"Before the OmniPod, I felt like the
diabetes controlled me. Since I have
had the OmniPod, I feel like I am
in control of my diabetes."

 

Shannon Smith is a golfer, a flautist—and a teenage girl, with all a typical teenager’s concerns. She wants to be a good student. She wants to have a pretty dress for her prom. She wants to fit in. Since she started using the OmniPod, every one of those dreams has been realized. She no longer misses tests due to highs and lows, and she is among the top students in her class. For her semi-formal she found the perfect dress—her Pod didn’t show at all—her PDM was tucked in her clutch, and she had “the best time, ever.” And day to day, she feels just like everyone else. For a teen, that is the most important thing of all.

 

 

I didn’t really know much about diabetes until I was diagnosed; I don’t think I had ever really heard of it. It was hard at first. A lot of kids made fun of me and called me names. My daily routine changed. I had to eat snacks to keep my blood sugar from dropping, and I had to prick my finger to test often. If I wanted to go on a bike ride or go to the movies and eat popcorn, I had to change all my insulin doses. And it interrupted my school work. If my blood sugar was high or low I had to go down to the nurse. I had to study longer, I had to start my projects earlier, just to stay at the same level.

The doctors kept trying to push me onto a pump, but the tubing looked really scary—and the infusion sets looked really painful. I didn’t want to have huge bruises on my stomach from the big insertion needles. Plus I would have to take the pump off if I wanted to take a shower, or go swimming, or play sports. I figured the shots were fine; I could just lug around the insulin in a little pack until something better came along.

When I heard about the OmniPod, it looked really interesting; it seemed so much easier and better than the shots—and so much less painful than the other pumps. And it was. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t really matter to me that it is there; I even forget I am wearing it sometimes. The PDM is really easy, like 1,2,3; I got it right away.

Being on the OmniPod has made my A1C level so much lower. It’s between 6.9 and 7 now; on the shots it was between 8.2 and 8.3. My blood sugar is pretty much normal through the day—which has really helped me stay among the top students in my class this year.

The OmniPod is so carefree—it makes everything so much better. I can ride my bike to my friend’s house, I can walk my dog, I can golf, I can do anything that I want to—I can even play volleyball wearing a Pod.

When my semi-formal was coming around, I wanted to find a really perfect dress. I did—and you couldn't see the Pod at all. The dance was five hours long. If I had been using shots I would have had to carry around a pack of insulin and needles and if I had been wearing a pump I would either have to take it off for those five hours, which would have made my blood sugar go really high, or clip it to my dress, which would have been really visible and kind of annoying. But with the OmniPod it was really easy. I took my PDM with me in my little clutch, and I wore a Pod and I barely had to think about it. I had the best time ever.

Before the OmniPod, I felt like the diabetes controlled me. Since I have had the OmniPod, I feel like I am in control of my diabetes. I don't feel like I am in a separate category from all the kids anymore; I feel so normal.

I didn’t choose to have diabetes; it kind of chose me. The OmniPod makes it so much better and easier. I have no words to describe how thankful I am that they came up with the OmniPod. It changed my life. I would never go back to shots again. I love the OmniPod, it has got to be the best thing out there!