"The OmniPod System is my high
point. I don't know what I'd do
without it!"

 

Anthony Vita often finds himself in tight spots. As a vehicle mechanic he needs to be able to maneuver freely under the hood or the dash—so a traditional pump scared him; he was sure the tubing would get tangled or snagged and disrupt his insulin. Then he saw the OmniPod System. OmniPod has freed Anthony to do his job, and to ride his bike 90 miles a week. Most importantly, it has given him the security of the best insulin therapy—and the best possible chance that twenty or thirty years from now, he will be healthy enough to walk each of his three daughters down the aisle—and to play with his grandchildren.

 

 

My name is Anthony Vita, I'm 40 years old, and I'm a vehicle mechanic for Con Edison, a local utilities company in New York. I have a wonderful wife and three daughters: Kerriann; 13, Brianna, 11; and Kristina, 7. I'm also an avid cyclist, so I've got a very active lifestyle.

Before my diagnosis, I was just busy being a dad, running with my kids to games and other events. Now I'm very conscientious of my health, and my family is my motivation. I want to be around to see my daughters grow up and get married! My wife Patty is an important part of my diabetes care team, supporting me in everything I do.

For us, the diabetes diagnosis was a rude awakening. It was November 2002. I was on my way from my mother's house in Brooklyn, and I couldn't make it home. I had to go to the bathroom constantly. I thought I had a prostate problem, but the doctor took a urine sample and right off the bat he said, “No, you've got a sugar problem.”

I was first diagnosed as a Type 2, but the following year I saw an endocrinologist who tested me for antibodies and determined that I had late-onset Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. I was in tears, but I educated myself and sought help. I wasn't going to let this control my life.

The doctor started me on injections, but I felt weird giving myself shots at work. It was awkward, because I had to go off to a separate room or the bathroom to inject. I knew there had to be a better way. But I didn't like the idea of a conventional insulin pump because I work in a job environment where I'm crawling underneath things all the time—my biggest concern was banging up the pump and getting that tubing caught.

Then I heard about the OmniPod, and right away I thought: This just fits my lifestyle! It was very easy to get started because the PDM guides you step by step, and I can move around freely with nothing hanging off of me. That's huge because my job requires that I service everything from electric forklifts to cranes, so I'm always climbing in and out of tight places, like crawling underneath the dash of a vehicle.

Currently I cycle 26-30 miles three times a week before work. With the OmniPod, I can take showers after a ride without even removing my insulin source.

The Pod can get wet and doesn't need protection. And the Pod is really comfortable. Sometimes I have to check to see if I have it on. It's very discreet too. I can go out to dinner and feel comfortable giving myself insulin doses when I need to. When I'm ready to eat, I just use the PDM to program a bolus, and I'm done. No one can tell what I'm doing or why.

I love the flexibility it gives me too. I can set different basal rates during the course of the day depending on how my body reacts to insulin at specific times of the day. I can also customize my insulin delivery temporarily. For example, if I'm going on a ride, I can program a temp basal in order to get a reduced amount of insulin for a specified amount of time. These features are very easy to use. Plus, the cannula insertion is automatic, which is beautiful. It really doesn't hurt at all—you just feel one little pinch and it's finished. I don't have to worry about priming either.

They say things usually get worse before they get better. The diabetes diagnosis changed the way I look at life, but now the OmniPod is my high point. I don't know what I'd do without it.

I feel I'm in my best shape ever. I weighed 250 pounds when I was diagnosed, and now I'm down to 185, in part because the OmniPod gives me the freedom to be as active as I like. My quality of life is really good. I enjoy every day to the fullest.