Cindy Shaler doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t have diabetes; she was diagnosed on her fourth birthday. That was in the 1950s, and there were no blood glucose meters, no pumps, no disposable syringes or needles, no insulin pens, no human-analog insulins. Still, when insulin pumps were first introduced, Cindy had no interest—she didn’t want something hanging off her body. A young woman she met changed Cindy’s mind, but after trying four pumps in nine months, Cindy went back to shots. Then she tried the OmniPod. With OmniPod, not only does Cindy have the freedom to leave home without injection supplies, there is no danger of catching her tubing on the stair rail when she is rushing out the door. And for Cindy, that is real freedom.

 

 

The summer that I was three years old, I began having the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, and my mother took me in for a checkup. On my fourth birthday, the doctor called and told my mother I had diabetes and would have to spend five days in the hospital getting regulated on insulin. My memory of that hospitalization is of being caged (by the bars on the hospital crib), and of making the nurses chase me from one side of the crib to the other to give me shots. But my parent—especially my father—did an excellent job taking charge of the diabetes so I could enjoy life. They took me to the Joslin Clinic in Boston, where co-founder Dr. Priscilla White became my doctor, and taught me how to use my diabetes equipment to take care of myself.

Back in the early ’50s, we had no blood glucose meters, no pumps, no disposable syringes or needles, no insulin pens, no human-analog insulins. I took only pork-derived NPH insulin, and the dosage depended on a test of my urine sugar. Until I went away to college, we weighed everything I ate, and carefully measured not just carbohydrate, but protein and fat, too. Still, when insulin pumps were first introduced, I wasn’t interested in trying them. I didn’t like the idea of having something attached to my body.

But then about four years ago, I met a young woman who showed me how her pump worked, and it seemed like a challenge: If this young kid could do it, why couldn’t I? I tried four different pumps within nine months, and they all failed on me for different reasons. So I gave up and went back to injections using an insulin pen and syringes.

Then last spring I decided to try the OmniPod. I was very excited by the idea of using a compact wireless unit for insulin delivery, without the need for any tubing hanging off my body. And the automated cannula insertion is great! It’s so quick and easy, and completely pain free. Compared to “wired” pumps, the OmniPod feels much less noticeable. I hardly know I have it on. I run a business doing freelance editing and design for technology companies out of my home office. With the other pumps, I used to catch the tubing on the railing going down the stairs in my house. That hurt, and it really irritated the infusion site. The whole idea of having a small insulin pod that interacts wirelessly with a hand-held device is ingenious!

The OmniPod is also far superior to taking shots, because now I only get “stuck” once every few days—when I change the Pod—instead of using needles 6-9 times a day. That’s a big difference. And it’s delightful not to have to take the injection supplies everywhere, sometimes forgetting them, and having to run back home or not eat for an afternoon. The integrated blood glucose meter makes the OmniPod even more exciting, because I no longer have to haul around two things: my insulin pen with supplies, plus a separate glucose meter. With the OmniPod, the nuisances of daily life with diabetes are reduced. And I very much like not having the tubing.

My hobbies are gardening and singing in a local chorus, plus I’m a voracious reader. My husband Bill and I both enjoy science fiction, going to the theater, and dining out. With OmniPod, I can carry a smaller purse now, and taking insulin in public is much less obtrusive for everyone, which makes these activities that much more pleasant. Also, I’d say OmniPod works more smoothly than other pumps. It’s more user-friendly. Instead of codes, it uses plain English.

I'm currently part of the Joslin Diabetes Center's study of people who've had diabetes for 50 years or more. My parents and I have taken good care of the disease, and I’ve had no complications. I can't say that life with diabetes has been easy —it does require lots of attention, sort of like a small child! But with innovative tools like the OmniPod, people with diabetes can lead less complex, less painful, and more satisfying lives.