| I get that there are lots of people out there who love to play armchair health advisor and have no idea what they're talking about. But I agree with the GP that this is just strange. I'm not diabetic, so I don't have anything to say about management of the condition itself, but two things were absolutely nuts to me: 1. The author didn't ask for the pump to be shipped to her hotel. She gave an explanation for why she didn't ask for this, but that explanation doesn't make sense. And if she had asked for that, the problem would have been solved by the next day, with minimal fuss or extra stress. 2. The author seems absolutely flabbergasted and in awe at the idea that a mechanical device can break. Yes, I get that she used insulin pumps for 25 years without a failure, but c'mon. Everything and anything can break, even a medical-grade device. Based on her description of how many extra cartridges, syringes, insulin, etc. she brought with her tells us that she does understand the concept that things break and unexpected things happen. Why this huge blind spot around the possibility that the pump (or the CGM) could break too? How could she never ask herself the question, "if my insulin pump breaks when I'm not at home, what will I do for a backup?" Neither of these points has anything to do with medical knowledge or understanding of how any particular medical condition is managed. They just seem like simple common sense to me, as a fellow adult human who lives on the same planet. From the author's "here's what I'll do next time" section, it seems she's learned the right lesson and will bring a backup for her entire pump/monitor setup on future trips. Great! I'm glad. But it is absolutely bizarre to me that this isn't just SOP for anyone who relies on any piece of technology for anything, even for things that aren't life-threatening. |