C. S. Mott Children's Hospital
A Brother-Sister Team Tells it Like it is About "The Pump"
Patrick, 9, and Colleen, 6, are a typical brother and sister. They both agree their sister, Julia, is “a really, really good artist.” They love to play with the neighborhood kids. Both Patrick and Colleen have diabetes and wear a small computer that pumps insulin into their bodies in measured, regulated intervals. The pump lets Patrick and Colleen manage their diabetes, so it doesn’t manage them.
| Patrick: | Our pumps look like small computers. |
| Colleen: | Yep, that’s right. Little computers. |
| Patrick: | And they have a little pack and straps that go around our waist. |
| Colleen: | And you can get them in black or blue or silver. |
| Patrick: | Or gold. |
| Colleen: | Gold? I didn’t know they came in gold! |
| Patrick: | Yeah, they come in gold. |
| Colleen: | Wow! |
| Patrick: | With a pump, there’s a lot to learn, but my mom says the whole family got a lot of training from Mott Hospital. This lady named Nugget came out to show us and stayed for almost four hours. This was to show us how the pump worked before we got it. It was amazing! My mom says they were great with training. And they gave us classes after we got the pumps, too. |
| Colleen: | We were in the hospital when we were first diagnosed a long time ago. |
| Patrick: | Yeah, they were nice there. The nurses and the doctors. |
| Colleen: | They were nice. |
| Patrick: | You don’t remember. You were just a baby then. (Kindly.) You were 13 months old. |
| Colleen: | Oh, that’s right. (Giggling.) You remember. You were six. |
| Patrick: | You should tell kids that have diabetes that their mom and dad should consider getting a pump. The pump has a memory so if I didn’t get the right amount of insulin, or if we can’t remember how much I got last time, we can look it up on the pump’s memory. And I can play sports. I just have to be careful. I’ve been in soccer for four years. Now I’m going to do indoor soccer so I can play soccer all year long. I can’t wait. I’m the forward. The best thing about being the forward is that you get to score points. |
| Colleen: | I like to dance. Hip-hop. And sometimes tap. |
| Patrick: | With a pump, I don’t have to have any needle sticks. It gives me a small amount of insulin all the time and then a lot when I eat. Colleen and I used to get four needle sticks a day. Now, the pump is connected to a needle under our skin. So we don’t have to take regular shots anymore, and it doesn’t hurt when we get our insulin from the pump. |
| Colleen: | Talk about the food. |
| Patrick: | You can pretty much eat what you want to eat. |
| Colleen: | What your mom lets you eat! “Within reason,” Mom says. |
| Patrick: | Yes, that’s pretty good. |
| Colleen: | Okay, time to go now. Let’s have lunch. |
