them. Once or twice (or maybe it was more than that...), I've forgotten to put them on in the morning. Once, I spent the first five minutes of my drive to work running my windshield wipers to clean my windshield because it was so dirty. When I went to push my glasses further up on my nose, I finally got it. Windshield clean, eyes blurry. I spent the rest of the drive (back home!) with my face smack in front of the windshield.

k2 said...

Lora -
I can't see a foot in front of me w/out my glasses or contacts - I feel for you sister!
Again,I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has made a mistake with something that has in essence become such a huge part of us. Thanks for sharing,...making me feel better!
k2

Karen said...

I haven't lost my pump . . . yet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time though. I've misplaced my glasses quite a few times - and it's REALLY hard to find them because I can't see anything unless it's about 3 inches from my face!! ;)

Anonymous said...

OMG -I've so been there.

This made me laugh just remembering my crazy search in the most illogical places until I finally "found"it.

Unknown said...

I've travelled to work pumpless on more than one occasion, only to have to turn around as I pull into the work parking lot to go back home for it.

Amazing how you can go all day and ignore the feeling of a pump in your pocket, cleavage, or wherever (unless it's beeping or vibrating), and yet once you realize it's missing, you feel so naked until you get it back!

k2 said...

Karen -
There seems to be a direct correlation to one's loosing their pump/ glasses. I guess what I'm trying to say in no uncertain terms,...it's only a matter of time!

Leslie -
OK, I'm just so glad u decided to leave a comment!!! I feel so much better about myself hearing that you've experienced the same thing, SERIOUSLY!!!

Hannah -
I LOVE YOU!!! Dorkalicious minds think alike. Though, to be honest, I've never ignored my pump when it was in my cleavage, because it looks way to much like a 3rd boob!
There's no ignoring that!
k2

Anonymous said...

i have done that before. but now i have an omnipod and i cant lose it!

k2 said...

Sari -
You can't loose the pump, what about other pump/diabetes stuff?
k2